The Dragon Marshal's Treasure (U.S. Marshal Shifters 1)

At least she lived in a building with character to spare. At least there were people in her life—Theo, Tiffani, Isabelle, the kids at the center—who would grieve if she were gone. She did have a family. She had more of a family than the man who should have given her one had.

She had more treasure.

If he’d really belonged in Riell, she thought, he would have understood that. Sure enough, she could see people around them looking at her dad with disapproval. Looking at her with sympathy.

And looking at Isabelle’s father with judgment.

So there it was. Justice served.

She didn’t have anything to say to her father. Not right now. Maybe not ever.

She said to Theo, “You should call Martin. Will they let him in?”

“Yes,” Theo said with complete certainty.

No one in the room protested when Theo called the US Marshals and told Martin to come to Riell to pick up Gordon Marcus. “You’ll be able to see everything,” Theo said, ignoring the slight intake of breath from everyone as he gave directions. He cupped his hand over the phone and said, “Pegasus shifter,” and everyone nodded like this made sense, even if they weren’t particularly pleased with it.

Some of the burlier dragons in the room were restraining both Dimitri and her dad. Neither one of them bothered calling out to their daughters. Maybe they had just enough shame not to do that.

Jillian had had enough. She didn’t want to be at this party anymore—she resented, in the foolish way of someone focusing on the wrong problem, that her only likely chance to wear this elaborate gown had been ruined. She resented that Isabelle’s only debut had been ruined.

She went to a far table and sat down. Theo and Isabelle joined her. In their formal clothing, and with their silence, they looked like wallflowers at the prom. Isabelle was quiet. She only had eyes for her mother, who was also stuck waiting patiently for justice to take its course.

At least the room had stirred into conversation again, though no one had gone back to playing any music. But every word they said wouldn’t be overheard now.

Izzie took off the delicate earrings and laid them down on the spotless white tablecloth, right in front of Jillian’s hand. Her face was grave in a funny kind of way.

“Jillian Marcus, on behalf of my father, Dimitri, I present to you treasure obtained through dishonor. It is rightfully yours.”

The bad prom vibe had gone. All Jillian felt now was that she was at the end of a very long wedding that she’d somehow been shanghaied into organizing. Her feet hurt, she was exhausted, and she was a little drunk but not nearly drunk enough.

But none of that was Isabelle’s fault. The kid was just doing her best to act like a grownup.

“Thank you, Isabelle,” Jillian said. “I appreciate it, but to be honest, I never want to see these again.”

Izzie looked crestfallen. Her grand gesture had gone awry. It put her into a gratifyingly teenaged snit. “Well, I don’t know what you want me to do with them, then.”

Theo, less accustomed to having to remain unruffled around teenagers, laughed. He picked up Jillian’s hand and kissed it.

“This is not,” he said, “how I wanted this night to go.”

“I’ve been vacillating between ‘bad prom’ and ‘bad wedding,’” Jillian admitted. “Not fairy tale ball.”

“I did tell you that we weren’t that fond of fairy tales.”

“You did. I was warned.” She slid her shoes off under the table. “Do you know what makes me angriest? He blew up the house so no one would have it, and now no one will have it. All the money that was supposed to go to the people he hurt... now we’re just left with whatever he brought here. Isabelle, I guess I do have a use for those earrings after all.”

Isabelle gave her a small, unreadable smile and stood. “I,” she said in her best princess manner, “am going to go get a glass of champagne and stand with my mother. Perhaps if I look sad and orphanlike, everyone will agree she’ll face no punishment.”

“You don’t have any objection, I hope?” Theo said to Jillian, watching Izzie walk off.

“To Elizabeth not being punished? No, I don’t think so. I just want everything to be over.”

Theo’s thumb moved to her ring finger, reminding her that not all of her thoughts of weddings were bad ones. “I’ll support you on that, then, and I think they’ll listen. Izzie deserves that as much as she deserves the champagne.”

“I think so too. It was brave of her to go up against her parents.”

“It isn’t just that,” Theo said. “She sided with a human. And she gave me her father’s hoard, which she would have inherited eventually.”