Emmitt lifted the hand he held and brought it to his mouth, tenderly kissing the knuckles. My heart flipped. I wasn’t upset with him. I was angry with myself for believing there could be an easy answer. Emmitt kept my hand in his and remained quiet.
Nothing had been easy since Blake entered my life. I needed him out of the picture for good. The premonition of me biting Emmitt should have assured me everything would turn out all right, but Frank’s reaction worried me. Why had he laughed when I told him?
And how was I a tool for Blake? The way Frank spoke, it had to be more than just stock market information. Frank’s comment about wiping out humanity scared me. How many werewolves looked at humans like that? It had to be a select group because I didn’t get that vibe from the three werewolves I lived with.
I stilled, recalling his exact words.
“If not for the curse that causes you to be born to humans,” I whispered.
I looked at Emmitt with chills skating over my skin.
“They knew I would be born? How had Blake known I’d be born?”
He squeezed my hand reassuringly, but I caught his quick frown.
“Nana’s hoping to find answers at the Compound,” he said. “Another Elder is there waiting for us.”
I had serious doubts she would find anything useful. Blake held the answers I—we—needed. How could I get them, though, without going back? If not for Nana, Jim, and Emmitt, Blake’s men would have me, and I might know the answers. But I didn’t want to go back like that. And, now that Blake knew who I had protecting me, I doubted he would risk exposing himself again.
We lapsed into silence for so long I started to drift to sleep, still trying to think of a way to get answers. Next to me, I felt Emmitt move in his seat. A moment later, his jacket, which he’d brought with him, settled over the front of me. I curled my legs under me, snuggling under the jacket. It smelled like him, and it was all I needed to drift off to sleep.
I vaguely registered the sound of a car door opening. Even the sudden chill as the jacket left me couldn’t completely wake me. I turned toward the seat’s warmth, trying to get comfortable, already sinking back into sleep.
The feel of a thick arm sliding behind my back and another under my knees tickled my awareness. Emmitt’s smell surrounded me, and I shifted to snuggle against him. Then, he lifted me. The air born, weightless feeling yanked me from my sleep. I let out a yelp and wrapped my arms around him, prying open my unwilling eyes.
He smiled down at me while turning so he could nudge the door closed behind us. The sound echoed in the surrounding silence.
I looked around for the boys, noting the sky had started to lighten. Jim carried Aden, and Nana Wini held Liam. Both the boys slept soundly. The adults were already making their way toward the vague outline of a building.
“Emmitt, put me down.” I didn’t want anyone’s first impression of me to be that of a helpless girl.
He set me on my feet. “I was trying to let you sleep.”
“I know. Thank you.” I clasped his warm hand.
The rest had helped relieve some of my anger and frustration. I felt bad about venting at him but didn’t want to say anything out in the open. The ears here would hear far too much.
I turned to look back at the road we’d come from but saw only a rutted trail leading into more trees. The surrounding woods reminded me of our home in Montana. I could see why Emmitt and Jim had settled there. It must have reminded them of this place.
Hearing a door close, I turned to see the boys gone.
“Is this where you grew up?” I asked Emmitt quietly.
“Yeah.” He gently tugged my hand, encouraging me to start walking.
A long, two-story log cabin, winged by several outbuildings, encompassed the area we’d parked in, which was more dirt than gravel. Constructed before the 19th century, the buildings had seen better days. Pieces of chinking were missing here and there from between the grey, aged roughhewn logs. Near the ground of the first story, most of the chinking was new, showing that repairs were in progress. A few of the old, single-paned windows rattled slightly in the breeze. I wondered how they could possibly stay warm in winter. The outbuildings were all in equally poor repair. Emmitt hadn’t been exaggerating about their need for money.
Despite the building’s run down appearance, the area around the buildings showed signs of upkeep. Flowers bloomed in pots near the main door and in the window boxes under a few of the first floor windows, improving an otherwise unfriendly exterior. Branches from surrounding trees showed signs of recent pruning, and the weeds near their bases, trimmed back.