Page 110 of Hoarded By the Dragon

He uses a remote to turn off the television that sure as hell wasn’t here when I moved out, before standing with a stretch. His gray skin looks paler than I remember it being, and the scent that wafts over to me makes me think he hasn’t washed his clothes in days.

“Nemo?”

“Took your damn time,” he grumbles.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, but I blink at the sink full of dishes, the stack of magazines on the table, and the new flatscreen. “You’ve been living here?”

“I needed a place to lie low for a minute. I would have asked if you answered any of my calls.”

My cheeks heat in a mix of embarrassment and frustration. The distraction from witnessing part of Kalos’s home destroyed is welcome, but him helping himself to my place is not. “So you thought you’d just make yourself at home?”

“It’s not like you were using this place anyway, not with you staying with the dragon.” The skin around his eyes wrinkles as he squints at me.

“How did you know I was staying with Kalos?” I ask, awareness edging out my embarrassment.

He shrugs. “You could have just told me you had anarrangementgoing with the guy. You didn’t have to screen my calls.”

The emphasis he puts on the word leaves little room for me to wonder what he thinks I’ve been doing with Kalos. I push down the urge to touch my stomach. The hoodie I’m wearing is baggy, the pockets poking out and hopefully disguising my belly. Nemo has never been good at noticing things where I’m concerned.

“You weren’t listening to me. I don’t want to take any more jobs,” I say with a shrug, trying to keep from moving at an angle that would highlight my new silhouette. Nothing good can come from Nemo knowing about the baby.

“Why would you?” His sneer is ugly. “You’re living in the lap of luxury, getting fat, while I’ve struggled. We could have made great plans.”

The fat comment rolls off me like water on a duck. Me gaining weight is just one more thing for him to gripe about because it affects his ability to use me to slide through windows.

The answer to how he knows where I’ve been connects in my brain. He’d “checked over” all my equipment before that job.

“You put a tracker in my phone,” I say, my voice full of disbelief.

His upper lip curls. “It’s a simple thing. You should have checked for the spell. It’s not my fault you’ve gotten rusty.”

Not his fault I’ve gotten rusty. As if I need to always be on my guard and live my life like he does, running from shadows and being threatened by clients. He’d rather I be miserable so we can be miserable together.

Because me being miserable is useful.

“I didn’t check for the spell because I trusted you.” I thought he cared for me at least a little bit. I got into a fight with Kalos over that fact. Granted, if the fight wasn’t about Nemo, it would have been something else, but the truth still stings.

Kalos was right. I had my suspicions, but suspecting that Nemo only acted like he cared enough to use me and having it presented to my face is something else entirely.

Nemo widens his eyes. Like he’s surprised I’d be stupid enough to trust him. I am too.

I shake my head. “We’re finished. You need to leave.”

“You’re just going to forget everything I’ve done for you?” he sputters. “If I leave here, the Leonids are going to pick me up as easily as shooting fish in a barrel.”

“I’ve forgotten nothing!” I shout. “I’ve more than paid back my debts. It’s not my fault or problem that you’re in trouble with the Leonids.”

At the mention of the Leonids, I head for the bedroom. Nemo’s presence sidetracked me. I only came here for my bag before heading to my next destination.

“Katarina!”

I freeze. The tone of his voice shifts from alarm to smugness.

“Why do you think the Leonids attacked the dragon’s place? They need leverage. Do you think I wouldn’t give them the dragon’s girlfriend?”

Fear tightens my throat. I hadn’t known it was the Leonids attacking the mansion, but that detail pales in comparison to the danger of this moment. For all that I’ve known that Nemo works with dangerous people, I’ve never considered him a threat tome.

To my daughter.

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