Page 37 of Romancing His Heart

Loki’s gaze hasn’t left mine. My eyes sting with dryness from not blinking. “Wh-What was the message? What did they want?” My voice is soft but unnaturally steady.

Loki and Seth share a warring glance before Loki’s face softens. “You, Red. They want you.”

I don’t know if it’s my own gasp or Emory’s, but she is at my side as I feel my knees buckle.

“Why would anyone be after, Sloane? That makes no sense. She hadn’t even met you until recently,” Emory inquires with the tone of a mother bear.

“None of it makes sense, Ems. Not one goddamn piece of it,” Ashton says before barging into Loki Locater HQ.

In a calmer voice, Seth tries to diffuse the situation. “Ash is right, we don’t have any answers right now, but they left no room for doubt what they were coming for.” He says it gently, but it still knocks the wind out of me.

“Me? They … they’re coming for me?”

I don’t even know who fuck ‘they’ are.

“Well, what do we do? Preston, how do we keep her safe?” Emory’s voice shakes, and her bottom lip quivers.

“I … Loki? What do we do?” Preston defers.

“We have to leave tonight. We’ll need you all to act as a diversion, then Red and I will head to a safe house while Ashton and Seth sort this out,” Loki replies. His eyes have yet to leave mine.

My body feels too heavy for my legs, and I silently sink into the nearest chair.

“For how long?” Emory screeches. “How will I know she’s okay?”

Preston places a hand on her shoulder but looks to Loki for answers, too. Everyone in this room is making plans for me. I get no say. No one asks how I feel about it.

How do I feel about it?

“I don’t have a timeframe, Emory. But I can promise you that nothing will happen to Sloane while she’s with me.”

The sound in the room fades to the Charlie Brown teacher. I hear bits and pieces, but most of it is just white noise in my head. Someone asks about new phones. Another says they’ll get our clothing packed. I hear something about the mountains but no address. It’s like a fast-paced thriller movie, and I’m standing still in the center of it, unseen.

“Sloane?”

Glancing up, I recognize Seth, but he isn’t in focus. “I think she’s in shock,” he says to someone on my left.

Turning my head, I see Sylvie crouching down beside me.

“It’s okay, dear. Everything will be okay. Can you come downstairs with us? We need to get you packed up, and I’d like to make sure you have everything you’ll need.”

Somewhere in the house, I can hear Emory crying, “Why can’t we keep her here, Preston? We’ll hire someone to stand guard at all times.”

“Ems, we have to trust Loki and Seth on this. They’ll keep her safe, I promise.”

Shaking my head, I try to drown out the rest of their conversation. Standing, I walk to the elevator in silence.

What the hell would anyone want with me? Unless …

“Hey, Seth?”

“Yeah?” Placing his hand at the crook of my elbow, he keeps me steady. “Are you okay?”

“Mhm. Are you sure this is something to do with Loki? Not some random psycho?”

Seth studies me for a minute, before a gentle smile crosses his face. “Do you think this is an ex-boyfriend or something?” He’s making fun of me, but I don’t tend to end relationships on the best of terms.

Without making eye contact, I shrug.