Page 17 of Broken Harmony (Heartbreak Melody #2)

“Don’t you ever fucking lay a hand on my Omega again,” Liam growls, the deep rumbling fury of his tone making me shiver.

My lips part as I stare down at him in both shock and awe. I’ve never seen him this angry before.

I didn't miss the part where he called me his Omega either. I know he meant it in the sense that I’m his client. Still, my heart doesn’t take it that way.

“Let go of me!” she screams.

“No,” he growls. He looks over at me, confusion and worry bright in his eyes. “Ally, baby, are you okay?”

My lower lip trembles as everything starts to hit me with what just happened. “I–I’m–” Tears start to flow, and I don’t have it in me to hold back.

“Fuck,” he curses. “It’s okay. You're fine. Ally, baby, look at me.” I feel a panic attack coming on.

“Eyes on me, Little Omega. That's it. You’re okay.” His soothing voice and kind words start to settle something inside me.

“I’m here. I won’t let her hurt you. I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he promises. “Everything is going to be okay.”

I say nothing, falling back onto the couch, bringing my hands up to my face and just... let go. The dam breaks, and everything I’ve been trying to hold in, hold back, comes rushing forward.

I’m a full-on fucking mess, gasping for air and sobbing uncontrollably. I’m not sure how long I’ll be like this before someone wraps their arms around me.

I start to freak out and thrash out of instinct, thinking it’s Julia back to finish what she started.

“Shhh, it’s me.” Liam’s voice is like a shock to the heart. “I’m here, baby. You're okay.”

My tense body goes slack, and I trust him to hold me up. He does, scooping me up in his arms and sitting down on the couch.

He cradles me, holding my head to his shoulder as he rocks me, murmuring soothing, comforting words as I let everything out.

It takes a while for my breathing to even out, but when my brain finally catches up, his soothing salted coconut and mahogany fills my nose. It’s not until I feel the rumbling vibration that my eyes start to close.

He’s purring for me. He’s never done that before. I could get used to this. I’m not sure if I ever want to wake up.

***

Sadly, I do. With one killer headache, too. Groaning, I sit up and look around. I’m still in the green room. Rubbing at my sore eyes, I realize I’m alone and start to panic.

Thankfully, Liam walks through the door a moment later, and I’m able to breathe again. “Hey.” He rushes over, kneeling down next to me. “How are you?”

“I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus,” my voice comes out raspy, like I’ve been screaming for hours at a concert. I guess in a way, I have. “What’s going on?” Then I remember everything that happened. My eyes widen. “Julia!”

Liam’s face goes dark. “She’s been taken into custody.”

“Really?” I ask, brows furrowing. “For choking me?”

“That and for using her Alpha command on you. It’s illegal to use an Alpha command, or an Alpha bark on an unwilling party, unless it’s an emergency with no other solution.”

My eyes drop, shame taking over me. I knew this. I knew she wasn’t supposed to be doing what she was doing. But I was helpless, weak, and couldn’t do anything about it.

“Ally...” He grips my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Has she done this before?”

My head wants to nod, to tell him everything, but it’s like there’s this wall, keeping me from moving forward.

I say nothing, praying he can read the answer in my eyes.

He doesn’t need to; he knows me well by now. “Fuck!” he growls. “Fucking hell. Damn it!” He jumps to his feet and starts pacing. “I’m going to kill her. I’ve never liked that bitch. She always gave me bad vibes. She’s going down for this. No fucking way am I going to let her get away with this.”

“Liam, it’s okay,” I try to reassure him, even if I’m not exactly sure why. It’s second nature at this point. Because it’s a lie. I’m good at telling lies by now. How sad is that?

“Okay?” He swings his wild gaze towards me. “Nothing about this is okay, Ally. She should have never abused her power. Ever .”

I know, I want to say. I know. I know. I know!

Licking my lips, I look away, my eyes sore and heavy. I just want to go back to sleep.

There’s a knock on the door that gets our attention. A police officer steps in a moment later. “Hi, I’m Officer Wilkins. I need to take your statement. Would it be better to do so here or down at the station?”

I want to stay here, but as tired as I am, I can’t be here . “Station.”

Twenty minutes later, we’re at the local police station. My uncle Chase just so happens to be in town on business, so when Liam called him, letting him know what happened, he said he’d be there as fast as he could.

“The guys?” I look at Liam as we get out of the car and head inside.

“They’re on their way.”

Shame hits me, followed by panic as I think about how they’re going to react to all this.

Will they hate me, knowing half the things we’ve done in our career aren’t because I wanted to, but because I was forced to?

Would they think I’m weak for not trying to fight back?

Hurt that I didn’t think to confide in them?

Will they believe me when I tell them I literally couldn’t do anything?

Once we’re inside, I immediately regret coming down here. I can hardly keep my damn eyes open. I’m hot, sweaty, my skin itches, and all I want to do is cry and sleep. I’m a mess.

“Maybe we should do this another time,” Liam suggests, looking down at me.

We’re in an interrogation room, a detective sitting on the other side of a large metal table. I feel like I’m the one in trouble here.

“No.” I shake my head. “I want this to be over with.” I look up at him with broken eyes. “I just want all of this to be over.”

The agony shining back at me in his eyes kills me.

I give the officer all the details I can on what happened earlier today, and Liam does the same.

When we’re done, it’s time for the part I’ve been dreading.

“Has Julia done this before?” he asks. I blink at him, unable to answer that question. Even though inside my head I’m screaming yes.

His brows furrow. “Has she ever used her Alpha bark or an Alpha command on you prior to today?”

Again, I just stare at him.

“Has she commanded you not to speak about it?”

Okay, I know this is mean, but is this man stupid? Or does he think I’m mute? Can’t be that, seeing how I was just talking.

He looks up at Liam. “Can we speak?”

Liam looks down at me like he doesn’t want to leave my side, but nods. “I’ll be right back.”

The hand he runs over the top of my head brings tears to my eyes. I crave his touch so badly it hurts.

I’m nearly asleep by the time they’re stepping back into the room. My eyes fly open, head snapping up.

“Hey.” Liam crouches down next to me. “How are you doing?”

“Amazing.” I give him a sleepy smile. “Like a million bucks.”

He doesn’t smile. Why does he never smile?

I have managed to get a few out of him over the years, which I’m pretty proud of. Once I even heard him deep belly laugh. God, I’d kill to hear it again. Pure music to my ears. Better than anything I could create.

“I know that Julia has you under her control right now. The only way we can break her commands is by another Alpha using their Alpha bark on you to counteract it.”

“No!” I cry out, panic filling my body as I grab onto his arm. “No. Please. No.” My voice cracks, and Liam’s face falls. “Don’t let them do that to me. Please.” The idea of another Alpha having that control over me, even in this case, makes me want to claw at my skin and pull at my hair.

He looks up at the officer. “I’m not going to let you do it if she’s not willing.”

He nods, and a part of me relaxes. “Would you be able to?”

“No,” Liam says instantly. “I’d never do that to her.”

“It’s okay.” I cup his jaw. “I’ll be okay if you do it.”

Not really. I don’t want anyone to ever use another command or bark on me. But this is needed to stop her. She needs to pay for her sins. And I want nothing more than to be the one to bring her down.

“Ally... I can’t–” He looks torn, like the idea of him doing this physically pains him. And that's why I know I can trust him to not abuse his power over me.

“Yes, you can.” My hand tangles into the back of his hair, pulling him closer. “Please help me with this. You’re the only one I trust.”

He licks his lips and nods. I know he doesn't want to, but he’s doing this for me.

“I promise this will be the one and only time I use it, okay?”

“I believe you.” I give him a weak smile.

He nods, taking a few deep breaths. “I really don’t want to do this,” He grumbles under his breath.

He looks me square in the eyes, and my heart threatens to pound out of my chest. “Ally, I want you to tell me every single thing Julia has commanded you to do, everything she told you not to do, and everything she told you not to speak of.” His voice is firm and demanding.

I can feel the hold latching on my body. “Now.”

It’s like some magical spell being lifted. I’m only able to feel the relief until my lips start moving, and I tell them every single thing she’s done over the past three years.

By the end of it, I’m unable to look Liam in his eyes, shame and embarrassment digging their claws into me.

***

“Come on.” Liam’s calming voice has me leaning into his side. “Let's get you back to the bus.”

He’s different now. The brooding is gone, replaced with this fierce protectiveness over me. I wish he didn’t. It’s only going to hurt more when all of this is over and he remembers why he can’t have me.

“Ally!” My uncle rushes over to us, filled with worry. “Is everything okay? What's going on? Liam didn’t say much on the phone.”

“Ally, fuck!” Skyler rushes over, too, the other two right behind him.

“Step back.” Liam moves in front of me. “She’s just had a long, hard, traumatic day. The last thing she needs is more people in her face.”

“Are you okay?” Tyson asks.

“Yeah.” I give him a weak smile.

“You're not okay,” Ryker growls. “You're in a police station. What the fuck did that bitch do to you?”

“What bitch?” Chase looks between us. “Who are you talking about?”

“Julia,” Liam growls.

Chase’s eyes go wide, dropping to mine. “Did she hurt you?”

My lower lip trembles, and I want to tell him everything. But I honestly don’t think I could. Not right now. Not like this.

“That bitch you hired to be their manager has been manipulating Ally for years,” Liam snarls, and everyone looks horrified.

“She’s been using her Alpha influence to make her do whatever the fuck she wanted her to do.

And before you get pissed off at Ally for not telling you, Julia covered her tracks and prevented her from doing that, too. ”

There’s a round of angry curses before Chase pulls me into his arms. “I’m so fucking sorry, Ally.” I hear the brokenness in his voice, like tears are choking him up. “I was supposed to protect you. This shouldn’t have ever happened to you.”

I want to say it’s okay, that it’s fine because it’s the normal response for everything. But it would just be more lies. And I think I’m done lying for a long, long time.

So I say nothing, letting him apologize over and over again. I don’t blame him, but he’s right. He was in charge of me. This is his company. And he hired someone who abused me for years.

Abused me. I've been abused. I’ve never seen it that way, or maybe I didn’t allow myself to. Maybe I was too blinded by my guilt over failing Lulu to see myself as the victim when worse things happened to her.

I’m pulled out of Chase’s arms and into a group hug with the guys.

“I’m sorry,” I sob, breaking down in the middle of the police station. I don’t even care at this point. Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be any paparazzi around. They can’t come in here anyway.

God, I don't even want to think about the shit-show that's about to happen when this makes the news. That's the last thing I want to be associated with. Good luck to my PR team. Hope we pay them well.

“Sorry?” Ryker asks. “Babe, you have nothing to be sorry about.”

“You did nothing wrong,” Tyson insists.

“I dragged you into this. I brought her into your life.”

“We don’t fucking care,” Skyler states. “She’s the problem. Not you. You didn’t ask for her to do the things she did to you. And we would never blame you for it. Do you understand me?”

I nod my head, closing my eyes as I try not to cry again.

I’m not sure when it happened, but I passed out at some point. Because the next time I open my eyes, I’m in my nest back on the tour bus.

“This shit can never happen again, do you understand me?” I hear Liam’s furious voice.

“I know!” Chase hisses. “Do you think I wanted any of this to happen? This is my niece. I love her. I’d never want anything bad to ever come to her.”

“She was hired by your company!” Liam growls.

“I know,” Chase growls back. “And I feel like fucking shit.”

“Fix it!” Liam shouts. “First, by making sure no other Alpha is in a position of authority over her. Only Betas. That way, there’s no way her Omega can be manipulated or commanded against her will again.”

“I agree. And I’m going to personally hire someone myself. Someone I know. Someone I trust. This will never happen again.”

“It better not,” Liam snarls. “Or I swear, there will be fucking hell to pay.”

Sleep takes over again, and I drift off back to sleep.

The bed dips, and I smell him before I feel him.

“I’m so fucking sorry, baby,” Liam whispers, tone broken and helpless.

“I was supposed to protect you. I promised you nothing would hurt you. And I fucking failed you.” His hand softly runs down my head.

“I’m going to make it up to you. I’m going to work day and night to make sure no one is able to hurt you again.

” He’s quiet for a moment, and I'm about to be sucked back into sleep when he says, “Even if that means I have to protect you from myself.”