“My uncle is here somewhere. He’s behind it all. He hit Hux. He tried to drown me.”
“Okay, princess. Shh. It’s all right. Everything will be all right. I’m going to get you somewhere safe. Then I’ll check on Hux and find your uncle.” He stood, cradling her in his arms.
“No, no. You can’t!”
“Hush, it will be all right, princess.” He carried her towards the house, deactivating the security then walking inside. They headed towards his office. She hadn’t been in this room and she didn’t want to take the time to look around now.
“Please, Wolfe. He’ll hurt you.”
“No, he won’t.” He set her down on her feet a few steps back from a bookcase. What was he doing? Then he grabbed a book and pulled it.
“Oh my God, it’s a secret door.” Her fear fled her momentarily. Behind the bookcase was a metal door. There was a security panel next to it. Wolfe held up his hand to the panel, it scanned his palm. Next, he bent down to eye level so it could scan his retina.
“What is this?” she asked, calming slightly.
“You’ll see,” he told her as the door opened to reveal a small room beyond it. He held out his hand to her and she walked inside. “This is a safe room. Every house here has one. The palace has three. However, no one knows where it’s located except for me, Aleki, and Caleb. When I leave, you press this button, and the door locks. The code to open it is zero, four, zero, eight, nine, two.”
“That’s my birthdate,” she whispered.
“It is.” He grabbed hold of her shoulders. “Listen to me. If someone is in here, then the door will only open if you put in that code. No matter who is on the other side. And you only open that door for me, Aleki, or Caleb, understand?”
“No, Wolfe, please don’t.”
“Understand?” He gave her a firm look. “Every minute we spend arguing, I could be getting help for Hux and finding your uncle.”
Oh God, he was right.
“There’s blankets, clothes, food. You will be fine. But I can only leave if I know you’re safe in here. If you don’t promise to stay in here then I’m not leaving. I can’t do this if I’m worrying about you.”
“You really want me to lock the door?” She knew how hard that was for him.
His mouth tightened. “Yes.”
If he could do this, so could she. “Go.”
“Promise.”
“I promise. Just don’t die.”
To her shock, he reached out and hugged her again. She soaked in his touch.
“I love you, Wolfe.”
“I’ll be back. I promise.”
And then he was gone. The door shut and locked behind him. She was alone. Terrified.
Wolfe was glad that Genevieve was safe so he could focus on other things. He crouched down and checked Hux’s pulse. Still alive. Good. Unconscious. Not good. He radioed his injury in as well as sending a code word to Aleki and Caleb from his phone. And then he smiled.
Time to go hunting.
44
Vivi stood shivering in the safe room.
She couldn’t believe he’d done it. He’d locked her in here. Alone. What if something happened to him? What if Ben hurt him?
She took a deep breath. She was being foolish. This was Wolfe, for God’s sake. He was downright scary.
Especially when someone he loved was threatened.
He might never say the words, but she knew that he felt them. He loved her.
She should find a towel to dry herself off. Maybe a change of clothes. But she couldn’t seem to move.
Shock. She was in shock.
Damn it. How much more could her body take? How much more until she unraveled?
If she did, they’d put her back together. They’d hold her, they’d help her, they’d be there for her. The family she’d always craved but never had.
Her uncle killed her mom. And her dad had known. That asshole. She didn’t care if he was just a puppet to be used by her uncle. He’d known.
And he’d done nothing.
She really wanted one of the guys. And Piggles. She wanted Piggles too. Please, please let them all be all right.
A beeping noise had her jumping.
What was that?
The beeping sounded again. Oh God, what if someone was trying to break in? What had Wolfe said? Nobody knew where the room was except the three of them. But no one could get in unless she unlocked it. She breathed a bit easier as she reminded herself of that.
But how did she figure out who was on the other side? Was there a camera or something? Wolfe hadn’t had enough time to tell her. Panic swelled again. Why was it so hard to think?
She chewed her nail. What to do? The beeping continued. Forcing herself to move to the door, she touched the pad to the right, jumping back as an image appeared. She took in a shaky breath of relief as she saw Aleki and Caleb on the other side.
Aleki looked frantic. Caleb was frowning as he checked something on his phone. But they both appeared unharmed.
They’d come for her.
Shaking so hard that she messed it up the first time, she finally managed to input the code and the door slid open. Her knees went weak with relief and she slumped to the ground.
“Jelly bean!” Caleb cried out as Aleki leaped forward to grab her.
Aleki lifted her into his arms. “Fuck, she’s wet. She’s freezing.”
Caleb placed his hand over her forehead, then took hold of her wrist, feeling her pulse. “Her heartbeat is racing. We need to get Obian over here. I’ll start the shower. She needs to get out of that wet dress and warm.”
“No, no, I don’t want any of that,” she told them. “Wolfe, I need Wolfe.”
Aleki and Caleb shared a look. “Where is Wolfe? Jelly bean, what happened to Hux? What’s going on?” Caleb asked as Aleki carried her to her bedroom then through into her bathroom. Caleb started the shower as Aleki sat on the closed toilet seat with her on his lap. He started to strip off her dress but she slapped his hands away.
“He’s gone chasing after my uncle.”
“Your uncle?” Aleki asked. “What? Why would your uncle be here?”
She quickly told them everything. “He’s been behind everything all along. He killed my mother, he tried to kill me and now he might kill Wolfe.”
Caleb came and crouched down in front of her. “Jelly bean, if there’s one thing I know it’s that Wolfe can take care of himself. But you know what he’d want right now?”
She took in a sobbing breath.
“For us to take care of you,” Aleki told her.
Her entire body was shaking as she sobbed.
“If we go looking for him now, we’d likely just get in the way,” Caleb told her. “Wolfe will call for help if he needs it. But there will be no helping us if he gets back and finds you in this state, all right? Just let us take care of you.”
“All right.”
Benjamin Mason didn’t stand a chance.
He thought he was clever as he tried to sneak his way off the palace grounds. He thought he’d gotten away with it.
With hurting Wolfe’s woman. His bride. His life. What he felt for her couldn’t compare to any feelings he had for anyone else.