Page 39 of Rescue Me

I grab the sponge and slam it against the sink, the water splashing up onto my shirt. Great. Just what I needed—wet clothes to go with my simmering rage. I toss the sponge aside, drying my hands with a towel as I glance over at my phone on the counter. It buzzes again, and for a second, I debate chucking it out the window. But no, that would be too easy.

I pick it up, unlocking the screen with more force than necessary. This time, it’s not Hailey. It’s worse. It’s my mom.

Reid, I heard what you’ve been up to. Do you know what this is doing to us? You’re embarrassing the family. Fix this.

A laugh bursts from me—bitter and humorless. Of course, she found a way to make this about her. Because it’s always about her, isn’t it? The family reputation, the family needs, the family’s fucking bank account. Never about me. Never about what I want.

I toss the phone back onto the counter, pacing the kitchen. My hands are clenched so tightly that my nails dig into my palms, but the pain barely registers. Hailey’s constant texts, my mom’s guilt-tripping, the weight of it all feels like it’s crushing me.

For a fleeting moment, I think about the bond mark on my shoulder, the one tying me to the Wilhelms like a ball and chain. I imagine taking a knife to it, carving it out of my skin. But I know better. That mark isn’t just flesh—it’s a contract, a leash, a fucking life sentence. Cutting it out wouldn’t change a damn thing.

Then my phone rings, my mother’s name rolling across the screen. I should let it go to voicemail. I should walk away, pretend I didn’t see it. But I know her. Ignoring her will only make things worse. With a deep breath, I grab my phone and swipe to answer. "Hello.”

“Reid,” she snaps. “Finally. I was starting to think you were ignoring me.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, the headache already forming. “What do you want, Mom?”

“What do I want?” she repeats, her voice dripping with disbelief. “I want you to explain what the hell you think you’re doing. Running off like this, making a mess of everything. Do you have any idea how this makes us look? What people are saying?”

I close my eyes, leaning against the counter. “I don’t care what people are saying.”

“Do you know what you’ve done to us, Reid?” she snaps. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been since the payments stopped? Your father and I—”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did the spa appointments dry up?” I cut in, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Must be tough, Mom, having to scale back from caviar to shrimp cocktail. My heart justbleedsfor you.” The attitude comes easy within the safety of this house as if Zana’s lingering scent is giving me the confidence I need to speak my mind.

“Don’t you dare take that tone with me!” she barks. “You don’t understand what it’s like, the embarrassment we’ve had to endure because of you!”

A short bitter laugh comes from me. “Embarrassment? You want to talk about embarrassment? I’ve spent the past three months crammed into a glorified broom closet, fetching tea for a dictator in designer clothes. While you and Dad were living it up on the checks I earned, I was getting my ribs kicked in because I didn’t fold Hailey’s sweaters fast enough.”

“It was yourjob. You signed up for this. You’re supposed to be good for something, Reid, and this was it. We sacrificed so much for you—”

“Sacrificed?” I snap, cutting her off again. “What exactly did you sacrifice, Mom? Was it the vacation home? The luxury car? Or maybe it was the respect you’ve never had for me? Let's also get something straight.Inever signed up for this.”

“You ungrateful little—” Her voice sharpens, but then there’s a pause, a shuffle on the other end of the line. My stomach twists as a new voice comes through.

“Reid,” my father growls. “What’s this nonsense I hear about you refusing to go back? Do you have any idea how much you’ve let this family down?”

“Let you down?” I say, my voice rising. “Let’s talk about how you’ve let me down. You never wanted a Beta for a son. I wasn’t strong enough for you, wasn’t perfect enough for Mom. All I’ve ever been to you is a tool—a means to an end. And before you try to pull the ‘we’re family bullshit, no, you’re not. You’re leeches, sucking me dry and tossing me aside when I’m no longer useful. You think I don’t know what you’re really mad about? The money stopped. That’s all this is to you. And you know what? I’m done.”

“Reid,” my mother snaps, cutting back in, her voice shrill. “You will fix this. You will go back to that house and finish your job. You owe us.”

“Owe you?” I laugh again, the sound almost hysterical. “Let me tell you what I owe you. Nothing. Not a damn thing. And if you keep pushing, I’ll make sure everyone knows that contract was forged.”

There’s a beat of silence before my father speaks again, his voice a few octaves deeper than before. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me,” I snark. “Let’s see how the Wilhelms like finding out they were scammed by the great and noble family who raised me.” The line goes quiet and I hang up, feeling some sense of peace at finally getting all the words out. It’s been a while since I felt safe enough to speak my mind but it feels good.

Really good.

And that’s when the temperature in the kitchen shifts as a soft, high-pitched whine catches my attention.

I freeze, my heart stuttering in my chest as a wave of scent floods the house. It’s summer in full bloom—bright sunshine, ocean breeze, the warmth of sand under bare feet. Ethan. His scent is everywhere, wrapping around me, pulling me toward the living room.

Ethan is sprawled across the living room floor in his makeshift nest, the little Omega tearing at his clothes as he meets my gaze. “Oh, thank fuck,” he whines as he reaches for me, dragging me onto the floor beside him. I laugh at his insistence, a sound that soon dies in my throat when Ethan wrangles me onto my back and shoves my shorts down my legs.

He swallows my cock whole, humming around my length, even as his ass is perched high up in the air, twitching, needing something to fill it. “Ethan, I don’t have what you need,” I say, although it comes out more like a purr. I push against his shoulders, trying not to succumb to his filthy mouth. He’s not letting up though, my cock instantly hard as Ethan takes what he wants.

My head falls back against the carpet as I steel my emotions, realizing that Ethan is in the middle of a heat spike. Just the best time for it, really.

---