Page 39 of Tangled in Knots

Bingo.Those are my guys.

“I don’t see any drawbacks in that,” Kane says with a shrug. “It’s everything you could want with a return policy.”

“I think so too,” Dad rumbles. “We’re leaving at six in the morning tomorrow. I’m going to handle a few calls and I need to check in with Ophelia. This omega’s pampered ways are coming to an end.”

Dropping his foot to the ground, he stands at his full height. His cold, black eyes match mine, and he’s dressed in tactical clothes. It’s harder to see someone if they meld into the background. His training is unparalleled, which I know, because he’s been putting me through it since I was a child.

“Understood, sir,” I state, ignoring the blanket that my father left on the opposite side of the couch. It’s fairly cold in the cabin, and I’m unsure if that’s also being done on purpose.

Adira whimpers in her sleep, shivering, and my pack ignores it.

“I’ll leave you to get settled. There’s wood for a fire if it’s too cold. I would hate for her to become a popsicle without her blanket. I also don’t want to deal with a whiny and awake omega,” Dad says. “Nothing more, though. Coddling her is over.”

Striding out of the room, the cabin door shuts behind him and I raise a single finger for everyone to wait. Dad was here forfuck only knows how long. There are definitely bugs or cameras in the house.

“I for one am fucking cold,” I state, seeing the small wood pile by the fireplace. “Damon, will you go around the back of the house to get some wood?”

I won’t touch anything that could have been tainted by my father, and in some ways the man is lazy. Why would he go outside when he could fuck with the wood nearby?

“Yep,” Damon grunts, his long legs eating up the length of space to the back door. Dad is acting very cavalier, and it’s bugging me.

“Leave the blanket, guys. I’m going to get dinner started. It was a long day of driving and I’m starving,” I state.

These houses are all set up with food and necessities. While my father will fuck with firewood for taking the easy way or bug the house with visual and audio devices, food is where he funnily enough draws the line.

Especially if I’m cooking it and I expect him to eat it.

Nodding, Kane yawns. “All our shit is in the SUV. I’ll kill for a hot shower and a change of clothes,” he grunts.

“Grab our bags,” I tell him. Everything is clean thanks to Zela’s laundry room, and I made sure we left her house spotless.

It’s the least I can do when I know she hates my guts. The only reason she allowed us to stay is because of the little omega sleeping on the couch. Otherwise, I have some strong doubts that she would have.

Blowing out a breath, I walk to the kitchen as I hear Morris and Kane leave the cabin. My father better have made certain to find some privacy for his calls, because I’m not going to tiptoe around much more than I already am.

I have a job to do, people to take care of, and I won’t split my focus further than that.

Opening the fridge, I find chicken, vegetables and garlic. Pulling items out, I preheat the oven and begin to chop and season the food to roast it all on a sheet pan. My stomach growls as I cook and I keep my mind sharp by watching the area around me.

My father is outside on the porch talking to someone, and he’s not bothering to be quiet. Discreetly, I open the nearest window in front of me, I listen to him drone on as I work. Kane drops bags off at different rooms. Damon and Morris get a fire going, and the blanket is gone that was wrapped around Adira.

A part of me is certain that it’s in someone’s room, so they can sleep with it. I don’t care enough about the blanket to police it, I simply don’t want my father to find it.

Once I’m done prepping food, I put the sheet pan into the preheated oven, and set the timer. Washing my hands again, I lean forward, straining to hear my father’s latest phone conversation.

“Yeah, they’re here,” Dad grunts. “We’re only staying the night, though. I told them about the updated time schedule, and they are rolling with the punches as usual. I’d rather work with my sons than anyone else, because they don’t question me.”

That’s a load of shit, most people don’t.

“Mmhmm. Well, tomorrow is the beginning of the end of this bullshit with the Firestone slut,” Dad continues. “This has taken way too long to coordinate. Ophelia is dying to collect her paycheck on this.”

Lips pursed, I turn to face the inner cabin walls, watching as my brothers and Morris unwind. All three of them cycle through gazing at the omega and myself, clearly on edge. Damon’s fingers are curled to keep them from twitching, a clear sign of stress that only we would recognize.

We can keep it together through tomorrow. I know it. I can’t reach out to the pack I’m working with anymore, but Dad asmuch as told me that it's them. There’s so much hinging on everything going forward perfectly.

Right now, it all feels like chaos, which is the only reason it’ll work. I feel insane, yet that means I’m exactly where I need to be.

Sometimes that’s just how it goes.

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