Page 74 of Running on Empty

“OK, so that’s no good to you.” Blaine tried for a smile and failed terribly. He went to sit behind the desk, but all three of my alphas slapped their hands down on the tabletop, stopping him where he was.

“Rush,” Ash bit off. “Formula. Money. That’s what you promised us to stop us from putting a bullet in your brain in the VIP section.”

Would Ash do that? It seemed terribly reckless for him. Ronan, however…

“Still can happen,” my dark alpha said with a grin.

I could tell Blaine wasn’t one of us, because when he saw Ronan’s jagged smile, his eyes widened, his chest heaving as he sucked breaths in. He was scared. But right now, I could feel the icy cool that had me in its grip start to thaw slightly.

I didn’t feel scared at all, not when I saw this side of my mate, because somehow I knew. He was mine and I was his, and I would never be in danger when I was around him. I moved them, sidling up to Ronan and his arm went around me without a thought, holding me close. I didn’t want to be that girl, the one that could only be strong around a man, but fuck me, if the feel of him didn’t settle something inside me. Heal what hurt, if only for this moment, soothe me until my eyes fluttered closed for just a second.

“Better, beautiful?”

Ronan’s voice was little more than a raspy whisper, and I couldn’t tell if it was him that was talking or that other part of my mate. I didn’t care, I decided, lifting an arm and putting it around his neck, his moving to cradle me against his body. And Blaine? He watched the whole damn time with the strangest of expressions. Longing, I realised.

Because no matter what he had or his familial connections, Blaine Spencer would never have this.

A moment of connection so intense, sweet and pure, it took my breath away. It felt like it filled all the cracks inside me, the parts that screamed out for more. Ronan filled me up to the point of overflowing. So I should’ve been all love when I opened my eyes again and stared at the man who’d abused me. I should’ve felt a moment of forgiveness, where I attempted to understand what shitty social forces made this prick think it was a good idea to drug and assault me.

Except I didn’t.

I felt Ronan’s grip on me tighten, his body shifting restlessly, as if he could feel the swell of dark, focused energy surge inside me as I smiled down at the other man. I jerked one of my handguns out, flicked off the safety as I squared my stance, gripping it with both hands as I aimed it at Blaine.

“You brought us to a secluded area of your club, away from prying eyes, and just as you did to me, I can do whatever the fuck I like to you right now. Blow your fucking brains out.” I loved watching Blaine’s Adam’s apple bob as his hands slid down, wanting to go for his own weapon until I shifted my aim, forcing him to still. “Shoot you up full of Rush and watch you hump that office chair like a dog in heat until you die from dehydration.” He stared at me then, mutely pleading for mercy, not prepared to beg like his brother had, not yet. “Or give you over to one of those rooms full of fucks like you and tell them they can do whatever they want to you in any hole they like.” I tilted my head to one side. “Including the ones they cut into you.”

He was powerless then and Blaine knew it. He did before this, when he’d come up with his plan to throw himself at our mercy and offer us a deal he hoped we couldn’t pass up, but that was a kind of helplessness he’d chosen. Right now I was taking that away from him.

“Where’s the money?” I asked in a deadly voice.

“You are so fucking hot when you’re like this,” Ronan muttered against my neck, his body shifting against mine.

“Look, we need—” Blaine started to splutter.

“There is no need,” I snapped. “You don’t get to dictate this.” Blaine’s eyes darted from Jax to Ash as the two of them came to stand beside me. “You thought you could bargain with us, rely on our greed, our self-interest or something to get you through this.” My fingers flexed around the grip of the gun. “But you don’t get it. You would’ve been better off arming yourself, coming out shooting.”

“You would’ve mown me down in seconds,” Blaine said with a scowl.

“And there’s nothing to stop us from doing just that right now.”

“You don’t have the codes,” he said, tossing the cards down on the desk. “Try them if you like, but if you don’t input the correct code, it’ll lock this whole place down and every security person will come running.” He looked at me and everyone else in the room, looking for some sign of understanding. “You won’t get anything, not without me.”

Blaine had been shitting his pants since he led us down here, a complete flip of his experience with me and this club, but it was only now when anxiety was replaced by a realisation. That his bargain might not be enough. That he might be completely helpless in the face of people who were willing to disregard his advice, his pleas, even the law itself.

Leaving him with nothing.

“What are you feeling right now?” I asked, a small smile forming on my face. His throat worked and his eyes began to shine, his skin going milk pale. “How does it feel to have no options left?”

But he didn’t answer me. He couldn’t. Men didn’t admit to this kind of weakness, because when their backs were against the wall, they were trained to reach for something, anything to put them back in power.

I realised what Blaine was about to do when Ronan moved, yanking out a knife from where I’d tucked it in my belt and then throwing it so it embedded in Blaine’s shoulder. The alpha let out a thin scream, stopping him from reaching for his weapon, his hand slapping down over the bleeding wound.

“What the fuck! What the fucking fuck! I’m trying to help you fucks out right now and you—”

“Are about to remind you that you aren’t the one in power right now.”

The dads let out a low rumble of approval as Jax moved behind the desk, his hand grabbing the hilt of the knife and pressing down, despite Blaine’s attempts to stop him.

“I can twist this.” Jax’s eyes were bright, bright green. “It’ll slice up more muscles, really fucking your shit up.”

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