Page 113 of Pack Fever

Reed

Groaning, a hard hand against my back shoves me forward. I stumble into a dimly lit room, the bridge of my nose still screaming with pain after having the butt of a gun shoved into it. But I ignore that and snap back around, noting Danica’s already in the room, whimpering, hugging herself, and that sets off my caveman instinct.

“Let us the fuck out!” I snarl, lunging for the door, just as the man missing one front tooth grins at me and slams the door shut in my face.

“Stay in there like a good little dog!”

I drive my fists into the door, then tug on the handle, but we’re locked in.

Anger surges inside me, gnawing at me since this nightmare began.

“What the fuck do you want from us?”

All I hear in response is maniacal laughter, and the blood in my veins turns to lava. I spin to find the windows are boarded up from the outside, and on the inside, there are metal bars.

“Fuck!” Pacing, I scan the room for anything I could use to get us out of here, but the room’s frustratingly bare. Moving to Danica’s side, I take her into my arms, and she melts against me, her breathing erratic. I rub her back, saying, “I’ll find a way to get you out. I give you my word. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

She’s sniffling, and when she cranes her neck back, those deep green eyes glistening with tears, my heart splinters in half. Fuck, seeing her scared is destroying me.

“Please don’t cry. It’s going to break me,” I say, catching a tear racing down her cheek. “Everything will be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Will it? What do they want from us? And I don’t think they’re Nexus.” She glances at the door and back. Then she reaches up and wipes the blood from the cut on my nose with the sleeve of her shirt. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’ll be alright. It just hurts a bit, but nothing I won’t heal from. And I agree with you about them not being Nexus. Nexus wouldn’t be hiding out in a rundown old house like this one.”

As Danica clings to me, the silence between us thickens the tension. My heart’s thundering in my throat, not just from fear for our own safety, but with the daunting thought of how Seth and Jasper could possibly find us.

The silence is disrupted by the murmur of voices seeping into the room. I gently disentangle myself from Danica, signaling with a finger to my lips for silence. Then I edge closer to the door. Pressing my ear against the narrow gap, I strain to catch the muffled conversation on the other side. The voice of the guard who shoved us into the room is unmistakable, and I listen intently, trying to piece together their words.

“Why the fuck did you bring that Fever guy here? If we wanted low-key, then you and Tim fucked up! We’ll have everyone everywhere looking for him now,” one male voice hisses.

The shuffle of shoes against the floorboards signals another person’s movement.

“Shut the fuck up. It happened in a moment of panic. There’s only one solution. Put a bullet in his head, and let’s get rid of him,” comes the cold reply, a suggestion that chills me to the bone.

“Agree... but we gotta wait for Eric. He’s calling the shots,” the first voice concedes. “And he knows you brought the guy here.”

Who the hell is Eric? The question whirls in my mind, leaving me more confused. The realization that they hadn’t come for me but for Danica sends a wave of protectiveness surging through me.

Turning slightly, I catch Danica’s gaze. She’s moved closer, her ear also pressed to the door, mirroring my actions. In the dim light, her features are soft, yet her beautiful eyes are sharp with the same determination and fear that courses through me. At this moment, her beauty reminds me of what’s at stake—her life.

From the first time we met, Danica had an undeniable impact on me, her presence a force that both crashed into me and intimidated me. Now, faced with the possibility of losing her is heartbreaking.

We exchange a silent look, and I offer her a reassuring smile.

She just blinks at me, the fear heavy in her expression.

The men’s voices filter through the door again.

“If it was me in charge,” one of them muses with a sinister edge to his words. “I’d get rid of him, dump him in the sea, then take my winnings. Two Omegas are better than one or none at all.” The callousness of his words sends a shiver down my spine.

Danica pales further, the blood draining from her face as she listens, her body tense beside me.

“Well, tell Eric that,” the other voice retorts dismissively. “He’s intent on finding the other girls because he stupidly sold them to buyers before he secured the four Omegas. He’s got Casey and now Danica. But I swear I saw a Nexus enforcer take one of the Omegas from that bus accident in the mountains. And no idea where the fourth one got to.”

They know her name! What the fuck?!

Danica’s mouth falls open in shock. She’d shared the harrowing tale of the bus accident, how the crash with the Nexus bus had scattered her and her friends to the storm and explosion. The thought that they were at the bus crash scene and that they’ve been tracking down the Omegas sends a wave of fear and anger crashing over us.

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