Dragon's Fire [PUP Squad Alpha 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Abby Blake Page B

learn he’d been left out of the party.”
    “True,” Ronan said, smiling at Ava. “We’ll keep you and your baby safe, Ava. I know it’s not going to be easy, but try and get some rest. We’ll let you know when it’s all over.”
    Ava nodded, but she knew she wouldn’t rest until she could talk to Brody.
    Kali finally let go of the death grip she had on Ava’s hand. “You know how to call me if you need me,” she said as she moved away. And, as if a lightbulb switched on in her head, Ava realized that she actually did know. It wasn’t quite telepathy, but she could somehow contact Kali with her mind. She wasn’t even sure how it worked. Only that it did. She nodded as Kali and her men left the room.
    Alone with the men she loved, Ava tried to hold her emotions together long enough to sort a few things out.
     
    * * * *
     
    Nathan could see anger, fear, and determination practically rippling over his friend’s skin. He’d known Brody a long time and could see what it was costing the man to hold himself away from Ava. Clearly he blamed himself for the danger she was in.
    “Go to him,” Nathan said as he loosened his hold. “He needs you.”
    “I need you both,” she said anxiously.
    He smiled. “I’m not going anywhere, Ava. It doesn’t matter if our babies are dragon or human. I’m here for the long haul.”
    Brody exhaled a sound of relief that made him wonder if the dragon-shifter had thought he would walk away and leave Ava behind. When all this was over, he’d be sure to smack the man upside his head. He should have more faith in his friends.
    “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Brody said as he opened his arms to her. She practically flew into his embrace.
    “I’m not,” Ava said very clearly. “I know how much you wanted a child of your own. I’m glad that I can do this for you…for us.”
    “Your life would have been much simpler if all of our babies were human,” Brody said, confirming what Nathan had always known. All of Ava’s children would be loved equally by both of their fathers no matter what made up their DNA.
    “Tell me about your mother,” Ava said as she maneuvered him back to the bed.
    Brody grimaced and glanced at Nathan. Nathan nodded, hopefully conveying his opinion that Ava needed to know what she was up against. If Nathan and Brody had their way, PUP Squad Alpha and Deeks Security agents would neutralize the threat long before it had any chance of getting close to Ava, but the woman at least deserved to know why this was happening.
    Brody helped her onto the bed, leaned on his elbow, and looked closely at the woman they both adored. “My family are what humans might call ‘dragon supremacists.’ They believe that dragons are superior to every other form of life—human or paranormal. They don’t tolerate ‘mixed’ marriages and they will kill to make their point.”
    “So just being with me?” Ava asked quietly.
    “Puts you at risk.” The words were dragged from deep inside him, and Nathan could see the agony of regret they caused the dragon-shifter. But it wasn’t fair for him to take the blame. They’d both known the risks. Nathan knew full well what Brody’s family was capable of.
    “It wasn’t a big risk,” Nathan said softly. “Brody’s family disowned him over a decade ago. They’d been happy with him working for the PUP squad, perhaps thinking they had a man on the ‘inside,’ but when he stepped in to stop a female fire-demon from being murdered for carrying a half-dragon child, they realized that he’d never truly believed what they’d taught him.”
    “Did you save her?”
    “Of course he did,” Nathan said with no small amount of pride. It had been only a day after Nathan had stopped an assassin from killing Brody’s father. While they’d been grudgingly thanking Nathan for his assistance, they’d been preparing to kill an innocent young fire-demon named Becca for becoming pregnant to Brody’s brother. The worst of it was that