Page 16 of Fence

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Fence

“We’re goingto end up paying to replace that throw rug if you don’t stop pacing on it,” I muttered from my bed, my arm thrown over my eyes.

“How do you know I’m pacing?” Gate asked.

“Because I have ears, brother mine. And you’ve never been one to walk quietly when stomping would do just as well.”

“I need to get rid of all this pent-up bullshit inside,” he growled.

“You and me both, but you don’t see me wearing holes in the décor.” I moved my arm and looked over to where he was still walking back and forth, over and over, following the same route with each pass. “I have to say, I think you’re taking this a little too seriously.”

“You can’t mean that.” He stopped dead in his tracks, glaring at me in surprise. “You don’t see how important this girl is? Who the hell spends their graduate studies on the ancient clans of Scotland and winds up studying ours, for Christ’s sake?”

“She does, apparently.” I rubbed my temples, unsure if it was his incessant worry or the dragon’s raging that brought on the stirrings of a headache. It was likely a combination of the two.

“What are we supposed to do about her?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m thinking about it.”

“I know what we’re supposed to do.”

“Shut up.” I sat up, glaring. “Just shut up with that. You and I both know it’s not going to happen. Not just because it’s ridiculous, but because we’re not murderers. You’re talking about murder here.”

“Who’s talking about murder?” Miles entered the room with his arms full of paper sacks. I could just imagine what the people at the pub thought when he came in to pick up a dozen double burgers. All rare.

I dug into the food with relish, still talking. “My brother. He’s the one talking about it.”

“Tell me I’m wrong,” he challenged Miles.

“You’re wrong,” Miles said, his voice flat. “That would be the worst move.”

My dragon approved of this and let up with the frenzy, which allowed the pressure in my head to lessen. Now, I could actually taste the food and enjoy it.

“How’s that?” Gate demanded.

“The girl is a student, correct? She even has a research grant, which allows her to do her work without having to take focus from her studies. She can’t simply disappear without a trace. There will be questions, police involvement.” He lowered what was left of his first burger. “And if anyone has so much as a clue of where she was headed, that’ll be the first place the police start looking.”

“Damn it all.” Gate crumpled up one of the empty sacks and threw it at the wall.

I bit back the impulse to tell him to destroy his own room and leave mine alone, because I understood his frustration.

On the other hand, I appreciated the excuse to protect Ciera instead of seeking her destruction. I couldn’t deny the strong pull she had on me—even back in the cave, I’d needed to fight the urge to ask her everything about herself. Where did she live? What did she like? What made her happy? What was she planning on doing for the rest of her life?

Not that hearts and flowers had anything to do with it. I hadn’t changed my base nature simply because a beautiful, clumsy, intelligent girl tripped and fell into my life. I found her fascinating, was all. Romance was about as far from my thoughts as the cave in West Virginia was from the one we’d just explored earlier in the day.

“How are we supposed to deal with her, then?” Gate posed the question to the two of us. From the bright sparkling of his eyes and the color in his cheeks, it was clear he was on edge. I knew better than to push him, but babying him would be just as tragic for me. I could still remember the sting from when he’d punched me straight in the jaw one time, decades earlier, after trying to be kind to him when he was in a foul mood.

Miles shot me a look. “Well? What do you think?”

“Why are you asking me?”

He scoffed. “Please. Why bother wasting time with such silly questions? It’s obvious you like the girl, and she likes you.”

“Maybe she likes me best because I was the only one of the three of us who didn’t overtly look or sound like I wanted to murder her,” I growled. “The two of you were just about as sympathetic as a lynch mob.”

“Sorry we don’t have your soft touch with the ladies,” Gate sneered with a roll of his eyes.

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