Page 58 of Forget me Knot
Max and Sam stride towards Nigel with purpose, and I follow close behind. The idiot alpha finally stops struggling, realising that his position has gone from ridiculous to dire.
“Come on then, mate,” Max says with a smirk. “Up you go.” Without another word, he grabs Nigel by one leg and Sam takes the other. “Ready?” Max asks Sam.
“You have no idea.”
“On three?”
“Nah, just shove him over.”
Chuckling, they lift him off the cactus and up, right over the gate.
Nigel yelps as he hits the ground. “Fucking dicks,” he hisses.
Moving the cactus out of the way, I open the gate and glare down at him in the heaped position he landed in.
“Save it, Nigel,” Sam cuts him off, leaning down so that their faces are only inches apart. “You’ve got two choices: fuck off quietly or get kicked down the pavement with my foot up your arse.”
Nigel’s eyes flicker between us, clearly weighing his options. Finally, he mutters something under his breath and clambers to his feet.
“Good choice,” I call after him as he scampers off.
Stepping back inside the garden, we close the gate, and Sam moves the cactus back into position. “Good cactus. You’ve earned your stripes.” He pats the prickles gently, and I shake my head.
“Nigel?” Max growls. “Nigel West?”
“No clue. You know this tool?”
“He called me earlier about some omega named Emily. He said you two…” He jabs me and Sam in the chest, “… were holding her against her will.”
“What?” I yell, my rage on fire and scaring Lily when she steps back outside. “He fucking said what?”
“That’s what he said,” Max says. “So who the fuck is Emily, and who the fuck is he?”
“He went to our prime with lies?” Sam bellows and turns back to the gate. “I’m going to kick his fucking arse so hard, he will end up in next month, never mind next week!”
“Wait,” I say, grabbing Sam by his collar and halting his enraged progress. “Let him go. We need to fill Max in.” I look over at Lily, whose face has gone pale. “About everything.”
Chapter 29
Lily
“No,” I say, shaking my head. My voice is barely a whisper as Jack comes to me and grips my fingers tightly.
“They both need to know what exactly is going on here. Emily, the Omega Trials, your secret.”
My secret. The words hang in the air like a heavy weight, pulling all the light-heartedness out of the world and leaving a sombre silence.
Max’s eyebrows furrow, his eyes shifting between Sam and me, looking for answers. Sam glares between me and Jack, also now suddenly out of the loop.
Jack tightens his grip on my fingers. “Lily, we can’t keep this from them any longer,” he whispers gently.
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. “Okay,” I finally say, my voice steadier than I feel. “But not out here. Let’s go somewhere more private.” Yanking my hand from Jack’s, I lead them back inside the shop and towards the stairs to my flat. Jack is quick to lock up the front and back doors before following us. Pushing open the door, we crowd inside the small flat and Jack locks that door behind us too.
No escape.
My breath hitches, and my lungs squeeze all the air out of them as the panic attack hits me hard and fast.
Jack’s arms wrap around me in an instant, his warmth and sturdy presence grounding me. “Just breathe,” he murmurs softly against my ear. “You’re safe. I’m here, and you know I won’t let anything happen to you—not now, not ever.”
