Page 32 of Tangled in Knots

Adira is napping on the couch, while I tell her it’s normal to sleep this much and gaslight the shit out of her whenever she asks about it. Every time I coo a honeyed word, I see my sister’s disapproving face.

After every meal, I make her a tea that makes her sleepy, practically falling asleep at the table. Damon glares at me and leaves to keep from punching me each time, while Kane gazes at me as if he wants to punish me too.

If I could punch myself in the face, I would.

After the first couple of times, the brothers stopped coming into the common areas altogether while she’s awake.

The only way to make our plan work is to keep her calm and malleable. Despite everything we are doing to save her, I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose her anyway.

The little omega is no longer on IV treatments, and her small incision is healing really well. Her lower shoulder blade is wherethe bullet went in, avoiding anything important. It’s a miracle it didn’t clip her lungs.

“Morris?” Jed asks, pulling me from my thoughts. Stepping back, I tear my eyes from Adira, my self loathing apparent on my face.

I can only force myself to hide from the little omega, my mask one where I’m an open book with nothing to hide.What a joke.

“Yeah,” I grunt, taking a labored breath as I meet his gaze. There’s worry deep in his nearly black eyes, the pupil and iris so dark, they appear swallowed by each other.

“We’re doing what’s best for her,” he says softly. “There’s no other choice for this to work.”

Jerking my head in a tight nod to him, I feel my ass vibrate. Stepping away, I pull out my phone, knowing it’s my sister instinctually. There are few people who have my number that I speak to, and she is one of them. Zela also seems to have a second sense when I’m in over my head.

I leave the house completely, leaving my sweatshirt pushed up my arms as I walk outside. The frigid air immediately freezes my breath, the world a sea of snow and quiet. As long as it’s no longer falling from the sky, I can allow myself to enjoy it for a few minutes.

I appreciate why my sister gets the hell out of Missouri over Christmas, but there is a strange sort of beauty here too.

“Hey, Zela,” I say tiredly as I answer the phone. Lately, it doesn’t matter how much I sleep, I never wake up rested.

That’s called guilt, whispers my subconscious.

I’ve been ignoring that little voice for the greater good. I would rather be a horrible human being for a short period of time, to save the little omega inside of the house. Adira can hate me forever, I don’t care.

“What’sgoing on?”Zela asks sharply.

She’s going to be coming home soon, which means we are leaving at first light tomorrow. If my sister saw the state we’re keeping Adira in, she’d stab me with one of her large knives in the butcher block.

“A lot,” I tell her. “We’re leaving tomorrow to get back to work. The omega is on her way to recovery.”

“From the gunshot one of the Dresmond boys shot prematurely,” Zela says knowingly.“My cameras managed to catch that spectacular example of terrible gun safety. You’ve been ignoring my calls for two damn weeks,Morris.”

I have no doubt she’s been wanting to say that to me the entire time.

“Damon’s foot got stuck in the hole in the pavement of your driveway, sis,” I say wryly. “If we’re going to play dirty, game on. The omega is prized inventory?—”

Fuck…a…duck.

“I know you didn’t just choose to call a person ‘inventory’ as if she were an animal,”Zela growls.“We’re grown, but what do you think our mother would say? That woman would be even more disappointed than I am and is definitely rolling over in her grave.”

“Zela,” I groan. “You know who I work for. I don’t get a choice, and it’s not what it looks like, I swear. It’s complicated.”

“Explain it to me as if I’m a five-year-old,”she says pointedly.

“Okay, noted. Maybe I’m not using the correct phrasing,” I hedge. “I am going to need to do a series of really fucked up things in order to be able to accomplish something good.”

“That sounds like an excuse to make yourself feel better about being a dick,”Zela says.“Morris, why are you still working for these people?”

“They’re my pack.” I sigh. “And now, this omega is mine too. It doesn’t make any sense. There’s just something about her that’s destroying me. We’re already on a path I can’t change.”

“Morris,”my sister growls. Fuck, she’s scary.“What the hell are you talking about? As far as I've ever known, you’ve never really been interested in women. Why this girl? She’s trouble.”

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