Page 73 of Knot Unwanted: Part Two

“We need to go,” I say, pulling back reluctantly. She tries to move but staggers immediately, her legs buckling. Without hesitation, I scoop her into my arms, cradling her against my chest.

“I’ve got you,” I tell her. The fact she immediately sinks against me with complete trust does more than she’ll ever know. “I’ve got you now.”

She nestles her face against my neck, her breath warm against my skin. “You came for me,” she whispers, voice filled with wonder.

“Always,” I promise. And it carries more weight than she knows.

I move quickly through the forest, back toward the road where the vehicles wait. Hailey feels impossibly light in my arms, but the weight of what she means to me has never been heavier.

As we near the edge of the trees, I can see Caldwell’s crumpled form still lying in the road, the beta’s body a few yards away. Blood glistens in the dawning light.

“Close your eyes,” I murmur to Hailey.

She complies without question, burying her face deeper against my neck as I carry her past the carnage. The less she sees, the better. She’s been through enough tonight.

I reach the SUV and carefully settle her in the back seat, where she’ll have room to lie down. She whimpers as I try to pull away, her fingers clutching at my arms.

“Don’t go.” Her plea, her eyes so wide with fear, I wish I could do what she asks. Stay holding her in that back seat. Use my mouth to take some of the edge off her pain.

“I’m not leaving,” I whisper. “Just going around to the driver’s side. We need to get out of here.”

She reluctantly releases me, curling into herself as another wave of heat crashes through her system. Her soft cries of discomfort follow me as I circle the vehicle, each one a knife to my gut. She’s in pain, and there’s nothing I can do to ease it. Not yet.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, my hands hover over the steering wheel. And just like that, I’m frozen.

The wheel gleams dully in the dashboard lights, innocent and inanimate, yet to me, it might as well be a live grenade. I haven’t sat behind one since…

Since the accident.

Memories flood back. The rain-slicked road, Finn in the passenger seat, my hands tight on a wheel just like this one. The sudden appearance of the logging truck. The screech of tires, the crunch of metal, Finn’s scream. Blood. So much blood.

My hands shake. I can’t do this. I can’t.

From the back seat, Hailey whimpers my name, the sound pulling me back to the present with brutal clarity. I glance in the rearview mirror and see her writhing against the leather upholstery, her face flushed with heat, her eyes still glazed with need and pain.

I have to do this. For her.

Swallowing hard, I press my forehead against the steering wheel, sweat making the leather slick beneath my skin.Breathe, I tell myself.Just breathe.

“Ren,” Hailey calls weakly. “Are you okay?”

The irony of her asking about my well-being when she’s the one suffering tears at my heart. “I’m fine,” I manage, though the words sound like crushed coal. “Just…give me a second.”

I can do this. I have to do this. Hailey needs me.

With trembling fingers, I reach for the gear stick, pushing the vehicle into drive. The vehicle groans, the sound sending a freshwave of anxiety crashing over me. But I fight through it, forcing my hands to close around the wheel.

I’m almost there when headlights suddenly appear behind us, sweeping across the interior of our vehicle. Not the random headlights of a passing traveler on this remote back road. No. I recognize the silhouette of the vehicle—identical to the one we’re in. One of Heath’s.

It comes to a screeching halt. Men pour out, weapons drawn. Their shouts carry through the night air.

Fuck.

It’s now or never.

With a silent apology to Hailey, I release the brake and slam my foot on the accelerator. The vehicle lurches forward, tires spinning on the gravel before finding purchase. I swerve around Caldwell’s prone form and the dead beta, the vehicle fishtailing slightly before straightening out.

In the rearview mirror, I see two men scrambling back to their vehicle, while others fire wildly in our direction. A bullet pings off the rear bumper, another shatters the side mirror.

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