Leni stubbornly swallowed back the raw lump that didn’t seem to want to leave her throat. It had been there since she learned the truth about Shannon’s fate at Travis’s hands, and had only worsened in the hours since her confrontation with Knox.
She wasn’t going to cry or feel sorry for herself. Not now, no matter how much she hurt for her sister and for what she thought she might have had with Knox.
She had Riley to think about. His safety, his future.
It had been enough for her before she met Knox. It would be enough for her again.
It would have to be.
Leni placed a light kiss to the little boy’s brow, then quietly moved away from his bed. Closing the door silently behind her, she didn’t realize Knox was outside the room until she lifted her head and her gaze collided with his solemn, stormy blue eyes.
She frowned. “How long have you been out here?”
“A while. Is everything all right?”
Nothing could have felt more wrong, but Leni knew he was asking about Riley, not the tumult of emotion swamping her as she stared at Knox’s impassive, unreadable face. “He was anxious and afraid of being in a strange place. He’s never slept anywhere but in his own bed at home.”
Knox nodded soberly. “He’s a tough kid. I’m sure he’ll be okay.”
“I guess he’ll have to be, right?” She started to walk by, but paused when Knox pointedly cleared his throat.
“Razor heard from the Order. He told me they’re sending a team up from Boston at sundown tomorrow. They should be here a few hours afterward.”
The warriors were coming for her so soon?Leni lifted her chin, forcing a lightness into her tone that she didn’t feel. “What a relief that must be for you. You barely have twenty-four hours left to suffer my company.”
“Leni—”
She cut him off with a quiet scoff. “On second thought, why wait? There’s no reason for you to be here now. Riley and I are in the Order’s hands just by being in this house, aren’t we? Feel free to leave anytime, Knox. In fact, I’ll thank you to.”
She started to walk past him again, but this time he stopped her with his strong hand on her arm. “Damn it, Lenora.”
Rather than release her, he drew her closer to him. Close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his big body, and she could see the flecks of amber igniting in his impatient, narrowed gaze.
“Let me go, Knox.”
“I’ve been telling myself to do that from the minute I met you.” Although his face remained harsh with throttled fury, uncertainty softened his now-blazing eyes. Reaching up with his free hand, he tenderly stroked the side of her cheek. “I don’t know how to let you go, Leni.”
His touch threatened to unravel all her strength. She wanted to savor the gentle warmth of his fingertips against her skin and the maddening pleasure of his caress. Instead, she tilted her head away from it.
“Christ.” He blew out the rough curse through gritted teeth and fangs. His grasp on her arm tightened. “I don’t want to let you go.”
Leni steeled herself to the emotion in his voice. “Well, lucky for you, the Order’s going to help you do that tomorrow night.”
“I don’t give a damn about the Order. This is about you and me, Leni.”
“No, it isn’t. Not anymore. You made sure of that when you asked your brother to help remove me from your life.”
“That’s not what I did. That’s not what I wanted.” Heat crackled in his transformed gaze as he stared at her. “I’m trying to tell you that I care about you, Leni. I care about Riley too.”
“Don’t.” She shook her head, refusing to give in to the temptation of believing him. She couldn’t afford to believe him when everything he said would have no meaning tomorrow night when the Order came to collect her and Riley. “That’s easy for you to say now. Too bad you didn’t feel that way before you brought me here and—”
“Damn it, woman, I’m trying to tell you that I love you.”
Her inhaled breath sounded raw even to her own ears. Knox took both her arms in his hands now, holding in an unrelenting grasp.
“You belong to me, Lenora. When the Order gets here tomorrow, that’s what I’m going to tell them. I’m not letting you go. Wherever they deem is safest for you and Riley to be, that’s where I’m going too.” His smoldering eyes searched her gaze. “The only question is, will I be telling the Order as your blood-bonded mate, or as the male who’s going to do everything in his power to one day be worthy of that honor?”
God help her, she couldn’t speak. All the sorrow and uncertainty she’d been feeling since they arrived at the Order’s safe house melted away under the sincerity of Knox’s words. Not only his words, but the solemnity of the vow she saw glowing in his eyes.
