Page 86 of The Knotty Omega
“Thanks for lookin’ out, grumpy,” Archie quips as he slides out behind me, and Titus rolls his eyes.
“I ordered the three of us lunch,” Titus says, walking us back to the bullpen. “It should be here in about five minutes.”
“Well now I feel like a douche.” Archie mutters, and I giggle behind my hand.
“You can make it up to me by waiting in the lobby for it,” Titus bares his teeth in a feral smile.
Rolling my eyes as Archie heads for the elevator, I pause as Titus turns to me. “So, I got a call while I standing guard.”
“And?” I hedge, wondering where he’s going with this. Is it about the harassment?
“Well, my guys attacked the case from the new angle, knowing that the Sheffield pack has an issue with you…and they spotted them near your apartment building the day it was vandalized. Well, three out of four of them. They weren't flagged when they first went through the footage because my guys weren't looking for...businessmen.”
My heart leaps into my throat. This is good right? But why doesn't he seem happy about it?
"Why doesn' t that sound like things are moving forward?"
"Well...my guy obtained the footage by...less than legal means. We're going to have to figure out a way to make it a legitimate claim so the police actually look into it."
“Do you think they even realize that it’s me they’re harassing? I feel like if they knew who I was, they would have sicced their followers on me.”
Titus rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, I think so too. We’re just going have to keep at it. Hope they mess up somewhere.”
I frown. “I hate that.”
Titus pulls me against him, tucking my head under his chin. “I know, angel. Me too.”
***
At the end of the day, the three of us are exiting the building when a scent makes me freeze. Two of the alphas from Pack Sheffield are walking past the building when we’re coming out. Chadwick and Brody.
In a purely instinctual reaction, I move behind Titus, and he immediately senses the threat, a growl rumbling in his chest. Archie crowds my back, making me feel more secure, and rubs a hand down my arm.
Chadwick's nostrils flare as he passes us, his gaze whipping to me, his eyes widening before they move up to the giant sign on the building, “ABO Magazine”. I see the exact moment when he connects the dots. His brows furrow, a snarl on his lips, but before he can do anything, Brody grabs his arm and ushers him away. It’s only when they’re out of sight that I relax fully, and Titus whips around, taking my face in his hands. “Are you okay? They can’t touch you, not while I’m here, and I’m never fucking leaving you, angel.”
The words crack in my throat. “He knows.”
“What, blossom? What does he know?” Archie asks soothingly behind me, rubbing his hand down my arm.
“I saw the moment it clicked.” I rasp, tears stinging my eyes. “He saw the sign for the building, and he smelled me. They were in my apartment with my unbonded scent. I had said I work for the magazine, but they weren’t really listening. He just figured out that I’m the Knotty Omega.”
"Are you sure?" Titus looks alarmed as he takes my arm and we hurry to my car in the parking garage. Archie curses as he follows behind us, and helps me slide into the backseat of the car.
Titus peels out of the parking garage like we're being chased, and he pulls out his phone to call someone on speaker.
"Sawyer." The deep, male voice sounds over the speaker.
"Sawyer. We just had a breakthrough on the Jackman case. We're going to push it to the police, tell them we got a tip from an anonymous source that they saw the alphas identified as Pack Sheffield in the hallway of her apartment the day of the break in. Tell them they need to check the traffic cams to corroborate, and tell them that Pack Sheffield was rejected by Ms. Jackman."
"Got it. But sir...will we actually have a source to refer them to? Or are we just crossing our fingers they won't ask to see it?"
"Check the inbox. We should have an email from one Mrs. Heisman asking to remain anonymous to the authorities."
"Ten four."
They hang up, and my mouth gapes open. "Mrs. Heisman saw them in the apartment? Why did she wait until just now to say something?"
"Is that what you were working on after lunch?” Archie asks, arching a brow.
