Page 71 of Knot Forever

“Nothing,” Asher growls. When I tell them about the back room, he curses. “No window makes this ten times harder. We’re working blind.”

“We can try to pick the lock,” Marcus reasons. “The door is old. We can probably bust it with a good kick, but we don’t want them to know we’re here.”

Asher doesn’t hesitate. “Take a look, Marcus. Seth, you’re on Adam.”

I shift back to the window. Adam is slumped in a chair, working his way through the scotch like its water on a hot day. Every glance at the door in the corner sends my frustration up. It takes a few minutes, but he stumbles to his feet, slurring something I don’t catch as he grabs a set of keys from the side.

Bullseye, motherfucker.

I head back to Asher and Marcus. Within seconds, we’re positioned on either side. There’s no glass, nothing for him to suspect we’re here.

As the door pushes open and he staggers out, the barrel of my gun slams into his forehead. He grunts as he staggers backward into the dirty hall and we follow, Marcus kicking the door closed behind him as Asher and I keep our guns up.

“You were warned. Take us down there,” Asher murmurs, “and we’ll give you a swift death, Williams.”

Adam’s eyes are hazed with alcohol. He looks vacant as he shakes his head. “Tried to stop him,” he slurs.

My heart turns to ice inside my chest. “Stop him what?”

He doesn’t respond, and my hand shoots out to his neck, my fingers squeezing as he chokes and splutters, the haze leaving his eyes in favor of a little fucking self-awareness.

“He was… going to kill her,” he wheezes. “Go… now.”

I push him ahead, my gun resting between his shoulder blades. “After you.Quickly.”

We move downstairs in silence, and my stomach churns in disgust as Adam tilts to the side before righting himself. Weak fucking alpha.

Adam collapses into a chair, pointing a shaky hand towards the door. “There. She’s there.”

“Julian?” I push, and he nods bleakly. “Had a knife.”

A fucking knife.

Marcus moves behind him, his eyes pausing on mine.

Asher gives me a nod, and I look Adam Williams in the eyes.

“You’re going to disappear, Williams.” I murmur, and he looks at me blankly. “Nobody will ever find your body. Nobody will mourn you. Your pack has deserted you. Your friends have left you. You’re dying today, alone and drunk in a filthy basement apartment, and may you burn in fucking hell.”

His lips part, but nothing comes out as I nod to Marcus. Marcus places his hands on Adam’s neck and twists violently, the snapping sound quiet.

I move my gaze to the door as Marcus moves around, his hands wiping at his trousers. Wet work isn’t his favorite, but he doesn’t seem to give a shit as he focuses on our target.

Asher moves first, pressing his ear to the wood. We wait for precious seconds as his face darkens, his brows drawing together as he listens to whatever the fuck is happening on the other side.

A sound filters through that we all hear, loud and clear. A desperate, muffled, female cry.

Asher lifts his foot, smashing it against the door. It flies open as the flimsy wood shatters, and I shove past, lifting my gun and taking in the scene with my heart in my mouth.

Nova struggles frantically against the binding tying her down to some weird contraption, her eyes desperate as she makes muffled, pleading sounds. Her eyes move behind me and I twirl, pointing my gun at Julian Williams with my finger on the trigger.

He’s slumped in the corner, glassy eyes staring out. There’s a look of surprise on his face, like he didn’t expect an attack.

But the knife embedded in his neck, the deep, wine-colored stain spreading across his filthy t-shirt, tells me something else.

Tried to stop him.

He was going to kill her.

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