CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
A n acrid stench surrounds me and my nose wrinkles, and a deep feeling of panic surges in my chest, making an involuntary whimper leave me. The panic isn’t mine, though.
Fuck. My pack.
“Shit, she’s waking up,” a hushed voice whispers, one that’s vaguely familiar. “You didn’t hit her hard enough, beta bitch.”
“I’m sorry, alpha,” Laura’s voice simpers behind me. “I stuffed my purse with as many coins as I could, just like you said. She just must have a thick skull.”
Fuck. Laura. My head is absolutely throbbing . She knocked me out by hitting me with her purse? Why? What does she get out of working with these assholes?
My heart pounds in my chest. The fucking Sheffield pack has me. How? They’re supposed to be in a jail cell, paying for the torment they’ve caused me the last few months.
Dammint, I can’t get my eyes to open. I need to figure out where I am. I can tell I’m being carried by someone, cradled against their chest in a way that might have seemed protective if I didn’t know any better. The cool bite of air tells me we’re outside, walking quickly. I don’t feel any restraints around my hands or feet, which is good, and stupid on their part. They probably figure I’m just a helpless little omega who can’t possibly do anything to them.
An angry growl rattles through the chest against me, setting my teeth on edge. I peek my eyes open to see the angry face of Harry Sheffield, illuminated by street lights. The back of my head is pounding, but I need to get out of here. I can’t have been out for long, since I’m pretty sure we’re in the back parking lot of Tito’s.
They’re supposed to be in jail. They weren’t eligible for bail. How the hell did they get out?
I try to send as much reassurance through the bond to everyone, but still with a hint of I’m in danger please save me . Titus pushes through fierce determination and I wish the bond came with some sort of homing device feature.
He’ll find me though, I know he will. I just need to stall. If they have me in a parking lot, they’re trying to get me to a car. And I can’t let that happen.
“Aren’t you supposed to be rotting in a jail cell somewhere?” I croak. “Why even bother at this point? I’m already bonded. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if my pack was on its way to kick you sorry ass right now.”
“Shut the fuck up,” another alpha voice growls, and I lift my head to see Jonas snarling at me. “We don’t need to bond your bitch-ass to get our use out of you.”
I can’t stop the whimper that escapes my throat at his words, but cut it off as quickly as I can. I’m not going to let these guys shake me.
“Plus, it helps when your brother is the DA and can blackmail the judge to get him to post bail after the fact.” Harry chuckles, and I see red. We’re getting further and further away from Tito’s and I don’t know where they’re parked.
Closing my eyes tight, I go through every defensive move I learned in my classes I took with Hannah.
I can’t think of any that would help me in this situation, but…a good old fashioned throat punch never failed anyone, right?
I just need to wait until he’s not looking at me so he doesn’t see it coming.
“Laura, I don’t understand how you fit into all of this. Why are you working with Pack Sheffield?”
Laura scoffs. “I’ve never liked you, and your snooty little high and mighty attitude. You think you’re so much better than me just because you take a knot and turn into a pathetic, horny mess once every three months? Please. Pack Sheffield has promised to introduce me to some powerful friends if I—”
Harry snaps his head towards Laura, “Don’t you say another word—”
I take my chance.
My fist flies up, hitting him square in the throat.
Bracing myself for the fall as the alpha’s eyes bulge out and his hands fly to his neck, I land on my back with an “oof”.
Harry can’t speak, but Laura shrieks and Jonas lunges for me, just as I throw my foot up and kick him straight in the balls. Rolling out of the way so he doesn’t land on me, I scramble to my feet, the sound of my blood rushing in my ears.
Harry is clutching his throat, Jonas is on his knees, and Laura is looking between the three of us like she might run.
I need to run.
My feet start moving, but then the click of a gun and fucking Chadwick’s voice rings out. “I wouldn’t run if I were you, omega.”
Shit.
“Don’t turn around.” He growls, and I slowly lift my hands, swallowing roughly.
Laura’s expression turns to one of victory. “Ha! I knew it. You really aren’t as tough as you pretend to be, are you? You know, I didn’t even know you had met with Pack Sheffield for a pack date before I sent them the address to ‘The Knotty Omega’s’ apartment. That just happened to be a happy accident.”
My heart sinks lower.
I mean, it makes sense. She was one of the only people who knew who I was, and she knew where I lived. But to hear her admit it, out loud?
“Why?” I ask roughly, looking the beta in the eyes as Chadwick puts the gun away and ties my hands behind my back. “What did I ever do to you, Laura? Were you the one who vandalized my desk, too?”
She only smirks. “That one was a little trickier. Did you know that the owners demand that they shut off the cameras every night from midnight to seven? The owners of the company think it’s a waste of money to keep them on all the time. So easy to ask the night security guard to let me in around six because I forgot my laptop charger.” She rolls her eyes. “Then all I had to do was… convince him to keep his mouth shut about seeing me.”
Ew.
Chadwick ties off the knot, and roughly grabs me, barking at his packmates. “Come on, you stupid fuckers. I can’t believe you let an omega get the drop on you.”
“CADY!” Titus’ desperate voice calls out, far away, but I see him in the distance, coming out of Tito’s, and Laura pales.
“You said none of her alphas were here!” Harry hisses. “And nobody is supposed to know about that back entrance but employees!”
Laura stammers, “They…they must have put everything together quickly and had someone show them.”
“OVER HERE!” I cry out before Chadwick slaps a hand over my mouth.
Then everything is a flurry of motion. Titus and another figure are gaining on us, and Harry and Jonas get to their feet. “Get her in the fucking car!” Jonas snarls, walking funny and grabbing my arm, digging his fingers into my flesh so hard I let out a little yelp. “It’s just around the corner.”
Shit shit shit. I cannot let them put me in the car. If they do, it’s all over. I fight and drag my feet with all of my might, and dig my teeth into the meaty flesh of Chadwick’s palm. “Fuck!” He curses, withdrawing his hand.
“TITUS!” I scream, throwing my still throbbing head back and making contact with a crunch.
“SHIT!” Chadwick screams louder, his voice nasally. Good. Maybe I broke his nose.
A slap across my face has me reeling and it’s Laura I’m staring at. “You will not ruin this for me you omega bitch.” She hisses, her nails digging into my arm. “I have been promised a connection with some very powerful alphas and I will not let you destroy everything I’ve worked for!”
“Back the FUCK UP!” Titus’ roar rolls through the area, and his dominance flows out of him. “Release my omega right now!” I look up to see my grumpy alpha’s face is the very picture of rage, and he has a damn gun out, pointing it at Jonas. Brennan follows close behind him, also holding a gun.
Harry stalks up to Chadwick, pulls his gun from his pants, and pushes it into my side. “Don’t take another step,” he growls.
“The police are on their way, fuckface.” Titus snarls. “You’re supposed to be in jail.”
“Harry’s brother is the DA,” I blurt out, “he blackmailed the judge to post bail.”
Harry pushes the gun further into my side. “Shut up, bitch.”
“Harry, what the fuck, man?” Is that…is that Brody? Titus visibly stiffens as his eyes assess the new threat.
“Brody, what the hell are you doing here? You’re not a part of this.”
“Is this really how low we’ve stooped?” Brody looks tired, like he’s been through hell, and honestly I feel kind of bad for him. He says he didn’t have any part in vandalizing my apartment, or the threatening email, and now I kind of believe him. “You guys are kidnapping omegas now?”
“What do you mean, ‘you guys’?” Jonas asks incredulously. “You’re talking like you’re not a part of this pack!”
“Because I don’t even recognize any of you anymore!” Brody shouts. “You guys have been doing god knows what with…who is that? ” He looks at Laura, who is whimpering off to the side now. Then he shakes his head. He didn’t know they were working with Laura, either? “First you guys trash her apartment behind my back, and now this? Instead of taking a look at ourselves when Trina left us, you guys wanted to blame someone! You’ve taken it too far. It’s over, man. I signed into all of our cloud accounts and handed over everything. Every text you guys sent each other, every threat against Cady.”
The pressure of the gun disappears from my side as Harry turns his gun on Brody. “You did fucking what?”
“You idiot!” Chadwick roars, his voice nasally and muffled.
Laura visibly pales and takes a shaky step back. The gun swings in her direction as Harry snarls. “Don’t you take another step, bitch.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see Titus and Brennan exchange an almost imperceptible look before Titus meets my eyes, and pointedly motions to the side with his eyes. He wants me to…get out of the way while they’re distracted. I give a small nod, and Brennan and Titus meet eyes again before all hell breaks loose. I throw myself to the side, hands still tied behind my back, landing hard on my side. Brennan shoots Harry in the hand, making him drop the gun and drop to his knees in agony, a stark reminder that Wren said something about him being a sharpshooter. Laura makes a break for it, Titus tackles Jonas to the ground and starts beating the ever loving shit out of him, and Brody tackles Chadwick.
“You’ve destroyed everything!” Chadwick screams at Brody as they fumble for control.
“You guys destroyed our pack the moment you went back on your word to Trina! You knew how much school meant to her!” There are tears falling from Brody’s eyes as he lands a punch to Chadwick’s face, a sickening crunch echoing in the air.
Can a nose be broken twice?
Then, relief fills my chest with the sound of sirens filling the area, followed by the sight of red and blue flashing lights. The police are finally here.
I use my bond to push a gentle sense of reassurance to Titus, who is now satisfied that Jonas is sufficiently knocked out. He runs to me, pulling out a pocket knife before getting behind me and cutting my restraints. A strangled sob leaves me as he scoops me up in his arms and holds me to him. His face buries in my neck and we both send out relief to our bondmates, who all answer in turn with the same emotion.
Titus probably called them when he noticed I was missing.
“How did you find me?” I ask in a raspy whisper.
“I’ll always find you, angel.”