Claire cocked her head at me, her smile fleeing her face. “Yes, I checked his pulse. It wasn’t there.”
I scoffed, not really believing he was dead. Turning back to the building, I marched toward it, determined to prove them wrong. “Come on, Storm!”
Why?
Because I was an ass, and I was butthurt that I didn’t save the day. I should be glad. I should be fucking ecstatic that they were alive, but instead, I was brooding.
And no one liked a brooder.
Flinging the door open, I walked into the smoke-filled building, coughing as I waved away the thick haze. It was impossible to see anything in here, especially since they seemed to have started a fire that smoldered like hell, but didn’t produce any flames. I couldn’t even tell where it was coming from.
When the smoke started choking me, I had no choice but to leave. I whistled for Storm and got out of there. I slammed the door behind me, hacking and spitting the acrid taste from my mouth. Derek stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and a grin plastered on his face. The women looked annoyed with me. And Sinner…
Fuck, I wanted to punch him in the face.
“Let’s go,” I said, stomping past them.
“What? No bodies to prove we took them out?” Callie called after me.
I ignored her and kept walking.
“What the hell is your problem? You dragged me into this, and now you’re pissed at me. Why?”
Still, I kept walking.
“Is it because I was taken? Because that wasn’t my fault! None of this is my fault!”
I spun around, nearly crashing into her. My heart was hammering under my skin, and the tight leash I had on my anger was quickly fraying.
“I’m pissed because you were taken. Because I was supposed to protect you, and instead, you were kidnapped right from under my nose. I’m fucking angry as hell that you walked out with the worst fucking fire in the world burning in the building you were being held in. I don’t even want to think about what the hell happened while you were in there! But most of all, I’m so fucking pissed because it was supposed to be me saving the day. And if I can’t do that?—”
I spun away from her, cursing myself for saying too much. I was a fucking pussy, and now she knew it.
I wasn’t sure what I expected after what I just admitted, but it sure as hell wasn’t the snort of laughter that came from her delicate lips.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she laughed. “You’re angry because you didn’t get to be the big hero that rushed to the rescue?”
I glared at her. Why didn’t she get it?
“I’m sorry, was I supposed to wait for you to save me?”
“Yes!”
“Why?”
“Because that’s the way it’s supposed to be!”
“Yeah? And what if you couldn’t find the building?”
I didn’t say a damn thing.
“What if those men were about to kill us, and I had the choice to fight back or sit back and wait for my knight in shining armor to show up? Is that really what you want? You want some damsel who can’t take care of herself?”
“Of course not!”
“But you’re angry that you didn’t get to do the rescuing. Un-fucking-believable!” she shouted.
It was. It truly was. And I had no one to blame but myself. I wasn’t stupid. I knew the whole thing was ridiculous. What man would actually be upset because a woman was able to defend herself?