Page 104 of Knot My Band: Part Two
The room feels impossibly tiny, the air thick with tension and unsaid threats. I focus on breathing, on not giving in to the fear that wants to take over. All I can do now is stall and hope help arrives before May’s unraveling thread snaps completely.
The heavy door swings open with a groan, and my blood runs cold. I can pick my head up just enough to see Trevor’s there, his usually impassive face twisted into a grimace as he shovesRiley and Cate forward. Both of them stumble, their arms bound tightly behind their backs. “Found these two snooping around,” he announces, voice gruff, eyes avoiding mine.
“Riley! Cate!” I shout, the protective omega in me awakening with a fierce roar.
“Oli, I’m so sorry,” Riley squeaks, her blue eyes wide with terror. She’s trembling, pixie-cut hair sticking to her forehead. Cate stands beside her, silent, but her eyes scream fear loud enough to echo through the spa room.
Chase is going to kill me. We never should have thought we were safe.
“Let them go, Trevor. They’ve got nothing to do with this,” I plead, my voice cracking as I struggle against the hands that keep me pinned to the table. But Trevor doesn’t budge, just watches, a silent sentinel to May’s madness. “We were friends, Trevor. Why are you doing this?”
I see regret flash through his eyes for a second, but it quickly burns up with rage. “You chose those worthless alphas over me, Oli. It was supposed to be simple: you boost The Edge’s image, then return to your career, and May takes her rightful spot back in the band. But you had to spread those omega legs for them. I thought you were better than that.”
Disgust rolls through me. I don’t know how I ever worked with a man who saw the world this way. My only defense is how well he hid it from me until this tour.
I decide to try and get him on my side with lies I would never follow through on and hope he doesn’t realize it.
“You can be my manager again, Trevor. I’ll leave The Edge behind and May can have them back. The plan can still work.”
“Shut up, Oli!” May’s voice is shrill, almost unrecognizable. She steps closer, and I spot the glint of steel in her hand—a knife. It’s pressed against Riley’s throat, a thin line of menace that makes my stomach drop. “This is your fault. You could haveprevented this. You’re one band now, which means it just needs to end.”
She’s not making sense as she changes what she wants every second. I can only hope this manic episode ends when the drugs wear off and soon.
“May, please,” I beg, trying to inject some sense into the thick air of panic. “You don’t want to do this. Think about what you’re doing!”
“Think?” she screeches, the knife wavering dangerously close to slicing skin. “I’ve thought of nothing else since you ruined everything!”
“Hey, hey, easy now,” I coax, my flirtatious tone absent, replaced by raw desperation. “We can talk this out, just put the knife down.”
“Talk?” Her laugh is high, hysterical. “There’s nothing left to say.” The blade presses closer, and Riley whimpers, a small, helpless sound that tears right through me.
Where is the damn security guard? She’s supposed to be here to help!
Her hand shakes, but the knife stays at my friend’s neck, a deadly promise. “You think you can charm your way out of everything, don’t you, Oli? Always the star of the show…”
Trevor shifts uncomfortably, his eyes darting between May and me. For a moment, I see the old Trevor, the one who managed our chaos with a stern hand but a caring heart. There’s conflict there, I realize, a chink in the armor May has thrown up around us all.
“Make your choice, Trevor,” I snap, seizing the flicker of doubt. “Are you part of this madness or the manager who looked out for us?”
His jaw clenches, and in the tense silence, I hold my breath.
The distant sound of sirens pierces the standoff like a beacon of salvation, cutting through the tension. May snaps her headtowards the window, her momentary distraction allowing Riley to wrench away from the knife’s edge. Trevor’s eyes widen as realization dawns.
“Police! Open up!” The authoritative bang on the door shatters the last vestiges of May’s resolve. With a guttural cry, she drops the knife, and it clatters harmlessly to the floor.
As officers burst in, their stern commands fill the room. The sight of handcuffs locking around May and Trevor’s wrists is an unspoken chorus of relief. The danger that looms over us dissipates like smoke after a snuffed-out flame, leaving me shaking and scared.
“Are you okay?” An officer approaches me, his eyes scanning for injuries. His Scottish accent reminds me where we are.
“Yeah, I think so,” I manage, my voice a little less steady than I’d like. Relief crashes over me in waves, leaving my legs shaky. It’s over. We’re safe. My heart still races, but now it’s starting to calm down.
“Let’s get you out of here,” he says gently, guiding me towards the exit after I wrap the blanket around me.
I glance back at May, and a tangle of regret and fury fills me.
Stepping back towards her, I snap, “Women are supposed to support and uplift women, not tear them down. There was enough room for both of us to have success. It didn’t need to be this way.”
The moment the police usher May and Trevor out, the spa door bursts open again, and my world becomes a blur of motion and color. Jack’s white-blond hair is the first thing I see as he charges in, his blue eyes wild with worry. He wraps his arms around me so tightly that I can barely breathe, but I welcome the suffocation.
