Page 33 of Knot Letting Go (Knotty Streak Omegaverse #4)

When we finally found the Sedan and called it into Talis, I leapt out of the car as soon as Konstantin parked out of sight on the side of the beach road. The setting sun was turning the landscape orange and gold, and there was nothing but a few sand dunes between me and the girls now.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Konstantin slid out of the driver’s seat. It surprised me that once we saw the Sedan—not even hidden in a garage or anything because the rental house was so secluded—that he didn’t drive his car through the front of the house.

I would have. I was going to burst through that front door and take back what was mine. “Going to get Lilli and Aubrielle.”

“What you’re going to do is get yourself fucking shot.” Konstantin snapped. “I don’t know how many men Lorenzo has there, but you can guarantee every single one of them has at least one gun. The second you step into firing range, you’re dead.”

“I know!” Fuck, did I know, but I couldn’t stay in the car.

Every second that the girls were in there was one more moment of torture for them.

I slammed my fists down on the roof of the car.

I’d be of no use saving the girls if I was dead.

“Goddamn those mother-fuckers! How fast is Talis’ team getting here? ”

Konstantin bent and reached into the car to open the glovebox. He took out a pistol and checked to see if it was loaded. “They’re not going to be here fast enough.”

“Well, fuck. Okay.” Who knew my brother was packing? “I guess we’re going in then?”

“We are.” Konstantin walked around and popped the trunk. “Grab the flare gun, flashlight, knife… And the handle to the carjack.”

“Shit. Aren’t you a boy scout?” I picked up the orange plastic flare gun and put it in the band of my shorts along with two extra flares.

I popped open the safety knife. Its blade was only a few inches long, but it still could stab out someone’s eye.

“I don’t think we’ll need the flashlight.

It’s still light enough. And the handle? ”

Konstantin had taken off his jacket and put it in the trunk. He rolled up the sleeves to his button-up shirt. “The flashlight isn’t for illumination. It’s heavy and metal. We’ll use it and the carjack handle to hit people… If it comes to it.”

Oh, both of us knew it would. “I’ll take the handle then, since you have the gun.

It’s longer.” I rummaged around in the trunk, ruining the order of things.

A pair of lifejackets and a bottle of sunblock.

An adult’s snorkeling set and a child’s.

I tapped the fins. “Hey, they’re going to be watching all around the house, but they won’t expect anyone to be coming from the water.

We could take them by surprise by swimming up. ”

He pursed his lips, scowling as he thought about it. “You want to do it?”

“Yeah, no one would expect it. The flare gun was already in a plastic bag here. I can keep it dry. I’ve been snorkeling several times. We can zip down the coast and BAM!” I made a shooting motion with my hand.

“If you can do it, it’s a good idea.” Konstantin slowly nodded.

His face set in a hard, determined expression.

“I’m going in from the front. Make like I want to talk to Lorenzo.

You sneak in from the back while they’re distracted with me and get the girls out.

He probably has them hiding in a closet or bathroom. ”

“I thought we decided we weren’t going to be stupid. Going in like that will get you killed.” There was no way I was going to let Konstantin die.

“Going in without Talis’ team is stupid.” Konstantin gave me a leveled look. “But here we are.”

Damn him. He was right. I considered for a brief few seconds hitting him and knocking him out. That way he’d be safe here in the car, and I could go on this mission alone. Yet he’d give as good as he got. Our fight the other night proved we were equally matched.

“Lorenzo will want to talk to me.” He undid his shirt’s top two buttons and ran his hands through his hair.

It struck me how much he looked like our father.

I knew he hated it, but there was a hardness in him.

Being the eldest son sucked for him. I was basically tossed to the side, but steely pressure made Konstantin what he was today.

“He took Lillianna to get to me. She’s the ultimate bargaining chip.

He doesn’t want to kill me. He wants to make a deal.

Maybe even wants me to hand over everything and work for him.

He couldn’t do that with Dad because he didn’t give a shit about us.

I wouldn’t doubt that our father would have killed Callista if it served his purposes.

But I love Lillianna, and Lorenzo knows it. ”

“Fuck them all to hell.” I growled and yanked off my t-shirt. I was going for a swim. Imagine Aubrielle’s face when she saw me all wet and half-naked coming out of the water. She’d be begging for my cock.

As if Konstantin knew who I was thinking about, he put his hands on his hips.

“Unfortunately for Aubrielle, she just happened to be in the wrong job at the wrong time. If it had been Paula still as Lillianna’s nanny, she would have been buried under a dune already.

But Omegas have value to the Pacettis. Especially ones as beautiful as Aubrielle.

Lorenzo doesn’t know what she means to me, to us,” he corrected. “And I can’t let him know.”

“So what you’re saying is that she’s probably still alive, but Lorenzo won’t take as much care about her safety as Lilli’s.” I seethed with that thought. If any of those fuckers in the house laid one hand on my Omega, I’d tear their dicks off and stuff them down their throats.

“And that’s why it’s better if we do this with just the two of us. If a whole team comes charging in, they’ll kill Aubrielle as she’s just more baggage. This is our best bet to get her out alive.” His hands closed into fists and he gritted his teeth.

“We’ll get both of them out alive, bro. Both of them.” There was no choice in the matter. We’d do it or die trying.

I gathered the rest of the snorkeling gear and bagged the flare gun and flares. Stuffing them into one pocket of my shorts, I stuck the knife in the other. I’d have to swim with the handle in hand, but that would be no problem. The power was in my legs when I was in the water.

“I’ll give you fifteen minutes. Then I’m walking up to the front door.” Konstantin didn’t ask if it was enough. It was the most amount of time he could wait. “Talis and his team will likely be here in twenty-five to thirty minutes.”

My patience had run out as well. “So there’s backup, but we’ve got this.”

Without warning, he wrapped me in a tight hug. “Be careful. Pick your moment. I’m not losing you either.”

The shock of his embrace wore off and I patted his back as I squeezed him in return. I couldn’t ever remember hugging my brother before. He rarely let anyone in his personal space. “Don’t do do anything fucked up either. We’re going to get the girls and have our pack back together again.”

“There’s no other option.” Konstantin released me and shut the trunk, stepping back as if we had never had that moment at all.

“No other option.” I agreed. Oh, I wasn’t an idiot. I knew he would sacrifice himself in an instant if he thought it would save his daughter and Aubrielle, but I wasn’t going to let it happen. I meant what I said. Our whole pack would be together.

Carrying the snorkeling gear, I jogged down the road and past another house. I crossed the dune between it and their neighbor to get to the beach. No one else seemed to be around, and I was grateful there would be no people to witness this.

I kicked off my shoes and strapped on the fins. Next came the goggles and snorkel. I took a few test breaths to get a feel for it. The dull plastic taste told me it had never been used. Likely something Konstantin bought to swim with Lillianna. I would make certain he got to do that.

Never could I imagine him as a father when we were growing up.

I always thought he was too much like our dad.

This past year, he surprised me with how wonderful a parent he could be.

Aubrielle had opened him up in ways I never thought possible as well.

He needed those girls as much as they needed him.

And fucking hell, I needed them all. For too long, I fought everything alone.

I was the cool lone wolf that anyone fucked around with found out my bite was as bad as my bark.

This past year being back at Birk Manor, reconnecting with family, I found what I was missing.

My family, my pack. They reminded me I wasn’t alone.

Then Aubrielle came along and she was the missing piece. She fit perfectly with us. She was the mother Lillianna needed, a sister for Callista, and the nurturing mate for Konstantin and I. She’d been with us for such a short period of time, but it was like she had always been there.

I waded into the water and sucked back a breath at how cold it was. No time to get used to it. I dove right in and started swimming.

It was harder to swim close to shore, but I didn’t want to go out too far. Plus there was the danger of rip currents. I’d rather be able to stand if I needed to.

Picturing Lillianna alone in a dark room, crying quietly, thinking we all abandoned her, had me kick faster.

Waves pushed me. My heart pounded.

Aubrielle cornered by a bastard of an Alpha, touching her in ways that only Konstantin and I were allowed to.

I almost bit through the plastic of the mouthpiece. My breathing came in great pants. Fuck Lorenzo and all his goons. Fuck them all.

There was no way to know how much time had passed when I slowed and popped my head a little bit out of the water so I could see the modern rental house.

There was a big patio that jutted out over the sand with Adirondack chairs and a striped umbrella shielding a table.

A guard stood just inside the sliding doors with his back toward the beach.