“No,” she said softly.
Emily remembered their scene—how connected they’d seemed. She doubted her answer, but it convinced Rhys. His expression shuttered completely, and he rose and walked out without another word.
“I never meant to hurt anyone,” Gaby said, voice tight. “Which is why I kept my distance. Except with…” She trailed off took a breath and regrouped. “I’m sorry for stepping on toes. I did what I thought I had to—for Natalie.”
Emily leaned forward. “My brother was a cop. My dad too. They tried to expose the traffickers through official channels. They hit roadblocks at everyturn. I suspect the corruption in the Miami PD reaches the highest levels. It cost them their lives.”
Startled, Gaby’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know.”
“She isn’t wrong,” Alec said, voice low. “It’s part of why I left the department. It needs a full purge—from the top down.”
“Agreed,” Devil added, his gaze shifting to the agents.
“We’ll look into it,” one offered.
“As will I,” Devil said, his intensity chilling. A shiver danced down Emily’s spine. The agents seemed to feel it as well, shifting uneasily. The challenge hung in the silence.
“I didn’t expect to find allies here,” Gaby murmured.
Emily offered a soft smile. “You found one, at least.”
“In exchange for an enemy?” Her gaze flicked toward the door Rhys had disappeared through. Pain—barely masked—shadowed her eyes.
Alec’s jaw flexed, and he answered before Emily could. “He’s a good man. I’m certain he’ll come around, but it may take time. Learning you slipped past our defenses—in a place where we thought our privacy was protected—was a shock to all of us.”
Gaby nodded. Her shoulders sagged, tension draining from her posture, but her fingers curled around the table’s edge, knuckles white. “I’ll talk to him and try to help him understand.”
Emily heard the brittleness in her voice and the fragile wish beneath it. She knew how some choices carved wounds that were slow if not impossible to close. Alec was proof of that. Her brother even more so.
She reached for Gaby’s hand—small comfort, but all she had. She seized it instantly, gripping hard enough to pinch. She clung as though drowning, and Emily was the only thing keeping her afloat.
That was fine. Emily wasn’t letting go.
***
Dev sent everyone home, except Callan who wouldn’t rest until he’d accessed the files. If they were lucky, the data contained buyers’ purchase history and locations. It was a long shot, but Enzo was cocky. Alec hoped he’d been careless too.
He took Emily to his place. It was closer, quieter, and the bed was big enough for both of them to collapse without crowding.
She hadn’t questioned it. Just offered exhausted compliance, as he led her out into the daylight that felt too bright, too clean after what they’d just come from.
She dozed on the drive, and he carried her upstairs.
In the bathroom, Alec turned on the tap. He stripped her, removing the borrowed clothes and revealing bruises in the shape of fingerprints rough hands had left and the angry red welt from the electric burn on her neck. He didn’t speak. Just bathed her in silence, the sponge gliding over skin once flawless with the utmost care.
His lips brushed her shoulder once then the curve of her hip—not out of desire but devotion. A silent promise:I’ve got you.
When he finished, she lifted a hand to his cheek in silent gratitude.
He toweled her dry gently and carried her to his bed, tucking her in like she was something precious—which she was, to him. When he climbed in beside her, she blinked up at him.
“It’s the middle of the day. I’m fine,” she insisted. “You don’t need to stay.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She curled into him, her fingers clutching his shirt, defying her own words. She wasn’t fine, but she would be. He’d see to that.
Holding her close, one arm around her waist, the other cradling her head, her breath was warm against his collarbone, when she whispered, barely audible, “My knight. I knew you’d rescue me.”
