Page 71 of To Ignite a Dragon's Desire

“I told you.” He reached forward and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “We can help each other out.”

Somehow, I didn’t recoil from his touch. The numbness must’ve been seeping in again, wrapping me in her embrace.

“There are other places you can go,” I said, keeping my expression blank. “Your friends had a plan, didn’t they?”

Wrong thing to say!

I watched the anger roll across his face in slow motion, wishing I could swallow back my words. Something happened. The flash of disgust in his eyes said he partially blamed me.

But it wasn’t my fault.

It was never my fault.

I knew that now.

“I know what I said,” Drew spit, making me flinch. “The investors didn’t commit. Everyone got cold feet.”

Lies!I wanted to scream.

“Oh, you poor dear,” I said instead.

It was so damn hard to not call him out.

After all the years of conspiracy talk—the bunker they planned to build and the land they were going to buy—it was always just that… talk.

He never had a real plan.

Not like Lucan, who had an answer for everything; a quiet sort of strength that wasn’t showy. He handled what needed to be handled and took care of whatever needed to be done.

I trusted him to be true to his word.

Unlike Drew.

How did I ever compare the two of them?

Lucan was so far out of Drew’s league. Maybe he was out of mine too. But I knew I didn’t deserve this sniveling weasel crowding me in a cheap hotel bathroom.

“It’s okay.” Drew’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, acting brave. “You know I’ll always take care of things. It’s better this way without all of them dragging us down.”

I felt like I was watching my life play out on a movie screen, seeing it from a bird’s eye view. This song and dance we’d done a hundred times before.

I hadn’t realized how fake it all was.

But I knew how to act the part, how not to rile up a delusional patient. “That must’ve been hard.” I kept my eyes trained on his face but let my gaze drift to the window again.

“So hard.” He nodded. “You know I was the one who gave them intel and coordinated all our plans. Then when the tanks came into town, everyone just bailed.”

“Screw them.” I gave a playful eye roll so I could look up at the shower curtain.

“Exactly.” Drew snapped his fingers, pulling my attention back. “It always was just me and you anyway. I’m glad I made it here. Now, you know I can help with security. I brought cameras with me to set up at the cabin.”

“Oh wow, you thought of everything.” I glanced at our reflection in the mirror firmly affixed to the wall.

“Of course I did.” He liked to hear himself talk. “We’ll need some sort of perimeter to protect against anyone who wants to attack. That’s where I come in.”

I bit down on my bottom lip, pretending to think as a plan started to take shape. “How will the cameras work? We don’t have power.”

“I knew you wouldn’t have thought about electricity.” His smug smile made my stomach twist. “Don’t worry, babe. I brought solar panels. We’ll get you all hooked up.”

---