Page 169 of Knot To Be
“Almost there, Princess. You can do this,” Dario murmurs.
Running feet pound the ground as they approach, and my eyes raise to find our allies. Pablo slides to a stop beside me, his hand squeezing my side as he arrives.
Most of the police officers are farther out, which means we aren’t waiting. With the way that officer responded to me, it may be for the best. They’ve served their purpose, but now it’s time for us to tap into the side of ourselves the police force can never understand.
I’m coming, baby. Hold on.
Chapter Forty
DARIO
My glasses sit precariouslyon my nose as the lock slides to the left, and my hand presses down the handle to open it.
“We’re in,” I breathe, straightening and pulling the heavy door slowly. Others walk inside to begin to clear the building, but I pull my weapon and follow Verona with Pablo beside us.
If she has a line on our girl, I’m going to trust her to find Rosalia. I don’t have to understand what she sees to know there is a special relationship to different bonds. Nico has been feeling everything that’s happening to Rosalia.
Ciro keeps rubbing his chest, and I expect it feels like a boulder sitting on it. I’m filled with dread and the sense that I’m not doing enough, despite the contrary.
When bad shit happens, sometimes you just have to wait for a break in the clouds, and that’s what this is.
The warehouse seems abandoned, not simply empty. People were once here, but seem to have left in a hurry. There’s trash in the garbage cans, water randomly splashed on the ground, andcages. It’s the cages that make Pablo, Verona, and I flinch in pain. I don’t know if there were other captives here with Rosalia, but they’re all gone now.
Pablo is careful to keep his eyes moving as we walk, his weapon already in his hand as we search for signs of life. Instead, the place is as quiet as a tomb until we reach the middle of the building. Here, it’s as if a bubble of silence pops, and the sounds of laughter begin.
Verona’s hands raise with her gun between them, and she shoots the first man she sees as they surround some kind of table. Not one of them is innocent, as is evident as we move closer. They all have knives in their hands or nearby, and two of them are fucking a body from either end.
Wet squishing sounds mix with their laughter, and Pablo and I also begin to shoot, even as horror makes my heart beat faster.
I can’t think about how this is Rosalia as I shoot the man who decided it was a good idea to stick his cock in her mouth. Her head falls onto the table with a thunk as the man falls back, while Pablo continues to shoot in rapid succession.
It’s a quick death none of these men deserve.
“Die!” The two men still sitting mindlessly begin stabbing Rosalia wherever they can, not bothering to run. Verona’s bullets stop them mid-motion, and they both slump forward.
Pablo and I rip them off Rosalia, and then I have the very real problem of pulling a dead alpha’s dick out of my omega. The only saving grace is that he didn’t have a chance to knot her, otherwise I might have hurt her while having to figure out how to get a dead alpha’s inflated knot out of her body. Contrary to popular belief, a knot doesn’t deflate when the person it belongs to dies.
Fuck, none of this is even mildly okay, and the entire table is the shit of nightmares.
More blood seems to be on the ground than is possible, and I know a lot of it belongs to her. I need to move quickly, and revenge will have to be pulled from the person who sold Rosalia to these men, who is unfortunately not here.
These men were simply the avenue that was used to potentially kill her, and I won’t allow it to happen. None of us will. Verona is already trying to keep Rosa’s soul tethered to her body as she squats beside her to speak in her ear.
All of us have a job to do, even if we are winging it.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, my first instinct is to call for help. I don’t have anything to staunch the blood flow, and I can’t risk making anything worse. There are still knives embedded in her body, and she’s barely breathing. While Verona speaks to Rosa, Pablo continues to turn slowly around the room, covering us.
He’s come a long way from being the weak link in the room who is more likely to need to be saved than actually do the saving. I’m really proud of him.
“We found her,” I say as soon as Easton picks up. “She’s not good, Easton. I don’t have any medical supplies?—”
“Riley and Carter are in the building with you. Scream out their names, and they’ll come. I’m headed your way. I’ll clear the path for you to get out without having to answer any questions,”he says.
Ending the call, I take a deep breath and scream. Pablo follows my lead, yelling Riley and Carter’s names at the top of our lungs. Footsteps pound on the concrete toward us, and I close my mouth in relief as they arrive.
“Okay,” Riley whispers, eyes wide and full of horror as he yanks his medical bag over his head in jerky motions. Based on his actions, you’d think he was about to defuse a bomb, and in a way, you wouldn’t be wrong. Taking a deep breath, he continuesto talk to us as well as himself as he decides the best course of action. “Don’t remove the knives, Carter, but pack the wounds.”
Carter and he pull on gloves and begin to work together to treat Rosalia. Verona continues to speak to our omega in whispers, begging her to hold on as tears run down her face. Sucking in a breath, I rub my face as my eyes burn.
