“And is it your fault he fled the room?” her father’s voice commanded from the speaker on her cell.
“I told you, I don’t know why he did that,” Echo lied.
“I think it’s fairly damning. He obviously sensed the iron in the room. You will take Jack and Sajid to Webb’s concert in Antwerp tonight. No arguments. The three of you will restrain him with the cuffs, and if he’s fae, you will kill him, Echo.”
Right on cue, Jack stepped forward and revealed a long, narrow gift box. He lifted the lid, and nestled on a silk bed was a blade carved from pure iron.
Every inch of her rebelled at the idea of stabbing Elijah in the heart.
He’d be no good to her dead, after all.
Feigning awe, Echo reached for the dagger and lifted it from the box.
“Jack gave you the blade?” William asked.
“Yes. It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
“Tuck it somewhere safe. I’m almost certain you’re going to need it.” His voice was hard with grim satisfaction. “If Webb is fae … this will be a momentous night. It will leave only three, and we know who two of them are.”
Echo’s nerves were stretched taut with having to listen to William for so long. “We need to go. We’ll check in soon.” She hung up before he could answer, and she saw Sajid’s raised eyebrows at her lack of deference.
She no longer cared.
Echo was stuck with Jack and Sajid. William had commanded them to stay with her, so there was no shaking them, for now. Unfortunately for them, William’s order had signed their death warrants. There was no way she could escape them with Elijah and leave them alive to tell her father she’d betrayed him. Her plan only worked if William thought she was a victim of the fae for as long as possible.
The weight of the werewolves’ lives sitting on her shoulders, Echo forced herself to meet their stare. “We go to Antwerp, we go to that concert, and we find a way to get backstage so we can take Webb.”
Nodding, Jack wandered over to the bed and opened a black box. From inside, he removed three earpieces. “These are spelled to work like a three-way radio.” He handed them out. “This way if we split up, we stay in contact.”
It would be better if they split up, if she could shake them so they weren’t there to witness her leave with Elijah. So … she didn’t have to kill them.
There were a lot of assholes in The Garm.
Why couldn’t William have sent two of them with her instead of Jack and Sajid?
They were professional, never inappropriate with her, and offered her respect.
“If it comes to a fight, you leave it to me,” Echo ordered.
The werewolves looked at each other and then Jack gave a negative swipe of his head. “We have orders to stay with you. If Webb is fae, it’ll take all three of us. You should never have been in that hotel alone in the first place.” The New York werewolf clamped his lips tight as he realized he’d inadvertently questioned William’s decisions.
Dread nauseated Echo. She didn’t want to murder these wolves, these wolves who clearly wanted to protect her.
Since meeting Elijah, she’d become weak.
The cool efficiency and cold compartmentalization she’d learned from William … it had fled her.
Could she really blame Elijah, though?
She’d become weak from the moment she’d uncovered the truth about her adoptive father.
Throwing her shoulders back, she narrowed her eyes on Jack. “I’m faster and stronger than you. I can take care of myself. Now, if we get separated and I encounter Webb on my own, I will handle it. Is that understood?”
“Sure.” Sajid shrugged in answer instead of Jack. “Ifwe get separated.”
In other words, they weren’t going anywhere.
Fuck!
