Page 33 of Inevitable
“I’d like to get Emma back home as soon as possible,” I told Nick. “She needs to recover in a place where she feels safe.”
“I loved what I saw of Lania, Nick,” Emma said gently. “It’s beautiful here. I’d like to come back someday after the political situation is stable. Please keep me posted with news about the kidnappers and updates on your dad.”
“You have an open invitation,” Nick said charmingly. “Having a gorgeous woman like you around the palace is always going to brighten up the place.”
I gritted my teeth.
Nick was a charming guy. It was part of his persona as a prince.
But I could do without him charming Emma.
“Are you and Emma taking Wyatt’s jet back?” Brock questioned.
“Yeah,” I confirmed. “You and Nate can fly back with Jax’s jet.”
Brock let out a snort of laughter. “That’s not exactly a hardship. I think Jax’s jet is even more elaborate than Wyatt’s.”
Emma shot me a puzzled look. “Exactly how many private jets do you have at your disposal?”
“Five,” all of us said in unison.
“All five of my billionaire partners have their own jet,” I explained.
“Last Hope sounds like a pretty complicated operation,” Emma mused.
“Moreso than you can imagine,” Brock said with a chuckle. “There’s probably more high-tech equipment at headquarters than the government has at its disposal. Some of it was designed by Marshall. He’s also one of our secret weapons because he’s one of the best hackers and intel experts on the planet.”
Emma tilted her head as she looked at me. “Is that true?”
“He’s exaggerating,” I grumbled.
“No, he’s not,” Nate chimed in. “It’s the absolute truth. That’s why he’s the boss. That and the fact that he actually founded Last Hope. Don’t get me wrong, we need Wyatt, Hudson, Jax, Cooper, and Chase, but Last Hope wouldn’t exist without Marshall.”
Emma lifted an eyebrow.
“Last Hope needs every member to function the way it does,” I said sternly, trying to get the guys to keep their opinions to themselves.
“Is everything still quiet at headquarters?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Extremely quiet,” Brock confirmed. “But we all know that can change in a hurry. Are you staying in Cherry Cove for at least a few days?”
“I’m staying,” I confirmed. “I’m going to be Emma’s advisor. I want to make sure she’s recovered from this before I go. Wyatt’s in charge until further notice. I’ll contact him as soon as we get back to Michigan.”
“You better call your mom, Emma. She was frantic,” Brock said.
“My mother knows about this?” Emma squeaked, sounding alarmed.
“We didn’t tell her,” Nate promised. “She called us when you stopped answering your texts.”
“I’ll call as soon as we get home,” she said hastily, sounding worried.
“I hated to do it, but I gave her a few bullshit excuses. We said that you were traveling to a more remote area of Lania to sightsee and probably wouldn’t have cell coverage for a few days,” Brock explained. “We didn’t want to tell her the truth until we knew you were safely home.”
“Thanks for covering for me,” Emma replied in a relieved voice.
“You owe us,” Nate said jokingly. “It’s not easy lying to your mom. She adores us and we’d like to keep it that way.”
“She’ll still adore you all,” Emma teased. “She thinks none of you can do any wrong.”
