Page 147 of Sawyer

“Sounds pretty chill, honestly,” she retorts. “Then we can get a smoothie. Sometime much later, we’ll head to a bar for dinner.” She carries on talking, which I’m pretty sure is how she copes—by chatting. “Hell, I might even pick up a man to take home with me.” She chuckles. “For a fee, of course.”

“You are incorrigible.” I pause at the stairwell for level five. One more. “Shh.” I press my ear to it, but silence greets me. I’ll have to go back down for the others on levels two and four, but right now, I need a path out of here.

One thing at a time.

Swallowing my fear, I push to the next landing and turn to Vee. “Get ready. This one won’t be empty.

She nods, fear leaking off of her with a sharp bitterness that turns sour on my tongue. At least it isn’t bleach again.

“Count to three?” she asks.

I grip the door handle, lick my lips, and flip off the flashlight, casting us in darkness. A few omegas whimper behind me. “Three.” I swing the door open, and she steps in front of me, raising her gun.

A shot rings out in the distance, and Vee follows it up with a chaotic shot of her own. The scent of gunpowder hits the air, and a slight spark lights up before us.

“Damn, woman, we are trying to save you,” a smooth voice says a moment before a hand grips the gun.

I know that voice.

I know it well.

Don’t say it. I flip the flashlight on and shine it in Rumor’s face.

“Hello, baby girl.” He smirks at me. “I was just coming to get you.”

For a moment, a brief, blissful moment, my world is okay, and then it crashes to the ground.

“Rumor, we need to go,” Thea calls, her fingers gripping his bicep. “You made it!” she squeaks out, smiling at the rest of us in her broken way. “And you know my mate!”

My mate.

Sawyer

There are times when the noise inside my head is so loud that I can’t think or hear my own voice amongst the chaos. I learned long ago how to function despite those thoughts swirling around in my head, each one vying for attention and struggling to scream louder than the other.

For once in my life, every single one of those thoughts quiet. They fall to the side, observing instead of reacting like they usually would.

I’m thankful.

“Rumor.” His name is nothing more than the breath of my voice, a quiet surrender in the stillness of pandemonium.

“Thea.” Violet pushes through, grabbing my bicep. Her fingernails dig into my flesh, anchoring me to her. I won’t admit it, but she’s becoming my rock. Maybe later, over a glass of wine, I’ll let her know just what she did for me in this moment. “You look less like a sociopath than you did yesterday.” Vee turns to Rumor, who just stares at me in horror. “Are you going to get the fuck out of the way and show these precious babes the way out, or do I have to kick you in the dick?”

Rumor’s sharp gaze lands on Violet, allowing me a moment to breathe, even while Thea watches the whole interaction. I can’t quite get a read on her, and I’m not even sure I want to. Some words and thoughts are better left unspoken, even if I’m the only one saying them in my head.

“That won’t be necessary,” Rumor tells her, shifting quickly into protector mode. “Let’s go, ladies,” he shouts to the women behind me.

I don’t see Sin or Bryn, and after looking into Rumor’s eyes, I don’t want to. I don’t want them to look at me with pity that I was right, that I knew what their choice would always be.

I pull up my big girl panties and choose to live in survival mode, at least for now. “Did you get the women on level two?” Beyond him, I hear Bryn shout something unintelligible.

Thea’s nails dig deeper into Rumor’s arm, and she just gazes at me. The territorial glint in her eyes is one omegas often use when they feel threatened.

I raise a brow at her in challenge. I’m just trying to save some women here, so she can kindly go fuck herself.

“No, we wanted to create a safe path to get everyone out.” He ushers the last woman out before turning back to me.

Violet’s hand slips into mine, a gesture that Rumor notices.

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