Page 119 of In Knots

“How do you know my pack?”

He points to the other woman with slick silver hair and a row of rings in her ear. “Zoe here is Hugh’s mate. Hugh’s the big guy in the motorcycle club.” He points to Huge who’s hovering in the doorway. “And they are my friends.”

“Thank you,” I say to all of them – Sadie and Zoe, Huge and the other members of the motorcycle club. “Thank you so much. I can’t ever …”

“Don’t sweat it,” Zoe says. “Sadie is right. We’d always help an omega in need. And I can’t believe they were trying to force you to bond with someone you didn’t want to.” She shakes her head in disgust. “We live in the modern age. For fuck’s sake!”

“If there’s anything I can ever—”

“You don’t owe us anything.”

“Speak for yourself,” Sadie says with a mischievous grin. “You never know when you might want to cash in a favour.” He winks at me. “Oh, and I also rescued that cat of yours. He’s sulking upstairs in the flat.”

“You did?” I fling my arms around his neck and land a kiss on his cheek.

“Hey,” he says, patting my back. “Watch the make-up.”

I let him go and turn back to my pack. “And Jonathan?”

“We found him pacing outside the church, trying to work out how he could stop things inside. Seems he wasn’t happy about the whole shitshow either.”

“Where is he now?”

“He left when we did, princess.”

I chew my lip and all of a sudden a sob shakes my whole body and then another and another. I bury my face in my hands, the tears still coming. I don’t know why. I’m safe now.

Ryan has his arms folded around me in a moment, stroking my hair and shushing me gently. “It’s OK now, princess. It’s OK now.”

“I think we had better shoot,” I hear Huge tell the others before they file out, motorcycles firing up in the yard.

“Thanks, lads,” Bear calls after them. “Thanks for your help today. We owe you all beers.”

Anne rests her hand on my shoulder and kisses Ryan’s cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow, love.” Then she’s gone too.

“I’m sorry we didn’t come for you sooner, princess,” Ryan says. “We tried. Tried to break into the house.”

“You did?” I remember the commotion. That noise I heard while I was still drugged up.

“But we couldn’t get in. And we had no idea until Sadie told us that this is what they had planned.”

“I couldn’t call you,” I say. “They took away my laptop.”

“We figured as much,” Buzz says.

Cam takes a deep inhale of air and scrubs his hand down his face. “We should’ve got to you sooner, little one. We let you down.”

“It’s OK,” I say, kissing his jaw. “You came for me.”

“And we should never have let those bastards steal you away in the first place,” Bear growls.

“I’m here now,” I repeat. “But what about my father?” I’m safe for the time being but will he come looking for me again? Despite what Jonathan said in the church, I know how determined my father can be.

“We’ve spoken to the lads. The club’s going to up security around the garage. There is no way in hell he’s getting his hands on you again,” Bear says. “But I don’t think he’d try anyway. We’ve made it damn clear we’re not intimidated by him and that we’re prepared to play just as rough, just as dirty, as him.”

“Besides which, I don’t think his reputation will stand a story of him forcing his daughter to bond against her will. Or the other dirt Jonathan seems to have on him,” Cam adds. “Alphas can’t get away with that shit anymore.”

“I think you’re right,” I say, stroking Cam’s cheek. My father’s reputation, his business empire, has always been his main concern. It’s why he wanted my marriage to Simon to go ahead in the first place. “So I’m safe? Safe to stay here?”

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