Beau shakes his head and takes another step forward. "I know who you are."
The scarred man nods, expression grim. "Then you know why we're here. She's coming with us.”
“Not happening.” With a shake of his head, Beau pushes forward again, just one step, but slowly closing the gap.
The man gives Beau an exasperated look. “Our Alpha is dying without his mate."
Alpha. Mate. These are all words I know and understand, but my brain is spinning with all the possible implications here.
"She's not going anywhere with you." Beau's already deep voice drops dangerously, and the men behind the scarred one straighten up at the sound of it. "Your Alpha is sick, and I’m sorry. I get that you are desperate to help him. But this woman doesn't know you, doesn't know what you are, and has just been through hell. We can’t add this to her plate."
Aaron presses his lips together in a hard line. “It’s not ideal, but we have no choice. We’re running out of time.”
Beau stares down at him, and a low rumble vibrates through the thin wall. "Were you going to buy her? Is that why you were there?"
Silence. The scarred man's jaw tightens. “We’ve been following Mr. Black. Hoping Dimitri would surface.”
Beau’s growl grows louder. “That’s not what I asked.”
One scuffs the dirt with his boot, unable to look Beau in the eye. Another shifts his weight, his focus drifting toward our window. When his gaze finds mine through the glass, my handmoves to the weapon I still don't have until he looks away, appearing genuinely ashamed.
“We were prepared to do whatever it took to free her from that monster,” Aaron says.
“So, she gets passed from one monster to another?” I scoff under my breath, and Beau’s posture stiffens.
How the hell did he hear that?
"Is that what Rowan would want? His mate bought from a trafficker? Dragged to his territory against her will?"
The scarred man turns his head, briefly closing his eyes, then squares back up to Beau.
"Rowan can punish me all he wants if he lives, which is looking less and less likely. Every day without her, he loses more of himself. We have to do something." He steps forward, closing the gap between them, but Beau doesn’t flinch. “No matter how… unpalatable. Don’t try to stand in our way.”
Beau doesn't give an inch, looking every bit the stoic protector, but he’s been shot. He’s not going to be able to keep four men at bay alone.
I'm through the door before I've finished deciding what my plan of action is. The cold hits my skin, and Beau's head turns ever so slightly, but he doesn't send me back.
Then Van appears from the other side, his jaw set.
Aaron scowls, regarding us as nuisances rather than any real threat, but it’s enough to make me think there’s some hope of talking them down.
"Her family needs to see her. She needs a shower and medical attention." Beau directs his words at the scarred man and holds his ground when the man starts to growl. "She doesn't know about any of this, and it’s a lot on top of what she's just been through. If you force it on her now, you'll lose her before you've started." He pauses. “She’ll hate him for it.”
The younger man on the left takes a half step forward but stops instantly when the scarred man raises a hand without looking. He’s conflicted. It’s written all over his face. He doesn’t want to fight, or drag her out of here kicking and screaming, but he doesn’t know what else to do.
"Let us take her home," Beau says quietly. "Let her see her sister. Learn a little about what we are from Zara. She can decide for herself whether she's willing to meet him."
"That could take weeks," Aaron spits out, throwing up his hands.
"A few more days. That's all I'm asking. But if you take her tonight and make her do this, she'll never accept him. You know that. You can already scent her fear."
I have no idea what’s going on, but I trust Beau to look out for her best interests.
Aaron’s fists open and close at his sides as he looks past us toward the motel room door, nostrils flaring once more. When he exhales, long and slow, and meets Beau's eyes again, the fight has gone out of him.
"Tomorrow, we will meet and discuss this again."
Beau simply nods, knowing they’ll be able to find us wherever we go.