Page 95 of The Bright Omega

Leith has Shayna on the ground now. His chest is heaving, broad shoulders rising and falling with heavy, angry breaths. Sweat glistens on his skin as he keeps one powerful knee planted dead-center in her back, both of her arms wrenched high behind her in a brutal hold. Shayna is still screaming, thrashing like a wild animal. Bucking, twisting, kicking her legs uselessly against the asphalt. She fights the way truly crazy people do when they know they’ve lost—with everything they have, no strategy, only pure feral desperation.

A thin cut bleeds on her cheek where Leith slammed her face-first into the pavement. She doesn’t seem to notice. She keeps screaming.

But she’s trapped and Cammie is safe. That’s all that matters.

Leith doesn’t loosen his grip for a second. His eyes flick up to mine for half a beat. They’re dark and feral but maintaining enough control to keep from killing the woman bucking under his knee.

I hold Cammie tighter against my chest, one hand cradling the back of her head, so she doesn’t have to see Shayna still screaming and thrashing under Leith. The sirens are close now, but all I can focus on is the way she’s shaking in my arms.

I press my lips to her hair and let out a shaky, relieved breath, trying to find even a scrap of my usual cocky tone. “Easy, sugar,” I murmur roughly. “Your favorite cowboy’s got you. No more knife-wielding lunatics trying to ruin our fun today. I’ve still got plans for that perfect ass.”

Cammie lets out a watery, broken little laugh against my chest, and the sound loosens some of the anxiety I’m still carrying. That’s my girl.

forty-four

Leith

“Stop fucking fighting me.” I tighten my grip on the alpha pinned under my knee, forcing her arm a little higher. Not enough to pop it from its socket, but enough to hurt like hell.

The sirens are loud now. Blue lights flash across the parking lot as two patrol cars screech to a stop. Doors fly open and officers spill out. I stay exactly where I am. Knee planted hard in Shayna’s back, her arms wrenched high behind her. She’s still screaming and thrashing, but she’s not going anywhere.

One of the officers, a guy I don’t recognize, approaches cautiously with his hands out. “Sir, we’ve got her. You can let go now.”

I don’t move. My alpha is still roaring too loud in my head. Every instinct is screaming to keep her pinned, to make sure she can never hurt Cammie again.

“Sir,” the officer says again, firmer this time. “We need a statement. Can you tell us what happened?”

I don’t even look at him. My eyes are locked across the lot on Beck. He’s pulled Cammie as far from the chaos as he could while still staying in my line of sight. Smart man. Somewhere deep down, Beck knows I would lose my fucking mind if I couldn’t see her right now.

I release Shayna only when the officer moves in with cuffs. The second she’s secured, I stand and walk away without a word. My legs eat up the distance between us, boots heavy on the asphalt.

Cammie is trembling in Beck’s arms, face buried against his chest. The second she senses me coming, her head lifts. Her eyes find mine, wide and wet with leftover terror. I don’t stop until I’m right there in front of her.

I pull her from Beck’s hold and into my own, one arm locked around her back, the other cradling the back of her head as I crush her against me. She melts into my chest with a broken sound, fingers fisting in my shirt like she’s afraid I’ll disappear.

I don’t say anything. For the first time since my phone rang this afternoon, my alpha finally starts to settle. I breathe in her sweet floral scent. It’s still sharp with fear, but she’s safe.

The cops approach cautiously. When they get within five feet of us, both Beck and I growl at the same time. Our alphas are still riding too close to the surface, pushing hard against the inside of our ribs, ready to tear apart anything that gets too close to her.

A detective in plain clothes steps forward, hands visible. “I’m Detective Collins. I need to ask you all some questions, starting with her.”

He looks at Cammie. She’s still pressed against my chest, but she straightens a little when he speaks.

“What happened here?” he asks gently. “Did you know this woman was following you?”

Cammie’s voice is shaky but steady. “There’s an open case about it, but yes. She pushed me into traffic almost six weeks ago. But she hadn’t done anything for a long time after that.”

Beck cuts in before anyone else can speak. “Actually, that’s not true.”

He tells the detective about the teddy bear. The ripped-off head. The knife through its heart.

Cammie goes very still in my arms. She pulls back enough to look up at me, then at Beck. Hurt flashes across her face, sharp and clear. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Guilt punches me. I feel anger too, toward Piers, but I don’t throw him under the bus. He may have made the decision, but we all agreed to keep it from her. It’s on all of us.

I swallow hard. “We didn’t want to scare you. We thought we could protect you.”

“You.” She puts one finger on my chest. Not hard, but enough so that I notice it. “You knew better than any of them what that woman was capable of. And you still said nothing.”