Page 30 of Dragon Flames
“His touch became more insistent. He began kissing me, shoving his hands under my clothes.” Her face turns expressionless, her voice monotone. “I protested, tried to fight back, but he pinned me to the wall and shoved his hands…”
She shakes her head, her eyes turning hard as diamonds. “The more I protested, the more determined he became. He said it was his right to break in girls like me. That I was special. When he took things further, I fought back. He got rougher, grinding against me. I blacked out, only becoming aware when I heard his screams.”
She shakes her head again, heaving a sigh, like reliving the details has tired her out. “I staggered out of the dressing room, covered in ash and blood, only to find the police waiting. I was arrested and immediately sent to prison. For ten years, I never saw the outside of those cinder block walls.”
I lost my ability to speak after her second sentence. I grip the arms of the chair to keep from leaping across the table and pulling her into my arms. Bits and pieces of chipped wood are scattered across my lap where my talons have gouged into the furniture as I wrestled to keep my fury in check.
“It wasn’t your fault.” I bite out the words, barely able to speak past my fangs.
Her head jerks up, and she tosses me a fierce scowl. “I fucking know that!”
I tilt my head to the side, ignoring her outburst. “I don’t think you do. None of that should’ve ever happened. He should’ve been removed as your escort the instant he touched you. Kissing and more liberties should’ve resulted in him being fined and even jailed.”
“Instead of protecting your honor, your parents accepted money to keep quiet,” Elias says, his green eyes whirling as his dragon battles for control.
Felicia slumps back into her seat with a caustic laugh. “I should be grateful. They were so outraged that I killed my attacker that they handed me over to the penitentiary instead of directly to Gresky. If they hadn’t tried to extort more money from him, I doubt I would still be alive.”
My skin burns, wrath spreading like a fever, and it’s all I can do not to hunt down her fucking family down right now and punish them for the way they treated her. While I’m fiercely glad that shit stain Rupert is gone, I mourn the chance to personally rip him into itty-bitty, bloody pieces.
I’ll just have to content myself by planning how I’m going to make Lord Gresky suffer. Taking down his empire is just the first step.
I won’t be appeased until the bastard is rotting in hell.
And I can’t wait to send him there personally.
* * *
FELICIA
Iclench my hands so none of the guys can see them tremble. Though I can barely manage to meet their eyes, I refuse to be cowed. Their judgment means nothing…or so I try to tell myself. Their outrage on my behalf has tears burning the backs of my eyes, but I refuse to blink and let them fall.
I shed all the tears during the first week of my incarceration. I absolutely refuse to let Rupert take anything else from me.
A low, continuous rumble emerges from Darius, his eyes unblinking during the whole story. I don’t think he’s even aware of doing it. It’s like he froze. When he turns toward Preston, his movements are slow and measured. His posture is brittle, and I watch him warily, not sure I want to see what happens if he shatters.
“I’m going to dig into the debutante ball and find out how many females were invited to attend, then failed to show. I want you to track the money—check Gresky’s financials, the ball organizers, anonymous donations to the girls, and anything else that catches your interest. Anything you can find.” Darius then turns toward Elias. “Gresky isn’t going to let her go easily. Check out their security, find any weaknesses we can exploit. I want to be ready when he attacks.”
The guys accept their orders without complaint.
It’s almost reassuring.
I glance at Darius, leaning forward in my seat. “What should I do?”
As one, the guys turn toward me, and it’s all I can do not to wilt under their combined stares.
Darius looks like he’s being forced to chew glass. I narrow my eyes at him, daring him to brush me off. To my shock, he nods.
“Elias is our weapons master. He’ll find you when he’s finished his task. He’ll put you through your paces and decide what kind of training you need to fill in the gaps in your education.” Darius shoves to his feet, clearly unhappy at the thought of putting me in danger.
I want to laugh at the absurdity. Instincts and my own skills are the only things that kept me alive during the past decade. I’m not sure I even remember what it feels like not to be on alert every second of the day.
I will not play the helpless damsel in distress to soothe their egos.
He marches out of the room before I can spit out any of the words blistering my tongue.
Glancing at Elias, I do my best to stifle the blush burning my cheeks when I remember the last time we were alone together. “What time works best?”
“Give me an hour. I’ll come find you.” Then he stands, leaving me staring at his broad back when he disappears out the door.
