Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
Parked a cautious distance from the target, Jasper and I survey the house that the tracker has led us to—a decrepit home with boarded-up windows standing out against the backdrop of similarly run-down homes. The only sign of recent activity is a black van parked out front, its windows tinted to midnight darkness. The area is unsettlingly quiet, the kind of quiet that speaks of the perfect place to hide bodies.
“No way in hell is this Nexus,” Jasper hisses, his words a low rumble of contained fury.
He leans in closer to me to peer out my car window while we assess the situation. The neighborhood feels deserted, save for a couple of houses farther down the street that show faint signs of life. Across the street from our target stretches out an open field, the faded sign reading Greenwood Sports Field barely visible in the dim light.
“Agreed,” I answer, my mind racing with anticipation. “We gotta be dealing with someone else… someone who’s been tracking us for a while… or, more specifically, searching for Danica.” The thought sends a chill down my arms as I remember the silver SUV waiting near her mom’s place that chased after us.
Jasper’s response comes in the form of a low grunt, his shoulders curling forward like he’s about to crash through the window and madly sprint to the house to fetch Danica.
“I’m ready to break their fucking faces,” he growls, the promise of violence simmering just beneath the surface.
Yet we remain still… for now. Our gazes fixed on the house when suddenly, another van pulls up. Six men disembark, their movements swift and purposeful, and despite their attempts to conceal them, the outlines of guns are visible against their sides as they hurry in through the front door. The sight tightens the knot of dread in my stomach.
“Fuckers,” Jasper murmurs. “I can take on three, but I knew we should have brought our guns on tour for protection.”
“Fuck that,” I counter, my voice hard with resolve. “We’re not getting into a full-out war. We won’t win, and I won’t risk Danica and Reed getting hurt. We need another way.”
The question hangs heavy in the air between us.
“You think she’s in there?” he asks.
“I have no doubts,” I answer fast, my gaze dropping to the glowing dot on my tracker app.
“So, what’s our plan, then? Storm in there? Please tell me we’re going to spill blood.” Jasper’s voice is laced with fury, the idea of a frontal assault clearly his preferred option. He’s never been one to shy away from fights, bulldozing into anyone who stands in his way. I know he gets satisfaction from it, and I’m not one to stand in his way, but at times like these, some preparation will save his ass.
“Nope,” I reply, a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth, despite the shithole of our situation. “What we need is a distraction. Something to lure them out, to have them preoccupied while we sneak in. If we’re quick, maybe we’ll go undetected.”
Jasper lets out a snorting laugh. “Right, a distraction in the country’s creepiest and quietest town? What are we going to do, set off fireworks and hope they come out to watch like it’s the Fourth of July?” His tone drips with sarcasm.
I can’t help but smile because, honestly, my plan isn’t that far off from his sarcastic suggestion.
Danica
The door to our makeshift prison room swings open with a force that has me flinching. Reed and I scramble to our feet, our backs pressed against the cold wall. My heart hammers against my ribcage, a frantic beat that thumps in my ears.
What do they want? To hurt us?
Two bulky men step into the room, their figures casting long shadows from the faint light behind them that seems to stretch out toward us. My gaze locks onto one of them, a flicker of recognition igniting in my mind.
He was a guard on the bus—the realization hits me like a physical blow.
“It’s you,” I blurt out. “But you don’t work for Nexus... do you?” I stammer as a rising panic claws through me.
The guard, a smirk playing on his lips, chuckles at my astonishment. “You’re not so dumb, apparently,” he taunts, and I bristle at his condescending tone. “How else was I going to get close to you Omegas?”
“So, you caused the bus to crash,” I shoot back, trying to keep him talking to buy us time. My mind races, desperate for a way out, keenly aware that Reed is doing the same.
“Wasn’t us, as we had different plans to take all four of you Omegas,” he admits, and there’s a hint of genuine anger in his voice. His grin is wide, revealing a row of teeth that sends an involuntary shiver down my spine.
So, who crashed into the bus then?
“Who the fuck are you if not Nexus?” Reed growls.
The man exchanges a glance with his friend, shrugging. “Doesn’t really matter to you, buddy. You won’t be around for much longer to worry about your little Omega. She’s been ours from the moment we spotted her and her friends at the Nocturne club when a Nexus enforcer busted them.”
My skin crawls at his confession. They’ve been on my tail since then? Plotting how to kidnap me?
“Like fuck she’s yours.” Reed instinctively nudges me to stand behind him, his chest puffing out. My heart’s pounding in my chest with fear of how this is going to end.
They don’t need to tell us who they are. I’m certain they are one of the many criminal organizations out there my mother warned me about. Those who steal and sell Omegas. They pretty much said it earlier, and I’m fuming that my friends and I have been their targets this whole time and had no clue.
Before we can muster a response, a third man barges into the room and makes a beeline for Reed. “Stop fucking around and just take him already,” he commands the two men, his order cutting through the tense air.
Reed doesn’t hesitate. He springs into action, his fist connecting with one assailant’s face with a thud. But the other man is quick, too quick, and he tackles Reed with a force that sends them both crashing into the wall with a sickening thud.
A cry spills past my lips as I stumble back, scanning the room for a weapon, for anything to get him off Reed.
“Leave him alone,” I scream.
Panic and rage war within me as I watch him drive a fist into Reed’s gut. He groans but clips the guard back with a fist under his chin, sending him backward, but the other two men are on Reed, hauling him away. He’s thrashing against their grip.
Terror crashes over me.
“Not such a tough man now, are you, when you’re not on stage? You’re just an asshole like the rest of us…” one of the guard’s taunts.
“Are you so stupid to think I’d be any different? Oh wait, I am because you’re fucking scum,” Reed spits back.
My heart feels like it’s being torn apart as I watch them drag him away. Tears blur my vision. I run after them, my hands grasping at one of the guard’s shirts, my voice raw as I scream.
“Get off him,” I bellow. There’s a primal fear gripping me, the terror of losing Reed, of being left alone in this nightmare.
I kick one of the men behind the knee. He stumbles, and in the ensuing chaos, I move with a speed and instinct I didn’t know I had. My hand closes around the cold metal of a gun tucked in his waistband.
Trembling, I back up and level the gun at them, my finger shaky on the trigger.
“Release him now!” I yell, my voice breaking with the intensity of my emotions.
The men all stop to turn and stare at me.
I’ve seen enough movies to know I need to take the safety off. With a trembling finger, I manage to flick the switch, and the change in the guards’ expressions is immediate—they stiffen, their eyes widening with the realization that I’m serious.
“What the fuck? She got your gun, you asshole,” the blond guard barks at his friend.
“Now!” I demand again, despite the tremors that rack my body.
The blond guard, who seems to be in charge, says, “You’re making a mistake. Give me back the gun, and we’ll let him go.”
“Stop patronizing me. I’m not an idiot,” I shout back, my heart pounding in my chest. “Release him now, or I start with your legs, then theirs.” I swing the gun to his companions, who watch me with a predatory stillness, their intentions unreadable. “And if you so much as go for your guns, I’ll shoot you.”
Sweat beads on my forehead, my grip on the gun slippery as I struggle to maintain control. I’m out of my depth, far from the comfort and safety I once knew, but the stakes are too high to back down.
I meet Reed’s gaze momentarily, and he’s giving me a grin, an expression that says he’s proud of me and supports my decision. His response fuels my strength not to give in to the fear swallowing me.
In that heart-stopping moment of silence, with nobody making a move and Reed still not released, an explosive boom from outside shatters the tense standoff.
Boom!
I flinch, a jolt of terror through me. My finger, already tensed on the trigger, flinches involuntarily, and the gun discharges with a deafening crack.
The bullet finds its mark in the blond guard’s arm. He’s thrown against the wall, howling in pain as he clutches his arm.
“You bitch,” the one in charge barks, and I swing my gun to him.
“Let Reed fucking go, or you’re next!”
Boom. Boom.
“What the hell was that sound?” the third man says, already out of the room, staring down the hallway.
The wounded guard, cursing through gritted teeth, snarls at his companion, “Release him. Fuck! Get me a medic.”
Reed wrenches free, but before I can process our fleeting chance at escape, the guard in the room backhands me with a force that sends me reeling. My grip on the gun loosens, and it’s swiftly torn from my hands. It all happens too fast.
As I tumble backward, the room spinning, pain exploding across my face, I catch a glimpse of Reed’s silhouette against the doorway where the wounded man is hauled out of the room, the door shutting urgently behind him. Reed thrusts his foot out and wedges it into the gap, preventing the door from slamming shut as the guards leave in a hurry.
He hisses under his breath from the ache, but the guards aren’t returning to shut the door. Their rushed footsteps are fading down the hallway.
From my position on the floor, the pain throbbing in my cheek, I strain to make sense of the tumultuous sounds filtering in from outside. It’s a cacophony of shouts, yells, and indistinct voices, something booming, reminiscent of the frenzied energy of one of our concerts.
The next thing I know, Reed’s got me by the hand, pulling me to my feet with an urgency that sends my heart racing.
“You did amazing, my gun-slinging beauty. Now, we need to run,” he says with something like admiration in his gaze on me. We’re on the move, me running alongside him out of the room and into the hallway. His grip is firm and reassuring in my hand.
My heart pounds in my chest as we dash through the hallway in the opposite direction from where the guards vanished.
I’m on high alert, scanning our surroundings. Farther behind us in the long corridor, I spot guards, their attention momentarily diverted as they fling the front door open, letting in a wave of sounds that are startling in their intensity. It’s a bizarre mix of shouts, laughter, and the unmistakable thump of Fever’s music blaring from outdoor speakers. The sight of cars and people scattered outside, caught up in some impromptu party, only adds to my confusion.
What’s going on?
Reed’s not paying attention and dragging me fast toward a rear exit in the house.
“Casey,” I whisper, my friend’s name slipping out almost involuntarily.
Reed doesn’t miss a beat; true to his word, he steers us toward the nearest rooms. We check three closed doors in quick succession, but the rooms are all empty.
A sickening dread settles in the pit of my stomach.
“I can’t leave without her,” I murmur, and Reed’s heaving for breath, his gaze slipping to the front of the house.
“I’ll come back and search for her, but I need to get you out first.”
Not giving me a chance to respond, he pulls me alongside him hastily, his pace relentless. We round a corner of the corridor, bursting into a grimy kitchen, only to be met by the hostile gaze of a guard. The man charges at Reed with a ferocity that sends a spike of fear through me.
I yelp, stepping back and hitting a wall.
In that split second, everything slows down. Reed’s movements are precise, and he’s ready for the guard’s charge. My breath catches in my throat, the chaotic sounds from outside fading into the background as I focus solely on Reed. He hurls the man to the ground and straddles him, throwing punch after punch.
I should look away, but I can’t, not even when there’s the splatter of blood on the floor, and the man no longer moves.
There’s no emotional reaction from Reed, and I feel none for the man on the floor. How can there be when these monsters kidnap Omegas, when they were ready to eliminate Reed?
Reed’s grip tightens around my hand once more, and he steers us toward the back door, his whisper urgent. “Keep quiet, and we’ll get out of here. I promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
The contrast between the dim indoors and the blinding sunlight outside is stark. I blink against the brightness, my senses momentarily overwhelmed. Behind us, the cacophony from the front of the house seems worlds away, yet it booms through the quiet neighborhood like someone’s holding a huge party in the middle of the day.
Every step we take is driven with desperation for freedom, for safety. Reed leads me swiftly around the house’s perimeter, the barren concrete yard sprawling out behind the large home. We pause at the rear corner, Reed pulling me close, his body shielding mine in a protective embrace that floods me with warm fuzzy feelings for him.
Peering cautiously around the corner to the open parking area at the side of the house, my breath catches at the sight before us. There, unmistakable with her blonde-white hair fluttering in the breeze, is Casey. She’s sliding onto the back of a motorcycle behind a large, imposing guy in a leather jacket.
My heart lurches with relief and alarm—Casey is alive, but she’s leaving, seemingly of her own volition.
“Casey!” I call out, desperation sharpening my voice as I attempt to break free from Reed’s hold. My friend is slipping away, not hearing me over the explosive sounds happening somewhere at the front of the house.
I step forward, reaching for her, desperate to hug her, to find out what happened to her and if she knows how Kayla and Jess are doing. It feels like an eternity since the bus crash, since we were separated, but it comes crashing back. Raw and emotional, it grabs hold of my chest, squeezing it with worry for my friends.
“Casey, wait up,” I call out once more.
Reed’s arm wraps securely around my waist, holding me back as I strain toward her. The motorbike roars to life and speeds away down the driveway with such velocity, there’s no chance she’ll hear me now.
As the bike disappears down the street, emotions whirl within me. Relief that Casey is alive eats away at the worry about her safety. Who the hell was the guy on the bike? She didn’t appear injured, but her hasty exit and her acceptance of the biker leaves me desperate for a conversation that feels farther away. I tell myself she’s alive and escaped these monsters, so maybe she’s found her own Alpha?
Reed’s hand steady on my hip, he whispers in my ear, “We’ll find her again, but we don’t know who she’s involved in, and I won’t risk putting you in more danger,” he assures me, his voice low but firm.
I hate that he pulled me back from rushing to Casey. Maybe it would have been dangerous, but what about her safety?
“You shouldn’t have stopped me,” I whisper back. “What if she needed help?”
“Come on, Danica, you saw she had no issues getting on that bike, but it was fast. She was escaping just like we are. You’re my priority.”
My frustration at missing Casey still simmers beneath the surface, but Reed’s urgent pull, dragging me down the side of the house, past boarded-up windows, snaps me back to the present danger.
I’m torn with my own emotions.
As we rush forward toward the front of the house, I see them.
Three guards round the corner ahead of us, their intentions clear in their dark gazes.
Dread churns in my gut, the hairs on my nape lifting.
The house we just escaped erupts in a cacophony of shouts and commotion. Have they discovered us gone and perhaps Casey’s escape as well? A wave of nausea hits me. The notion of being dragged back into that house, or worse, seeing Reed killed, is unbearable.
The lead guard doesn’t hesitate, his hand steady as he raises his gun toward us. Reed instinctively steps in front of me, ready to shield me with his own body. Panic and determination surge within me.
I can’t.
I won’t let Reed be hurt for my sake. “Please don’t do this,” I plead, stepping out from behind him. “Just let him go, and I’ll come with you...”
“Danica, no,” Reed growls.
Before the situation can escalate further, two figures burst onto the scene right behind the guards, taking them by surprise. The newcomers lunge at them, taking two down so fast, including the man with the gun. I barely have time to register what’s going on. As Reed charges at the third guard, it takes me a moment to recognize our rescuers—Jasper and Seth.
A choked whimper of happiness spills past my lips at seeing them, at watching the fight. Jasper, in particular, catches my eye with his ruthless beating of the man he holds in a chokehold while slamming a fist into his head. The unsettling smile that plays on his lips as he metes out his brand of justice is slightly disturbing. Yet, at this moment, it’s that very darkness that’s securing our safety.
And fuck these kidnappers. They deserve all the pain coming their way. Seth slams one guy to the floor with such force that I almost feel the moan of the groaning guy hitting the concrete. Reed already has another guy on the ground, driving him into submission with aggressive punches to his face, to his body, just as he had the guard in the kitchen.
I adore them all even more at seeing them fight for me, for the lengths they’ll go to keep me safe.
With the guards incapacitated and lying in a heap, Reed, Jasper, and Seth are by my side in a flash, their arms wrapping around me in a fierce embrace that melts me. I want to cry that I somehow lucked out to get three Alphas all to myself. The urge to break down, to let out all the pent-up fear and relief, is overwhelming, but there’s no time for tears.
As we make our escape, the full extent of the chaos unfolding at the front of the house comes into view. The sports ground across the street has transformed into the epicenter of a festival. The area is teeming with people, cars parked haphazardly along the curb, the air filled with the pulse of Fever’s music blaring from enormous speakers someone set up in the field. It’s a massive outdoor party where laughter mingles with the dancing, and more cars are coming down the street, parking on the grass, anything to join in.
We’re moving again within seconds, just as someone calls out to us from behind. That’s when we notice three other men emerging from the rear of the property, calling for us to stop.
Yeah, right.
Driven by the need to escape, we run into the chaotic street of people everywhere, putting as much distance between us and this nightmare as possible.
Jasper and Seth, already wearing hoodies, swiftly pull the hoods lower over their faces, casting them in shadow. Reed, improvising, grabs the collar of his shirt from behind and yanks it up and over his head, effectively shrouding his features as well.
The sight of police cars cruising down the street, one after the other, snaps us to the urgency of the moment. Especially when I glance back and see them pulling up in front of the house of horrors we just escaped from. Hell, yes! Hope they arrest them all.
There’s no sign of the guards coming after us. Are they panicking? Escaping out the back? We seize the opportunity, sprinting with everything we have, blending into the chaos as best we can.
Our feet pound against the pavement as my heart races in my chest. The booming sounds and music from the sports ground fade into the background, replaced by the singular focus of escape, of survival, as we navigate the cars and people everywhere.
Glancing back once more, we’re long past the house, and no one’s coming after us. I slow down, catching my breath.
“How in the world did this outdoor party happen?” The question whirls in my mind, but when I spot Seth grinning suspiciously at me, I get my response. He did this somehow. Created a distraction near the house… God, it’s a genius idea.
“Seth’s at the bottom of it,” Reed answers. “He’s a mastermind.”
I fucking adore these men. Even Reed… yes, I said it.
“I love you guys,” I say breathlessly, gaining each of their stares, and for a moment, I’m convinced they’re going to stop and come at me, peel my clothes off, and rut me right here on the street. It’s the primal hunger in their eyes at hearing my words that does this to them, and I’m fucking ecstatic. Well, maybe not right here with all the people and so close still to danger.
“Oh, you’ve just made me the happiest man in the world. I fucking love you so hard,” Jasper announces, grinning like crazy. Seth blows me a kiss, mouthing he loves me too, and it’s as if I can feel his lips on mine in an instant. Reed’s lips curl upward, even as we’re still moving up the street and away from danger, and he says, “I love you too, babe.”
It’s so strange to talk about love while running for our lives, yet it somehow feels like it’s needed, like it’s natural.
I can’t help but glance back at the growing festival, with Fever’s music as its anthem.
“What did you tell them?” I ask, glancing over at Seth. “That Fever will attend?”
He’s breathing heavily, as all of us are. “I just made a few announcements on social media that Fever might be making a quick appearance at this sports ground. Then everything else went out of control, and the fans organized this festival, any reason to celebrate.”
“Wow, I’m impressed with the power of your fans.”
“They’re incredible,” Reed answers.
We finally reach Seth’s car, my lungs burning from the exertion and the adrenaline while the sound of fans and chaos echoes around us. The guys still have their faces obscured. At that moment, all three converge on me, these three towering Alphas, their muscular chests enveloping me like a protective embrace.
“Don’t ever scare us like that again,” Seth breathes out, his lips on the edge of my mouth, so tender, so sweet, that my knees are already melting. “I can’t bear to lose you.”
“It’s not exactly like I had a say in this,” I manage to say. Reed’s touch on my cheek draws my attention.
“And if you get caught up in anything, I’ll be by your side. Deal?” I love the promise in his eyes.
“Fuck, no,” Jasper cuts in. “It’ll be me with her, and I’ll burn every fucker for even so much as looking at you. We’re never leaving you alone again.”
“Okay,” I say, then smile widely. “Maybe we should get in the car and get out of here now.”
“You bet,” Seth says, opening the back door for me.
Reed and Jasper climb into the back as well, one on either side of me.
“Um, I don’t think there’s enough space,” I protest, but they’re making it happen, squishing into the back, me practically sitting on their laps, their arms around me like a safety belt. I guess they were serious about not letting me out of their sight.
“Really?” Seth snarls while rolling his eyes. “You’re all in the back seat?”
Jasper clicks his fingers. “Better hurry up and get us home if you want any piece of our Omega.”
I giggle at them, thinking I could get used to being treated like a queen by these three Alphas.
As Seth navigates the car down the street, the pace frustratingly slow due to the surrounding chaos of fans, all three men roll down their windows and lean out. Their calls to their fans turn heads and all the attention to us. The excitement in their voices is contagious. It’s also terrifying to see them all coming in our direction, and anxiety knots in my stomach.
Phone cameras flash, and a sea of faces presses close, their screams calling out for the three guys, their excitement a deafening storm. God, is this a good idea?
Locked in the car and moving ever so slowly, the sense of exposure leaves me scared, especially with me sitting on the laps of two of the band members. A flicker of panic rises within me at being exposed, at Fever being sued at having to admit in public they have an Omega. Jasper, sensing my unease, tightens his hand reassuringly around my hip.
“No more hiding, little mouse,” he whispers, an admission that’s slightly terrifying. “You are ours, and fuck the consequences. We want the world to see.”
His words have emotions crashing over me. Is this really happening? The thought of being thrust into the public eye, of the impact on Fever facing legal issues, of Nexus finding me, it’s all daunting. But I also know if Fever opening declares they now have an Omega and claim me, register me as theirs, Nexus can’t touch me. Of course, that comes at the cost of them being sued for breaching their contract. That part sits like a boulder in my chest, but staring at my men, I have to believe this is somehow going to work out for us.
“I really would love that. I’m tired of hiding and running.”
“Me, too,” Reed and Seth say simultaneously, which makes me laugh.
As we inch past the house we’ve just escaped from, a glance out the window reveals a scene of justice in progress. Police officers have a group of men detained on the ground, their hands bound behind their backs, a sight that brings a rush of relief. There’s no sign of the other captives, suggesting Casey and I might have been their only targets in the house. The sight of our captors subdued by the law is a huge victory. I just wished I could have caught up with Casey before she disappeared.
The excitement of the fans distracts me back to reality, and it borders on frenzy. Their adulation for Fever is insane. There are hands reaching into the car to touch the men.
I watch the excitement from their fans, but Seth doesn’t stop the car. He keeps going slowly, and once he has a free path on the road, he picks up speed. Reed sticks his head out, yelling that he loves them all and to keep on rocking! They go ballistic, and I glance back to see a dozen chasing us on foot.
Madness.
I settle into their arms, breathing easy, feeling like when I’m in their arms, nothing in the world can harm me.
Reed and Jasper are leaning into me, kissing me, with Seth keeps glancing back at me, his hand reaching toward me, touching my knee.
“Missed you,” he says with that seductive voice, with that wink where I stand no chance to push away from him.
I’m smiling so much, my cheeks hurt. This day has been a whirlwind of fear, but at this moment, surrounded by their love and support, I feel a sense of belonging, of home. For so long, I’ve felt lost, losing pieces of myself along the way. But now, with them, I dare to hope for a future where I can be unapologetically myself.
Being treated like a queen by these three Alphas, despite the madness surrounding us, feels like the first step toward reclaiming the parts of myself I thought were lost. Maybe, just maybe, this terrifying day is also the beginning of something truly incredible.