Page 34 of Knot Ruined

“What is your name? I ask, watching his face for micro expressions.

“John.” He says, clearly feeling pain. “Robert has been missing since yesterday night. Whatever they are doing to him, he is in pain and terrified.”

Romano stands up and rushes over at that point. “Robert? Does he work at House of Creed?”

John’s gaze sharpened on Romano’s face, and it suddenly clicked for me.

“Fuck.” Jace grunts.

“He does. How do you know that?” His voice is like ice.

“We are married to Fallon Creed. We briefly met him and two of your other packmates.”

John’s shoulder slumped, and his eyes suddenly filled with tears. He tilts his head back, blinking rapidly, his voice hoarse and full of pain. “Please help me get him back. Callie is catatonic. I can’t get her to snap out of it.” he begs.“I can feel everything.Everythingthey do to him.”

I respect a man who shows his emotions about the ones he loves, but he doesn’t have to beg. The fucked-up part is now we have to tell Fallon and ruin the happy bubble we’ve been in this past month.

Kingston stands, his movements measured as he grabs a hoodie and a pair of shoes, pressing them into John’s hands. His voice is steady and unwavering, carrying the weight of a promise that leaves no room for doubt. “Go home to your pack. Come back tomorrow—whether it’s just you or all of you, that’s your call. We’ll tell Fallon in the morning, then we start planning. Don’t worry, brother. We will find him.”

What he doesn’t say out loud is we will find him dead or alive.

Fallon

March 16th

9:37 A.M

I don’t like the expressions on my husband's face as we sit in the living room. I sit with my legs crossed in the middle in the corner of the couch, holding a soft blue pillow. My heart is racing. Is this the moment they tell me they don’t want me anymore? I’m emotionally locked into this marriage. I will be devastated if that happens. Voss is standing, leaning against the fireplace. He’s wearing a black sleeveless shirt that has me mildly distracted by his forearms. The tattoos move each time he flexes. His long legs are encased by the black jeans he’s wearing. I’m pretty sure he just went out and bought every pair of black jeans in varying shades he could find. Other than being naked, I’ve mostly seen him in jeans. He’s staring at me in a way that both turns me on and scares me.

Romano sits beside me, holding my hand and rubbing small circles across my knuckles. He pushes up his glasses as he watches me. He’s in light grey joggers and a red hoodie. His bare feet propped up on the table in front of him. Jace is sitting in the chair next to us. His hair is down, which is the first sign that something isn’t ok. He usually only wears it down if we go out and wants to be intimidating. He’s wearing black slacks and a black sweater that looks so soft. I want to rub my face all over it. Kingston is in one of his usual black suits. His white shirt is unbuttoned at his throat, and his hair is a little messy as if it’s the last thing he cares about.

“Fallon.” Kingston sighs, looking down with his elbows, propping his heads up. “Have you heard about what's happening with omegas going missing?”

My heart feels like it’s stopped beating. That was not what I was expecting him to say. “I only know that they have gone missing, but I don’t know any details.” my voice sounds small. Romano squeezes my hand, and a sad look is on his face. “What is going on?”

“Little one, We need to tell you something. I really hope it doesn't change your opinion of us.” Kingston runs his hands through his hair, his brows furrowing.

“As long as you don’t tell me you're the one stealing omegas, I don’t think my opinion will change.” my halfhearted joke falls flat.

“No, of course not. We are classified as an asset acquisition company. We are in some ways. We have a legitimate business with teams and other employees. The four of us, however, are a bit different. I find people who are, let's say, really terrible people. Jace “acquires” them. We take them to a warehouse we have.”

I stopped him, holding up my hand. “Should you be telling me this here? Like, have you checked for bugs?”

Voss’ lips part in surprise, and Jace chuckles, mumbling something about perfect mate. I ignore them and focus back on Kingston.

He’s got a slight smile on his lips. “We checked for bugs, and this room is soundproof. It’s the room we like to relax in, so it seems appropriate. This little box,” he lifts a small black box with a few blinking green lights. “Disrupts cell phones and other electronic devices.”

I want to tell him how cool that is, but he keeps going. “Voss,” he pauses, glancing at Voss, who nods. “Voss is the one who extracts information from them.”

I glance at Voss, studying him. I could see that being his job. I turn to Romano, my sweet puppy of a man. “What do you do?”

He smiles at me loving my attention on him. “I am the tech genius. I hack files to find everything I can find on people.”

I smile at him. These men think I’m worried about them being violent. I literally broke a bitch’s hand for touching Romano. I sigh at their worried looks. “I came into this marriage thinking you guys are mafia. So I’m unsure what you expect me to do or feel.”

Voss laughs. It sounds dark and deep. “I forgot about that. We aren’t mafia, Princess.”

“Back to the problem at hand.” Kingston cuts in. “Someone out there is kidnapping omegas whether they are bonded or not.”

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