Page 44 of No Escape

Give me a problem, and I immediately get to work solving it. Only, there’s not a goddamn thing I can do right now to fix this, and it’s killing me.

“Want me to knock your ass out?”

I do snort at that. “Fuck you.”

It might be a nice reprieve from the constant worrying. Stomping over to the bed, I toss myself down on the opposite side from Shaw.

I’m physically and mentally exhausted, but I know I’m not going to truly rest until I see Saylor.

There’s no telling what she could be enduring right now, and the longer it takes us to gain access to the facility, the more of a chance some rabid alpha has to bite her.

She could reject the bond. It wouldn’t cause her any more discomfort than a healing bite wound, but it would cause the alpha what’s described as agony. It’s nature’s way of protecting omegas from unwanted bondings.

The main problem is that if they take away her suppressants, she could get hazy and start begginganyalpha for their knot and their bite. It’s another of those known facts. Omegas beg during waves of heat, even when they’re too foggy to know what they’re asking for.

My fists clench.

I’m in hell.

I have to be.

* * *

Before

“Come on, Saylor, just pick one.” I groan, leaning against the wall just outside of the changing room she’s been trapped in for the better part of an hour.

Shaw jokingly bangs his head against the wall. “Or get both. You can afford it.”

“That’s wasteful. I only need one dress.” She huffs. “I just need it to bethe one.”

“I don’t know what that means, but I’m sure they’re great,” Shaw says. “How about we flip a coin?”

“Why don’t you come back with your friends another time?” I offer, ignoring the saleswoman who won’t stop giving us the evil eye.

“All my friends got their dresses the other night when I was stuck at that stupid fundraiser.” She sounds like she’s on the verge of bursting into tears, and my chest gets tight. “I’ve never been asked to a dance before. This is special. It’s homecoming!”

Shaw looks at me, and his clenched jaw says everything.

Yeah, I’m not a big fan of Saylor’s new boyfriend either. Ben is a spoiled little rich kid who thinks his car and trust fund mean the rest of the world should bow to his every whim.

The senator seems to love him, which only makes me question his judgment even harder.

Saylor is a senior, and she’s almost an adult. She’ll be graduating at the end of this school year and going off to college. She’s a good kid. Honestly, she never gets into trouble. She deserves to enjoy her teenage years and have all the experiences that people look back on for the rest of their lives.

I’d just feel a hell of a lot better if she was being escorted to homecoming by anyone other than that little asshole.

“Never mind. I’ll just change back into my clothes. I’m going to tell Ben that I can’t go,” Saylor says from inside the changing room. “We can leave.” Her defeated tone makes my skin crawl.

“Nah, come out and show us. We’ll tell you which one is the winner,” I say before I can stop myself.

This is the kind of shit that kills me.

If Saylor missed out on going shopping with her friends due to some bullshit she got roped into for her father’s campaign, then Mrs. Callahan should be here, shopping with her stepdaughter.

Hell, it could have been a father-daughter bonding activity.

The looks the sales associates have been shooting our way sayanyoneother than me and Shaw should be the ones here with her for this.

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