Page 24 of Omega's Triplets

Once the door was closed and locked behind her, she sank down to sit on the floor. She was tough, she thought, but she didn’t think she could take another minute of this. She felt like breaking down in sobs.

No. Not yet. Not until you know them and know you can trust them.

She got back to her feet instead and looked at herself in the mirror.

The last time Maddy had stood in front of a mirror she had been thirteen years old. She knew she wasn’t a little girl anymore, of course; she knew from looking at her body that it was different. But she wasn’t prepared for the shock of seeing her adult face for the first time.

It was like meeting a stranger.

She could have looked for hours, adjusting to those high cheekbones, the loss of the baby fat she was used to, the clear skin that had taken the place of teenage acne. But someone pounded on the door. “Hurry up.”

She couldn’t tell their voices apart, but based on her experience with them so far, she thought it was probably Mark.I’ll bet he’s their alpha. She stripped off her clothes and pulled on the new ones from the hotel gift shop. She took a moment to relish the feeling of clean, dry cotton, then stuffed the horrible dress in the plastic bag, picked up the jacket, and went back out to the men.

Jamie stepped forward to take the jacket from her.So, I was right. It did belong to him. As he shrugged in on, Harley took the gift shop bag with the dress inside and buried it deep inside a backpack.

“Why are you taking that thing?” she asked. They’d better not be thinking she would ever wear it again.

“We can’t leave it behind,” Harley said. “If the Death Fangs found it...”

“Oh, I see.” It was evidence. It would tell them she’d been here, and they might even be able to pick up and follow the scent of these three men.

Mark was peering out the window. “The coast is clear,” he said. “Everyone ready?”

They all nodded. Maddy had the sudden feeling that she had known these men much longer than the few minutes they’d been acquainted in real life. It was as though the extreme circumstances had bonded them together.

They formed a circle around her as they walked down the rear access stairs of the hotel to the lobby and slipped out a side door of the hotel. Maddy couldn’t decide whether she felt safe or vulnerable. It wasn’t likely that any of the Death Fangs would take her while she was surrounded by these men—not unless the whole pack came upon her, and she thought the chances were greater that they would split up to look for her. They weren’t expecting her to have help.

But the help she had wasn’t exactly comforting. Going with them because it was the best choice available to her wasn’t the same as trusting them. They might have been lying to her about everything. They might be just waiting to get her home before they turned on her and used her for all kinds of twisted purposes.

Nothing I can do about it if that’s their plan. I don’t have a hope of escaping them.

They walked her to three motorcycles, parked side by side. “You’ll ride with me,” Mark said.

Maddy didn’t want to. She feared him more than either of the others. But what could she say? “All right.”

Mark looked at his brothers. “Give it gas,” he said. “I want to be across the state line before they even think about putting up barricades.”

The others nodded and climbed aboard their bikes.

“I don’t have a helmet,” Mark said. “Ordinarily, I’d let a passenger wear one.”

“It’s all right,” Maddy said. She’d already been in one motorcycle wreck today. Lightning wouldn’t strike twice. “Let’s just go. I don’t want them to take me.”

“They won’t,” Mark said. “I promise you that.”

He helped her onto the bike and then climbed on in front of her. “Hold on tight,” he said. “We’ll be going fast.”

Even though she felt awkward and uncomfortable, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and clung on. It wasn’t so bad, she thought, her cheek pressed against his wide back. It was like hanging onto a tree.

Mark revved up the bike’s engine and pulled away.

The moment they were on the highway, he accelerated hard. The bike sped forward at an astonishing pace. Maddy struggled to breathe as air rushed into her lungs. She buried her face in the back of Mark’s shirt, closed her eyes, and centered herself.I can’t believe I thought I was going fast on that stolen bike!she thought. She hadn’t known the half of it. This was speed like she’d never experienced it before.

And, she realized with a sudden pleasant thrill, shelikedit.

She liked the way the wind kissed her skin as she sliced through it. She liked the powerful rumble of the bike between her legs. She was even beginning to like Mark, strong, sturdy Mark, holding both her and the bike steady as they rode.

I could do this forever and not get tired of it.

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