I was scared to breathe—his finger was on the trigger, ready to shoot me if I did anything wrong. Yet, the heat was still rolling through me in waves, and before we reached our destination I was curling over in pain, a cry leaving me unbidden.
Tobias snorted, pulling the gun back. It didn’t leave my skin for long, the tip of it tracing along the curve of my jaw and pushing some hair back from my face. My tears collected on the black metal.
“If you can’t control yourself, there will be consequences,” he promised in a low voice.
If the consequences involved unconsciousness, that would be a welcome relief. I could have held back for longer—though I would have eventually given in to the pain and desire—but in a desperate attempt to find emptiness, I let out a whimper.
The gun pulled back and then the barrel snapped against the back of my head, rendering the world to nothing more than a dark abyss.
FIFTY-SIX
AMBROSE
“She’s not fucking safe!” I shouted, pulling once again at the cuffs behind my back. “Tell me how you heard she was kidnapped, because the only one who would ever say that is the one who wants tokidnapher.”
The man in charge sighed, pushing a hand through his grey hair. He was an alpha, and standing up surprisingly well to my flares of aura. He’d been here the last time, too, when Leighton had been arrested. Either he was extremely unlucky to have one of his employees in the Connollys’ pocket, or he was the one who got paid by them.
“She’s with three of my guys. They’re going to the Omega Safety Division where she’ll ride out her heat.”
I ground my teeth together.
She would never make it there. This was a ploy, and I’d sensed it from the second we’d been interrupted by that first bang.
I was more convinced when they dragged Kiara screaming out of her nest. Everyone knew that was a cruel punishment for an omega in heat. The alphas had said something about her being difficult when they came back into the living room, and I had no doubt she was.
That didn’t change how fucked up it was.
Her fury and terror almost made me lose control of my aura, but I didn’t want them to knock me out. I needed to be conscious so I could save her when they let me out of these fucking handcuffs.
“I guarantee you, she didn’t make it off the property before she was taken,” I said, trying to channel Mercury’s cold efficiency and keep my voice level.
He sighed again, pressing a button on his radio. “Lucas, give me an update on the transfer of the omega.”
The radio crackled, but otherwise stayed silent. The grey-haired alpha’s eyebrows furrowed, and he pressed the button again. “Lucas. Report.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if Lucas was dead, but I wasn’t going to articulate my thoughts. It was best to let this guy figure it out on his own.
He gestured with two fingers for a couple of guys to leave the room. I reined in my aura, taking deep, steady breaths. I knew she was gone, but I needed to be as calm as possible when the news was delivered, or I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
This situation was already bringing up too many memories.
Hands behind my back—this time it was metal cuffs, the last time it was rope.
Surrounded by standing men, while I was forced to sit.
The utter helplessness of being unable to save the people I love. My mom and dads had died at the pinnacle of that week, at the hands of masked men in black. Like these cops, except their killers never showed their faces.
Kiara couldn’t die on my watch.
I already had enough guilt for a lifetime, being the one to survive that night. It was a miracle I had, in the haze of fire and smoke as flesh was sliced from my body. I wouldn’t be the sole survivor again. I’d rather die than live through something she didn’t.
Tense minutes passed until the radio sputtered to life, a frantic voice on the other end. “Boss, Lucas and Marco are dead. Smith and the omega are missing.”
I took a deep breath. Let it out. Watched the alpha cop’s face fall, his cold eyes turning to me. He stared at me for a second, hopefully picking up what I was trying to portray. I was calm. Calm enough to release, so I could go and get my goddamn omega back.
“Get a coroner’s team here and call it in,” he barked down the line before releasing the button on his radio. He turned to me. “Tell me what you know.”
My eyebrows rose. “I’m in cuffs, you got my omega kidnapped, and someone on your squad is a narc—Smith can’t have been the only one. If you think I’m telling you anything, you’re delusional. I’m also not usually the one to utter threats since I have a packmate for that, but today I’m making an exception.”
