Page 62 of The Finder

“It’s my fault,” Garrett said in a low voice. “You should have never felt that you had to run from me. It’s my job to make you feel safe, and I’m sorry I failed at that. Will you return with me, to my house?”

Emma paused before deciding to be totally honest with him. “I’m scared, Garrett. I don’t want to be locked up, left in the dark with things. You-you took my ph-phone away and locked me in the-the house; then you got beat up and wouldn’t t-tell me wh-what h-hap-pened,” Emma said, trying to control her shivering and her confusion.

“I messed up, and I’m sorry. I promise to explain everything to you. Can I please take you to the house and get you warm and get your injuries checked out?” Garrett almost pleaded with her.

Emma was too tired to argue; she simply nodded, hoping she wasn’t making a decision she was going to regret. As soon as she nodded, Garrett swooped in and picked her up. It was awkward because of her hands being trapped behind her back, but he managed. He easily jogged over the rough terrain. “Please tell me you brought a car,” Emma said. Emma really hoped they hadn’t come in wolf form.

Garrett nodded. They came out of the trees, and Emma was relieved to see a Land Rover idling. Liam jogged towards them, holding out a key. Garrett shifted her. “Put your legs around my waist,” he said. Emma did as he said with his assistance. He locked one arm around her for support. Liam used the key and unlocked the cuffs. Emma let her arms drop, wincing when her arms fell forward. “It will probably hurt as the blood starts moving again,” Garrett said. He reached up and rubbed one arm at a time with his free arm. Pain radiated in her upper arms, but it was better than having them cuffed behind her. When the pain started to lessen, she looked up at Garrett. “Thank you,” she said. He frowned at the cut on her head. “The bleeding’s stopped. We’ll get it checked out as soon as we get home.” He turned her so she was sideways in his arms again and carried her to the car.

Garrett opened the back door and set her inside, closing the door behind her. Emma put her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. A moment later, three doors opened. Max climbed in the driver’s seat and Liam in the passenger seat. Garrett slid in next to her. All three men were still shirtless. Emma looked out the window as it suddenly felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen in the car for all of them. Emma turned to Garrett. “Is Kevin dead?” she asked simply. Garrett nodded.

“What about Levi?” she asked in a whisper.

“He’s dead,” Max said. Those two words held no emotion, but Emma couldn’t imagine what the three men sitting next to her were feeling right now.

“There was somebody else. I don’t know who. They were waiting for someone,” Emma said.

“I killed him,” Garrett said without any emotion.

Liam looked back. “Any idea who he was?”

"No.” Garrett’s response was clipped with an edge to it.

"You should have kept him alive for questioning. Now we don’t know anything more than we did,” Liam said.

Garrett let loose a growl. Emma jumped. “He was there for my mate,” Garret ground out. “Of course I killed him.”

Liam sighed. “Yeah, I would have done the same thing.”

After Garrett said mate, Emma’s mind started whirling. Mate. He called me his mate. I mean I thought he almost said it before, but now he admitted it. What does that mean? Does that mean he owns me? Fear started stirring in her, and her thoughts started taking her down a scary path.

Garrett leaned towards her. “I can smell your fear and can tell you are panicking. You have nothing to fear from me, mate. I will explain everything as soon as we get back to the house and are alone,” he said quietly.

His words, meant to calm her down, only made her more nervous—particularly the word alone. But she took several deep breaths and tried to relax. “Just rest now. It’s going to be several hours before we get back home,” Garrett said quietly.

Emma didn’t think she would be able to rest; her mind was going crazy. After a while though, the smooth drive relaxed her and she felt herself drifting. After her head jerked, Garrett put his arm around her and pulled her next to him. Emma stiffened against Garrett’s bare chest before Garrett adjusted her next to him. “Just rest, Emma,” he said in a soft, commanding tone. His warmth seeped into Emma and she finally became warm for the first time that night. She stopped fighting and allowed herself to relax against him. She felt him put his head on hers for a brief moment. She wasn’t sure if he said anything; she was already drifting off to sleep.

Chapter 35

Hours later, they finally stopped. Emma opened her eyes, trying to get her surroundings. She saw they were back at Garrett’s house. Garrett opened his door and swept her up into his arms. “I can walk,” she said softly. Garrett didn’t respond as he walked up the walkway towards the front door.

“Is she okay?” she heard Madison ask.

“Can you put me down?” Emma asked.

Garrett put her down gently on her feet. Madison threw her arms around her, causing her to step backwards into Garrett’s chest. “Be gentle with her,” Garrett barked at Madison.

Madison loosened her hold but didn’t let go. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said. She let go and stepped away from Emma. Emma noticed at this point that she was still leaning against Garrett’s chest, but she didn’t have enough energy to hold herself up.

“We need to get inside,” Garrett said. He put his hand on the small of Emma’s back and guided her up the steps. She was surprised to see Wyatt and a few other guys she didn't know standing around the house on the wraparound porch. “Security,” Garrett said softly to her. Emma nodded and began walking up the steps. Wyatt nodded at her and Garrett when they walked past.

Garrett opened the door, and they walked inside. Emma couldn’t believe she was back here. She didn’t think she was even going to survive just a few hours ago. Liam, Kyle, Madison, Max, Wyatt, and a few other guys came into the house behind them. “I’m going to help Emma for a few minutes. I’ll be back,” Garrett said to all of them. He then started leading her to her room.

After stepping inside, he closed the door behind them. “I need to know if you have any injuries under your clothes,” he said.

Emma looked up at him in confusion. “I don’t think so.”

He blew out a breath. “Good, because I don’t think I can handle having Paul deal with them right now. My wolf is really on edge after losing you,” he said by way of explanation. “Do you have a tank top or something you can put on? I want to check your arms and make sure you’re okay from having the cuffs on.”

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