Page 88 of Knotty Dream: Part One

“You smell like a rose garden picnic of vanilla frosted desserts,” Beau moans as he nuzzles my throat. My eyes fall shut, unable to resist the allure that is Beau.

When the call connects, the other line remains silent, waiting for Hudson to speak first.

“Dad, it’s me. Obviously, what I mean is, Hayes Pack is handling Scott right now.” Hudson rattles off the address. “I’m headed to my place. Beau is going into heat, and it might be a rough one.”

“I’ll lock the building down, text me once you arrive, and I’ll send security to double at all entry points. I’ll reach out to Declan now, so we can dismantle Scott’s entire organization, as well as anyone working with him.” Hudson’s father is all business.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Awe, his dad seems so normal,” Beau whines. “He probably sends you cards on your birthday, huh?”

Almost as soon as Hudson hangs up, Thor’s phone rings.

“Hey—”

“Fuck! Fuck, we failed. I’m so sorry, Beau. We fucked it all up. Too many guys… We couldn’t—” Easton’s voice is a broken shout that stabs me right in my fucking soul.

The mood in the car changes instantly with his words. My heart races, and everyone’s scents go fucking wild. Hudson’s eyes are wide as he frantically looks for a place to pull over, but there’s nothing.

“What? What are you talking about?” Thor growls, chest rumbling with his panic.

“Sorry?” Beau whispers as he sits back in his seat and shakes.

He passes through a number of emotions in just a few seconds. Shock. Disbelief. Resignation. Fear. But it’s Apollo’s reaction that scares me the most. His eyes go blank. His body is too rigid. The Apollo I watched fight his demons and win, when he killed Dexter, disappears before my eyes.

“Dream?” A feminine voice whispers as my heart feels like it’s going to break through my chest and explode out of my throat.

“Tatum?” My voice is so tight it hurts to speak.

“Scott got away. Declan and Kodiak went after him, but they couldn’t pin his vehicle down. They lost him…” Tatum sounds terrified, her voice trembling with fear.

“Oh, god…” I mutter, slamming back against the seat.

“Fuck, Dexter’s phone, do you still have it?” Hudson barks, looking at Apollo in the rearview mirror. “Can Scott fucking trace it!?”

Robotically, Apollo pulls it out of his pocket and holds it up. He doesn’t move beyond that, so I take it from his frozen fingers as the screen lights up.

Scott H:You’re all dead.

“Jesus.”I roll down my window and toss it out as Hudson speeds down the highway.

“It’s okay, Beau, you’re still safe,” I say, turning back to him before he starts losing his shit.

“We won’t let anything happen to you. To either of you,” Thor vows, but Beau just shakes his head, tears filling his eyes.

“I was stupid to think I could ever be safe.” Beau’s words break me in two as Apollo stares blankly at the floor. My breathing is getting too shallow.

Empty eyes stare blankly at the stars, and everything good inside me dies with my first real friend.

He looks as lost to me as Felix.

“Apollo?” My voice is barely a whisper, but he doesn’t even blink.

No…this can’t be it. Not after everything…

But then my head is slammed into the side window, and a horrifying scream of metal crushing and scraping into metal sends the world flipping end over end.

For one horrible second everything stops.

Blank stares fill the night sky, and everyone I’ve ever loved is trapped forever in this moment.

We were going to be a pack, and now, we’re all going to die…