Page 50 of Act of Passion

“No, I’m not.” He stared down at her with desire in his eyes. “It’s part of what I couldn’t tell you. Why didn’t you tell me that you’reFae?”

She wiped her cheeks and stepped back more. “Because I didn’t knowthen.”

He grabbed her and yanked her to him again before pressing his lips to her forehead, his body shaking slightly as he kept a tight hold on her. “I couldn’t find you. I looked for solong.”

He’d looked forher?

“Why?”

A long breath came from him. “For reasons you still aren’t ready tohear.”

She held onto his forearms. “Malik, we have to get out of here. What I did won’t keep Elm and his men down forlong.”

“What exactly did you do to them?” asked Auberi. “And how do you even knowthem?

“It’s a really long story. Malik, I have to get to Edee. If they find her first…I can’t even think about it. They’ll take themboth.”

“Take both of who, my sweet?” he asked, tilting her chin up, his dark gaze raking overher.

“Och, we missed all the fun,” said a familiar Scottish voice from the other end of the alley. “Did you leave any of them for us to kill,Tut?”

Brooke spotted Striker stepping over dead bodies. He had a full, long beardnow.

Boomer was next around the corner. He looked at Brooke and closed his eyes slightly. “You’re okay? What about Edee and thechild?”

“Child?” askedMalik.

Brooke stared at Boomer. “How do you know abouther?”

Boomer kept walking towards them. “Information found its way to ustonight.”

“Are you all supernaturals?” sheasked.

“Yes,” he said, his jawtense.

She sank against Malik again, the weight of the last five years hitting her hard. “We have to get to them both before Elm or the rest of them do. Please! Helpme.”

Malik nodded. “Of course. We’ll help Edee and herchild.”

She was about to tell him everything when Garth came around the corner, with Rurik close tohim.

She jerked back from Malik. “You’re withthem? Ohmygod, all this time I thought they killed you, and you were in league with them? Were you a warm-up for things to come in Egypt? Why help me tonight if you’re part of The Corporation? Why stand againstthem?”

“W-what?” Malik asked, looking confused. “Part of The Corporation?Brooke?”

Striker tilted his head, his long red hair falling over one shoulder. “Lass, we’re nae with that place. When information came up that included photos of you and Edee, Boomer called us all in to aide in finding you both. We came in this direction and Corbin and Duke followed another possiblelead.”

“Photos?” asked Malik, looking at hisfriends.

Boomer sighed. “The thing James wanted us to look into was this—Brooke and Edee. I saw their pictures and saw the order The Corporation had put down for them, retrieve at any cost. I knew you couldn’t be brought in. Not with how badly you lost your shit over Brooke in Egypt. I didn’t want you walking onto the scene to find she wasdead.”

“You sent me away from the office with Auberi, knowing I’ve been hunting for Brooke for years?” asked Malik, hurt in hisvoice.

Boomer sighed. “Don’t forget, Duke, Corbin, James, and I are mated. We know what it’s like to realize your woman is in danger. We’ve each felt it. We’ve each nearly lost ourselves to our beast side because of it. We didn’t want that to happen to you. We hoped we could intervene and protect Brooke, Edee, and the child before The Corporation got tothem.”

Malik twisted away from Brooke and grabbed Auberi by his shirt, snarling. “You fucking took me to party when my mate neededme?”

The men all sucked in bigbreaths.

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