Page 23 of Omega's Triplets

“Not long,” Harley said. He was wearing a leather jacket, she noted. She would use that to differentiate him from his brothers for now. “Maybe an hour.”

“Just an hour? Really?”

“And yes, they’re onto it,” he said, turning to Jamie. “The place is in an uproar. We were wrong to think they wouldn’t cause a scene.”

“You thought the Death Fangs wouldn’t cause a scene?” Maddy asked. “They love causing scenes.”

“Well, that’s what’s happening now,” Harley agreed. “They’re tearing the auction apart. They’re checking everyone who leaves in case you’re smuggled under someone’s coat or something.”

“Didn’t they notice the missing bike?” Jamie asked.

“They noticed thecrashedbike,” Mark said. “They know she tried to leave on it, and they know exactly how far she made it. They know she’s with someone else now.”

A thrill of fear ran down Maddy’s spine. “They’re not going to just let me go,” she said. “There was a girl who tried to run when I was little, and they brought her back and...” She couldn’t continue. The sounds of that girl’s screams still haunted her.

Mark nodded. “We need to get on the road quickly,” he said to his brothers. “We need to get her out of here as soon as possible. The Death Fangs haven’t put up barricades or anything yet, but they will, and if we’re inside them, it will be impossible to get on the highway. I really don’t want to have to ditch the bikes and run.”

Jamie turned to Maddy. “Can you ride?” he asked.

“Wait,” she objected. “Who says I’m going with you?”

It was a token argument, really. There were three of them, and they were all much bigger than she was. If they wanted to take her, she wouldn’t be able to do much about it.

But they looked at each other for a minute, sizing up the situation, and seemed to agree on something.

“You don’t have to come with us,” Mark said. “We aren’t going to force you. But we think it’s your best option. Those Death Fangs aren’t going to stop hunting for you. But our house is a long way from here, and we can give you cover and safety. You won’t have to worry about them if you stay with us.”

“And what are you going to do with me?” she asked. “Sell me? Force me to breed?”

“For now, we’re just going to hide you,” Mark said. “We can talk about the rest later.”

“But nobody’s going to sell you,” Harley put in. “Definitely not that. We don’t do that.”

“We won’t force you to do anything,” Jamie said.

They weren’t exactly concrete answers, Maddy thought, but the boys were right. She didn’t exactly have any better options. She didn’t want to be on her own in the woods when the Death Fangs caught up with her. Maybe these men would be able to keep her hidden, and if they couldn’t, they might at least be able to fight off the Death Fangs once they found her.

“All right,” she agreed. “I can ride, I think.” She’d never done it before, unless you counted that frantic flight through the woods on the stolen bike, but how hard could it be? She wouldn’t have to steer this time. She would just be hanging on to one of them.

Harley left the room. “You’re going to need to get out of that dress thing,” Jamie said. “It’s too recognizable.”

“Recognizable? What do you mean?”

“I mean that if the Death Fangs put word out that one of their girls is missing, it’ll be easy to describe what you’re wearing.”

“We should cover up her hair too,” Mark mused.

“Okay, well, I don’t have anything else to wear.” Maddy was irritated. They couldn’t seriously be expecting her to climb onto the back of one of their motorcycles naked, could they? But even as she thought this, it occurred to her that she was all but naked right now. What difference would there be in taking off her dress, really?

Harley returned carrying a plastic shopping bag. “The gift shop had boxer shorts and hoodies,” he said, tossing the bag on the bed. “It won’t make for the best riding gear, but...”

“The important thing is getting her out while we can.” Mark nodded. He turned back to Maddy. “Get changed.”

“What, right in front of you three?”

“You can use the bathroom.”

Maddy snatched up the bag of clothes and went into the hotel bathroom.

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