Page 75 of Firedrake Betrayal
“A good idea,” Patten interrupts. “Probably not, but I’m going stir crazy in here. Need fresh air.”
“In abar?” Dominik lifts a brow.
“Yes, people breathe in bars. Don’t ask such a stupid question again.” Patten tugs me from the room, stopping long enough to snag the car keys from the side table. “We won’t be long.”
“Be careful!” Shep yells.
“Yes, Mom,” Patten yells back.
Jade laughs.
Patten slams the front door shut and strides toward my white Audi’s driver’s seat. Being outside is not a good idea when I’m this hungry. Being in a bar is a worse one.
As if Patten senses my hesitation, he looks at me. “Don’t even think about it.” He lowers his voice. “This isn’t just about hitting a bar. Let’s go.”
Curious, I cross over to the passenger side and get in. “Why are we going to the bar?”
“Easy. You’re going to feed.”
I stare at him. “I’m going to do no such thing.”
“Yes, you are. Close your door.” He starts the car and takes a second to scan the street. Probably for his father. I do a quick sweep of my own. This residential street is a quiet one. If any members of Amelie’s family have hidden themselves nearby, I neither hear nor see them.
“You’re starting to resemble Casper the Friendly Ghost, which means you need to chow down on someone.” Patten pulls the car away from the house, forcing me to close my door or get out. “I’m not waiting for you to faint again.”
I close the door since I have no desire to dive out of a moving vehicle.
“I’d rather you did not refer to it as that.”
He shrugs. “Doesn’t change what it is. You need to feed. So we’re going to get you fed.”
“And the reason you’ve decided that you’re the person responsible for this?” I wonder if it’s his refusal to look at me after I fed on him. It made him uncomfortable.
No, his response to the bite did that.
And Patten, for all his seemingly easy-going nature, has more hangups than he lets on.
The drive toPick your poisontakes minutes. It’s only after Patten has parked outside that he cuts the engine and turns to face me. “You do a shit job of looking after yourself.”
But that isn’t all this is.
He moves to get out. I grip his arm, stopping him. “The truth.”
“We’re like the Ninja Turtles, so we have each other’s backs.”
I lift my brow. “Ninja Turtles?”
He nods. “Jade is April, Dominik can be Shredder, the evil one. Shep is the green one or the rat master, you can be the blue one, and I’m Donatello.”
That isn’t the truth. Or it isn’t only the truth. He doesn’t want to talk about the bite, and I don’t want to provoke him into it, especially after he volunteered to feed me.
My brow rises higher. “They wereturtles. And how is it you only remember one of their names?”
He shrugs. “Name just stuck. Now let’s go find you a human juice box. There were a couple of witches in there last time that might do, if you don’t mind something a little sour and bitter tasting.” Shrugging off my arm, he climbs out of the car and heads for the entrance.
Feet from it, I stop him again.
He lifts his brow, waiting for my response.
