Page 104 of Her Filthy Reverse Harem Romance Collection

He knows as well as I do that what we are saying is true, but I humor him.

I take my phone out and flip it around. With a couple of swipes, he’s shown the proof he needs. I put my phone back into my pocket. “We know this is only the start. There will be more and your team of by-the-book rent-a-bodyguards will never match our ruthlessness. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Silence.

“I didn’t think so.”

“You cannot play with the life of my daughter. I won’t allow it. She’s my flesh and blood. A Cambridge protects their own. I don’t need you. Why do you even care?”

India’s father follows us across the library. “Maksym. Care to answer the man?”

“Because we love her. And no one will stop us from protecting the woman we love.”

“Not even you,” Tomas adds.

With that, we take our leave. I step out of the library door and within seconds all three of us spot India on the staircase dressed like a queen.Ourqueen.

All we need to do now is convenience her we are her only hope for survival as she is ours.

India

Present

“Oh, good darling, there you are.”

The second I bound around the edge of the privacy screen I run nose-first into my father.

My nerves take a shock of electricity. I cast about for a way around him but all the freaking guests seem to have huddled nearby. There has to be at least thirty in every direction I look and with no way out I’m left with no choice but to create a scene or take what’s coming next.

I play off my would-be exit and give my father a quick peck on the cheek, falling into daughter mode with a snap of a finger. “Good evening, Father. Is there something the matter? You look flustered.”

His eyes fall to a spot over my shoulder and I know it’s to find Tomas, Stefan, and Maksym.

Busted. Thank God layers of makeup hide my red face.

I take a quick look over my shoulder. They’ve straightened their bow ties and from this viewpoint and soft lighting, one could never tell they were a razor’s edge away from making me come for them only a moment ago.

Their intoxicating scents rattle my brain as I try to come up with a reasonable answer for the questions I know are coming my way from what my father is witnessing. I groan inwardly. My mind whirls with one explanation after another.

My father, a robust man topping his late fifties with a silver cap of hair and square glasses like my own chuckles, surprising me. He shoves his hands into his pants pockets sheepishly. “I see you’ve found our special guests of the evening.” Despite his smile, his tone is flatter than a sheet of paper.

“I have.” Why lie, right? Pretty sure my warm skin gives away some of what I’ve been doing.

He considers me for a moment. My plump lips, my mused hair, and possibly smeared lipstick if it didn’t hold up to product expectations. Instead of seeing judgment in his eyes, there is a weird sense of calm I see shift across his expression.

“I see.” The wrinkles in his face deepen a faction with his slight smile.

Please, God, I hope not. “You see what?”

My father wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a tight hug. “You need to go with these gentlemen. There are more threats than you are aware of and as long as you are determined to work on that blasted code, you require what they offer. And something my teams cannot provide.”

I cough out a choked, “I need to do what now?”

“Follow orders for once, girl, for God’s sake.”

My father raises his voice a fraction so we can hear him over the small orchestra that has started playing for tonight’s gala.

I shake my head emphatically. Tomas is beside me. My eyes draw to his. Dark. Intense. Just like the man. Hair has slipped to fall over his forehead making his hard edges a little softer.

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