The Seed of the White Tiger by JJ Jones Page B

beneath her. Dom recognized how much extra attention that the woman had been paying her since she had landed in her situation, and appreciated it, even if she didn’t show it well. Anna had called her at least once a week to check on the baby and urge her to find a safer place to stay. Dom had always refused.
     
    Dom sighed. “What do you need?” The question was laced with the frustration of having a train of thought interrupted. She couldn’t get the nagging questions out of her mind.
     
    “Are you free tomorrow evening?” The question was pressing, and it was clear from Anna’s voice that she needed to make sure that she was free.
     
    “I could be free if you needed me to. I would have push up another appointment.” Dom hoped that this would be worth it.
     
    “Can you get Gregor from the airport? No one else is available and you know him the best.” The hint was unmistakable. Anna knew that Dom hadn’t talked to him about the baby, and was trying to make her do it. Gregor would have a stake in helping to protect the child from the enemies he was sure to have, just for being the rare and powerful creature that he was destined to be.
     
    “Why do you want me to get him? Don’t you have someone else available?”
     
    “No, as I said, I don’t. I need you to go.” Anna’s voice was harsh, indicating that she wasn’t going to accept excuses. “Plus you need to talk to him anyway. You’ve been putting this off far too long.”
     
    “Maybe I’m not ready to talk to him about it.” Dom’s anger was rising in her chest, threatening to make her lose control at one of the most powerful people that she had ever met.
     
    “If this child is to be one of the Doppel, he needs to know. He’s going to be put in danger as soon as it’s discovered and he should know why.”
     
    “Why can’t we keep this a secret?” Dom was curious; having done only a little research on the subject had given her sketchy information, at best.
     
    “You might keep the child’s exact nature a secret, but you won’t be able to keep the amount of power coursing through his veins from anyone. Even the most ignorant and blind humans will be able to tell there is something strange about him.” Anna’s voice grew a bit warmer.
     
    “I haven’t been able to find out anything about this. How do you know so much?” Dom questioned, sensing the woman’s personal interest in this matter.
     
    “Let’s just say that every powerful person in the world is going to have a unique interest in this child.” Anna’s words were vague.
     
    Dom sighed again; wanting answers that obvious weren’t going to be provided. “I wish that I wouldn’t have known about this child. I wish that I would never have met Gregor.”
     
    “There are some things in our lives that we just can’t change. I want you to pick him up and talk to him. Perhaps you’ll think of a way to talk to him about it once you see him again. Maybe the news will just pop out. In any case, you are going to be doing this. You will pick him up. I’ll text you his flight details, so that you can track his flight, in case it’s been delayed.”
     
    Anna made it obvious that there wasn’t going to be any more argument on the subject, but Dom wasn’t ready to give up. “Why can’t anyone else do this? I don’t want to talk to him yet. I’m not ready to do it.”  Dom hoped that the honest truth might get her out of this assignment.
     
    “I need you to do it. Do I have to make this an order?” Anna’s voice grew stern again. She wasn’t going to put up with the excuses and hiding much longer.
     
    “Don’t order me to do it.” Dom’s voice grew just as stern as Anna’s.
     
    “Why shouldn’t I order you? You need to talk to him, and it will be better if you do it sooner rather than later. Right now you’re just torturing yourself over the possibilities and it isn’t going to end until you tell him.”
     
    “If you order me to do this, I’m going