Page 22 of Knot Their Girl
I spend the next few hours alone, packing up some things I can’t bear to leave behind. My favorite blanket hides my injections, and heaps of my clothes in bright pink suitcases hide the vibrator that helped me through my heat.
My next heat, I’ll be in a house with an alpha or two, if Gideon really does hire a bodyguard. I need to be prepared. Just because alphas will be near doesn’t mean I’ll have to go begging for their dicks. No, a lady can handle things herself, even if it’s ridiculously challenging to.
Later that night, when we’re eating dinner as a family, it’s my dad’s turn to address things. Sitting at the head of the table, my dad gives me a smile. “I hear there’s some congratulations in order, Raeka.”
Beside me, Nicole shoots a quick glance at me, while our mom holds my stare, a tight smile on her face—her way of reminding me not to screw things up.
As if. I’m basically doing this to get away from her and her relentless nagging.
“Yeah,” I say, using my fork to poke around the food on my plate. “I guess.”
“I thought you’d be more excited,” Dad says.
“Really? You thoughtI’dbe excited?”
Me pressing the subject forces my dad to relent and sigh, “No, you’re right. This is very in-character for you. What’s not in-character is the fact that you accepted an offer to begin with. I read over the terms Gideon sent over—they’re very good. Probably one of the best offers there can be. You must’ve really done a number on him.”
I chuckle softly. “I don’t know about that.”
“Talk around the city was Gideon Chase was never going to settle down,” he says. “Ever since that accident years ago, he’s basically become a recluse. Does his nephew still live with him?”
“I think so,” I say.
Mom takes a sip from her wine glass. “I hope this means his designs will become more inspired. With you in the house as inspiration, I don’t see why they wouldn’t.” Leave it to my mom to want more frilly, silly omega jewelry and brooches when she should realize that her eldest daughter is only doing this to get away from her. Her priorities are messed up.
“Regardless,” Dad tells me, “this is a good thing. I know you were resistant to matching with any pack, but Gideon Chase sounds like a good one. He’ll take care of you, I’m sure.”
There are a million things I could say to that, but in the end, all I do is give my dad a smile and a nod. I find that, even when you’ve clocked out of a conversation, if you smile and nod, most people will think you’re listening. They’ll think you care. My parents are no exception to that. I can’t even list how many conversations I tune out of but still pretend to listen to.
As the night wears on, I spend more time than I care to admit thinking about Gideon Chase and his nephew. How it’s going to be living in their house, with them. Gideon obviously will welcome me, but will his nephew? It could be his nephew might be resistant to the whole idea of me spending time with him.
And, somehow, amongst all those thoughts, I catch myself thinking about Pax Alabaster, too. The über alpha with the drop-dead gorgeous muscles and the kind of face that looks good whether he’s scowling or frowning. Odds are I’ll never see him again—I shouldn’t be sad about that, but as I go to sleep that night, I am.
Chapter Eleven – Pax
I’m in the middle of working with my team on their hand-to-hand combat skills when I get a call from my brother, Darius. When I pull out my phone and see who it is that’s calling, I hit the ignore button and resume instruction.
My team is acting like they all went out and partied last night or something. Nobody’s at their top game.
“Aaron,” I snap, “what the hell are you doing? You’re better than this. Shape up or I’ll have you do a hundred pushups then continue your drills.” The alpha, paired off with Steve, makes a face, but fixes his stance before Steve can land another punch as they practice blocking.
A team of twelve, they’re the fixers. The ones who get called in when shit really hits the fan. Alabaster Security focuses on not only event security, but also location security. Sometimes other methods are necessary, when the jobs get more complicated. These alphas are the ones who handle the really complicated shit.
We train in the open section of the warehouse, under bright fluorescent lights. The other half of the warehouse has been transformed into interrogation rooms; Alabaster Security often works with the local law enforcement, though we sometimes tiptoe along the line of what’s legal and what’s not.
I hear the door to the hall that leads to the interrogation rooms open and close, and soon after that Rourke’s voice fills the air: “Yeah, I see him. I’ll tell him right now.” He grins as he approaches me, though he makes it a point not to meet my stare; instead, his blue eyes examine the high ceiling above us. “Oh, no, I don’t mind.” He chuckles. “Yeah, the asshole probably ignored your call.”
I frown at him and fold my arms over my chest, giving my back to my crew.
Rourke glances down at his tattooed bicep and flexes it for no one in particular. “Yep. Oh, no problem, Darius. I’m happy to help.” He ends the call, stuffs his phone into his back pocket, and finally meets my stare. His expression reads far too happy, which means I’m not going to like whatever it is.
If Darius called him after calling me… it must mean something is time-sensitive. Shit. I should’ve just answered the phone. I should know better than to throw temper-tantrums—I’m still not too happy about being stuck with that bodyguard position last weekend.
And that omega, Raeka Whittenhall. As much as I hate to admit it, she’s been on my mind way too much.
“Hey, buddy,” Rourke says, flashing me his pearly whites. Someone who doesn’t know him might think he’s charming, and he is, but deep down he’s just a psycho waiting to emerge. “Darius says there’s a potential client who wants to meet with you. He’s at the office downtown with the client.”
“Did he say what it’s about?” I ask.
