Page 133 of Knot Your Problem

Sam didn’t answer her, he just pulled her into his arms and wrapped her up tightly, taking a deep breath of her scent. Pala and Dio joined in the hug. Dio murmured something to Lexie, but she cut him off. “Don’t you even dare say some crap like I’m the only one who matters. It’s not true. You all matter. You matter to me.”

Sam started that strange purring noise, his beast wanting to soothe her, and Lexie instantly melted into him. Her fear masked as anger, bleeding away. It didn’t matter if she was mad at us for protecting her, we’d do it, anyway. None of us could do anything else when we’d heard the shot and felt her sudden spike of fear.

“I love you, Lexie,” Sam whispered into her hair.

“I know,” Lexie said with a grin as she let him hang for a moment. “I love you too. I’m still mad, though.” She didn’t sound mad at all, though. She sounded blissed out.

I watched them for a moment, marveling at my pack. These people I could now call my own. My family. Feeling the love flowing between us.

Pala and Dio opened their arms to make room for me. “What the fuck are you doing all the way over there?” Dio grumbled, and I smirked as I stepped into them and sighed. That fucking purr rumbled through all of us and I had to force my eyes not to roll back in my head.

Leif was right. That shit was the bomb. All the stress and tension ebbed away, and left behind a sense of peace and a rock solid bond thrumming in my chest. Whatever we were facing, we would do it together.

“Thanks for having my back.” Sam glanced at me and there was a flash of longing for something I couldn’t define in his eyes. It felt a lot like an unconscious yearning for approval, though. I was happy to give it, if it was what he needed from me right now. He’d earned it, and it had been denied enough in his life.

“You did good, Sam,” I told him gruffly. He took a stuttered breath and that devastating smile spread across his face. Dio winked at me discretely, clearly knowing what my words meant to Sam.

“Enough hugging. Knock it off, you lot,” Damon growled at us. “We’ve got a shit tonne of clean-up to do. We also need to question this lot, and we have a town full of people to get out of the museum and back into their homes.”

He wasn’t really mad, though. If Maia was here, he’d be doing exactly the same thing. He flashed a concerned glance at Lexie, before going back to eyeing the pub patrons. Making sure none were trying to escape while we were distracted. Lexie pulled herself back from us, grabbing Sam’s face when he grumbled and kissed him. “Damon’s right. Later,” she whispered.

I was determined there was going to be a later for her, for all of us. For our pack, our farm, and this town. Hell, even for the country if we could swing it.

I looked down at Winston’s body, laying near our feet. Wishing I’d been the one to pull the trigger after having to stand here and listen to his vile plans for Lexie. All the zen calm I’d felt from Sam’s purr fled, and I felt fury pulsing through me, knowing he likely wouldn’t be the last asshole to want to come for her.

I felt Pala put a hand on my shoulder, as he looked in the same direction and the dark depths of his river swirled to the surface.

I was tired of playing defense. I glanced at Damon, standing just beyond us, and he nodded, knowing me long enough to recognize what I was thinking.

It was time for all of us to take a stand. I wasn’t letting anyone take potshots at my pack, my omega. This was going to end. One way or another.

For now, though. Damon and Lexie were right. We had work to do.

forty-five

AssoonasIextricated myself from my guys, I turned in Ava’s direction. There was no way I could look at Maia tomorrow if I let anything happen to Ava. I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror, either.

A hand grabbing mine stopped me in my tracks, and I raised my eyebrow at Dave. “Maybe you should go get your friends out of the safe house first? We’ll go check on Ava.”

“Uh, no. I’ll check on Ava. The people in the safe house will be fine for a few more minutes, or Pala can go grab them if you think it’s urgent. He has the access code and they know him. But I have a friend just over there who needs me right now and I’m going to her unless you give me a better reason why not.”

I shot another look toward Ava and she glanced up at me. Her eyes were wide, and it looked like the adrenaline of the last few minutes was wearing off. I stepped towards her again, but Sam’s frustrated growl halted me.

“Lex, I get you wanting to go to her right now, but those are the twins,” Sam ground out. His scent was spiking, along with his agitation. I was getting frustrated myself, at how weird and overprotective they were being right now, but this seemed to be important to them.

“Okay. That’s what Dio called them earlier. What am I missing?” Sure, the two guys had insane skills, but they’d done nothing but protect Ava and Cary since they’d shown up a few minutes ago.

“They’re assassins that work for the government, but nobody knows what branch,” Dio said in a rush, shooting sidelong glances at one of the twins as he returned with Hunter. “They’re ghosts and they’re lethal. Nobody knows anything about them. They just appear out of nowhere, take out their targets and disappear again while we’re all standing around scratching our balls.”

“Are you geeking out right now, Dio?” I asked, feeling amused. “Do you want to come get their autograph?”

“Hell yeah, I’m geeking out, Lex. I also don’t want you anywhere near them. I saw them in action once before. We were secondary back-ups on an op. We were told to just hold and wait for further instruction. One minute nothing, the next the target was dead, and they’d gone again before I’d even blinked. It was awesome and really fucking terrifying. I’m pretty sure my balls crept back up where they came from.”

“It’s okay honey buns, I’ll hold your hand,” I reassured Dio.

“I got this, Dio,” Pala said as he patted Dio’s shoulder with an amused smile. “River and Ryder are good guys. I’ll take Lex over to meet them and check on Ava with her. Then we’ll go to the safe house.”

“What the actual fuck, Pala? Do you know them? Or did you just make those names up to mess with me?” Dio was spluttering in shock and gripping his head as if it would stop his brain from exploding.

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