Page 343 of Commander’s Mate
“Debatable.”
He looked almost offended.
I smiled.
Then stopped.
“Jake left one morning and didn’t come back.”
Pyrr did not move.
“I spent months waiting for doors to open,” I continued. “Every car in the driveway. Every phone call. Even after they told me, some stupid part of me kept waiting.”
The star map blurred.
I hated that.
“I’m not doing that again.”
Pyrr spoke quietly.
“Then do not.”
My throat tightened.
“That easy?”
“No.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I will not tell you fear is foolish simply because I want something from you.”
I looked at him.
He continued.
“I go into danger.”
“Yes.”
“I may die.”
“Great sales pitch.”
“It is truth.”
I looked away.
“And if I decide I can’t live with that?”
His answer came without hesitation.
“Then you do not choose me.”
Pain flashed through his face anyway.
He did not hide it.
