Page 76 of Claimed By the Damned

Chapter Thirty-Four

Amara

Amara was sitting on the couch with Drake while Zeke made them all dinner. The guys tried to make small talk, but she was too worried about Knox to respond much to them. Knox had disappeared a couple of hours ago, and none of them had heard from him since. Despite Drake and Zeke telling her to leave him alone for a while, she had tried calling him a few times, only to be sent right to voicemail. She was afraid that she had upset him in some way, and that wasn’t what she wanted.

As much as she hated to admit it, she agreed with Knox. Unless they did something about her father, he was always going to come after them. He would always be a threat. It was just hard to come to grips with the fact that he didn’t love her like she wanted him to. He was the only family she had left. Or, at least he had been before she met her mates.

Inside of her, her wolf was pacing anxiously. She was antsy, and she wanted Knox to come back so that she knew he was safe. Then, they could all sit down and talk about what was going on and come up with a plan. They needed to do this right.

After her father told her what was going on with the rest of the pack, she no longer feared retaliation if they were to kill him. However, he was still an alpha. They needed to make sure that nothing could come back to bite them in the ass later on.

Because Amara was so lost in thought, she didn’t hear the footsteps coming up the steps until the door burst open. She was on her feet in seconds, as was Drake. Even Zeke came out of the kitchen, startled and alert, but all they saw was Knox standing there with a huge grin on his face.

Amara frowned. A smile was the last thing she expected when he returned. “Knox?”

“Why are you smiling?” Drake asked, voicing her concern aloud.

Knox held out his arms, pride puffing his chest. “I have a surprise for you.”

Crossing the room within a few strides, Amara struggled with the desire to slap him for making her worry and hug him now that she knew he was safe. When she reached him, the urge to hug him took over, and she threw her arms around his neck. She was just so grateful that he was okay.

She squeezed him tightly. “You can’t disappear on me like that,” she whispered.

“I had something to do, and now I have something to show you,” he replied, hugging her back.

Amara sighed and released him, realizing that he had a one-track mind at the moment. “What? What was so important that you had to stress me out and make me worry about you for the last several hours?”

“Turn off the stove, Zeke,” Knox replied. “We’re going for a little walk.”

Knox grabbed her hand and pulled her from the apartment and down the stairs. It was obvious he was excited about something as she had to jog just to keep up with him. He led her through the bar with Zeke and Drake right behind them. None of them spoke as he took them out the back door and into the alley behind the bar.

On instinct, Amara’s eyes flew in the direction of where her shop used to be. The guys had been right; there was nothing left. The debris was taped off with yellow caution tape, and the alley still smelled like smoke and ash. Emotion clogged her throat as she forced herself to focus on Knox once more.

It was the middle of the night, and the air was crisp and chilly against her skin. The back lot was deserted, quiet, and secluded. It was almost peaceful. However, the sound of rattling chains pulled her attention toward the light post in the middle of the lot. The one that had never worked as long as she had been running the shop.

As they moved closer to the lamp post, Amara realized that there was someone chained to it. She knew exactly who it was before the figure even came into view.

Her father.

Knox’s disappearance suddenly made perfect sense to her.

Brad was bound to the post and gagged, a look of pure rage on his face. He was also doused in what smelled like copious amounts of gasoline. She could smell it even before she reached him.

When they did reach him, he tried to say something to her, but Knox had gagged him with a metal chain, so she couldn’t understand what it was he was trying to say. Not that she really cared.

Blood dripped from the sides of his mouth as he had clearly hurt himself trying to wriggle free, but Knox had done a good job tying him up. The chains were digging into his exposed skin, his eyes wide and wild. But for the first time in her life, she actually saw a hint of fear in their depths.

She had never seen her father helpless before. Yet, here he was, wrapped up like a present just for her, and the twisted sense of glee she got from it surprised the hell out of her. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of him.

“Jesus, Knox,” Zeke muttered before cursing in Spanish.

“How did you get onto the property?” Drake asked.

“Same way I did last time,” Knox stated simply. He folded his arms across his chest and looked proudly at what he had done. “This guy sucks at security. It was way too easy to sneak in and get him out without being spotted.”

Drake pinched the bridge of his nose. “And you couldn’t have waited for us?”

Knox shrugged in response. “You were busy.”

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