Page 49 of Tangled Lies

Ronan turned around and grabbed me from the other two and pulled me along to the stairs.

“Where the hell are you going? I’m calling my guards,” Carrow yelled after us.

I stumbled, but Ronan caught me, and how he held me, I saw Knox flip off Carrow.

“I wouldn’t call your guards, not until after you figure out who we are. It’s been really nice asshole,” Talon said as Ronan kept me moving. All I heard were Talon’s words as we enteredthe stairwell. “The auction’s about to start sweetheart. Care to join?”

The stairwell was quiet, with only the echoes of my shoes against the concrete and the heavy thuds of the four men.

“Can someone please tell me what is going on? You all seem to be aware of a joke or something. And why is this auction a big deal? Why are we even here? I just want to go home.”

My shoe slipped, and I lost my balance. I sucked in air as my hands flew out to catch me. Air rushed out of me as Knox’s arms caught me, wrapping me in the safety of his body.

I grabbed the lapels of his jacket without thinking.

“Careful there, angel. If you fall and break your neck, you won’t hear the story, now will you?”

He didn’t let me go, not yet. I hadn’t noticed his piercing blue eyes until now. My brain caught up, finally, and I squirmed to stand on my own. The ache that settled low in my belly was not planned for and he wasn’t letting me go. I just needed to breathe.

The way he studied me should have been uncomfortable, but with him, that sparkle in his eyes just made me more confident.

He knocked the air from my lungs when he lifted me bridal style and started walking down the last flight of stairs. His hold only got tighter when I squirmed.

“We can’t have you falling and hurting yourself. Poor Jett couldn’t handle it.”

Jett? I looked around Knox the best I could and caught the very misleading sweet and terrifying Jett with the most crooked smile.

Ronan slammed his hands into the door and I jerked my head toward him.

I shrunk into Knox’s hold like that would protect me from the anger seething from Ronan.

“What did I do now?”

Knox stopped before leaving the stairwell and put me down in front of Ronan.

“We’ll see you in three minutes, not a minute more,” Knox said and then he grabbed Jett and stepped away. Talon’s hand grazed over the skin of my shoulder as he stepped around me. When Ronan let the door close again, we were surrounded by quiet. Alone.

“Look, I didn’t.”

Ronan grabbed my waist and pushed me against the wall behind me.

“You know that you were supposed to be mine?”

When I didn’t say anything, he continued.

“I didn’t want you. I didn’t want an arranged marriage. I should just let you go back to your uncle and let you marry that prick Thorne.”

My eyes burned with tears that couldn’t decide whether I was angry or sad. When I let the emotions play through me like a low-budget movie, I settled on anger.

“Arranged marriage? Me? You? I doubt that. You’re far too angry; my uncle wouldn’t have ever picked you. He thinks you’re some kind of security guard.”

I shut up as Ronan’s grasp on my hips tightened.

“Not him, little bird. Your father. He knew he couldn’t keep you safe, so he struck a deal with the Barone family, with my father. Funny how you’ve been locked up and kept away from me for these last few years and yet here you are. Tempting me to do exactly what I was supposed to do.”

His breathing was heavier than I thought made sense. He seemed to be fighting something I couldn’t see.

“Seeing Carrow touch you? I wanted to break whichever of his hands touched you. I wanted to watch that ugly face of his pale in pain thinking he could have what is mine.”