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“Me!” Nick said, taken aback. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize my loyalty was under question.”
Greg threw a hand to Harper, who was hiding behind the wall. “Is there any loyalty on your part when you’re with that? You locked me in a cell. Are you here to help me? Instead, you’re here to taunt me and get information from me. Well, forget about it. If I had to choose between helping you and dying down here, I would choose the latter.”
His gaze fell on a male he thought he knew, and he shook his head sadly. “You need help,” Nick said.
He sighed, wishing he could do something to help the man he used to know. His heart ached for the man he used to know, and he wished he had the power to intervene and make a difference, but he knew it was impossible. It wasn’t for him to get involved in now.
He heard Greg curse him and start shouting obscenities as he moved away. Yet he refused to be drawn into an altercation; instead, he walked away with his head held high.
He felt as if he should have known.
The question was, how could he not? Greg was an integral member of the team who had become radicalised. It appeared that he didn’t even realise or care that what Greg was saying was wrong on so many levels.
As they walked together, Harper grabbed hold of his arm. It was only when they entered the lift that he put his arms around her and rested his head on her head. There had been too many shocks in one day. He was exhausted and desperate for a moment of respite, however fleeting, to gather his thoughts and take a break from the tumultuous day.
Harper abruptly said, “There isn’t,” and he frowned in confusion.
He tightened his hold and asked, “What do you mean?”
“There are no more traitors. At least none that Greg knows of.”
She was trying to reassure him.
He sighed and rubbed her back in small circles. “How certain can I be? I need to take what he said seriously.”
“No, he was lying when he said that,” she replied firmly. “I could smell it.”
He paused, his shoulders shaking, which jogged her head. He began to laugh in earnest when she craned her neck and looked at him in confusion. His lips touched the tip of her nose. She wrinkled her nose in a playful manner, smiling in response, her eyes twinkling with delight.
“And to think I wasn’t going to take you down there.” Had he not taken her with him, he may have started second-guessing others. Without her, he would be alone in his decisions, not knowing who to trust and when. He would still be cautious, putting them all on edge for a while, but he felt lighter with her by his side.
“Even though I’m not a warrior, I’m still capable of smelling lies. So there are other ways I can be useful to you.”
“Harper,” he groaned. Had he given her the impression that she wasn’t enough? “I don’t need you to be useful to me. What I like about you is the way you are. “I don’t need a warrior.”
He kissed her cheek. “I don’t expect you to attack anyone or to act as a lie detector for me. If you want to be with me for support, you are welcome, but please know I am not asking for anything in return. I’m capable of handling things on my own.”
She interrupted, “But you don’t have to.”
“Yes, I am aware of that. When I come home to you, my day is instantly brightened,” he said with a smile. Holding her chin so they were nose to nose, eye to eye, he promised her, “That’s more valuable to me than you sniffing out a lie.”
Harper’s eyes appeared teary, and he kissed them. She gripped his shirt tightly, and he felt blessed to have her as his mate. In the midst of all the turmoil, he had her. He couldn’t help but feel grateful, knowing that despite all the darkness, he still had light in his life.
Now that Karen had a mate, there was no one else solely his but Harper. He didn’t have to share her with anyone, and even if that made him selfish because he was glad of it, that was fine with him.
In the past couple of days, he had already decided that being selfish and wanting someone for himself was fine. Besides, if he waited any longer, he would be in his grave. Or not, he thought with humour.
A quick kiss from Harper was followed by the shuddering vibrations of the lift grinding to a halt on the top floor, and he waited for the doors to open so he could rush her out. He was eager to take her away. Their arms still linked, they stepped out into the echoey underground parking.
“Come on, beautiful, let’s go home,” he said.
Harper walked over to the Jeep while he spoke to Drew and Owen before they left.
“I have no doubts about you. I don’t need proof of your loyalty,” he assured them. “I trust you, and I won’t let what one of our team members did damage the bonds we have built together.”
It needed repeating because he didn’t want them to doubt it.
“Until the new measures take effect, we will keep an eye on everything here. I think you should talk to Josie,” Drew hesitated before looking at Owen, who shrugged. “I think they were sleeping together.” Drew nodded when his eyebrows rose. “She’s been pretty cut up about this. But, you know her, she won’t speak to us.”
