Page 92 of Knot Forgotten

“No, listen to me. I can’t run. If you need me home for a couple of days, fine, but I’m not staying.”

My fingers wrap around the seatbelt, and I hold it tightly. I know that it isn’t going to be as easy as just telling her that I’m going back. This time, though, I have something I didn’t before: the ability to make the decision for myself. And even though leaving when I was a teen did protect me, the way we did it hurt my guys.

“We will talk about this when we get home.”

“There is nothing to talk about. I love you. But you have to trust that you’ve raised me to the best of your ability, and I can do it from here.” Pressing my lips together, I watch the side of her face. Emotion plays out over her expressive features, and a tear slips out of the corner of her eye. She lets it fall.

“I only want to protect you,” she says without looking at me.

“And you did when it mattered most. I don’t think Valentine is going to come after me. He owns a whole mafia, Mom. One girl getting away doesn’t concern him.”

His daughter wouldn’t help save people if he just finds them again. The risk of that would be too great for her. And I’m sure he has a steady stream of willing omegas from the sound of it.

We are silent for the remainder of the drive. My aunt comes out of the house and wraps me in a hug the second I climb from the car. She looks like my mom’s twin even though they are a couple years apart. And her house has always felt safe to me. Even if we moved to this house shortly after we ran.

“What is my favorite niece doing here?” she asks.

“I’m your only niece, Aunt Tabitha,” I point out with a laugh. She throws an arm around my shoulder and leads me into the warmth of her home.

Lemon and sugar. Those are the two scents that are my aunt. They permeate the space mixing with my mother’s floral smell.

She leads me into the kitchen and pushes me gently toward the table. Then she pulls down a plate and opens the fridge, loading the plate up with food. My stomach rumbles as she places it in front of me.

“So, why are you here?” She perches on the chair across from me, looking for all the world like she is only pausing in her motion like a hummingbird drinking because she never sits still for long.

“Mom is trying to hide me away again. My father found me a few weeks ago before he died.” The sandwich is soft and tasty as I take a bite. I’ve always loved the homemade bread she makes.

Aunt Tabby’s eyebrows raise, but she doesn’t say anything. Instead, she stands up and moves across the farmhouse kitchen to pull a glass down and fill it with water from the fridge.

“I imagine that with those new marks around your neck, you are not interested in hiding?” It really isn’t a question, even though it sounds like it is with the way she says the words.

My cheeks flush, and I brush my fingers over the marks in question. “For more reasons than just these,” I admit. She listens as I give her all the reasons I gave my mom, and by the time, I’m done she leans forward, patting my hand.

“So, how long are you staying?”

“If I have to wait for a ride back to campus from my mom, it will be forever.”

“Just until you’re safe,” my mom says as she enters the room.

My aunt lifts a tiny shoulder in a shrug. “Your guys have come for you before. I’m sure they will travel through hell to reach you.”

CHAPTER 48

Erin

Two hours later, the thunder of motorcycles rattles the walls of the house, and my mom tenses on the couch across from me. When I stand up to peek out the windows, she attempts to get me to sit back down.

My gaze lands on a man as he climbs off of a bike. The air in my lungs evaporates when he reaches up and pulls his helmet off. Blake. He came for me. His intense gray eyes can’t be seen from this distance, but they zero in on me at the window.

My attention shifts to the figure next to him. He can only be Riley with his swimmer’s build, and he proves it when he removes his helmet. His platinum hair falls around his face, and he changes the volume on his ears. He says something, and Blake tilts his head in my direction.

They both came for me.

Happiness shoots straight through me. I’m ready to fly out of the house and into their arms when Matt’s Bronco comes to a stop in front of the house. Both Cameron and Matt join Blake and Riley.

All of them are here. For me.

My heart threatens to explode out of my chest via my ribcage. How did they find me?

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