“And she’s helping you find her brother, who is this Dr. Gardner person that the woman last night warned you about?”
“She is.”
“But you hurt her. Rose. You kidnapped her, and what? Tortured her? I can't believe I'm even asking questions like that. How is this my life? How do I know people who would abduct someone they know is innocent and plan to torture them? How can I be attra—” Cassandra cut herself off and shot him another glare.
There was no need for her to finish the sentence, though. He knew what she’d been about to say. How could she be attracted to someone who would use and abuse an innocent person just to satisfy his own craving for revenge.
Attraction alone didn't give him much to work with if he wanted to … get Cassandra back? She’d never really been his to begin with. Was that what he wanted, though? Did he want what Steel had found with Rose? Did he want someone who didn't care that he was damaged, that he was no longer normal, thatsaw him anyway, the man who existed beneath the experiments that had been done to his body?
Dragon wasn't sure. All he knew was that he couldn’t stand Cassandra hating him, viewing him as nothing more than a monster.
“I'm not going to go and stay with you again,” Cassandra said, and from the stubborn jut of her chin, he knew that arguing with her would be pointless. She’d already made her mind up, but the thing was, he had too. At least about this.
“Then I’ll stay here,” he informed her.
“You are not staying in my home,” she all but screeched at him.
Shrugging, Dragon pushed to his feet. “Don’t need to stay inside your house to watch over you, little rabbit,” he told her as he strode across the living room and out the front door.
If Cassandra didn't want to come with him, and she wouldn't let him stay with her, then he’d simply sit in his car in the street to protect her. Whatever it took, he wouldn't allow Dr. Gardner to lay a finger on the only good and pure thing he had in his life. Even if that good and pure thing currently hated his guts.
January 5th
2:06 A.M.
This was crazy.
Why was Dragon still sitting in his car outside her house?
He’d been out there for hours.Hours. He hadn't budged, other than to knock on her door twice and ask if he could use the bathroom.
Cassandra had been tempted to tell him no, just so he would have to leave for a bit, but then the thought of him not being close by temporarily paralyzed her vocal cords, and all she could do was give a single nod.
She knew him well enough to know that when his big body brushed against hers as he walked past her, it was no accident. He wanted her to be affected by his presence, and she absolutely hated that her body was.
Her body.
Not her mind.
She was clinging to control of that with every drop of strength she possessed.
While of course she was glad that the guys had stopped their plan to use this Rose woman before things got taken too far, that didn't negate the fact that they had abducted the woman and hurt her in some way. Nor did the fact that the woman had jumped sides and was now working with them, and apparently dating Steel.
Imagining the large man who could crush a human skull with his bare hands fawning all over a woman was pretty difficult. Steel was always so tightly in control, he was Delta Team’s leader, and he took that responsibility seriously. She was glad he’d found someone who saw past all that. Hard to imagine or not, she was happy for the couple if they were happy.
One thing she’d always known about the men of Delta Team was that they were absolutely not the monsters they feared themselves to be. It was why she had been so adamant about leaving, and staying away, when she learned of their plans to use someone to get their revenge. Doing that made them monsters, because only monsters hurt completely innocent people.
Yet apparently, Rose had gotten over it. She wished she knew the woman’s secret.
How did you get over something like that?
How did you forgive people who had tortured you?
What kind of woman was Rose Gardner?
Since she wasn’t going to get answers to any of those questions, Cassandra let the curtain slip back into place as she stepped away from the window. There was absolutely zero chance that she was going back to Delta Team’s Gothic mansion, so she wasn't going to meet Rose and get a chance to ask her questions.
Even though she had no intention of falling back into Dragon’s orbit, she couldn’t deny that she felt safe knowing he was right outside. Just because she didn't think she was in any danger from the woman who had given her the warning, it didn't hurt to be extra safe in case someone else learned of her connection to the guys and decided to exploit it. The stranger had had ample time to kill her if that was the goal, even though that would have been counterproductive since she wanted Cassandra to pass along a message, but that didn't mean this Dr. Garnder man would feel the same way.
