Page 70 of The Runaway
“I want to come with you to Paris,” she announced, back straight, head held high. She addressed the declaration to Gabriel, rather than to Niles.
Niles snapped to attention like he’d been struck by a whip. “You what?” he asked, mouth hanging open in shock.
Adalene took a deep breath, then calmly repeated herself – though her fierce scowl displayed her true mood. “I want to come with you to Paris,” she said.
“Are you out of your raving mind?” Henry asked, from where he was hitching Pearl to the harness.
“I don’t believe she was asking you,” Gabriel snapped in reply, tossing a mild glare Henry’s way. He’d seen enough of the rivalry between the omegas in recent months to know when to head off an argument.
“Sorry, sir,” Henry said, then returned his full attention to the horse.
Gabriel turned to Adalene, in no particular hurry to reply to her. This was not a request he’d anticipated, and he was wondering how best to tease out her reasons for wanting to go. He could, of course, just ask her directly, but with Niles standing there, he wasn’t sure he’d get an honest answer.
Unfortunately, his traveling companion possessed no such patience. “It’s far too dangerous,” Niles said. “It’s out of the question.”
Adalene raised a haughty eyebrow at him. “It’s too dangerous for an omega, but an alpha gets to go?”
Gabriel opened his mouth to say it was equally dangerous for alphas, but Niles beat him to it. “Gabriel’s a trained soldier, and Antoine only let me go if Gabriel looks out for me. And with Connor as well, Gabriel’s got his hands full. You can’t come as well.”
Adalene’s gaze settled on Gabriel. “You’re going to protect not just yourself but two other people from hoards of crazed rioters jammed into narrow city streets and facing off against a military force wielding guns?”
Just at that moment, Antoine came striding into the stable, Connor at his heels. “Looks like you’re all set,” he announced, then stopped as he took in not only Adalene’s presence, but her rigid posture as well. “What’s going on?”
“Adalene would like to come to Paris with us,” Gabriel explained. He refrained from saying anything else for the moment. Legally, he didn’t own Adalene, and so Antoine would have to be the one to make this decision. But if he refused for the wrong reasons, Gabriel was more than willing to lean on him to get him to reconsider.
“Oh, for goodness sake,” Antoine muttered. “Much more of this and I’m going to lose half this estate to the goddamn riots in Paris.”
“Meanwhile, hundreds of omegas in Paris are losing their lives,” Connor said, looking Antoine in the eye. “But that’s just a minor detail.”
If Antoine was offended by Connor’s biting comment, he didn’t let it show. He turned his gaze on Adalene. “Why do you want to go?”
Adalene’s gaze didn’t waver from Antoine’s for even half a second. “I want to help the omegas. They’re being slaughtered, and it’s up to us to stand up to the military and show them that this won’t be tolerated.”
“You didn’t want to help the omegas yesterday,” Antoine pointed out. “Or the day before that.”
Adalene shrugged. “It’s the sort of decision that requires careful thought. And if Niles and Gabriel are going, then I’d be in good company.”
Gabriel clenched his jaw shut to suppress the urge to smile. Adalene was playing Antoine like a fiddle, and though they both knew it, he could also see that Antoine was going to have a hard time finding a decent reason to refuse her.
“You could be killed,” Antoine said. “I don’t think you realise just how violent it’s going to get up there. It’s no place for an omega.”
“Connor gets to go,” Adalene said.
“Connor had an extended conversation with Gabriel about how dangerous it was going to be, whereas you haven’t discussed this with us first.”
Adalene paused at that. Gabriel expected her to open said discussion, asking for a detailed description of the dangers – just so she could then say they’d had that conversation. What she said instead surprised him. “So there’s going to be mobs of people abandoning all reason because they’re feeding off each other’s anger. There are going to be buildings and carriages set on fire, horses stampeding in terror, soldiers shooting people without bothering to find out who they are, people dying in the streets with gaping wounds and missing limbs, and wandering alphas capturing and raping stray omegas because they think they can get away with it while the rest of the city is in chaos. How am I doing so far?”
“That pretty much covers it,” Gabriel said. Perhaps he was just playing devil’s advocate, but he was impressed with her forethought, even as he was suspicious of her true motives.
Antoine gave her a long look, weighing up her answers. His gaze drifted across to Connor, then Niles, then finally to Dante, who had slipped into the stable sometime in the last few minutes and was watching the exchange with an intense interest. No doubt he’d had some heartfelt words to say to Antoine this morning after breakfast.
“All right,” Antoine said finally. “You may go.” He flinched slightly. “Please do your best to come back in one piece.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Half an hour later, the last of their luggage was packed, a satchel of food had been added to their supplies and the horses had been led out into the yard. The carriage gleamed in the morning sun, proudly kept in pristine condition by Dante’s careful hand.
“God be with you,” Antoine said, shaking Gabriel’s hand as they prepared to leave. “The lot of you, all look after each other,” he said, glancing at each of them in turn.