Page 79 of The Librarian and Her Alphas

“Do you have your scent blockers on you?” I ask, praying that she took them with her.

“Yes,” she says, and I breathe a huge sigh of relief. “I already took one and rubbed my scent blocker lotion on. I’m covered from head to toe.”

“Good girl,” I murmur, my lips curling up in a rueful smile as I join my pack at the car.

“Hold on,” says Max, grabbing my phone from my hands. “We need to draw Zorin away from the bathroom so she can escape. Why don’t I call Clinton National Airport and ask a staff member to request Zorin come to the help desk to take a phone call? That way, he’ll be out of the way, which gives you time to run.”

“Okay,” she says quietly, and I’m impressed.

“That’s fucking brilliant,” Gunnar mutters. “Let’s do it.”

“Hold on, Lena,” I say when Max hands me my phone back and moves into a distance to make a call on his phone. “We’ve got a plan. Max will get Zorin to go to the help desk to take a call. It should give you enough time to get away from him. Try to see if you can see when he leaves. When he does, you make your move. Okay, honey?”

“Okay,” she whispers, and I hear what sounds like the click of a lock on the toilet stall door. There are some quiet footsteps before a door opens, and slightly louder chatter reaches my ears. “I can see him.”

“Good, Max is making the call now. I will stay on the phone with you, alright?”

“I’m scared, Damon,” she admits, her voice trembling, and all I want to do is reach through the phone and hug her. “I don’t want him to catch me if I leave this bathroom. He’ll kill me, I know it.”

“You can do it, love,” I soothe, listening out for Max’s voice. “You’re my brave omega. You won’t let him get to you.”

She’s quiet for a few moments, and then, faintly in the background, I hear Zorin’s name being called on the loudspeaker. Lena sucks in a sharp breath, and I tense.

“He’s gone,” she says. “I think it worked.”

“Run, Lena,” I say immediately, my chest tight with worry. “Run and don’t look back. Get out of there now!”

I hear the clicking of the bathroom door, a few tentative footsteps, and everything goes quiet.

My heart stops and I look down at my phone, thinking that the plan didn’t work and the worst has happened, but I see that the call cut out. My phone screen is dark, only my panicked expression staring back at me.

“Fuck!” I shout, my voice ragged, breath hitching in my throat as I slam my palm against the roof of the car.

“What happened?” Max asks frantically as he returns. “Did it work? Did she get away?”

“Lena’s line went dead,” says Gunnar.

“I don’t know,” I say, running a hand through my hair. “We lost connection.”

“Shit!” he snaps. “We can’t just sit here. If Zorin’s there, we have to move. Now.”

Gunnar’s expression hardens, his eyes blazing with determination. “We take the chopper—fastest way. If Lena is in danger, every second counts.”

“If Zorin gets his hands on her, we’re fucked. I don’t even want to think about what he’ll do to her. I can’t lose Lena, not like this,” I growl, jumping into the car.

“Then we’re in agreement. Let’s move,” says Max sharply.

I don’t want to think about what will happen if we’re too late. I’m not relaxing until I see her myself and hold her in my arms. I try to shove any doubts I may have to the back of my mind. We’re bringing her home, even if we have to tear the city apart brick by fucking brick.

* * *

Lena

As soon asZorin is out of sight, I slip out of the bathroom and hurtle down the passageway, my suitcase flying behind me.

In my panic, I accidentally dropped the call with Damon, but I don’t have time to call him back as I fly past several confused travelers and toward the airport exit.

My only focus is getting as far away from Zorin as possible.

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