Chapter 41 Cyn
Cyn
My eyes snap open as she stiffens in my arms. There is a moment where I scan the room for danger and then come to the unnerving conclusion that the danger is coming from the adorable omega in my arms.
Except, what is this flutter in my chest. It should be attraction, yet it’s not, it’s something else. I hold still while I try to figure it out.
Oh, it’s nerves.
I am a serial killer. I am confident and capable. Why the hell am I scared?
Bonnie grabs my wrist and, with methodical precision, sets my arm on my hip. She slides out of my grip and sits up on the edge of the bed.
I sit up and slide towards her.
“Don’t,” she says, as sharp as one of Vale’s blades, “touch me.”
“Bon-”
She explodes up, grabbing a pale pink satin dressing gown and pulling it on in one smooth movement. She slams the bedroom door open and storms out. I don’t bother with clothes; I just follow after her.
Vale looks up when he sees her, his eyes tracing up and down her body.
“Morning, Bonnie. You should be in bed; you haven’t fully recovered yet.”
She makes a tiny sound that I don’t think he can hear, but it has the hairs on my neck lifting, and I float two steps back, giving her a wider berth as she moves into the lounge.
She spins, picking up a phone book, one of those old and ancient things that is still sitting in here from the previous owners, and pegs it at his head. It hits him smack bang in the face.
Vale falls off his chair.
I bite my lower lip and dance further away as he howls, clutching at his face.
“How dare you give me bonds? How dare you force those bonds on me?”
Vale explodes up, grabbing her wrist. She breaks free of his hold and brings her knee up sharply. He just manages to save his manly pride. But she jabs him hard in the solar plexus, and he doubles over, wheezing anyway.
“I don’t want to fight you,” he gasps out.
“Good, I’ll beat your ass first, then the rest of this heathen pack,” she says with frigid tones.
“Bonnie, calm down-”
Dakota gets a chair thrown at him. He wisely retreats down the hallway.
“How dare you do this? Chain me to you. You didn’t ask, you just did it.”
“You weren’t in your right mind. You were hurting yourself.”
She hisses. “I would have survived.”
“Bonnie,” I say softly, drawing her attention. “We did it because you are ours. We’ll stay together, be together always.” I smile at her, trying to coax her out of this bad mood.
She throws a knife at my head. I wisely get out of the way.
Rory gets his arms around her while she’s distracted looking for more weapons, but she cracks her head back into his. His arms loosen, and he stumbles back, dazed.
“You bonded me!” She screams, and her rage changes to something more heartbreaking. “You left me, and now you’re back, and you bonded me.”
Oh.
I rush to her before she can do anything, but this time, I don’t try to touch her; I just duck down until my face is right in front of hers.
“We left you.”
She sobs.
“We rejected you.”
She shudders.
“Bonnie, we made a very, very stupid mistake, and we’re not the same alphas. We’re not going to leave you.”
She dissolves into tears.
“I don’t know why I’m crying. It's not you or your stupid, meaningless words,” she snarls.
“I know. It’s because your body is exhausted, and you're all messed up. You just need some food, liquids, and some sleep.”
She glowers at me. “You made a mistake?”
“Yes,” I say. “We made an awful, terrible mistake, and we let people hurt you. But we’re trying to fix it.”
She lifts those big grass-green eyes to me, all glossy from tears and pain. “How?”
“Well, the first thing is taking care of you, and then there’s destroying everyone who even looks at you the wrong way. I’m impressed with your knife work. Can you teach me?”
She chuckles wetly.
I slide my phone out of my pocket and open up the email and hold it out to her. She reads through it.
“What is this?”
“This is confirmation from our lawyers that they will be going after the reporters who harassed you yesterday.”
She stares up at me. “You really came back?”
“We really did.”
“You aren’t going to leave?”
“No, Bonnie. I have your bonds. I’m not going anywhere.”
She slumps and sways dangerously. I toss my phone to Vale, who snags it out of the air, and catch her, lifting her into my arms.
“I’m okay, just dizzy.”
I grumble but don’t say anything as I walk into the kitchen. I open the pantry and pull out the IV bag and sit her on the bench.
“Oh, aren’t you just a big shot, prepared for everything?” Her fingers gently brush back my hair. “You are so pretty, Cyn.”
I look up at her. “When it comes to you, yes, I will be.”
She looks away, but not before I see her lower lip tremble. “I messed up.”
“You did, but that’s okay. A little bit of cuddling on the couch and some of Kota’s famous lasagna, and you will be right as rain.”
I get the IV into her arm and hook it up to the rolling stand Vale has brought over. He pulls out a tub of yogurt and walks over to her.
“Can I?”
She stares at him, and I think there’s still pain in her eyes.
“Do you really want this?”
Vale grabs a spoon. “I want you more than I want my next kill.”
Bonnie’s lip trembles. “But you love your kills.”
“I love you more,” Vale says with no hesitation.
Rory sits on the couch. After Vale feeds her the yogurt, he sets her down beside him.
“I’m sorry I tried to break your face, Rory.”
He grins at her. “It was a novel way to find out what that feels like.”
“Did you like it?” I ask with a grin.
He narrows his eyes and flips me the bird when she’s not looking.
“Don’t worry about it. I find it sexy when my lover can tussle with me and come out on top.”
“He does like to bottom,” I say under my breath, but when I look up, everyone is looking at me. “What? It’s true.”
“Not the time, Cyn,” Vale growls.
I roll my eyes as Dakota shoves me out of the kitchen and starts cooking.
“I thought you couldn’t cook.”
“I can only cook this, so don’t get too excited.”
“I love lasagna,” Bonnie says drowsily.
Within moments, she falls asleep.
The collective air we’ve been holding is released.
“Good work, Cyn,” Vale says quietly.
“How is your face?” I ask back with a mocking smile.
Vale snorts. “She has a good arm. Remember that. Also, get rid of old phone books.”
I snort a laugh that turns into giggles. He puts me into a headlock and drags me back to the bedroom, where he closes the door.
“Right, tell me you have good news?”
“Wish I could, but we followed the trail down to the city, and just nothing. Just that one message telling us that we’ve lost. I don’t know if we got the right person, Vale. I’m starting to think he’s still alive.”
Vale glares at the ensuite.
“What are you thinking?” The idea that we fucked up this monumentally is causing this unfamiliar bubble of fear. Not for us, but for Bonnie. I have something to lose, something I want to protect. If this asshole has escaped our net again…well, I don’t know what I’ll do, but it won’t be pretty.
“I’m thinking something terrible.”
“What?”
“I’m thinking that if I were him, I’d send a taunt like that only if I knew who he was.”
My stomach drops out, but it confirms the horrible thoughts I was having last night. “How?”
“I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.” Vale stands up and then hesitates. “From now on, we stay with her. At least one person at all times.”
“Where are you going, Vale?”
“Back to the city, there’s something about where he left the letter that has my senses tingling. I’ll go alone and be back tonight.”
“It’s not safe alone. Take Rory.”
Vale winks at me, his calm confidence returning in a second. “Nah, I got this. You guys look after our girl. I’m going hunting.”
I watch him get ready and then walk him out to the car.
“You drive safely. Have a look around and come back,” I say and pull him into me, hugging him hard. He kisses me and then gets in the car.
I watch him until I can’t see it anymore.
“What do you want?” I snap, turning to find Pix right behind me.
“Checking on my girl.”
“She’s not yours. She’s fine. Sleeping.”
Pix makes a disbelieving sound.
“Come in, there’s lasagna cooking.”
I lead him into the house and find Rory stretched out on the couch with her asleep on top of him.
Pix stops dead.
“What?”
“She doesn’t sleep.”
“Pardon?”
“She never sleeps with strangers in her room, even family. The exception is when she’s out on the guides, but she sleeps so lightly, even a crack of a twig will wake her. She doesn’t sleep with people around her, not even me.”
“She slept in my arms all night. She always has,” I say without thinking.
Pix hums, which draws the attention of Kota.
“Well, hello, friend of my love.”
Pix scowls. “That is a revolting way to say best friend.”
“Meg is her best friend,” Kota and I say back instantly.
Pix gasps in outrage. “How dare you?”
I like this omega, but I suspect we’re only seeing the part of him that he’s allowing us to see. He’s carefully taking in our space and the way we are arranging ourselves around her.
“Pix, go away,” Bonnie mutters. “I need to sleep, and Kota has promised me lasagna.”
“Yeah, I’m getting in on that.”
“No, go harass Roseland.”
Pix sighs heavily. “He went home.”
Her eyes open, and she narrows a glare on her friend. “Did you seduce the poor detective?”
Pix suddenly transforms, relaxing and getting an air of pure sexuality. “Me?”
“Yes, you!”
“Maybe a little bit, but he made it so easy,” Pix protests.
“Pix! For fuck’s sake,” Bonnie growls and sits up. “This is going to bite you on the ass, you mark my words.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m going to go let Clan Sanderson know you are safe, then I will pop back in for food later. Go to sleep, you grumpy bitch.”
“Whore.”
Pix winks at her. “Why charge what I can give away for free.”
Bonnie throws her head back and laughs.
Rory gathers her up and takes her into the bedroom, and everything just goes quiet. Dakota finishes assembling the lasagna and flops down on the couch.
In less than a minute, he bursts up and starts pacing.
“What?”
“I don’t know, I just feel like we’re waiting for something to happen. Maybe it’s Vale’s panic, but it just feels, I’m not sure. Like we missed something.”
His anxiety bleeds into the air and into me. “Okay, let’s do a quick run-through and make sure we’re prepared.”
Dakota looks at me with relief.
Together, we go through the house, checking all our supplies and hidden weapons. We lock down the house, checking every single entrance and exit.
For three hours, we prepare everything.
Just in case.