Page 67 of Bait N' Witch

Persephone jumped to her feet. “Of course you should be execu—”

“Don’t you fucking say it,” Grey snapped the words so loud they seemed to bounce off the windows.

Persephone whipped a glare his direction. “But her kind are dangerous.”

He still wasn’t looking at Rowan. “No more than you or I. Sit down.”

After her mouth opening and closing a few times, Persephone did as he said. Then Grey nodded at Alasdair.

And Rowan had no idea what to do with any of that. Was he defending her? Did he hate her, but not enough to kill her? Look at me, she urged.

Alasdair, meanwhile, regarded her with a long, intent look before relaxing back in his seat. “So…why the deception, posing as Greyson’s nanny?”

Delilah put a hand on Rowan’s arm. “I’m afraid that was my idea. Rowan didn’t trust you, but I knew she needed the protection only her own people could offer. I know Greyson. I trust him. I sent her with the idea that she would hide in plain sight and try to thwart his investigation, but my hope was that they would earn each other’s trust. A Seer confirmed this to be the best course of action. Unfortunately, Kaios’s lover forced our hand.”

The trust thing was all news to Rowan. “I should’ve known you had a bigger plan,” she muttered under her breath.

Delilah squeezed her arm before releasing her, her only acknowledgment.

“I see,” Alasdair said. “Just so we’re clear…you descend from one of our most ancient families. You’re an Aneval, and werewolves can control you. You were raised by a demon. Anything else?”

Persephone’s expression reminded Rowan of an old woman in her village in Ireland whose face had drawn in on itself, giving her the constant expression of having sucked on a lemon. But Rowan could find no joy in the moment, because Persephone wasn’t important. Grey was, and he wouldn’t look at her anymore. Like he couldn’t stand the sight of her.

Rowan considered telling them about the sigil on her wrist, but that was between her and Grey. And, should the Syndicate decide to execute her, she didn’t want him to know. She couldn’t bear it if she hurt him that way. “No.” Was it possible to die from a shattered heart? “Nothing else.”

Alasdair swiveled to Grey. “Anything to add?”

Rowan locked eyes with the man she loved, trying to plead with him, to communicate the truth—that she’d never hurt him or the girls. I’m sorry, she mouthed.

He glanced away, moving his gaze to Alasdair. “You have all the information you need.”

Rowan looked down and bit the inside of her cheek to keep the tears at bay. She wouldn’t forgive her, either, if she were in his position. But she’d hoped.

Silly, really. To believe he could.

Alasdair turned back to them. “Wait in one of our smaller conference rooms. Michael, who’s waiting outside the door, will show you where. One of us will meet you there with our decision.”

Grey still wouldn’t look at her. Persephone’s sour lemon expression turned into the smirk of a cat who’d guzzled a gallon of cream, and Rowan’s feet refused to move. Delilah had to tug at her arm, practically pulling her out of the room.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Grey blew out a long breath before he turned the knob and entered the room where Rowan waited with Delilah. The Syndicate, with a big push from Alasdair, had sided with his recommendations. It helped that Rowan had used her powers to protect him and his family and help kill Kaios’s people. Now he had to see if Rowan would go along with what they were going to ask of her.

Everything—his entire life—depended on her response.

She’d said she loved him. He’d heard her through the haze of death she’d yanked him out of the night the wolves attacked. Had she meant it?

Sitting through Rowan’s interrogation had been one of the most difficult things he’d ever done. His own personal hell—to sit and do nothing. To not defend her at the top of his lungs. To not show her in any way that he wouldn’t let them hurt her. Snarling at Persephone had been a slip. Unavoidable. No one was killing or locking Rowan away. Not while he had breath in his body.

Of anyone in that room, he’d been most at risk from her, and he should be the most pissed at her. He should’ve been furious at her deceptions, incensed that, after what they’d shared, she still hadn’t trusted him with the truth. But, after she’d risked her own life to protect the girls and save him…his only thought had been protecting her from the very people he served. From his own job.

He’d spent the last three days doing so.

Grey walked into the small conference room to find Rowan standing at the window staring out at the view of the mountains. Delilah sat in a chair calmly tapping away on her cell phone, her long nails clicking against the screen. Both women turned when he entered.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Delilah murmured.

He gave her a nod of thanks but barely noticed as she left, closing the door behind her with a soft click, leaving total silence in her wake.

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