Chapter 91: His Woman

Michael’s POV

I returned to Emerald’s Jeep.

Her purse and phone were inside. I took them, along with the grocery store items I did not want left behind, and placed them in my car.

Then I walked a short distance away before making a call.

"Alpha."

"Send someone to my location," I instructed.

"Yes, Alpha."

"There is a black Jeep here. It belongs to Miss Hugo. Take it and return it to her dormitory’s car park."

"Understood."

"Miss Hugo’s biological father, Paul Walker, escaped after bringing her all the way here."

"We will find him."

"You should have found him before he took Miss Hugo."

"Alpha—"

"You were assigned to watch her. Yet he managed to take her at gunpoint."

His silence told me enough.

"Locate him and keep him under surveillance. He does not come near Miss Hugo again."

"Yes, Alpha."

I further instructed, "He is not to remain in the same city as her."

"Understood."

I ended the call, returned to my car, slid into the driver’s seat, and started the engine.

For the first few minutes, silence filled the car. Emerald sat beside me, hands folded in her lap.

"Do you want to go back to your dorm?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No."

"Then you’re coming with me."

She did not argue. After driving for a while, I asked, "The man who took you—who was he?"

Her fingers tightened slightly, but she stayed silent. Without looking at her again, I said, "Take your time."

Several seconds passed before she answered. "My biological father."

I nodded, then asked calmly, "What did he want?"

"Money."

I glanced at her, so she explained, "He thinks he can use me to get money from the Hugo family."

I turned back to the road. Emerald was quiet for a while before saying, "Please don’t call the police."

I looked at her, stunned by the request. "He kidnapped you."

"I know."

"He pointed a gun at you," I reminded her.

"I know." She agreed without doubt, so I said, "He is dangerous."

"He wouldn’t kill me," she replied.

"You don’t know that."

"He’s my father," she stated.

I said nothing. When I had stood near Paul, I had sensed no bond between them. None. Though, at the time, all that mattered was getting Emerald away from him.

I pushed the thought away. "I will find him," I said.

Panic flashed through Emerald. "Michael—"

"I won’t do anything without considering you first."

She fell silent again.

"You don’t have to tell me anything else tonight," I added.

She lowered her eyes, and I reached across the console to take her hand. "You may not be a Hugo by blood, but that doesn’t change who you are."

Emerald looked at me, a faint smile touching her face.

I kept driving, and before long, we reached my estate. I pulled into the underground parking lot of my condo and brought the Aston Martin to a stop before switching off the engine.

The car had survived the terrible road without a scratch—the only thing that had gone according to plan that evening.

I turned my head toward Emerald. She was staring ahead through the windscreen, with her phone and purse resting on her lap.

I had handed both of them to her before leaving the area where I had found her, and she had barely looked at either since.

"You can take your time," I said.

She nodded slightly.

I stepped out of the car first and went around to her side. She had already unfastened her seat belt by the time I opened the door.

"Are you sure you can walk?" I asked.

She looked at me as though the question had caught her off guard. "Yes."

"All right." I stood back to give her space.

She got out slowly, and I waited until she was steady on her feet before closing the door behind her. Then I opened the back of the car and reached for her shopping bags.

"You don’t have to carry those," Emerald said. "I can take them."

I picked up the bags. "You can barely decide whether you want to look at me or the floor. I’m not making you carry anything."

She did not respond.

I glanced through the bags before shutting the back of the car. There was nothing perishable among the items. Most of them were dry groceries and other things she could keep for later.

I carried the bags with me as we headed toward the elevator.

The ride upstairs was quiet.

Emerald stood beside me with her arms folded around herself, and although she was no longer trembling, there was a stiffness in the way she carried herself that told me she had not yet relaxed.

I did not try to force a conversation.

When the elevator opened, we stepped out and headed for my front door together. I keyed in the codes and unlocked the door. Then I stepped aside. After she walked in, I followed suit and shut the door behind us.

Almost immediately, I led her toward the guest room. "This is where you will stay for tonight."

She looked around the bedroom when I opened the door.

"You can use anything you need. The bathroom is through there." I pointed toward the adjoining door. "I will get you something to change into."

"I have clothes in my dorm."

"I’m aware." I nodded. Her eyes moved toward me, so I added, "You are not returning to your dorm tonight."

"Michael, don’t argue with her," Draxen said.

I ignored him and continued, "You can go back for your things tomorrow."

Emerald looked as though she wanted to object, but she did not.

I walked into my bedroom and opened one of the drawers. After going through my clothes, I picked out a clean white shirt and a pair of lounge trousers.

When I returned, Emerald was still standing near the bed. I held the clothes out to her. "You can wear these for now."

She looked at them before taking them from my hand. "Thank you."

"I will be outside," I said, then I carried her shopping bags into the room and set them down beside the wall.

"Your groceries are here. There isn’t anything that will spoil."

Emerald nodded. "You checked?"

"I was making sure you didn’t buy ice cream."

That earned the faintest smile from her. Then I stepped back and left her alone.

I closed the door behind me and went straight to the kitchen.

I always kept prepared food in the condo, especially because I did not enjoy ordering food every time I returned home late. There was enough left from my previous cooking to make a proper dinner without starting from scratch.

I heated a portion of roasted chicken, wild rice, and vegetables, then added the salad I had prepared a few hours ago.

By the time I was setting everything on the table, I heard the guest-room door open. I instinctively looked up.

Emerald stepped into the living room wearing my white shirt and lounge trousers.

The shirt was loose on her and fell low enough over her thighs that she had rolled the sleeves. The trousers had been adjusted at the waist, and her hair was still damp around her shoulders from the shower.

I held my breath.

For a fleeting moment, I saw her differently—no longer just Miss Hugo, my student, or the woman whose life I had protected all evening.

She looked like my woman.