Page 21 of Whatever It Takes

“Here’s the bathroom; it’s attached.” Keir aims a thumb toward one of the doors. “It’s stocked. Towels, washcloths, and hand towels are in the double set of cabinets to the right of the vanity. Extra toothbrushes, bodywash, shampoo, and conditioner—it’s all under the sink. There should be bottles in the shower too.” He turns around, leaning back against the wall. There’s a weird look on his face as he studies me, and I take a step back.

Dammit.

He’s going to ask me about Bianca.

I didn’t want anyone to know about that.

Okay, initially, I did.

My whole goal was to get them to protect me from Titus. But then we got to know each other, and I already look pathetic enough with the whole Jameson thing.

“You can’t just leave,” Keir says, shaking his head. “Running never solves anything. Once you start, you can’t stop. You’ll always feel the need to look over your shoulder. It’s exhausting.”

My gaze falls to the floor as my chest gets tight. I don’t even know what to say. I’m upset about Jameson, but I also liked knowing the people at work saw me as this completely different person. Having them find out who I really am and what I’ve been through…sucks.

I hate that it makes me feel so vulnerable, but it does.

I’ve gotten braver since working at Shadow Security, and this whole thing makes me look terrible. The first guy I chose for myself ended up being a royal ass. The guy my family set me up with ended up murdered on our wedding day.

I’m a mess.

Not to mention, being associated with me gets people killed.

It’s like a curse.

“I don’t want to run,” I admit with a weird hitch to my voice. “I’m just really freaking tired, Keir.”

The massive alpha crosses the room in two long strides. He wraps his hand around my lower back, pulling me into his chest. “You’ve got support. All you need to do is trust me.”

Holy shit.

I’m the most cliché omega in existence because my knees wobble with just those few words.

The way his hazelnut scent floods my nose and his huge hand smooths up and down my spine doesn’t make me want to step back. If anything, it causes my whole body to yearn to melt even farther into him and never let go.

“Listen to me, Briar. You don’t have to run anymore. Take a few hours and relax, maybe change out of your work clothes andcome down to eat dinner with us.” Keir nuzzles his cheek to the top of my head. “All you have to do is point us at the problem, and we’ll handle it.”

Can he read my mind?

It’s like he knows exactly what I need to hear to feel safe, and my lower lip wobbles. I’m not sure I deserve his kindness. I purposely snaked my way into their lives to try to manipulate them into doing that very thing.

I’m going to have to come clean about that at some point, but when I do, he might stop touching me.

That risk is too great.

I bite my cheek to keep the truth from spewing out and wrap my arms around his lower back.

My eyes ache, and I sniffle against Keir’s soft shirt. He pulls me closer, and his other forearm circles the back of my head. Combined with his hand on my back, it makes me feel surrounded and protected in a way that’s hard to explain.

Omegas like feeling safely confined.

Every alpha knows that.

An embarrassing sob rattles out of my lips as my face wallows around his chest.

Today was such a shitty day.

And I’ve had a lot of them in my life.

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