Dominique laid a hand on his arm. “When I was in high school… I was pregnant.”
He hadn’t read about that in her file.
“My boyfriend at the time… He didn’t want to have a kid. He told me to get an abortion, but I refused. And so, he beat me. He’d hit me before that, but that was the worst… I thought he was trying to kill me. Maybe he was. I lost the baby… he was the only one I’d told that I was pregnant. I was too afraid to tell anybody else…”
Horror swept through him. He turned to her, his mouth slightly open, but no words came out. Silence filled the room as they stared at one another.
Chapter Eleven
Dominique
Horror was written over every inch of Ivarsson’s face. Even though his mother perhaps had been killed for being pregnant, he still looked shocked and angry over this story. Dominique looked away, wrapping her arms around her middle. Tears filled her eyes, and she heartily wished she hadn’t told him a damn thing. Why did she end up sharing so many personal details with this man? It wasn’t like he cared… Wasn’t like he had any emotion.
She snuck a glance from the corner of her eye to find his expression troubled as he stared out the window again, and a sort of hope rose in her chest. Maybe he was telling the truth when he said he used this persona of uncaring to hide how vulnerable he was. Maybe he did care.
Maybe, knowing what she had been through and seeing that she still managed to care about other people and not go around kidnapping them would help him to see that he did have other choices in life. Maybe it would help him act more consciously towards others. Less hurtful, more caring.
Everyone had their pains. Some had it worse than others. As bad as her life had been, she knew, objectively, Ivarsson had had it worse. She had never been in a situation where she had to kill another person. Never been in a situation where she went hungry on a regular basis. She had experienced plenty of other trauma, though. And she knew that there were people out there going through what he had, or even worse, and not becoming as hardened and jaded as he had.
“What did you do?” he asked quietly. “After… after he killed your child?”
“I was in the hospital for a while. Then I went home to my grandparents and that was it. We never talked about it. My grandmother sometimes would say things like good riddance, talking about my boyfriend, but every time it sounded like she was talking about the baby I lost. I never told her I was pregnant. Never told her I lost… I don’t know what she would have said if she knew. From how she talked about my mother for getting pregnant with me before my parents were married, though…”
Ivarsson reached toward her. He froze halfway there and dropped his hand. “I’m sorry that you went through that, Dominique. I… I wish I hadn’t added to the trauma of your life.”
“Do you really mean that?”
Ivarsson stared out the window and remained silent.
It occurred to her that if he wanted to escape, now would be the time to do it. All he’d have to do is grab her. Threaten her life and use her as a shield to get past the guards and agents and everyone else. He’d be able to do it. She thought about putting distance between the two of them in case the idea occurred to him, but of course, it already had. He was smart, and he was used to turning everything to his own advantage. He’d have already thought of that plan and dismissed it.
“The phone is set up for you to call Turner’s group.”
Ivarsson nodded, then smirked. “You know, he wasn’t in charge. Sure, he was one of the heads, and I dealt with him more than anybody else. But it was hardly ‘his’ group.”
“Well, we don’t know who their leader is, and we can’t just call them ‘the experimental people’ now can we?” Dominique shot back.
He grinned and laughed a full-bellied laugh. Her heart fluttered and seemed to warm, and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling back. There was something very nice about the way he laughed. There even seemed to be lines in his face, around his eyes, that disappeared when he did so. It seemed to ease the weight off his shoulders, too.
All that weight returned as they left the little room he’d been given and made their way back to the middle of the guards. There, he picked up the phone that they’d set up with recording and tracking equipment and dialed a number.
One of the guards handed her a pair of earphones for her to listen to the conversation with and added with a gesture that she was to remain quiet. She nodded.
There was an answer quickly, and Ivarsson immediately launched into an angry tirade. “You fools and idiots! What, did you forget that the dragons were going to be looking for me? Your man Turner brought them down on me! His carelessness got me caught and I barely made it out. For this, I want double.”
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, and then a cool female voice spoke. “Mr. Dickerson, it is regrettable that you were captured by Byrelmore’s forces, but we are hardly in a position to pay you twice. The money we sent with Turner was for a subject that we didn’t even get. As regrettable as it is that you were tracked, it is not our responsibility to pay you for a product that was not delivered.”
“I went through a lot of personal expenses—”
“And without the subject you promised us, a human who had been living with dragons,” here Dominique shivered, hating how coldly she was spoken about, “it will be next to impossible to test our theories on casual exposure to dragons.”
Ivarsson smiled a chilling smile, though he looked at nobody in particular. “And that is why I’m calling you. And why I’m telling you that I will require double the previously agreed upon price.”
***
Audiv and Antonio arrived later that day, both looking grim. While Antonio went over the recorded tapes and looked over security, Audiv pulled Dominique aside and asked her how she was doing. Dominique gave her a tremulous smile and shrugged. She didn’t want to explain all these confusing feelings she had been having toward Ivarsson. Even as angry as she was with him, even though she knew that logically she had no reason to forgive him, she was. She was softening toward him, having thoughts that she wouldn’t allow herself to think when he was her kidnapper.
And she didn’t know if it was worth it or not. If he was really a good man somewhere in that ball of anger and self-absorption, or if it was all an act. She didn’t know if she could trust him or not. And she hated that.
Her friend wrapped an arm around her and gave her a hug. “You don’t have to do this, you know. It’s not too late to call it all off. He can show up without you. The important part is drawing them in.”
“The important part is getting these people and putting them away. Forever. So I have to do whatever I can in order to get this settled. It’s a risk I’m willing to take if it means that other people won’t be taken.”
Audiv gave her an uncertain look. “Are you sure? I mean… things can go wrong.”
“I know.” Dominique wrapped her arms around herself, then let out a shuddering breath.
It wasn’t something she wanted to do, really, and several times she had to wonder if she was crazy or not. But in the end, everything she had heard when talking to Indulf, everything that she had been told by Antonio and the others who had been setting this up, convinced her that this was the right thing to do. She had to see it through.
Dominique shook her head. “They have to be stopped.”
“I know. I just don’t like this. I don’t trust this Ivarsson. I know you don’t know our history, but King Ivar… well, let’s just say we are all lucky that Indulf is nothing like him. But Ivarsson? Seems to have fallen not very far from the tree.”
Audiv’s eyes darkened, and Dominique found herself considering the former king. She had never heard much about him, nor had she thought too much, either. “When did Indulf become king?”
“Centuries ago. I wasn’t born yet. My mother was a maid in the palace, though. A mage, but human and so not allowed any real position. Ivar was much more about dragon superiority,”
she added at Dominique’s questioning look. “Indulf changed a lot of the way things were done. It’s the reason most of us love him, and the reason why so many hate him. Not enough for some people, though…”
Dominique brushed her fingers through her hair, considering. Yes, she knew Indulf—and therefore Ivarsson—were many centuries old. Dragons aged approximately one year for every century they lived. Little Erik, looking only ten years old, was a full thousand already. For his life experiences, though, he still maintained the childish innocence and immaturity of children at the age of ten.
And when a human mated with a dragon, like Anna and Indulf, that human ended up with the same lifespan as a dragon, their age rate slowing down. Those people that they were closest to, friends, family, also aged much slower. And that was what the Turner group were wanting to experiment on her for—to find out why.
Dominique had to admit, she would have liked to know the reasons, too. But not like this.
She sighed. “Well, it’s done. All we can do now is wait.”
***
In the dead of night, a shrill wail woke her. It rang through her brain, turning it to mush. She writhed, clamping her hands over her ears, but it did no good. The darkness swirled with technicolor patterns that made her feel like her brain was bleeding. She was hardly aware of what was going on around her. Pressure bit into her arms and legs and she kicked at it, but more so that she could curl back up in a ball and try to fend off the agony of the piercing shriek than anything else.
She wasn’t even aware that she was being carried until she was tossed into a van and the sound cut out. Beside her, Ivarsson sat with a pair of headphones on. Around him were masked figures. The door to the van slid shut and they tore off. All the while, Dominique panted, trying to pull herself back under control. She thought she was going to throw up, and almost hoped she would because maybe then this nausea would pass.
Ivarsson placed a cool, damp towel on her forehead and tipped a little water into her mouth. “Try to lay still for a bit. You’re going to feel pretty lousy for a while, but not as lousy as the dragons back there. Amazing what a sonic weapon can do, isn’t it?”
She stared up at him blankly.
A small, almost regretful smile crossed his lips. “Don’t look at me like that. Did you really think I was just going to turn myself over to a life behind bars? You should know me better than that. I wasn’t lying when I told them I could get them their test subject back, nor that I wanted twice the payment. You see, with Indulf breathing down our necks, we had already set up a code beforehand. Antonio and his men weren’t just triangulating their position; they were triangulating ours. Their base is already cleaned out, and they knew exactly where to come in order to find us.”
She opened her mouth but found no words, and so closed it again. So, this had all been a trick. A trap. He’d made sure that they did exactly what he wanted… even her.
Tears welled in her eyes as her stomach churned and her hands went cold. He was going to hand her over. Again. Everything she had told him, everything she had thought… she should have known better. Shouldn’t have started to trust him.
“Don’t cry,” Ivarsson’s voice was soft. “Don’t cry, Dominique. This is for the good of all humanity after all. Just think of the people whose lives will be improved because of you.”
She was unbound and thought about attacking but knew it would do no good. So she did the only thing she could think of—curl up in a ball and start to sob.
Chapter Twelve
Ivarsson
Lydia Jenson, the leader of the so-called ‘Turner group’, showed him to a room as soon as he arrived. He wasn’t sure where Dominique was taken, but he tried to tell himself that he didn’t care, that it didn’t matter what happened to her because he had what he wanted now. The room was nice. More than nice, it was swanky. Like an elegant hotel. The room had everything he needed, and the only locking mechanism could only be locked or unlocked from the inside. There was a large window, as well, leading out to a wide, flat meadow that was just the right size to shift in.
“I hope you’ll find your stay comfortable,” Jenson said with a smile. “Your money will be delivered shortly. It’s been a scramble to procure so much in such a short time. However, your delivery of the subject to us is more than worth it. She will give us plenty of information.”
Jenson’s smile widened as she shifted a little closer. Ivarsson scented the beginnings of arousal in the air but pretended that he hadn’t. He didn’t desire this woman. Even if she was beautiful, with long, strong legs, a slender waist and breasts perfectly portioned to her body. Her long, golden hair was wound in a bun, and by all accounts, she was beautiful. But she was cold, and he could imagine that making love to her would be like making love to a robot.
Besides, she was probably only doing it all in order to do some sort of experiment.
“I hope we will be able to continue our business relationship,” Jenson said. “I have many more subjects that I would like you to procure for me.”
Ivarsson nodded. He wanted her to go away already. After his days at the palace, he just wanted to get away from all these people. Find a place where he could truly relax and sleep off these last few months of stress and worry. He turned his back on Jenson. After a moment, her heels clicked toward the door and he found himself needing to ask.
“What sort of experiments are you planning for Dominique?”
Jenson turned back in surprise. “The subject?”
“Yes.” He decided not to point out that Dominique was the subject’s name. After all, Jenson didn’t care. She couldn’t, not if she was going to perform the experiments she had planned. “I’m curious about what you’re planning to do to her. How you’ll find out what sort of changes have happened to her, living surrounded by dragons.”
“Oh. I see.” The furrow to her brow told him that she didn’t understand why he was asking, but that melted away soon enough as she stepped closer once more. “To start with, we’ll be doing some basic tests. Learning her physical condition, mental state, all that. Then we will go from there, comparing her results to the results of individuals who have not had great exposure to dragons. We won’t know exactly what changes have happened with her, since we didn’t have a baseline, but hopefully there is something very clear that we can find.”
“And how long will that take?”
Jenson shook her head. “Probably a few months, at least. We have to see if being away from the dragons causes a change, and then of course there is the stress she is under now—that will have an effect on her for certain.”
A few months? Good. That gave him time. It would be difficult to set himself up as a hero now, after he turned traitor to the deal he and Indulf had. But he was certain he could find a way to get Dominique out of here, before something unfortunate happened to her…
Even though he couldn’t quite convince himself that it was only because he wanted to weaken Indulf further, and that Dominique was the perfect tool for that.
“I hope that you can stay for a while,” Jenson said. “Perhaps observe from time to time? Maybe even provide a blood sample or two… We are very curious as to how a dragon from Byrelmore compares to the earth-born dragons.”
He gave Jenson a searching look before shrugging. “We’ll see. I might be able to stick around for a while… I might not. I’ll have to think about it. Now. It’s been a very trying month and if you’ll excuse me, I need to binge the last season of Wynonna Earp and get something to eat. Good-day, Miss Jenson.”
As soon as she was out, he shut and locked the door.
Over the next few days, Ivarsson found himself drawn to Dominique every day. The first few times, he stood in the observation room and watched as she sat on the bed or paced back and forth. People were in the room constantly, running this test and that, taking blood, hooking her up to equipment, running her through MRI machines.
The second day, he went into the room and tried to talk to her; she fought the s
cientists even with the simplest things, and it would go much easier for her if she just submitted to the tests. But she didn’t. When he came into the room, she tried to attack him.
“Give me a book and I’ll kill you!” she screamed, and the hatred in her eyes said she’d do it, too… At least, she would try.
After that, he stuck to observing. His stomach twisted, and his chest hurt every time, but he couldn’t stop. It was almost like he had to be there, as though it was his obligation since he was the one who had put her in this position in the first place. Jenson was there often, too, though she was more interested in watching him than Dominique. She never spoke to him, though.
One full week later, after he had received his money and planned to leave as soon as it was light out, he wandered the darkened hallways. The security guards nodded to him when he passed them. Once more, he found himself in the observation room. He stared down at Dominique, curled on her bed with her face buried in her pillow. At first, he thought she was sleeping, then he noticed the tremors in her back and the soft sound of ragged breathing.
How much longer could she take of this? His heart felt like it was all twisted up. Was he a monster for doing this?
“Her test results have all been unexpected,” came a cool voice behind him.
Ivarsson had to work to stop himself from jumping in surprise. He turned to see Jenson standing there. She was in her customary business suit, hair done up but with her makeup softer than usual. He nodded toward her, as though he had been expecting her, and turned back to Dominique. Jenson sauntered up to stand beside him and leaned against the wall with her arms folded. It emphasizes the curve of her hip and the swell of her breast.
“I’ve been very pleased with what we’ve found out,” Jenson continued. “It seems that the exposure to dragons has changed her. She is far healthier than her medical records indicate she was before she started living with the dragons. Almost inhumanly healthy, actually. You know she had severe allergies?”
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