Page 54 of Knot Giving Up 2

Declan cocks his head in a way that reminds me of a hunting dog sniffing a trail. “Why not call the French authorities?”

“He’s from the states, and we have reason to be sensitive with who we—”

“Look,” I cut in, “it’s clear you care about my sister, and this affects her. So we’d rather have you deal with it.”

His thick eyebrows draw closer together and a wrinkle forms along his brow. “How does this affect Emily?” His eyes suddenly widen. “Are you an omega?”

She laughs awkwardly and shakes her head, a slight grimace around her lips. Em always wished she was an omega. She’s wanted a big pack since she was little, but most betas don’t form packs and most packs don’t accept betas unless their omega wants them. What happened with Dante’s mom is a prime example of how rare it can be for betas to be welcomed into packs. Most of them end up marrying other betas.

“Okay, so what’s this about, then?” Declan asks.

Harrison clears his throat. “Where do you stand on omegas competing in the olympics?”

There’s a long pause while Declan sizes up our pack alpha and Harrison does the same to the DEA agent.

Declan answers carefully, “My personal opinion is that it’s a rule based on prejudice and there’s no reason for it to continue. My professional opinion is it’s against the law, and I’d have to turn in any omega I found competing.”

Em shakes her head frantically at Harrison. It’s clear she doesn’t want us to tell Declan about her best friend, but she doesn’t know everything that’s at stake right now. Meggie’s situation with the law might be an easier problem to deal with than McQuinn’s situation with Glenn.

Harrison leans forward with his elbows on his knees. “What if I told you I could help you take down an entire operation, but you’d need to look the other way on one omega?”

Declan scratches the short stubble on his chin as he looks at each of us. His gaze lingers a beat longer on Meggie and out of instinct I step between them. It’s clear he’s a smart man. He’s probably already figured out what we’re not telling him, but he doesn’t have any proof yet, and I won’t let him get any.

The silence stretches like a rubber band, and I’m waiting for the stinging snap to the face. Em puts her hand on Declan’s arm and draws his attention, a silent plea in her eyes. He nods once. “If I don’t know anything for certain, I don’t have to act on it.”

“Good.” Harrison locks eyes with Declan. Neither man looks away. I’m not sure I’ve ever met an alpha so equally matched with Harrison for dominance.

“After our game,” Harrison says, “a man named Knox will be making a hand off of illegal suppressants.”

“He’s not a bad guy,” Em interjects, surprising us all. Even Meggie looks confused. Em just shakes her head and drops her gaze to her lap.

“He works for a man named Glenn Planksy who is the real target.” McQuinn squeezes his rabbit’s foot so tight his knuckles turn white. Until now, we’ve all been fine letting Harrison take the lead, but it’s clear McQuinn is holding on by a thread.

“Glenn Planksy?” Declan’s calm drops for a moment. His fist clenches.

“You know him?” Nils asks.

“We’ve been trying to nail him for years.”

Harrison keeps his eyes on Declan. “Knox works for him. But it’s important that you let the deal go down before making a move. Can you do that?”

Declan gives a single nod. “I need to see the deal go down before I can move in, anyway.”

“And the buyer?” I ask. “You’ll give them time to get away?”

Declan assesses me, then looks to Emily. She’s wringing her hands in her lap and won’t meet his gaze. He sighs. “I can give them a head start. But it would be wise for them to keep their identity hidden and move quickly.”

Harrison nods, then stands and extends a hand to Declan, who takes it, keeping his other hand possessively around Em’s waist. I’m not sure what I think about this guy yet, but if he can help us take down Glenn without Meggie getting in trouble, well, that would go a long way towards winning me over.

Once the door is closed behind Declan and Em, and it’s just our pack again, we all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

“That was intense.” McQuinn relaxes his hold on his rabbit’s foot. “This is all—Thank you.”

“Thank us by buying me new boxers,” Oz snorts. “That man is so intimidating. I think even my balls were sweating.”

“Probably makes it easier to slide the bagels on,” Nils offers with a pointed glance at Oz’s crotch.

“I thought we’d agreed on dick donuts?” Meggie asks, the hint of a smile peeking through her concerned expression.

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