But who could she find that would want to care for another man’s child?
Chapter Four
Isabella wriggled her nail under the envelope flap and tore it open, certain the bill would be minimal. She hadn’t used her credit card in weeks, not since the last set of book covers for her business. That bill had been paid off already, so this one should have been all zeroes. Or maybe it was a letter from the credit company asking why she hadn’t purchased anything because they liked to make sure people were using their cards.
The paper she pulled out of the envelope had the familiar bill format. She unfolded it, and her stomach plummeted to the ground.
“I can’t pay this,” she whispered, tears burning her eyes.
Somehow, the bill had come to nearly a thousand dollars. She scrambled back inside and grabbed her purse, dumping it out to check her receipts. As she frantically flattened every crumpled receipt, they all said the same thing.
Cash.
She’d paid everything with the cash withdrawn from her savings account, just like she thought. The credit bill didn’t make any sense, but she checked her online orders, just in case a company accidentally double charged her. Again, she found nothing out of the ordinary.
So, why was her credit bill astronomical?
“Everything alright?” Dillon’s rumbling voice entered the room.
She looked up, certain tears were flooding her cheeks. Dillon’s lips parted and a look of panic widened his eyes as he fumbled forward.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Isabella swallowed. His concern warmed her, though she knew he probably didn’t care.
He touched her cheek and tilted her chin up, so she had to look at him. The gentle stroke of his thumb along her cheek eased a bit of the ache in her chest and allowed her to breathe again. For a moment, she could believe that Dillon wanted her.
It was a dangerous daydream. If she allowed herself to believe in it, then she would only find herself with a broken heart when the bubble finally burst.
“I can’t pay this,” she whispered. She pulled away from Dillon’s touch and wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I can’t pay it right now. This is going to take forever to pay off. The interest is going to kill me.”
“I don’t mind helping you cover necessities.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t…” Tears choked her again. She probably looked like a mess. Her cheeks had to be red again. “I didn’t buy anything.”
Dillon immediately straightened. His eyes narrowed. Her heart lurched, terrified.
“I d-d-don’t know how this happened! I promise! T-t-this isn’t my fault.” Hiccups interrupted her tears now.
She never meant to make Dillon angry. Incompetence seemed to be sewn into her very being. She couldn’t avoid it, no matter how hard she tried to make her life better. He probably thought less of her for getting knocked-up, too.
A growl left Dillon’s throat. She flinched.
“I’m scaring you,” Dillon said, his voice filled with regret. “I should leave.”
Isabella’s head snapped up, but Dillon was already gone. She never imagined a man as large as him could move so fast. Confusion left her head feeling hollow. She couldn’t figure out what just happened.
Her immediate reaction had been to blame herself when Dillon’s anger had surfaced. Years of loving the wrong men had left her with janky instincts. Without Dillon standing over her, her pulse slowed, and things started to make sense.
“He’s not angry at me,” she said as she came to the realization.
She wiped away the last of her tears, shook herself, and got to her feet. Dusting off her knees, she came up with a plan. She would have liked Dillon to accompany her, but he’d already vanished, and she wasn’t sure if hunting him down was a good idea.
She didn’t know anything about the dragon men. If she found Dillon, she might interrupt something he needed to do. Not that she knew what he would need to do. That was his business, not hers.
This bill was her business. She snatched it off the floor and marched out to her car. It wasn’t much, just an old sedan she’d bought off a neighbor for a grand. It got her back and forth, and that was all that mattered. With the keys in the ignition and the bill on the passenger seat, she called her ex.
She got him to agree to meet at a neutral place. Never again would she step foot in his trailer. The idea of being alone with Tommy sent a shiver through her core. He’d never hit her, but the threat had always been there. Every time he moved, she’d flinched, waiting for the punch that never came. The stress of not knowing when he would finally snap had left her feeling fragile.
Inside, she claimed a table in the far corner and adjusted her sweater even though she wasn’t even showing yet. If Tommy found out that she was pregnant, she would never get rid of him. He would haunt her until she terminated it. He never wanted her to have anything that made her happy.
He wanted her weak and scared.
That wasn’t who she was anymore. She wasn’t afraid, wasn’t quaking.
Yet, the sight of him at the bar made her pulse race. He strolled in, his chin high and his blonde hair perfectly styled. He winked at the bartender as he passed the bar. Then, his cold, black eyes landed on Isabella.
Isabella shrank into her seat, rethinking every decision she’d ever made. Though her pulse surged with cold adrenaline, she began to wonder what she’d ever seen in him. Sure, Tommy had dimples when he smirked, but the smirk now made her stomach turn. She waited for a forked tongue to slip out from between his lips.
Tommy slid into the bench seat across from her. She swallowed and pushed the bill toward him.
“W-when did you take my card?” Her determination wavered when he pinned her with that cold glare.
“Your card? I thought it was our card?” The corner of his mouth quirked with confidence.
He thought he had this won, that she would back down and run back to whatever hole she’d been hiding in. The longer she stared at him, the more she realized she’d never seen these clothes before. There was a new diamond in his ear, too.
Isabella sat up straighter. “That card has my name on it. Not yours.”
“You weren’t even using it,” he said with a shrug.
“I use that card for my business, Tom.”
He sneered, clearly confused. “What business? Being a whore?”
Her jaw dropped.
“I heard you’re shacking up in that cabin with a bunch of out-of-towners. Your girlfriend introduced you to them so you could be passed around, too?”
“Tom!” Isabella’s face burned with unimaginable heat.
“I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. All this time, I thought you were a little prude. Guess all I had to do was throw a little bit of money at you to turn you into a freak? Would that have opened the backdoor for me? Or would you still have kept me from having fun?”
Bile reached the back of her throat. If she didn’t run for the bathroom now, she would definitely throw up on Tommy. While he deserved it, she didn’t want him to even suspect she was pregnant.
Swallowing her bile, she tried to pull her gaze up from the table, but she couldn’t manage it. “I’m not sleeping with anyone. They’re letting me live there while I save a little more money.”
“That’s a fucking lie. No man would let you mooch off him without getting a little in return. Which one are you fucking? Is it the weirdo with the sunglasses? The slow one? All of them?” Tommy reached across the table and snatched her wrist.
She swallowed her whimper as his fingers dug into her skin and bone. He held her in place. She couldn’t escape.
Of course, he knew just how to keep her under his control. Whenever she’d been mad at him before, he’d always hugged her and forced her to stay and listen to his empty apologies until she accepted them. If she disagreed with him, he blocked her path until she had no other choice than to lie and say she understood.
Once more, he threw up walls
around her. She had no other direction to turn in. He was the only one who could allow her to get through. Tommy had always held the keys to her cage.
***
Dillon couldn’t stand to listen to this conversation any longer. He’d tried to give Isabella her space. She didn’t even know Dillon had followed her. He’d stayed back, keeping an eye out just to make sure she stayed safe, but this man hadn’t even given her the chance to bring up the bill.
Dillon stalked toward the table. He stepped lightly until he stood behind the human man. Isabella blinked up at Dillon, clearly surprised by his presence. Dillon offered her a wink that he worried might have given the wrong impression, but her shoulders slowly eased away from her ears.
Her relief warmed him, but he didn’t have the time to be soft just then. He wanted to throw the human man outside and make sure he never came near Isabella again. But first, the bill needed to be paid, and Isabella wasn’t going to be the one to pay it.
Dillon put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder and leaned in close. “You shouldn’t talk to a woman like that. Isabella is too pretty and kind for you to treat her this way.”
Tommy startled and tried to get away, but he was locked in the booth. The only way out was past Dillon. He couldn’t have planned this better himself.
Dillon didn’t move. He put a hand on the back of the booth seat and another on the table, further barring Tommy’s escape. The human scrambled back before gathering himself and jutting out his chin. The guy turned away from Dillon and fixed Isabella with a glare.
“You brought your sugar daddy?” he sneered.
Dillon grabbed the guy by the chin so that he had to stare up at Dillon. “Quit being a piece of shit.” Dillon jerked his head toward the credit bill on the table. “Pay her back.”
The guy yanked his face from Dillon’s grip. A sneer twisted his lips. “I’m not paying shit. She left and took my stuff. It’s her fault I had to use her credit card.”
Isabella’s jaw dropped. “You bought designer clothes and a diamond earring! That’s not replacing anything I took with me. Things that were mine, by the way.”
Had Erik or Gavin been the one standing over this table, they would have snatched the earing out of the man’s ear. They would have left him bleeding and crying. Dillon didn’t want to make Isabella watch that kind of cruelty. He didn’t want her to see him as a monster.
No matter how badly he wanted this man to hurt.
Dillon snatched the bill from the table and slapped it against the man’s chest. “If you haven’t paid this bill in a week, then expect a visit from me and my friends.”
“Dillon, that’s not necessary,” Isabella said.
Dillon could tell that it was. A man’s only driving forces were fear and love. Since this guy was clearly incapable of love, then Dillon had to be the most frightening force in the guy’s life or else nothing would get done.
Isabella put her hand on Dillon’s forearm. He glanced toward her and found her silently pleading with him. Her cheeks had drained of color. His stomach dropped as a wave of concern crashed into him.
Dillon nodded and leaned back, waiting for Isabella to join him. They got two steps away before the guy found his balls and shouted:
“I see you’re being a good little bitch for them!”
Dillon had never moved faster in his life. He spun, his fist flying. He swore he could feel three of the man’s teeth shattering. Someone in the background gasped. Another patron cried out.
The man’s eyes rolled into the back of his head before he slumped, unconscious.
When Dillon turned, Isabella had a hand over her mouth. She darted for the door before Dillon could even mutter an apology. He’d never acted so rashly before in his life. Standing alone in the back of the bar, he realized his beast had slithered beneath his skin.
Dillon spared a glance back at the guy. Blood painted the corner of the man’s lips. Without thinking, Dillon carefully pried the diamond stud from the guy’s ear and pocketed it.
Chapter Five
Outside, Isabella found a corner of the parking lot to throw up in.
Dillon had arrived to save her from Tommy, and she couldn’t even keep down her breakfast long enough to say thank you. Her gut clenched once more, threatening another round of dry heaving. She sent a silent prayer, begging for the heaving to end, to whoever was listening. The powers that be must have been listening because her stomach finally settled.
She couldn’t have looked great, though. A fine sheen of sweat made her curls cling to her forehead. If she looked in a mirror, she probably would have found that her eyes were bloodshot.
Dillon pushed through the bar’s front doors. He looked up and down the street for her, his brows furrowed. She pulled a couple of tissues from her purse, one to wipe her nose and another to clean her mouth.
He’s going to smell vomit on my breath!
Isabella frantically searched her purse for a mint, but the best she could come up with was a tube of mint scented lip balm. With nothing else to use, she hoped this would somewhat cover the scent of her morning sickness.
When she finally approached Dillon, his brows sloped upward, softening his hardened expression.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
For what? Intervening on her behalf? Punching her ex and knocking him out?
She shook her head. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
Dillon grunted like he didn’t believe her.
“Did you drive here?” she asked, keeping her distance so he wouldn’t be able to smell vomit on her breath.
“Nah.” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, making him seem younger. “I kind of broke the rules.”
He proceeded to pull his hands close to his shoulders and flap them like he was a bird. Her lips formed a wide O of surprise.
“Not supposed to do that where people can see me.”
She nodded, kind of disappointed that she’d missed out on seeing him in action. It was one thing to know these men were capable of turning into dragons, but it was another to see it firsthand. She wanted to know if they were as majestic as she imagined. How could they not be?
“I can take you home, but I’d like to stop at the grocery store first. You helped me a lot back there, and I’d like to make you dinner.” It was the least she could do.
Tommy had tried to shame her into being submissive again. He’d hurled insult after insult at her with the hopes of breaking down everything she’d rebuilt about herself. It would have worked had Dillon not stepped in.
She pulled out her keys and paused. “Do you really think I’m pretty?”
Dillon fixed her with his blue gaze, the edges of his irises turning yellow. “You’re the prettiest lady I’ve ever set eyes on.”
She tried not to burst out laughing. “You haven’t met a lot of women then.”
He cocked his head and stared at her. After a moment passed, he approached her until there was barely any space left between them. He towered over her, but his presence didn’t elicit the same reaction that Tommy’s did. With Dillon close, she felt safe.
“What?” she asked as she craned her neck to look up at him.
The corners of his mouth tilted upward into an almost smile. He gently tugged a tendril of her hair away from her forehead, his fingers trailing down the side of her face. She shuddered as a thrill raced up her spine.
“I have seen a lot of women dolled up for the clubs I worked at. You beat them all.” His hand grazed her elbow before he stepped around her.
Cold air rushed in and filled the now empty space before her. She cleared her throat, unable to push back the thunder of her excited heartbeat. When she turned, Dillon waited patiently by the passenger door of her car.
She couldn’t believe he meant anything he said. To her, Dillon was just being nice. She’d had a bad day, and Dillon was trying to make her feel better in his own way.
Isabella hadn’t bothered to put on an ounce of make-up. She didn’t dare put on masca
ra or eyeliner for fear that it’d race down her cheeks by the end of the day, either from her tears or her vomiting—which always made her eyes water. To hide her body, she’d donned a massive sweater despite the warming temperatures.
There was no way that man found her attractive. She didn’t even know how Tommy could assume that any of the dragon men would want her.
They drove to the grocery store in silence. Dillon tapped his fingers on his knee to the beat of the song on the radio. The silence was comfortable. No tension hung in the air, souring the moment. Dillon didn’t ask her why she’d tried to confront Tommy on her own. He didn’t bring up the nasty things Tommy had said to her even though Dillon must have heard.
She didn’t say anything until they stood in the meat section of the grocery store. The smell of blood and flesh nearly overpowered her. Was this how the world smelled to the dragon men all the time? Did she temporarily have superpowers? If so, then they sucked.
“Dinner?” she squeaked. Annoyed with herself, she scowled and cleared her throat.
Dillon smirked, probably holding back a laugh. The smirk faded, soon followed by the rise of his brows. “Are you okay? You’re green.”
Unsure if she would puke if she opened her mouth, she tapped the tip of her nose.
“Ahhhh. I’ve heard of that happening.” He searched around, like he hoped to find something that would help. When it seemed he could find nothing, he shook his head and put his hands on his hips.
“It’s okay. I can deal with it,” she assured him.
“Should I order dinner instead?”
She laughed. “The whole point of this trip was for me to pay you back. I can’t do that if you’re the one to buy dinner.”
“Go wait outside,” he told her. “I’ll pick up the ingredients. You won’t have to deal with this.”
“Why are you so nice?” she blurted out. “Not that I expected you to be mean! It’s just that I’m not used to…this. To men being nice. Tommy was…You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met before.”
Finding The Forgotten (Rogue Dragons Book 2) Page 3