Page 41 of Queen of Diamonds

“I believe in you.” He clapped me on the shoulder, then returned his mask to his face.

Resisting the urge to strangle him, I glanced to Zed. He looked ready to murder Kyan, but he made for the far door, while I went for the nearer.

15

GLADE

Why the fuck did they live in a warehouse district?

Instead of there being a dozen busy Vegas city streets for me to vanish into, I was hemmed in by mile-long industrial buildings and a scattering of cars. In my fist was a kitchen knife and a pair of cuffs.

Not ideal, but they were the only things I’d been able to reliably grab without wasting time. The knife had been planned, but I’d spotted the cuffs still on the couch from last night.

Despite my feet burning from the hot concrete against my soles, I was shivering. Not in heat—luckily, though Knight had bought that faster than I’d imagined.

Every breath burned my lungs, having sprinted my hardest down a road that looked exactly like the last in a soaking wet shirt.

It had been what—five minutes, maybe?

When the fuck would this district end?

I froze at the sound of a car at my back, then spun, trying to find something to duck behind. When I found nothing, I stilled instead, praying the car was just a passerby who wouldn’t notice a half-dressed Omega wandering in a place like this.

Why had I decided to take off my sweats?

I’d thought maybe the more skin, the more likely to scramble the brain of whichever mate walked in. Now, I was regretting it—Knight’s brain had scrambled so fast I could have probably been dressed like a beekeeper and I’d still be free right now.

Ah, fuck.

My heart sank as I saw a beat-up black truck pull past the intersection behind me. I didn’t wait to see which of my mates was behind the wheel. I took off, the sound of an engine revving behind me, but when I turned my next corner, it was to meet a dead end with two industrial doors and a van.

Shit.

I didn’t have time to change my mind. I tried the doors, but found them locked, and instead ducked behind the black van, chest heaving, stupid kitchen knife clutched in my fist.

I heard the truck stop and a door slam, then the crunch of boots on gravel.

Only one of them? Good. I held my breath through a pause.

“Glade?”

Knight.

Okay, Knight, I could work with.

“You don’t want me here,” I called back. “Let me go. Tell Zed you never found me.”

Silence.

Come on. Please.

The quiet went on for too long. Finally, I heard his voice from the right of the van. “That’s not how this pack works.”

I ducked to the left around the car.

Fuck me—he’d left the keys in the ignition? It was still running. I glanced behind me, hearing something scrape concrete on the other side.

This was it. My only chance.

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