Page 209 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

My warning dies in my throat as a shot rings out. But it wasn’t Jax who fired.

Time stills; my whole world goes still.

Stone…

But Stone jerks at the sound of the gunshot, too. He’s still alive. Behind him, the mercenary that was coming up the stairs just…stops moving. For a moment, it’s like the air doesn’t move. And then, the mercenary’s body falls like a log. The silence that follows feels deafening.

Another shot cracks through the air and the operative pinning Stone jerks violently and goes limp.

“What…” Jax breathes, a protective arm still pushing me back. Through the shadows, a figure materializes at the top of the stairs—tall, lethal grace in every movement. Even before he steps into the dim light, I know who it is.

Ren.

His face is carved from stone, eyes cold and deadly as hesurveys the scene. The gun in his hand looks like an extension of his arm, as natural as breathing.

“You’re getting sloppy, Stone,” he says, his voice carrying easily despite its quietness. “Have you forgotten everything I taught you? Letting them get this close.”

Stone pushes to his feet, grimacing as blood runs down his arm. “And where the fuck have you been?” he grunts.

“Took out their backup outside,” Ren says, stepping over a fallen mercenary. “Four more in the perimeter. Won’t be a problem anymore.” There’s something chilling about how matter-of-fact he is about it.

A groan from downstairs draws everyone’s attention. There’s the sound of something hard hitting flesh.

“Fuckyou.” The sound of Finn’s voice makes a strange relieved sort of laugh rattle through my chest.

“That’s enough of that,” Ren says softly. To Stone: “You’ll want to call this in. I’ve already contacted some people who’ll handle cleanup, but you’ll need official channels, too.”

The light flicks on, and I flinch at the sudden brightness. Then I see—really see—what’s around us, and my breath stops in my throat. I thought I knew what had happened. I was here, after all. I felt the impacts, heard the gunshots, smelled the copper tang of blood. But seeing it laid bare under harsh lights is different.

The hallway looks like a war zone. Blood spatters the cream-colored walls, pooling dark and sticky on the hardwood floor. I don’t realize I’m moving forward till my bare foot hits the arm of the mercenary Jax had been fighting. I can see down the stairs now. Bodies lie crumpled where they fell, limbs bent at unnatural angles. One of them is still twitching. The pristine house has been transformed into something out of a nightmare, and I was part of making it that way.

My stomach lurches, and I have to lock my knees to keep standing.

Finn appears at the bottom of the stairs, bat still in hand andsporting what’s definitely going to be a spectacular black eye. “Cops are already on their way,” he says. “Silent alarm triggered when they broke into the house.”

The adrenaline is starting to fade, leaving me shaky and acutely aware that I’m standing here naked, covered in someone else’s blood. Ren moves past us silently, disappearing into the nest room for a moment before returning with blankets from the pile we’d left rumpled on the bed just hours ago. He wraps one carefully around my shoulders. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since Stone made him leave after the incident. His hands are steady now, nothing like they were that night, but there’s still something raw in his eyes when they meet mine.

“How did you know?” Finn asks. He’s climbed up the stairs and he accepts another blanket from Ren. His eye is already swelling shut, ugly bruises blooming across his chest.

Ren’s gaze meets mine again, and something flickers in their depths. “I always know when my pack is in danger.” He looks at Stone. “Get that arm looked at. These weren’t amateurs.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Stone mutters, but there’s respect in his voice. The hostility from the past few minutes seems temporarily forgotten in the wake of this. “Academy trained?”

“Better,” Ren says grimly. “We’ll discuss it later.” His gaze sweeps over all of us, cataloging injuries—Stone’s arm, Finn’s eye, Jax’s bloodied knuckles. Finally, his eyes return to me, and I see a flash of the guilt that drove him away. “You okay?”

I manage a nod, though ‘okay’ feels like a relative term right now.

Sirens wail in the distance, growing closer. Ren’s expression hardens as he looks at the fallen mercenaries.

Jax comes to stand behind me. “I will handle the police. We’ll keep it simple—home invasion, multiple attackers, self-defense. Finn, get her somewhere safe. And Ren?—”

“You stall them. I’ll deal with the rest.”

The way he says ‘deal with’ sends a chill down my spine, but Idon’t question it. Can’t question it, when these men just risked everything to protect me—even Ren, who came back despite everything.

“Come on,” Stone murmurs, tugging me gently toward his room. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

As we move away, I hear Ren speaking quietly to Jax: “We’ve got a bigger problem than just these mercs…”

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