“Fuentes’s assassin, a man named Rudolph Delgado, arrived via Dulles this morning. Two hours later Macey was contacted by one of his sources that Delgado is here for you. I want you out of here.”
He wanted her hiding, he wanted to pull her away, no matter the risks, and force her into hiding for the rest of her life if that was what it took.
“We knew this was coming.” She shook her head fiercely. “We’ve already agreed that I can’t run.”
“Ms. Stanton, Delgado is the best Fuentes has,” Reno argued then. “He arrived within hours of the attempted hit last night. We can’t take this chance with your life.”
“And I can’t run forever.” Her heart was chugging in her breasts. “I’ve listened to Daddy rant about Fuentes. If I run, then I forfeit whatever game he’s playing. He won’t keep the rules he’s laying in place then. Will he?”
Her father’s lips flattened as his eyes flashed in rage. “I won’t take this chance with your life.”
“It’s too late.” She moved farther away from him, her hand slashing through the air as she fought to think. “Delgado. What does he do? How does he kill?”
Six pairs of male eyes watched her warily.
“His expertise is with a knife,” Kell answered when it was obvious no one else intended to.
She could feel her breathing becoming heavier, her heart racing to keep up with the fear and adrenaline tearing through her.
“Why come to D.C.?” She swallowed tightly. “My plans were to return home today. Everyone knew that. Why come here?”
“He’ll expect you to stay in the general area when we try to stash you,” Kell answered again. “It would be logical, to keep the team close together rather than separating our strength.”
“Was that your plan?”
“Not in this lifetime,” her father answered. “And our plans aren’t changing.”
“Yes. They are,” she informed him sharply. “I’m not hiding. I’m not running from this.”
“Miss Stanton—” Reno began to argue.
“She’ll go or I’ll carry her,” Kell interceded then, causing her to swing toward him, betrayal filling her.
“Why?” she questioned him angrily. “You know yourself this is what they want. Fuentes sent in a knife. He has to face us with a knife. If we run, he’ll send guns, and you know it.”
“He has to get a bead on you first,” Kell said grimly. “And I promise you, he won’t.”
Emily licked her lips nervously. He was different this morning, quieter, more brooding. Grim, just as his voice was now. She had felt it in him as she lay in his arms the night before, and now she could see it. The rules had changed for him when he spilled his release into her unprotected body. The gloves were coming off, and now she was glimpsing the incredible force he kept so closely hidden.
“I’m not going. And if you weren’t letting other things cloud your judgment, you would admit I’m right,” she snapped. “Don’t start babying me now, Kell. I won’t stand for it.”
She met his gaze, refusing to back down, refusing to allow him to see her fears. When staring into cold green ice, a woman had to do more than quell her fears of other forces. She had to quell the instinct to instantly submit.
She had been submitting for too many years. She wasn’t going to return to that. Not with Kell.
“Emily, stop this stubbornness,” her father snarled. “This is your life we’re talking about.”
“Kell.” She whispered his name, not beseechingly, but as a plea for him to understand. “Don’t take me out of the game like this. You had a plan, remember? They want to kidnap me, not kill me. If you hide me, they’ll go for the jugular.”
“What do you think a knife does, Emily?” he asked with chilling politeness.
“A knife gives you a chance to fight,” she whispered back. “But even if it were bullets, we wouldn’t have any other choice.”
“Emily, you’re not just risking your own life here.” Her father’s voice was calm, indulgent. As it had been when she was a child and she tried to have her own adventures, without him. “You’re risking Kell’s life. Are you comfortable doing that?”
Emily flinched.
Her gaze went to the men around her. They were watching her, not with condemnation, but thoughtfully, as though curious as to how she would handle this new argument.