Struggling to keep his frustration in check, he leaned over her. “Jace and I will take care of the clean up. We’re here for you, Dana. For you. Get used to it.”
Her lips tightened around the edges and he waited for the inevitable argument. For several seconds they just stared at each other in a mute battle of the wills. Finally Dana’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Fine. I suppose having two extra pairs of hands will make it go faster anyway.”
He stifled his grin at her surly acquiescence and straightened. “Life would be a lot simpler if you were less stubborn.”
“For you, maybe.” She gave him a saccharine smile. “But why would I want to make things simple for you?”
His grin stretched wider and the inner beast growled in approval. Ah yes, his little sacrifice certainly knew how to properly challenge a dragon.
Chapter Eleven
By the time she locked up the gallery and trailed after Aiden and Jace to the Navigator, Dana felt like she’d been put through the emotional wringer. Sure, the meeting with the insurance adjuster had been relatively painless, but shoving her damaged paintings into oversized Hefty bags had pitched her into a dark depression. Jace opened her door and she climbed onto the passenger seat, listlessly hooking the seat belt over her shoulder.
“You all right?”
Noting the concern softening Jace’s expression, she plastered on a weak smile. “Just tired.”
Jace didn’t look entirely convinced by her answer but he thankfully shut her door without further comment. Aiden settled behind the wheel and granted her a frown identical to his brother’s before merging with the traffic clogging Main Street. She shifted in her seat and shivered when the cold air blowing through the vent blasted the side of her arm. Without saying a word, Aiden reached out and adjusted the vent, aiming it away from her. His thoughtfulness pricked her conscience. He and Jace had bent over backward today to help her with everything. Because of them, the past six hours were less of a nightmare than they could have been. And how did she repay them? By being sullen and testy. It wasn’t their fault she couldn’t stop thinking about the break-in and scary female dragons with strap-ons.
Lolling her head on the neck rest, she gave Aiden a halfhearted smile. “I haven’t been the best company today.”
“Understandable.”
“Maybe, but I haven’t even thanked you both for cleaning up the gallery.”
“Dana, we’re here for—”
“Me,” she said on a soft sigh. “I know. Trust me, you’ve told me enough times it’s starting to sink in.”
“Good. Maybe now rather than argue with us, you’ll let me and Jace take care of you.”
That was highly doubtful. She didn’t have the heart to point it out to him though. “Tell you what, you can take care of me by stopping at La Luna so I can pick up a pizza. It’ll save me having to scrounge something for us to eat later.”
“Deal.” It wasn’t until Aiden nodded vigorously that she suspected his enthusiasm had more to do with avoiding her cooking than a love for pizza.
They arrived at La Luna thirty minutes later. Thanks to Aiden’s cell phone she’d been able to call their order in ahead of time. Hopefully she’d be able to sneak in and out without tipping Emmaline off about being in the vicinity.
Aiden coasted to a stop. She unclipped her seat belt and reached for the door handle. Aiden and Jace did the same.
“Really, you guys don’t have to—” She gritted her teeth when the brothers climbed outside. “Why do I even waste my breath?” Gripping the armrest, she jumped to the pavement and slammed the door closed with her elbow.
Inside the restaurant, she was greeted by Emmaline and Tiffany at the hostess stand. Dana sent Tiffany a narrow-eyed stare that earned a sheepish look from the younger woman.
“Your aunt cornered me in the hall when she overheard me giving your order to Raul.”
Her expression triumphant, Emmaline stacked her arms over her chest. “Next time don’t order your usual if you’re hoping to fly under my radar.”
Dana muffled a groan. Damn, busted by a personal-sized pizza with chorizo sausage and extra mushrooms. “I was planning to stop by your office.”
Emmaline cocked one eyebrow, her I-can-see-straight-through-your-bullshit trademark. “And were you planning to tell me about the break-in at the gallery during this alleged visit?”
Dana’s mouth fell open. “How did you hear about that?”
“Luann Wells is dating the dispatcher for the Warren PD. He told her about the call and she phoned me twenty minutes ago to find out if you’re okay. Seeing how you didn’t answer your cell or the gallery’s phone, I didn’t know what to tell her.”
“The battery in my cell phone died.” Dana grimaced. The excuse sounded pathetic even to her. She lifted her shoulder in a half shrug. “Plus I didn’t want to worry you.”
Emmaline tossed her arms out in a dramatic flourish. “Why would I be worried? You haven’t called me in over a day, someone broke into your gallery, and you’re being escorted around town by two dra—”
Aiden and Jace coughed in warning, effectively stalling the incriminating word before it completely left Emmaline’s mouth. Everyone glanced at Tiffany. Unabashed curiosity sparkled in the girl’s wide eyes. Dana didn’t doubt for a second that every detail of this encounter would be later recounted to the rest of the staff.
“Maybe we should finish this conversation in private?” Though Aiden phrased it as a polite inquiry there was no mistaking the steely authority in his tone.
Surprisingly Emmaline didn’t balk. Dana suspected it had more to do with her aunt wanting to get her questions answered than anything else. Her back stiff, Emmaline led the way to her office. Once inside, she parked her fanny on the corner of her desk and divided her glare between Dana, Aiden and Jace.
“Someone care to fill me in on what the devil is going on in my niece’s life?” Her eyes flashing fire, Emmaline wagged a finger in Aiden’s direction. “Let’s start with why your people are trashing Dana’s gallery.”
Dana groaned. This is what I get for hankering after pizza. Why didn’t I just have them drive through McDonald’s? “They didn’t have anything to do with what happened,” she said, trying to inject some calm into her voice.
“Actually, we shouldn’t rule out the possibility.”
Dana whipped her head around and stared at Aiden. “What?”
Aiden scrubbed a hand over his jaw, his expression guarded. “There’s a chance a Drakoni might have played a part in the break-in.”
Thrown off balance by his startling newsflash, Dana groped behind her for the couch. Reasonably assured she wasn’t about to fall on her ass, she plunked onto the cushion. “I don’t understand. Why would they do something so…hateful?”
“Probably to scare you.”
She frowned. “Into accepting the sacrifice?”
“Or not accepting it.”
This was all becoming a little too The Godfather meets Dungeons and Dragons for her. Aiden stepped in front of her, his crotch directly in her line of sight. Like she needed that distraction. Rubbing her temples, she dragged her focus upward until their gazes locked. “I thought talking me into the sacrifice was the whole point of you being here.”
“There are those who probably wish to see me fail.”
She wasn’t sure what to make of Aiden’s flat, emotionless tone. If she suspected someone was trying to deviously sabotage her she’d probably go ape shit on the no-good backstabbers. “Sounds like you Drakonis are a little on the traitorous side.”