Page 68 of Knot for Sale

THIRTY-ONE

Emma

BEING FED AND showered didn’t make me any more eager to return to the conversation with the others. There was still a panicky flutter lodged in my lungs. Not least because I knew now what I needed to do to keep Elijah as safe as possible after I’d dragged him into danger like an idiot.

“Have a seat, Emma,” Curran said, gesturing to the elegant sofa where Elijah was currently perched.

I sat down next to him, doing my best to control my breathing.

Gabriel, still pasty, had seated himself in a high-backed chair. Onyx had dragged another chair in from the dining nook. Curran was propping up a wall next to the massive white marble fireplace that dominated one side of the main room.

“I d-didn’t say anything because I d-don’t believe in scent matches,” I blurted—and,yay, I could tell already that I was going to be stuttering like a fool throughout this whole thing. “It’s just a quirk of b-biology. Not something you b-build a life around outside of romance novels.”

“In my defense,” Elijah said, “I didtryto say something.” He leveled a narrow look in Gabriel’s direction.

All eyes turned to the blond alpha. Gabriel didn’t drop his gaze, but he wasn’t meeting anyone’s eyes in particular as hesaid, “It wasn’t practical. It still isn’t. Associating with me puts both of you in danger.”

Elijah scowled. “We’re already in danger.”

I cleared my throat and tried hard to concentrate on my breathing... on pacing and timing my words so the plosives wouldn’t get caught on my tongue. “My uncle schemed to get me on that b-boat so he could sell me as a sex slave. I’d never even heard your name when that happened.”

“Do we think the Huntwells were after you two? Or were they after the boss when they sent those goons after us at the dock?” Onyx asked. “Assuming they’re the ones behind the attack, I mean.”

“Of course they are,” Curran said. “Who the hell else? It’s a good question, though.”

Elijah shifted restlessly beside me. “I feel like we’re straying off topic. Curran, Onyx—you know about the scent match now. What do you want to do about it?”

Curran grunted. “I want you two to come to London where we can protect you.”

“Gabriel already asked us to do that,” Elijah pointed out.

“And you said no.” Onyx huffed out a breath. “See, the thing is, if the goons had never showed up, and we’d dumped you on a plane to New York before our pheromone dampeners wore off, we might never have even known about it. That’s the part Curran’s pissed off about.”

“And what about you?” I asked quietly.

Onyx leaned forward, elbows resting on knees. The neatly wrapped bandage was stark white against their dusky skin. “No point in being pissed off, is there? We know now. Still, we might only be employees, but this involves us. We have a say in it, or at least we should.”

“You’re not ‘only’ anything, Onyx,” Gabriel said, sounding tired despite resting with us in the nest earlier. “I was wrong; Ishould have told you both when we were on theCalliope. But the harsh truth is, nothing has changed.”

“Something’s changed,” I muttered.

Now I was the focus of four pairs of eyes.

“Has it?” Elijah asked.

I nodded, my gaze dropping to my hands, lying tightly folded in my lap. “I think we should go to London after all.”

“You were terrified to go to London,” Elijah said.

I still was. But if we went back to New York—if I left on a bus, seeking obscurity in a small town while Elijah stayed behind in his old life—then my uncle’s people could go after him in hopes of getting information about where I’d gone.

I couldn’t risk that.

“I didn’t think it through,” I told him. “New York wouldn’t be safe for either of us.”

“We can keep you safe in London,” Gabriel said. “Present evidence aside.” He lifted his wounded arm the couple of inches that the bandages and sling allowed.

“Damn straight we can,” Curran agreed. “Private jet to the airstrip, private motorcade with additional security from there to the Kensington house. No one gets onto that property unless they’re supposed to be there.”

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