Page 46 of Knot a Tie
I let that sink in and watch their surprised faces turn jubilant.
And then I ruin it.
“We obviously can’t accept that offer. Not just yet, anyway. I mean, what are we going to do, meet with him and lie to his face, knowing his precious Rayne is locked away in our mansion? Or worse, tell him where she is? Yeah, big fat nope to both.” I sigh and sit down again, only to land on my arse because my chair had rolled away.
“Fuck,” I mutter as Spencer leans over my desk to see where I went, chortling away to himself.
“Jesus,” he says. “What the fuck?”
“I know.” I haul myself to my feet and snatch my chair back from the wall. I sit my arse firmly down this time and lean my elbows on my desk.
Spencer parks his butt on the edge of my desk. “So what are we going to do?”
“There is only one thing to do. We have to convince Rayne to go to her dad and tell her we are the pack for her. Assuming she’s amenable, of course.”
“What about Richard?” Cam asks.
Will, as usual, is silent, just listening until he has something to add.
“We go back to searching for him.” The thought weighs heavily on me. I had him and, in a temper, I lost him again. Fucking bollocking nutsack. This day belongs in the pits of hell.
“Or we do what I said in the first place…”
I glance up and search Cam’s eyes. “Use Rayne to lure him to us. She’s not a tie. She deserves better than that.”
“Yes, she does, but she also wants him. Is it so bad to give her what she wants, while getting what you want in the process? Plus, if he is part of this pack, she is more likely to agree to stay.”
I hate to admit that he’s right, but he is. “He bit her,” I say quietly, still sore over that knowledge, but trying not to let it get to me. “He possesses her, and she feels it. I don’t want to abuse what she feels for him. It feels wrong.” I know I’m being a sap, but I see her eyes light up when she talks about him. I’ve seen her concern for him. In her eyes, he is her saviour. I make a decision. “Okay, somehow, we will use her to tie Richard to our pack again, but we are doing it for her. Not us. I would find another way if she wasn’t here. I’m stating that for the record. Clear?”
“Crystal,” Spencer says and stands up. “First things first, she is waiting for us to do some grovelling and also, we need to get those injections to her now. So, can we go? Brekkie is getting cold.”
“Yeah,” I say standing up and making another decision. I’m going to tell Rayne about her father’s email and feel her out. I want to see her first reaction to her father’s offer.
“We could just let her go back to her family,” Cameron says. “And wait to see if she comes back.”
I shake my head. “We can’t risk someone following her back to her family home that is meant to be kept quiet. We would never forgive ourselves if something happened to her, or her family. As much as this looks like we have her locked away, we are protecting her, just like Richard asked. And for ourselves as well.”
“Yeah, I know,” he mutters.
Filing out of my office and heading for the stairs, where Spencer has left a tray of food, we head on up, quietly contemplating how the next few minutes are going to go.
I sincerely hope she isn’t too pissed off about the deception, but honestly, who could blame her if she is?
ChapterTwenty-Six
Richard
I sit across from Jeremy Halstead in his big, fancy office in the Parliament buildings. We travelled here in relative silence after he introduced himself, so I have no idea why I’m here or how he tracked me down. Two things I intend to find out as soon as he looks up from his laptop.
I mean, leave a guy hanging, why don’t you. Jesus. Like this day isn’t shit enough. My side is hurting, my head is pounding, I’m hungry, but don’t think I can eat, and my mouth is as dry as a camel’s left bollock. Glaring out of the huge window of the fourth-floor office, I see the bright blue sky and wish I was stumbling my way back to Croydon so I could collapse and sleep for a week.
“So,” Halstead says, finally looking up and closing his laptop. “You want to know why you’re here.”
It’s a statement, so I don’t bother replying.
“Two reasons. I know you are estranged from your family pack and that you’ve gotten involved with some shady characters over the last few years.”
He glares at me, but I remain quiet. I don’t know what any of this has got to do with him. If he’s expecting an apology, he can get knotted.
