Page 60 of To Ignite a Dragon's Desire

“Wait.” I opened my eyes. “How do you know about the cabin?”

I hadn’t told him. He was always talking about his conspiracy theories and how he wanted a piece of property ‘off-grid’ one day. The little part of my intuition that I couldn’t ignore said to keep Ember’s cabin a secret from him—just in case.

Drew made a condescending tsking sound into the phone. “You’re so trusting. I had to make sure I knew your friend’s backgrounds so I could keep you safe. Ember’s cabin is public record.”

“No, it isn’t.” My back hit the door behind me.

If what Kieran said was true, the government seized Ember’s ranch ten years ago.

That meant…

I looked at the phone in my hand.

“You’re tracking me.”How is this possible?

“I care about you,” he said.

“Bullshit!” I seethed.

I raced to the windows, looking through the blinds. Lucan said the wards would protect me. Did he mean against humans too?

Those were the real monsters.

I took a deep breath, calming myself down. I was safe here. “If you’re really tracking me, then you’ll know I’m not at the cabin.”

The minute the words left my lips, I regretted every choice I’d ever made in my life.

Drew’s raspy laugh reminded me why.

“You didn’t know that,” I whispered. “Because you can’t track me anymore.”

I didn’t know if it was the wards or if he’d tracked me to the cabin another way. He might’ve mapped it out when he was at home and now he didn’t have the equipment to pinpoint my location.

I could go down spirals trying to discover the how and why with him. It was always mind games—always trying to stay one step ahead and backtracking enough to make me crazy.

“There’s my smart girl.” His praise made me angry. “Since you’re not at the cabin, why don’t you tell me where you are so I can stop by for a visit?”

“No.” I stood taller, feeling Lucan’s love and protection surround me. I was safe here. Drew couldn’t hurt me anymore. “You can go fuck yourself. We’re done. Leave me alone and get the hell out of my life.”

The sigh on his end brought chills.

I shouldn’t have made him mad.

“You hurt me, Riley. Since you don’t want to be at the cabin, maybe I’ll go visit your friends instead. Are Ember and Willow there with her little girl? I wonder if they have enough room for me to stay.”

“Stop,” I growled. “You leave them out of this.”

“What do you care?” He baited. “Some friend you are. You’re not even there.”

“What do you want from me?” I asked.

How do I fix this mess?I wanted to ask.

Tears blurred my vision. I did this. If I hadn’t been so stupid, then he wouldn’t be in our lives. I’d brought him here. It was all my fault. I had to make it right.

“I’m just messing with you.” He sounded so earnest it confused me for a second. “All I want is to see you again. I have some of your stuff with me anyway. I figured you should have it.”

Lies!

---