Page 77 of Knot Forgotten

She nods, flipping the visor up. “Just thank me by making it to safety.”

CHAPTER 40

Erin

Relief washes over me like a soothing balm, flooding every fiber of my being as I realize I'm finally safe. We just need to make it back to the Bronco. Our steps quicken once we are on the open and empty street.

The guys all look like they need a doctor, and my body is buzzing like the pills are taking effect faster than they expected. But I’m free. We are free.

I take a deep, shaky breath, inhaling the crisp air of the city. Each inhalation feels like a renewal; even if it smells like trash and car exhaust, it’s beautiful. A fresh start after narrowly escaping. My hands tremble slightly, but they're no longer paralyzed by fear.

I glance around, taking in my surroundings with newfound clarity. Every mundane detail—the pigeons nesting on the awnings of buildings, the rustle of leaves on the trees that haven’t released them yet—seems magnified, infused with a sense of preciousness that I hadn't noticed before. Even in the dark, silent night, everything was brighter.

The attendant at the guard shack gives us a bored look as we pass him into the darkness of the parking structure. A laugh bubbles up inside me at the absurdity of it.

Riley is beaten and bloody, a wound seeping blood on his side. Cameron isn’t in much better shape, his shirt in tatters and hanging from him. While Matt and Blake both look like they each took some punches, but the knife hadn’t met their skin yet.

“You okay, cupcake?” Blake asks. Concern darkens his eyes.

“I’m alive and free, I’m better than okay,” I say.

He drops his arm over my shoulders and I go willingly into his arms. Our hips bump with each step we take. But his sunlight and fresh laundry musk encourages me to nuzzle into him. I don’t think I can ever let them go.

My fingers curl into his side, and he lets out a low rumble of a purr. It shoots straight through me. My nipples hardening in a way they definitely shouldn’t after what I just experienced. But I can’t deny the ache that is forming in my belly.

“We will all be better once we are out of here,” Matt says, looking back at us. He is pure alpha at the moment, and my inner omega likes that, too.

Hell, my inner omega wants to roll over and show them all her belly for trying to save me.

“I can’t believe you all came for me. How did you know where I was?” They are all silent as we approach the Bronco, and I swallow. “What did you do?”

“What we had to do.” Cam drops a kiss to my forehead. “But until we are far from here, maybe we can leave the conversation for later.”

I watch as he tugs open the passenger side door and disappears inside. Riley and Matt go to the driver’s side, and Blake steers me to the back door. He pulls it open and encourages me into the backseat. I climb in, scooting across the seat to Riley. He has sagged back into the seat and is still bleeding.

“Ri, we have to get you patched up.”

‘I’m fine,’ he half-heartedly signs.

‘You’re bleeding,’ I sign back. Blake climbs in behind me, and Matt is pulling out of the spot before he has the door fully shut.

“I’m fine,” he mouths.

“Matt, Riley needs a doctor. And probably Cam, too.”

He grunts a non-answer as he swings out of the parking garage in the opposite direction of the building we came from. But I still catch sight of five black, expensive-looking SUVs already coming to a stop in front of the warehouse. Two more speed past us as we drive away. I hold my breath until we reach the bridge heading out of the city. Only releasing a lungful of air as we cross.

“Are we far enough for you to tell me how you found me?”

Cam twists in the front seat to look back at me. “We knew it was your dad, so–”

“We went to his house to pay him a visit,” Riley continues as he brushes his knuckles over my thigh.

“He wasn’t very forthcoming,” Blake adds. His eyes fixing on Matt. “But Matt was able to find a workaround.”

“A workaround?” I ask.

Matt meets my eyes in the rearview mirror. “His new girlfriend was helpful. You don’t have to worry about him coming for you again. And I’m pretty sure we don’t have to worry about her either. She turned herself in.”

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