Page 115 of Iron
Blade lit a match with a slight smile on his face. He let it burn until the whole book of matches caught fire. Then he dropped it and walked away.
The car I had been driving pulled out, Garan now at the wheel and Midori’s mom sitting in the seat beside him. Her eyes were locked on the rising flames but there wasn’t an ounce of horror in her expression.
Iron rolled out first, following behind the car.
The sound of the bikes burned in my ears the entire two hours it took to get to the small, private landing strip. My arms were wrapped around Iron’s waist and not once did his body relax against my hold.
He rolled to a stop but didn’t move.
I gracefully dismounted the bike not bothering to fix my dress after I was standing.
His arms came out and his hands jerked the bottom hem down in place. Then he snagged my chin and held it firmly while he looked into my eyes.
Staring deep into his eyes, I saw the fear behind the fury. His jaw worked angrily but he didn’t open his mouth to voice any of the thoughts running through his head.
My hands went to his face, cupping his beard in my palms.
His body slightly sagged as he breathed out a long, slow sigh through his nose. Then he pulled me to him, his lips crashing into mine. When he broke away, his mouth moved to my ear.
“I love you, Pet,” he said softly, however, his tone still held a dark edge. “But if it’s ever a choice between my life and yours, I will always choose to keep you safe.”
He released me and was rolling away before I could say anything back.
A tear strangely slid down my cheek as I watched his back ride away from me.
“You should have told him,” Garen said from behind me with a tinge of humor in his tone.
I straightened and brushed the tear away before I turned to give him a hard glare.
“Let’s go, Petra,” he said and then stepped to the side to let me go first.
I knew I’d return before Iron and that I’d have hours to wait, wondering what was to come.
I not only had left him out of my plan after he made it clear that he had my back, but I’d also put the fear that he could have lost me to Death front and center in his mind. I pushed him too far and I had a feeling once you did that, Iron wasn’t as laid-back as he appeared to be.
