Page 96 of Knot Their Girl
Will they feed us? Will they let us use the restroom? How long will we be here?
I don’t know how long we lay there, waiting, but after a while we hear the sound of a deadbolt being undone, and shortly after that an alpha steps into the room, an alpha I’ve never seen before—then again, that isn’t hard to do, since this is the first time I’ve left the house in years, albeit unwillingly.
The alpha is tall, muscular, around Gideon’s age, if not a few years older. He wears a crisp black suit, his thick blond hair slicked back. A clean-cut jaw, he is impeccably put-together. His eyes are a pure black, matching his suit, and he does not appear happy when he sees us.
If I have to guess, the one in charge. His scent is different enough, though, that I know he wasn’t one of the ones who kidnapped us.
“I hope you’ll forgive the theatrics,” he says, sounding bored, his mouth drawn into a thin line. He nears the bed, betting neither of us will make a run for the open door.
Why would we? Neither of us could outrun or overpower him.
Something on Raeka’s face changes, and she frowns at him as she pulls herself away from me. “I know you. You’re the jerk who wants to buy Chase Jewels. What was your name again? Buckley Bucko?”
He grinds his jaw, frowning at her. “Bradford Bentley.”
She shrugs and folds her arms over her chest, acting totally un-cowed in the face of this big alpha. “Close enough.”
“Not nearly,” he shoots back. “You’re both probably wondering why you’re here.”
“I think anyone with half a brain could put it together. You obviously want to use us as leverage to force Gideon to sell toyou,” she rattles off, putting everything together much faster than I ever could. I’m in awe of her and her matter-of-fact way of speaking to this stranger.
“Aren’t you feisty,” he remarks dryly, eyes dropping to take in her stance on the bed. “I’m sure you’re quite the handful for Gideon—I can’t imagine it, actually. He’s so bland and boring, but that’s what happens when you lock yourself away to take care of family, I suppose.”
A dig at me.
“Is there a reason why good old Gideon hasn’t bonded you, yet?” he asks.
Raeka narrows her eyes at him. “Don’t get any ideas, asshole.”
Bradford chuckles as he runs a hand down his chest. “You may smell delicious, omega, but I assure you, having a bite of you is not something I want. All I want is the company. As long as I get what I want, you two will not come to harm here—if, however, Gideon refuses… well, I’ll have to start sending him messages, and I cannot promise those messages will be fun for either of you.”
A threat, one that makes me frown at him. If only I had a weapon of some sort, I could swing it at his head, try to knock him out.
But then, are the other alphas still in the house somewhere? I don’t even know where we are. Getting out of this room would only pose more challenges for us.
He must take our silence as compliance, because he says, “Listen. This can go smoothly, or it can go poorly. I, personally, don’t care which one, but if I were in your position, I would pray that Gideon sees reason and gives me what I want.” With one last look at us, he turns away and leaves the room, locking the door behind him.
Raeka waits a moment before muttering, “Well, what a big bag of dicks he is. I definitely don’t like that guy. I knew I didn’t like him the first moment I met him.” She spots the concern on my face, and she does her best to read my mind: “Don’t worry. They’ll find us, somehow. I know they will. They have to.”
She bites her bottom lip and scoots back toward me, leaning her cheek against my shoulder before continuing, “We can’t stay in this room forever. We need to get out. I don’t—I don’t want everything to end, Colter. I’m—” She chuckles softly to herself. “—happy, for the first time ever. Like, really, truly happy.”
It sounds as if there’s more she wants to say, perhaps something about love, but she stops herself. Maybe she wants the others to be near the first time she says it. The first time she admits it not only to us but to herself.
My throat burns, and I open my mouth, using my voice for the second time today, “Raeka.” Just her name. It’s all I can get out, but it’s enough.
Raeka lifts her face off my shoulder, her gray eyes widening. Without hesitation, she throws her arms around my neck and hugs me, burying her face into the crook of my neck as she whispers, “I knew I heard you say it. God. I could listen to you say my name all day.” She gives me a soft peck on the cheek. “Wait until we tell the guys. Gideon’s going to be so excited.”
He will, but I think that excitement will take a backseat to relief once they find us. If they find us. My uncle hopefully won’t play the game Bradford wants; with any luck, he will continue to refuse to sell. But could he find us? I don’t know.
Pax, on the other hand, works for Alabaster Security, I think I heard him say? He might have a chance, maybe.
We lay there on the bed together for what feels like hours. There are no clocks, no TVs to help us pass the time. Only the company we have with each other, and the impending dread that comes with being stolen out of our own home. Tick-tick-tick.
I wonder how long we have before we were graced with Bradford’s appearance again. How long until he sends my uncle a message that sounded as though it’ll include body parts? I can’t believe we’re in this situation to begin with.
The only saving grace is that Raeka is calm under pressure. Beside me, she acts as though nothing is wrong, like we’re just lounging about in my bed instead of this strange bed in this strange room; she’s a calming presence, and I am grateful for that.
All I know is, thank goodness I’m not alone here. I hate the fact that Raeka was kidnapped, that we were both drugged, but if I had the choice, there’s no one else in the world I’d rather be kidnapped with. At least this way, I can keep an eye on her. If my uncle doesn’t sell and some not-so-fun messages need to be sent his way, I’ll volunteer. I’ll do whatever I have to to keep her safe.
