Page 78 of Knot Your Romeo

"Blake knows where I am," I say, not bothering with pleasantries. "He's coming for me, Jude. Maybe already here."

"Where are you?"

"Campus. Heading for the car." I can see Mr. Sampson's familiar figure leaning against the Range Rover, and relief floods through me. "I need to get home and I need to warn Beck and Elias—"

"I'm calling them now," Jude says, and I can hear him moving around his office. "Get to the estate as fast as you can. Don't stop anywhere, don't talk to anyone you don't recognize."

"Jude—"

"We'll figure this out, Emmie. We won't let him take you."

The conviction in his voice steadies me slightly, but fear still courses through my veins as I approach the car. Blake is coming. The monster from my past has found me just when I finally found happiness.

But I'm not the same scared girl who ran away in the middle of the night. I have a pack now, people who will fight for me. And this time, I'm not running.

This time, we're making a stand.

29

Eli

The helicopter appears outof nowhere, a black wasp against the afternoon sky, dropping toward the estate grounds with military precision. I’m pruning the rose bushes near the main house when the rotor wash hits me, sending petals and debris flying in all directions.

The chopper is sleek, expensive, and unmarked. The kind wealthy men use when they want to move fast and avoid questions.

My Alpha instincts immediately surge to high alert. This isn’t a scheduled arrival—I know Beck’s calendar better than my own, and there’s nothing about aerial visitors today.

I drop my pruning shears and sprint toward the landing area, my heart already hammering with dread. Through the swirling dust and noise, I can see figures emerging from the aircraft. Five large men in dark clothing. Men, I don’t recognize but whose very presence makes my skin crawl. The leanest of themen barks out orders. Even from a distance, he radiates the predatory Alpha energy that makes other Alphas want to bare their teeth in warning.

“Find her?” he shouts over the rotor noise to one of his companions, a man built like a linebacker with dead eyes and scarred knuckles. “Find the girl. Now.”

Ice floods my veins as I realize what’s happening. Emmie. They’re here for Emmie. This must be Blake. I pull out my phone, hitting Beck’s number as I continue running toward them. It goes straight to voicemail. I know he’s in meetings all afternoon. Shit. I try the house line, but no one answers. The staff must be dealing with their own confusion about the unexpected arrival. I hope someone gets a message to Beck.

By the time I reach the helicopter, blood is roaring around my veins as Blake and his men move toward the cottage with military efficiency. The pilot remains with the aircraft, rotors still spinning, ready for immediate departure.

“Stop!” I shout, putting myself between them and the cottage. “This is private property. You’re trespassing.”

Blake turns toward me, and I get my first clear look at the man who terrorized Emmie for years. He’s tall, well-dressed, probably mid-fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and cold blue eyes that seem to catalog my weaknesses in a single glance. He’s old but handsome, in how predators often are.

“Elias Silver, I presume,” he says with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “I believe you’re harboring something that belongs to me.”

“No one here belongs to you,” I snarl, my Alpha rising to meet his challenge.

“Emmie does. She’s my stepdaughter, and she’s been missing for months. I’m here to collect her and take her home where she belongs.”

“Like hell you are.”

Blake’s smile widens, becoming genuinely amused. “I was hoping you’d say that. It’s so much more entertaining when there’s resistance.”

He nods to his men, and I barely have time to register the movement before something hits me from behind. Pain explodes through my skull, and I stagger, vision blurring.

The second blow drops me to my knees.

Through the haze of pain, I hear the cottage door open.

Rita’s voice, sharp with panic. “What’s happening? What are you—?”

“Where’s my daughter?” Blake’s voice cuts through the air like a blade.

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