Page 9 of Into the Fire: After
A knife slashed through my heart at the thought of our alphas gone. That was what I wanted too, more than anything. I wanted Brea and Taryn in our apartment permanently, their scents infused with ours in every room. I wanted to buy a double king bed, one that would fit all of us when needed. Outfit the guest room as a nest just for Taryn. I wanted to walk Taryn to and from work on the days I could, and sneak into her room to wake her up with my tongue between her legs on her birthday, and send her flowers and feed her dessert and share her with Lin. I wanted Crossword Brea in the mornings and Madam Brea in the evenings. I wanted to brat for her. I wanted to convinceCaineto brat for her. (He would never.)
She stepped closer to me. “If we drive away now, we will never see any of them again. Our alphas. Ourmates.You can’t tell me you’re okay with that.”
“Of course I’m not fucking okay with that.” I turned, swiping my good hand over my face. “Itkilledme to leave them behind with half a dozen guns aimed their way. But we all have jobs to do. My job is keeping you safe, and if that means I break my heart open over and over again, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“And what’s my job, then?” Taryn said. “To just…besafe?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not a job! And if it is, I’ve been doing a shit job of it since this whole thing started, so maybe I need a different job.”
“Like?”
“Like…” She exhaled, pacing around me. “Like doing what Vikki said.”
My entire body jolted at the suggestion. Back when Detective Vikki had first shown us the full extent of the shitstorm we’d been thrown into, Caine nearly went feral when she suggested using Taryn as bait to gain information and leverage on Wainwright. I felt every ounce of that fury in this moment that she’d suggest it for herself.
“You are…absolutely…mind meltedif you think I am letting you do that.”
“And you’re fucking stupid,” came her seething retort, low enough to be a growl, “if you think I’m going to climb into the car and twiddle my thumbs while we give up the others for lost.”
I wanted to scream, and not just because my brain very unhelpfully supplied a smutty retort about what she couldtwiddleif she was opposed to thumbs.
“Eight omegas, Brooks.” Her eyes shone like glass, and her brows pinched together. “Eight of us that they’ve hunted. And that’s just connected to this one…project, or whatever.” A tear fell down her cheek. It may as well have been an arrow through my chest. “They won’t ever stop. We can run and run, but they’ll always be faster. Then it’s nine of us, and we didnothingto stop it from happening again.”
I gave a small, weak shake of my head. “Sweetness…”
“We can’t donothing, Brooks.”
Brea would argue with Taryn, and argue and argue and argue, until the omega gave in and they ran.
Caine would simply pick her up and toss her in the car, handcuff her to the seat if needed, and drive away, even if it made her hate him.
Lin—my heart ached just to think his name—would listen, would consider, would beg her to just be selfish and let us keep her safe, but ultimately wouldn’t choose for her.
No more than I could choose for her.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Becausefucking hell,she was right, and I hated it. Loathed it with every cell of my being. I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs to their max before exhaling in a slow stream from between pursed lips. I opened my eyes.
“Funny you should mention Vikki. She sent something for you.”
Four
Brea
Cottonballsfilledmyskull. Stuffed to the brim. Thick fuzz slowed my thinking as I woke. Awareness bled in like blood through wispy fibers.
When did I sleep?
Wait. I hadn’t slept.
I was running. And then—
“Taryn!”
I bolted upright, which set off a flash of lightning behind my eyes. I hissed, raising my hand to my pounding and spinning head to feel a bandage at my temple.
Questions for later. Right now, there was one question and one answer only that interested me.
