Page 55 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 1

twenty-four

“Sir,Idon’tknow who you are but you need to take a step back,” Spencer ordered, his voice sharper than I’d ever heard. “You’re mistaken, this isn’t the woman you’re looking for, she is a member of our pack and doesn’t do well with strangers. I would ask that you move along.”

“That’s her. I know it is,” the man argued. “Have you kidnapped her? I’ll call the police on you if you don’t let her go.”

The sound of heavy feet came closer before a deep voiced man with a slight accent spoke. “Do we have a problem here?”

“Savo,” Spencer greeted, his tone telling me this Savo person was a friend of his. “This man seems to think that our Omega is someone a friend of his is missing. I tried to tell him that wasn’t the case but now he wants to call the police on me.”

As Spencer talked he wrapped his arms tightly around me keeping me safe in the shield of his body. Why wouldn’t this man just leave us alone? How in the world did he know who I was, Father didn’t have any friends that I knew of. No one ever came to the house, there’s no way he could know who I was.

“Sir, I’m with government security, and I can tell you that this man here, who is Official Stone’s Beta, isn’t lying to you. Now I’m going to need you to move along before I’m forced to arrest you for harassing a member of the political party,” Savo explained, his words clipped and to the point his accent growing heavier making me think he might be more upset than he let on.

“You have to be kidding?” the man yelled. “Why would you arrest me when they are the ones who have the girl?”

“It is my duty to protect the members of the CoF and their pack so, no, I’m not kidding you. Official Stone as a member of the CoF is entitled to add an Omega to his pack regardless of your feelings on the matter. You say that someone is looking for her. Are you telling me there was a man harboring an Omega, refusing to do his duty by handing her over to the government Care Centers?” Savo inquired, every word filled with a veiled threat making me shiver. I was beyond grateful he was on our side.

The stranger spluttered and let out a string of swear words as he stormed away. All I wanted was to go home, back where it was safe and no one wanted to take me from my new family. Yet I didn’t want to take away from this special day that Spencer and the others were excited about. So I took a deep breath and turned my head to the side to look at the man who’d come to protect us.

He wasn’t a man, he was a giant, towering over me with his deep forest green eyes pinned right on me. The muscles that bulged out of his shirt made me wonder if it was going to tear and the leather jacket over it did nothing to hide what was under it. Jeans and what looked like black biker boots gave the complete image that he was a man I never wanted to cross paths with in an alley at night. Savo’s hair was cut tight on the sides so that I could see his scalp, then slightly longer on top showing it was a dark red-brown color. His full beard was well maintained and neat but only added to the vibe that he was a gangster or something equally terrifying.

“How is it I always find you in trouble, Spencer?” Savo asked, a frown making him even more intimidating.

That other man must have been crazy to argue with the Hulk. If he’d told me to leave I wouldn’t have asked twice and ran.

Savo’s eyes fell back to me as Spencer loosened his hold. “Dove, this is my friend Savo. He works for a security company and the government when it’s needed.” Spencer paused and looked up again. “Speaking of, didn’t you have a job starting this weekend?”

“Supposed to but the person I was to be in charge of never showed. They are trying to track down what happened so until then, I’m back to life as usual,” he shared with a shrug. “What about you? What brings you all the way out here from fancy pants land?”

I turned so my back was to Spencer and I could face Savo better, not craning my neck back so far. “They’re shopping for me,” I answered, my voice so quiet I wasn’t sure he heard me.

He narrowed his gaze, then something like recognition sparked in his eyes as he glared at Spencer behind me. “She’s—”

“An Omega, yes,” Spencer cut off smoothly. “She’s the newest member of our pack just as I explained to that man. Dove has only been with us a few days and we are just getting settled before any sort of big announcement. Once everyone knows about her there will be no more casual mall outings like this for a while.”

“I would imagine,” Savo muttered.

“Savo, fancy running into you here,” Marius greeted as he returned with Nixon. “Doing some shopping on your day off?”

“Unexpected day off as it were. Thought I’d make use of it,” Savo answered, shoving his hands in his pockets. “You need to be more careful with her,” Savo scolded. “Found these two arguing with a man in a case of mistaken identity between your Omega and a missing girl named Cambrie.”

Marius stood up straighter and the comfortable air about him was gone. Nixon didn’t look all that happy either as he stood closer, almost shielding me with his body.

“As you said, case of mistaken identity,” Marius agreed, his tone telling Savo not to push the matter.

Savo nodded. “These are dark times we live in. You never know what might happen or who might snatch an Omega right out of your grasp. If you decide you need security you let me know, I’ll make sure she stays safe.”

Each of the men around me relaxed as if a cord had been cut hearing his offer. Nixon pulled me from Spencer and tucked me against his side, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. Now I too was relaxed knowing that both Alphas had returned.

“Thank you for the offer. I’ll keep that in mind,” Marius said, reaching out a hand to Savo. “I have a feeling it’s going to come in handy one day, but for now we plan to keep her close at home while we settle into things.”

I felt Savo’s eyes on me, and I turned my head to see him staring at my arm. After trying on all the clothes I wasn’t as cold so I’d left my jacket off. The short sleeve shirt I was wearing showed off the still fading bruises that littered my body. They were in that ugly yellow green color that seemed to draw more attention than when they were dark and purple.

“What would you say if I joined you while you’re at the mall? I’m not looking to butt in, but as security. There was already someone after your Omega and it’s my job to keep them safe. Let me give you a sample of my work as it were, so if you decide to work with me you’ll know what you’re getting.” Savo offered, not taking his eyes off me as if he was trying to see beyond my clothes to what other evidence of my past might be there.

Nixon glanced down at me, then over to Marius. “It would be stupid not to accept an offer like that now, wouldn’t it? Thank you, we are willing to do whatever it takes to keep Cambrie safe.”

I saw out of the corner of my eye Spencer flinching at my name and realized in all the conversations he’d called me Dove. Pulling away from a begrudging Nixon I held out a hand to Savo, hoping he wouldn’t feel lied to when he heard I was the person that man thought I was.

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