Page 43 of Rescue Me

Ethan’s eyes are still wide, confusion running rampant through his expression. “What’s happening?” he whispers, fear threading through his voice like a live wire.

I ignore him for the moment, knowing that Ethan is going to fall apart and address Reid. “There’s more, Reid. There’salwaysmore.” Then I lean forward, making sure that these words are just for him. “I can’t pull you out of that house, not without losing Ethan. They won’t try anything while under investigation. Just stay safe until I can figure something out.”

Reid pulls back, searching my expression as if he didn’t expect me to fight for him. “I don’t expect you to do anything, Alpha.”

“I would burn down the world right now if it meant keeping you.”

“And if I walked right out? What then? What are the legal implications if I just fucking leave that house?”

A small grin overtakes my lips. “They can’t stop you, Reid. I don’t know what they’ll try if you do that but legally, there’s nothing they could do. Is that what you want?”

“After experiencing happiness with you and Ethan? I would fucking doanythingto come back here. I’m not staying in that house again, Alpha. I can’t do it.”

“Thendon’t.”

Chapter twenty-seven

REID

Ethan rushes over, swallowing me in a tight hug as I kiss him, tasting him for what feels like the last time. I know it won’t be but goddess, luck is not my best friend. It never has been. The knocking becomes louder, Zana opening the door to a less-than-amused officer. He’s the same one from last time, more irritated than usual as he just clicks his tongue at me.

I have to tear myself away from my beautiful Omega, his eyes filled with tears as I head out the door. Saying goodbye feels like it would be done in bad taste so I leave the words hanging in the air. The officer follows, grumbling under his breath as he unlocks the passenger door.

“I didn’t go to the academy for this shit,” he mutters, slamming the door once I’m inside. “Getting bossed around by rich Alphas like I’m their fucking errand boy. God, I hate this gig.”

I stare straight ahead, my hands clenched in my lap, but he glances over at me, his brows furrowed. “No snark today?” he asks, his tone lighter now, almost teasing.

I shrug. “What’s the point? Not like it’ll change anything.”

He lets out a short laugh, shaking his head. “Fair enough.”

The car rumbles to life and as we pull away from the house, I risk one last glance over my shoulder. Zana and Ethan are standing in the doorway, their silhouettes framed by the warm light spilling out from inside. They don’t wave. They just watch, their expressions a mix of hope and despair.

I turn back around, swallowing the lump in my throat as Zana's fierce emotions ripple through the bond. This isn’t the end, I tell myself. I won’t let it be.

I keep my gaze fixed out the window, watching the landscape blur into nothingness, my chest tightening with every mile closer to the Wilhelms. The officer—his name tag says “Hollis,” though I’m pretty sure he’d rather I just call him “done with your shit”—glances at me from the corner of his eye. He hasn’t said much since we left Zana’s house, just muttered about being tired of this gig and dealing with “rich Alphas and their tantrums.” I’ve been biting back snark since we started the drive, but it’s not easy. The knot of dread in my stomach isn’t helping.

The bite on my bottom lip isreallynot helping because Zana’s emotions are barreling through.

Finally, I can’t take the silence anymore. “Hey,” I say, not looking at him. My voice is sharper than I mean it to be, but I don’t care. “You ever hear of anyone getting out of this? Being a pack Beta, I mean.”

Hollis doesn’t answer right away, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. “Depends,” he says eventually, his tone carefully neutral. “If the contract’s not official, sure. Happens sometimes. Technicalities, missing signatures, that sort of thing.”

My chest tightens, and I glance over at him. “And if itisofficial?”

He snorts, shaking his head. “Then it gets tricky. Once it’s signed, it’s binding. You’d have to prove abuse, neglect, breach of contract—something serious. And even then, the pack’s lawyers usually find a way to keep things locked up tight.”

I mutter under my breath, just loud enough for him to catch, “I never signed it.”

The words slip out before I can stop them, and Hollis’s head whips toward me, his eyes narrowing. “What did you just say?”

I shrug, leaning back against the seat like I didn’t just drop a bomb of information that not even Zana knows. “You heard me.”

He curses under his breath, his fingers drumming against the steering wheel. “Jesus Christ, kid. You don’t go around saying shit like that. You think the Wilhelms wouldn’t bury you alive if they caught wind of that?”

“They’ve already done a pretty good job of burying me alive,” I snap, turning to face him fully now. “What’s the difference?”

“The difference,” he growls, “is that if anyone finds out, it’s not just you in the crosshairs. Whoever signed that contract for you? They’re screwed. The Wilhelms? They’ll play the victim, sure, but they’ll still go down. Hell, even I’d probably get roped into this mess for being the one driving your sorry ass back to them.”

---