Page 87 of Traded

“No. It wasn’t like that.” My headshake is frantic. The bell sounds, doors sliding open. “Pleasedon’t tell him.”

“Going down?”

Liam wheels around, blocking my view. “Up.”

“My bad. I always hit the wrong button.” The alpha steps into the lift anyway. “May as well get in. You never know when the next one will turn up, am I right?”

Liam doesn’t respond. His arm nudges me back, into the corner.

“Hey, Rosie.” Austin Navarro leans around him, offering me a smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes. “You good?”

Humiliated. Embarrassed. And to make it worse, Liam’s right. The elevator is filling with apple pie.Burntapple pie, and my eyes shift down to the floor. “Yeah.”

The tension ratchets up with every floor. Navarro hums, his eyes on me. “You sure about that?”

“She’s fine,” Liam snaps. “Keep your eyes on your own damned pack and stop looking at mine.”

“Just checking.” I wonder if he can pick up the echoes of his packmate’s scent. If he can pick out the burnt strands of my own broken scent, the de-scenter I threw in the bath earlier clearly not enough. “Season’s pretty demanding. Easy for emotions to get out of hand, no?”

The elevator stops on our floor. Liam’s hand wraps around my arm, but he loosens it and slams his hand against the doors instead, holding it as he waits for me to get out.

“Bye, Rosie.” I feel Navarro’s eyes on my back as I dart out, holding back tears.

“Bye,” I mumble.

I stay where I am as the doors close. Waiting. Liam takes me in and pinches his nose. “Look. It’s fucking late, and I’ve spent the last hour trying to find you.”

“Sorry,” I whisper again. He shakes his head.

“Go to bed. I’ll deal with this when we’re home.”

He waits for me to scan my key card, and I pause in the doorway. “Are you going to tell Carter?”

Liam runs a hand through his hair. “Areyougoing to behave the rest of this trip?”

I nod.

“Then I’ll think about it.” He inhales, his face twisting. “Shower before you go to bed.”

The door closes, and I fold over in the middle of my bedroom. My body shakes, and I slam my hands over my mouth.

Stupid. I don’t have to be scared of him—not likethat. That’s ridiculous. I shuffle toward the shower, stopping for a fresh bottle of de-scenter on the way and not emerging until there isn’t a single trace of scent left on me.

Someone is tapping on the door. Bracing myself for whatever Liam’s forgotten, I yank it open.

The barman on the other side is unexpectedly familiar.

“May I bring this in?” He keeps his voice quiet, and my stomach twists as I stand back to let him wheel the trolley inside. He tucks it against the wall, and I lift the first stainless steel cover.

Fries. Every single dish I ordered, and one I didn’t.

The warm chocolate lava cake is steaming. A bowl of ice-cream waits beside it, with a note pushed beneath the bowl.

My heart thunders in my chest as I slide it free.

Go for the record.

Chapter twenty-five