Page 45 of Bound

The lover who nearly lost Erin because every door in my life has been compromised by ghosts.

All of them go quiet.

The Bachman king remains.

“No more reacting,” I say. “We need to find him. We need to strike his location first. But it has to look like we’re headed in another direction.”

Rafe nods. “We leak a controlled response. Make Carlos think we are moving toward what’s currently being rebuilt in New York, emotionally, not strategically, to protect it. That we are burning everything in our path to get there before he does.”

Gregory adds, “Then we watch which old credential wakes to track us.”

I look at Erin. This is the part where every instinct tells me to remove her from the room, lock her away, and call it devotion. She knows it.

Her chin lifts.

Silent. Defiant. Mine.

She’s not going anywhere. I accept her decision. I hate that I do.

Rafe stands. “Let’s break for a meal. Our minds will be sharper after.”

Isobel disappears, two guards behind her like a veil. I let our secret momentarily disappear with her.

“Your men arrived with Cleopatra.” Bayne checks the time. “My transport leaves in a few hours. I need to gather the men.”

He comes to stand before me.

For a moment, we are brothers.

“You have my number, my favor, and my warning,” he says.

“Which is?”

“Do not let Carlos choose the battlefield in your head before you choose the one beneath your feet.”

I smile.

He turns to Erin. “Keep him angry enough to live and calm enough to think.”

“A delicate balance.” She moves in to hug him, whispering private words of gratitude to him as we look on.

Bayne smiles as she releases him. “Absolutely,” he says to her. Bayne bows slightly. “Until the wedding, then.”

Bootsteps. Low voices. Doors opening. Engines starting beneath the pale sky.

The house feels larger as they leave, but I know our men are moving in.

I stand at the window with Erin beside me as Bayne’s convoy rolls out. He pauses at the lead SUV and lifts a hand in farewell.

Then he is gone, taking his men back to his stormy Scottish islands.

I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “What did you ask him?”

She grins up at me. “I told him if I could ever repay him, let me know how. Then, I asked if he’d be a groomsman at the wedding. I hope you don’t mind me making that decision.”

“I’ll allow it.”

A smile tugs at her mouth. “That sounds like growth.”