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“I’d be one of her victims,” I finished for him, my jaw clenching. “Why do you think I’ve been taking suppressants for over a decade? I’m well aware of the dangers my status brings.”
He turned on the barstool to face me and placed a hand on my knee, squeezing gently. “So work with me to bring whoever hired you to justice.”
I shook my head. “My hands are tied here, Emerson. I can probably buy you an extra day or two with the diary, if that’ll help your case, but I need you to stay out of my way. This is something I have to do.”
He scoffed. “Even though you know you can do something to help?”
“It wouldn’t do any good!” I ran a hand through my hair, pulling at the strands before huffing out a breath. “One way or another, that book will be delivered to my client. If I’m not the one to retrieve it for them, that’ll mean Roman doesn’t have a use for me anymore.”
Emerson stared at me with fierce determination in his pale eyes, his hand holding my knee like a lifeline. “I can keep you safe, Trystan. You have to trust me.”
I almost believed him. The worst part was that I desperately wanted to do just that. I ached to lean into my omega instincts and depend on my alpha. Let him take control of the situation and do what was best for me. Be the one who was protected for a change.
Instead, I was trapped. Forced to make the worst decision, knowing what it would do. The decision that would prove him right about me and make him hate me. Still, it was the choicethat would keep us both breathing at the end of it. That had to be worth something.
Chapter Twelve
Emerson
ItfeltwrongleavingTrystan to come into the office today, like a piece of me was missing. Each time I saw him, the urge to hold on to him grew stronger. It was supposed to be easy. After all, it was in our nature.
Instead, I pissed him off. All I wanted to do was to keep him safe, hold him in my arms, and breathe in that wild vetiver scent while his curls tickled my nose. He’d been opening up to me, showing me the sides of him he’d kept hidden from everyone for years. But he was so entrenched in the lawless world he grew up in. Did he even know how to let someone help?
Did he even want to get out of it?
Luckily for me, Trystan made one crucial error during our conversation. I wasn’t sure he’d realised he said it. Maybe part of him was unconsciously trusting of me, or it was an error in the heat of the moment. Regardless, I fully intend to exploit that mistake for everything it was worth, whether he liked it or not.
Roman.
It wasn’t much to go on, but there was no mistaking the fear in Trystan’s eyes when he said that name. Tension hadimmediately coiled in my chest, my alpha screaming at me to get more information, but I knew pushing my omega at that point would’ve only made things worse. Better he not realise what little information he gave me, than close off completely.
At least I had a chance now.
“Hey, are you done working on that diary thing yet?” Harris asked, barging into my office with a panicked Pearl trailing behind him.
I waved to her to say it was okay. It wasn’t, but it also wasn’t her fault that my friend had the audacity of a cat that insisted on staring you down while you were on the toilet. Times like this, I really missed my home office.
Closing my laptop, I leaned back in my chair. “No, I’m still working on it. Had a few things come up that’ve extended the timeline.”A robbery. Two of them, actually.“Why do you ask?”
Harris shrugged, looking over my bookcase of pending cases. “Just curious if you’d found anything or not. Rhodes said it was a longshot finding any new information, right?”
“When did you become such a pessimist?”
“Since it started taking up all of your time and keeping you out of the courtroom.” He rolled his eyes. “You should delegate some of the evidence research so you can spend more time doing the work that matters.”
“And who do you suggest I delegate to?” I asked, wondering where this was going. He usually called my need to personally review evidence a waste of time. “This sort of thing is above Pearl’s remit.”
Harris scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, I’ve got my own cases, but I could help the big dogs out once in a while. I’ve read up on the Fisher case, so I know what to look for.”
This was a first for Harris. True, he worked hard, but I’d never seen him seek additional responsibilities or offer his help on tasks he didn’t deem a priority.
Before I could politely decline, the intercom buzzed on my desk, and Pearl’s voice filtered through. “Ms Watson is here to speak with you. She says it’s urgent.”
Harris jumped at Pearl’s words, immediately heading for the door. “Better get going. Don’t want the boss lady to catch me slacking. Let me know about looking at the diary! I’ve got time!”
The door opened, revealing Norah leaning against the doorframe with arms folded across her chest. “What was that, Harris? I have plenty of cases waiting if you’re looking for work.”
I laughed from my desk. “Stop torturing him, Norah. He was trying to be helpful.”
