Lily makes a disgusted sound but doesn’t turn around. “She’s product. She doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Rage throbs through me, hot as lava. If I could reach into the front seat and strangle her, I would do it in a heartbeat. “Well, she means a fucking lot to me,” I growl. “She’s my scent mate. And not some poor imitation like you. She’s the real thing, Lily, which means she’s mine and I’m hers.”
A whole-body shudder seems to grip her, a growl of her own working its way up her throat. “You’re mistaken, Jacob. She’s nothing.I’myour mate.”
I flick a glance at Marcus. He’s a thug and a sycophant, but he must have enough animal cunning to see where this shitshow is headed. “You seem pretty calm for someone who’s kidnapped the governor, Marcus. How do you think this is going to work out for you? That Lily and I’ll just kiss and make up….”
“She’s going to wipe your memory.” His dark eyes dance with malice as they meet mine in the mirror. “Yeah, you heard me. It’s a trick the Carrillos use on all their inmates. Once they’re done with you, you’ll be Luscious’ little lapdog, begging for treats while the rest of us laugh behind your back.”
Lily slaps his arm, but there’s no real force behind it, and I realize this is exactly what she wants. To have me mindlessly dancing on her string. Her lovesick puppet, like fucking Watts, only with even less grasp on reality.Fucking hell.“You wouldn’t dare.”
Marcus just shrugs. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough.” A cruel smile tugs at his lips. “Althoughyoumight have to take our word for it, since you probably won’t even remember your name.”
Panic explodes in my chest, and I yank on the cuffs. “You try to fuck with our heads, and I’ll never forgive you, Lily.”
She whirls on me suddenly, more of that saccharine scent assaulting my senses. But her eyes are snapping with anger, her mouth pulled into a thin line. “You will knot me, bite me, and bond me, beloved. I’m paying the Carrillos good money to get exactly what I want.”
I stare into her face and realize it’s the mask of an insane person. She really fucking believes she can brainwash me into bonding her. I want to laugh in her face at the idea I’d break so easily, but maybe she’s right. The Carrillos kept Diana locked up for years, no doubt honing their perversions on omegas just like her… A bolt of pain almost rips my chest apart, because Kane alreadytoldme they stole Diana’s memories. Like the sister of the Jackal’s VP, whose mind was so broken, she never recovered.
“You’re fucking insane, Lily,” I snarl, every muscle straining to launch myself off the seat and put an end to this nightmare. “Kane will make it his mission to destroy you. You need to let us go, or this is going to end very badly for all of you.”
I direct the last words towards Watts, because if there’s a weak link in this sick little trio, it’s probably him. I watch his throat bob uncomfortably, but the next moment, Marcus starts to steer the van to the shoulder. I feel my hopes lift that I got through to him until I see a car already parked and waiting infront of us. As soon as we stop, the passenger door opens and a guy in a leather jacket gets out. He has criminal written all over him, and it’s not hard to guess that he works for Carrillo.
“Ms. Luscious,” he purrs when he reaches us, leaning on the edge of Lily’s window and filling the van with his stink. “Boss said if you’ve got the money, I can give you the address to the new facility.”
My ears perk up at that, but Lily looks displeased. “I was planning on paying youafterthe procedure.”
“Yeah, well, we’re taking extra precautions after our old place was hit.” His reptilian gaze slides my way, and he clicks his fingers, earning a scowl from Marcus. “Come on. We need to wrap this up quick.”
Lily huffs but pulls one of her leather totes out of the footwell and hands it over. As soon as the goon checks the contents, he takes a gun from his pocket and points it at Marcus. “Don’t so much as twitch, bud. This is still business, so no one has to get popped. Boss just needs a pound of flesh for all the trouble the governor caused him.”
“It wasn’t him!” Lily tries to grab the goon’s arm, but he slips away from her and jerks the van door open. She twists in her seat, her eyes widening as he points the gun my way. “Royce, we can talk about this! I can get youKane, which is who you really want, after all.”
“You still get the omega,” he tells her, a hungry look on his face as he studies Diana. “Boss says he’ll give you a discount on all slick products for the next year, but the governor is coming with me…”
He has to reach past Diana to get to me, and I feel my hackles rise as she sways towards him. But the next moment, she’s ripping the hood off her head and sinking her teeth into his thick wrist. Royce roars and jerks back, stumbling on the shoulder, and Marcus guns the engine, narrowly missing the car in front ofus as he pulls back out into the street. The door is still open, and while Watts staggers over to shut it, something zips past, a black, loud blur that makes Marcus curse and yank on the wheel.
Watts grabs the door, but not before three other bikes zip by, Fox Straw giving me a little salute as his crew close ranks around the van.
“Fuck!” Marcus swerves erratically, while Lily knuckles the dash. “That’s the Jackals! We can’t outrun them!”
“Then pull over!” she shrieks. “Let me out!”
Marcus curses again, nearly colliding with a bike as he slams to a halt at the side of the road. Lily is gone in a flash, but I’m distracted by the squeal of brakes outside Marcus’ window. I have a second to lunge for Diana before there’s a quickpop-popand blood splatter explodes inside the cab. Watts pulls the door open to return fire, and I scramble to cover Diana, but she slips past me with a growl. I stare in disbelief as she throws her slight weight at Watts, almost knocking him out the open door. He grabs the bulkhead to keep his balance, but Diana knees him hard between the legs and his eyes bulge wide in agony. He has to drop his gun to grab his balls, and I kick it aside, lurching into his path. He tries to punch me, but I drop my cuffed hands over his head and snap the chain against his throat. I hiss at the bite of metal against my abused wrists, but this is a fight to the death, and I brace my feet and yank back with all my might. I feel the break more than hear it, his body suddenly going limp and slumping to the floor.
“Holy shit,” I mutter as I sink onto the bench seat, every muscle quivering. Diana is standing over me, blood on her mouth and her chest panting with exertion as we stare at the dead body between us. “I think you just saved our lives, Diana.”
She wraps her arms around her waist, the wildness in her eyes slowly fading to a soft hurt. “You left me, Jake.”
“I’m a fucking idiot,” I admit, shame burning in my cheeks. “I’m so sorry I missed your heat, and I’ll take that mistake to my grave.”
“Kane claimed me,” she says, tilting her neck so I can see the bite. Although, on her slender neck, there’s no missing the imprint of the big bastard’s mouth. “He knotted me so deep, I could feel him all the way in my heart. And now I have his bond here.” She steps forward, and lifting my cuffed hands, presses them against her chest. Her breasts are soft and warm beneath her thin tee, and I nearly bite through my tongue at the throb of arousal that grips my body. “He’s mine and I’m his. Forever.”
“He’s lucky,” I mutter, knowing I sound as jealous as hell. This close to her, my skin feels like it’s on fire, and the urge to pull her onto my lap is almost overwhelming. But if I do, I’m not sure I’ll be able to let her go, and I’ll be damned if I start anything with a red mist still hanging in the air. “If I’d been thinking straight, I would have never left. But when I smelled you, I panicked. I didn’t want to admit I could’ve got it so wrong…” I break off, realizing how weak my words sound to my own ears. “I’m sorry, Diana. And I owe Kane an apology, too. He warned me about Lily, and I refused to listen.”
Her eyes darken, her scowl fierce on her beautiful face. “I don’t want to talk about that bitch right now.”
“Fair enough.” I haven’t heard any gunfire for a couple of minutes, so I gesture towards the door. “We should check if the coast is clear.”
