Giles

Sweat drips down the side of my face as I shift out of bed. It’s driving me insane not knowing what’s going on downstairs.

My crutches lean against the wall, and it takes all my strength to get to them.

My body is so damn weak.

All I want to do is protect my wife. Keep her safe. But I can barely even get down the hallway.

I see the two guards by the front door. Tia stands speaking to Fallon, and whatever she’s said has caught the attention of all the men around the room. They’re turned, looking at her, but when Tia glances up, spotting me when I’m halfway down the stairs, everyone stops and turns to look in my direction.

Emerson is the first to speak as I reach the second last step. “Shit,” he mutters, as he starts towards me. “Get back upstairs.”

I grunt and push him away.

We planned for this. Knew an interrogation would come. We also know that they have no concrete evidence for anything. If they did, they would have come sooner, and it would have been for arrests, not just interrogations.

What they’re looking for is a scapegoat, someone to appease the Universal Court for the deaths of the mercenaries. They’ll never be able to pin anything on Tia. But they will dig into her past and that’s what worries me.

I also know my wife. She’ll do anything to protect us. Even sacrifice herself. And I won’t let that happen. Can’t let her do something reckless that will be irreversible.

“What are you doing?” Emerson whispers harshly as I take a step, feeling like I might topple over.   

“Not going to let them take her,” I grit out.

Fallon storms toward me, fire burning in his eyes. But I know he has every intention of doing exactly what I plan to do. So, he can save his judgmental look.

“Neither are we.” Emerson grabs my arm, but I push him away and take another step. “We know what we have to do.”

“Tia, though, has other ideas,” I say, only for his ears as my gaze lands on our wife.

“I hope you’re not planning on playing hero,” Fallon says as he steps into my line of view.

“Better than our wife doing the same, don’t you think?” I hold his gaze and an inaudible war begins between us. But we don’t have a chance to resolve anything before the door to the office opens and Salinger and his father come out.

Both men share the same stoic glances as they look up at me.

“Commander Knight,” the Director says, pursing his lips as his gaze drifts down to my bandaged leg, then back up to my face.

Tia starts to move toward the Director, but I see Banks grip her arm so tightly she winces.

Good.

They plan to protect her. Even from herself. Which isn’t an easy job, considering she seems hell-bent on sacrificing herself.

“Sir,” I nod at him, wiping the sweat from my brow. The world shifts slightly, but I manage to hold myself upright and salute him.

“You’re injured.” It’s an accusation.

“I had an accident while hunting. A run-in with a pack of wolves.”

I hear the murmurs from the other men. I know they did their best to keep my injury a secret, not wanting to draw attention to us. But it’s too late. There’s a big, red target on my wife’s head and I’ll be the fucking diversion if I have to be.

“You should be in bed,” Salinger says, giving me a look of warning.

Ignoring him, I keep my gaze latched onto the Director. “I want to know what evidence you have for taking our wife into custody.”

“That’s confidential,” he says, one brow raised at me like he’s surprised by my insubordination. But he doesn’t reprimand me, just states, “We only want to talk with her.”

Bullshit. If he only wanted to talk, he’d do it here.

“The mercenaries had files on a woman they were looking for,” Salinger says quickly, despite the harsh glare his father gives him. “My father thinks they may have been after one of the women who came here recently. They’re all being taken into custody.”

“Kate and Lilah,” I hear Tia whisper. From the corner of my eye, I see her hand go to her mouth. She already feels guilty for my injuries and fears for her husbands’ safety. I can’t imagine the turmoil she’ll go through if anything happened to her friends because of her actions.

“You really think a female killed them?” I scoff. “Three trained mercenaries.” I shake my head at him like it’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. Which if I didn’t know Tia pulled the trigger, it would be.

Those men were born, bred, trained to be killing machines.  

“No,” the Director says, glancing over at Tia, then back to me. “But I think they might lead us to the man or men who did.”

“And if you knew who the person was?” I ask.

There’s a moment of pause, and I hear Fallon make a sound beside me like a growl.

“Then we would have no reason to interrogate them.” The Director holds my gaze.

I nod, and stand at full attention, despite the way the room spins around me, and bright lights flash in front of my eyes. There’s no question in my mind what I must do.

For Tia.

For our family.

“Then I make a formal admission here,” I say, refusing to meet the eyes of any of the men. “I’m the man responsible for their deaths.”

“No,” Tia yells, but Banks pulls her back, draws her to his chest, whispers in her ear. She thrashes against him, trying to break free.

Fallon curses beside me. And I hear the sharp intake of breath from a few of the others.

Tia keeps fighting Banks, and a sob breaks from her chest. “No. He’s lying. It’s not true.”

The Director looks over at her and I can practically hear what he’s thinking - she’s nothing but an emotional woman who doesn’t have a clue.

They don’t know Tia, though. She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met. And my heart swells with pride that she is my wife.

She wants to fight for me but I can’t let her go to battle. She means too much to all of us. I am only one of six husbands. She is the only wife any of us have.

The only one any of us want. Even if some of her husbands haven’t admitted that aloud, I see the way they look at her, care for her, need her.

I know because I have the same primal desire to protect her at all costs.

Giving up my life for her is the least I can fucking do, and I’d do it repeatedly. She means everything to me.

I’ve been through hell and back, lost the woman I loved once. This time I can make things right. This time I can make the ultimate sacrifice.

I keep my gaze directed at Salinger’s father, but from the corner of my eye, I see the way everyone in our family struggles with my decision.

Fallon is talking to Tia now. I can’t hear what he says, but his words are harsh, and she finally stops fighting, but the tears don’t stop streaming down her cheeks.

The Director finally nods, his gaze unwavering as he begins to read me my rights, and the guards walk towards me, placing me in handcuffs.