Page 50 of A Cobbled Conspiracy

The simple exchange felt loaded with everything we weren’t saying. Blake cleared his throat and stood, gathering his tablet and papers with pointed efficiency.

“I have calls to make,” he announced, clearly giving us space to work through our issues.

And then we were alone.

Dominic moved to the coffee maker, going through the motions of preparing a cup. His scent was more controlled than it had been over the past few days, but I could still detect the edge of frustrated alpha underneath his calm facade.

“You’re going to the demolition,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

“I think I should. Adelaide organized a vigil, and after everything that’s happened…”

“I’ll drive you.”

I looked at him sharply. “You don’t need to?—”

“Yes, I do.” His voice carried that tone of alpha authority that brooked no argument. “I’m not letting you go alone.”

“Marcus can drive me.”

“I’m driving you,” Dominic said firmly. “We can continue our fight in the car if necessary, but you’re not walking into a potentially volatile situation with anyone other than me.”

“It’s a peaceful protest,” I said.

“A crowd can shift with the right provocation,” he retorted.

The possessive certainty in his voice made me want to purr with satisfaction even as my rational mind bristled at being managed. But the truth was, I didn’t really want to face the demolition alone. I should insist on going with Blake and Penny and Jake, but maybe it was time to have the conversation we’d been avoiding for the past five days.

“Fine,” I said. “But we leave in ten minutes. I want to get there before…”

“Yeah,” Dominic said grimly.

Dominic parked his silver Aston Martin behind the mature oak trees in the small park area, the same secluded spot where he’d accused me of stalking him months ago. The heavilytinted windows and natural canopy provided privacy while still allowing us to see the demolition activity across the street.

“Look at them,” I said, watching the milling crowd that had organized across from the pharmacy. The crowd included many of the business owners whose shops had been mysteriously spared from Vertex’s acquisition campaign. “They have no idea what you and Blake did to save their businesses.”

The irony wasn’t lost on me—they were here to mourn Paula’s loss while celebrating their own unexpected salvation, not knowing that their good fortune had come at the cost of three hundred strangers’ livelihoods.

“And they don’t need to know,” Dominic replied. “What matters is that their shops are safe. Your shop is safe.”

“What matters is that you bought their safety with other people’s suffering.”

“Leo—”

“No.” I turned to face him in the confined space of the car, frustration and moral conflict making me fist my trembling hands against my knees. “Don’t you dare try to rationalize this again. You destroyed three hundred jobs. Three hundred families lost their income because you decided their lives were worth less than mine.”

“And I’d make the same choice again tomorrow.” Dominic said, his alpha scent growing stronger in the enclosed space.

“That’s exactly the problem!” I was shouting now, the sound echoing off the car’s interior. “You don’t see them as real people with real lives. You see them as acceptable casualties in your campaign to protect what’s yours.”

“Because that’s exactly what they are,” Dominic said, his voice dropping to that dangerous rumble that made my spine straighten involuntarily. “I am bonded toyou, Leo. My loyalty is to you. My responsibility is to you. Not to random corporate employees I’ve probably never met.”

“Those random employees have families who care for them and rely on them!”

“I don’t care.” The words were flat and final. “I don’t care about their families. I don’t care about their mortgages or their health insurance or their retirement plans. I care about you, and I care about protecting what makes you happy.”

His complete lack of empathy was somehow more infuriating than outright cruelty would have been. “You only changed your plans because you mated me,” I said, the words tasting bitter in my mouth. “If we hadn’t bonded, if you hadn’t caught feelings, I could be watching my shop being demolished today right alongside Paula’s pharmacy.”

Dominic’s expression darkened, his scent turning sharp and dangerous. “But we did bond,” he said, his voice carrying a warning edge. “And that changes everything.”