Page 104 of Knot My Band: Part One
Technically, Leo said that even if he wasn’t sure.
“Look, I just do lights and tech stuff. Don’t really pay attention to the goings-on outside my gig.” His eyes dart to a knot of cables on the floor, avoiding mine.
That just confirms it’s not his job to bring Oli coffee, but he does anyway.
“Come on, man.” I push off from the speakers, taking a step closer. My tone hardens as I cut through the crap. “We both know how quickly things spread here.”
“Dax, really, I—” He stammers, his lips twisting into a tight line.
“Tommy.” My hand clamps down on his shoulder, grip firm, anchoring him in place. “If someone is threatening my pack, I have to handle it. You get that, right?”
“Of course I do,” he protests, but the tang of anxiety is ripe in the air now, almost overtaking the musty smell backstage.
“Then give me something to work with.” My voice drops, a low growl vibrating in my chest. “Anything at all. Because if something happens to her and you know something you didn’t say…” I let the threat hang, unspoken yet clear as day between us.
His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, his gaze finally meeting mine. There’s a flicker there, a hint of something more. Guilt? Fear? Knowledge?
Urgency is boiling my blood. The fierce need to protect Oli scares me.
“Alright, Tommy. Let’s cut the crap—” My hand clamps down on the front of his shirt, more forceful than I intend, as I lift him into the air.
A heavy hand falls on my shoulder, spinning me around. I’m suddenly eye-to-eye with Jack.
“Do you have proof it was him?” he asks, his voice calm but firm. His grip is unyielding, but I know if I say yes, we will handle this worm together.
“Back off, man. This is important,” I snap, trying to shrughim off, but he’s immovable. I glance at Tommy, who’s now stepping back, his gaze darting around like he’s looking for an escape route. His expression is anxious, but there’s relief there, too. He’s glad for the interruption.
“Let’s not make a scene unless we know,” Jack advises, his tone suggesting it’s more of an order than a suggestion. “Do you have any actual proof it was him?
“No.”
“Then take a step back until we have more. We don’t need to be seen coming between Oli and the crew,” Jack says while forcing me away. But as I’m steered away from Tommy, I lock eyes with him one last time, drilling my warning into him without saying a word.
As we weave through the chaos backstage, I can’t shake the gnawing sensation in the pit of my stomach. Something isn’t right, and I can’t let it go. Not when Oli’s safety is on the line.
I tell Jack everything I learned, which was nothing, and he tells me the same.
“Dammit,” I mutter under my breath, pushing a hand through my hair. The frustration is like a live wire under my skin, relentless and demanding action.
I lean against the cool wall, closing my eyes for a moment as I try to regroup. Oli’s face flashes before me, her emerald eyes sparking with that fierce determination she carries like a shield. She’s a firecracker, lighting up every damn room she enters, and the thought of her being threatened…
It ignites a protective fury in me, and I swear on everything I am, as an alpha, a man who’s fallen hard for a woman I never saw coming—I won’t let anyone hurt her. Not on my watch.
I push off the wall, resolve steeling my spine. The show must go on, and so must the investigation. For Oli, for the band, forus.
And whoever you are, intruder, you better start praying. Because I’m coming for you, and hell’s got nothing on a pissed-off alpha whose omega has been threatened.
Oli
PACK ‘EM UP GOSSIP COLUMN
IS THERE A BITE MARK ON OLI HART’S NECK? WITHOUT A CONFIRMED MATING, WE CAN ONLY SPECULATE
May 28th
Itrail behind Chase, my combat boots sticking slightly to the well-worn floor of the backstage corridor. Chase was able to secure a room to practice his drums before tonight’s show. He felt like he needed time to work on the drum portion of the song we’ve been practicing.
Thanks to our new bond, I didn’t want to be apart from him, so I came to watch.
