Page 75 of Knot Forgotten

Her sudden switch has all four of us stiffening. “What’s in it for you?” Matt asks.

“You let me go when we get there, and I walk away.”

Blake scoffs, shifting on his heels.

Riley signs, ‘Take her offer, but have her shoot him.’

“What about your alpha?” Matt asks her, tilting his head at Garrett.

We all know he can’t be left alive. They would take him back to jail, but then he’d get out again, and the threat on Erin’s life would always loom over us all.

“He is a means to an end,” she says coldly.

Matt laughs, but it doesn’t sound like his normal ones. This one is full of more of that blackness that has taken over. “Good, because you are going to shoot him. In the head.”

“No,” she replies as if she has a choice.

“Had a feeling you’d say that,” I say.

Blake steps forward, gripping her chin. “My friend is going to give you the gun, and you are going to shoot Garrett Walters in the head. Then you are going to drop the gun to the ground and walk silently out of this house.” His voice doesn’t raise in the typical bark, but the compulsion threads through every single word.

Her eyes go wide, but she nods as much as she can in his hold. After a shared look with Blake, Matt flips the gun around and hands the weapon to her.

She trembles as she moves closer to Garrett. And it is better than I expected, or I’m fucked in the head. When Garrett blinks open his eyes and a muffled groan comes from behind the tape on his mouth, I grin. He catches sight of the woman as she raises the gun and aims it at him. Jerking back, the front legs of the chair come off the ground with his motion.

Riley pushes him back upright. “No escaping this fate,” he says out loud as he moves away.

“Now,” Blake says softly, all pure command.

The gun explodes, bullet hitting Garrett point blank. I don’t take my gaze off of the man as he slumps, blood pouring from the wound. The metal hits the wooden floor with an audible thud.

“Out the back,” Blake orders.

My shoulder stings as we slip back into the Bronco, and I know I’ll need to get the wound looked at eventually. But right now, finding Erin is the main priority. Riley and Blake have the woman between them. Matt puts it in reverse and heads toward New York City before she says a word.

CHAPTER 39

Erin

The pills stare back at me from the Dixie cup, and I swallow hard. My pulse throbs behind my eyes, threatening an oncoming migraine.

“Get the injection; she isn’t taking the pills,” Valentine orders, prompting me to move quickly and toss the pills into my mouth, washing them down with the water. “Well, that is a nice trait. Listening to an alpha. Maybe I’ll keep you for myself.”

I try not to gag at the idea. He is technically attractive if you like the hidden monster aspect. I don’t.

“Open up,” he says. Instinctively, I do what he says. He has the power to hurt me, and we both know it. “Good, under your tongue.” He clicks his tongue, satisfied that I actually took the pills.

I retreat to the cot because it is as far away as I can get from him. Curling my legs beneath me, I wait for the pills to take effect. I don’t know if I’ll feel it, but I assume I will feel something if it is supposed to make me more willing.

“Call me once she’s ready,” he says to Todd, then turns away. “I heard we had a break-in last night, and I’ll be meeting with Ripper to see what he learned.”

Once Valentine disappears, Todd looks over at me, but he doesn’t say a word before heading in the opposite direction. I can’t even read his emotions if he has any.

The time alone stretches on for what feels like forever. Hours pass, the light on the floor moving and darkening the only indication I have. An echo of a scream has my head snapping up. Why did that sound like Cam? I’m on my feet and at the bars, pressing my face against them in an attempt to see down the dark hall. Then another scream pierces my ears, and somehow I just know it is Riley.

My guys.

They came.

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