Page 148 of Pack Choice

I consider our options. There are two of us against one woman with a knife. We’re alphas. She’s an omega. But she’s armed and her knife is pressing into the point where Molly’s pulse beats in her throat. We could rush her but we couldn’t be sure we could take her out without doing some damage to Molly. I’m not prepared to take that risk.

We could attempt to negotiate. But we were always taught not to negotiate with terrorists, especially the ones with that half-crazed look in their eyes.

Luckily, I’m not forced to make a decision, because Colt does it for me.

“We have your alphas surrounded out there, so if you don’t want to take the risk of losing all your packmates, I suggest you lower that knife and let Molly step towards us.”

Of course, it’s not true. We have no god damn idea what’s going on out there – again a matter that would be solved if we were bonded. For all we know, this woman’s alphas could have River in a headlock right now. But it doesn’t matter. All that matters is whether this woman buys it.

She examines Colt’s face. I can tell she’s trying to reach her alphas through her own bond, but with their head of the pack dead, I bet it’s disrupted, like a bad telephone line. She can’t reach them through the signal.

Colt stares straight back at the woman with no tells. And I realize there never would be. This is his job, presenting a certain ‘truth’ to the world about his clients. He’s used to massaging the truth and doing it with a straight face. He’s skilled at understanding what people need to hear to make them do certain things.

“You’re lying,” the woman says, her knife pressing more firmly against Molly’s skin. But her tone is wavering. She’s not sure.

“He isn’t,” I say. “We’ve given our packmate instructions out there. If we don’t appear out here with Molly in the next five minutes, your alphas will each receive a bullet in their head.”

The woman attempts a laugh. “You’re not gangsters. You wouldn’t have the nerve.”

“She’s our omega,” Colt growls with venom, “we’d do a more than murder to keep her safe.”

“She isn’t your omega and you aren’t a pack,” the woman spits back, but Colt’s clear determination has her rattled.

“We are,” I say, gazing straight into Molly’s eyes. “We’re a pack and Molly is our omega.”

Molly closes her eyes like it’s all too much and I can see that beat of her heart bouncing rapidly against that deadly knife. We need to move things along here, not give this woman time to think, to figure out this is a big bluff.

“You have to the count of ten,” I say, “and then … One …”

The woman’s skittish eyes dart between the two of us.

“Two …” I growl. She swallows. “Three …”

“Shut the fuck up!” she screams and I can tell she’s still trying to reach them through her bond again. Luckily for us, those fuckers are too busy dealing with River to respond to their omega.

“Four …”

“You really are a careless omega to have lost ALL your packmates,” Colt says, tutting and shaking his head, and she wails.

“No, no,” she pants, “you can’t.”

“Then release the girl and we’ll release them.”

“Five …”

“How do I know you’ll be true to your word?”

“Because we’re not gangsters,” Colt says smiling. “I have no desire to have blood on my hands, although I do want you to stay the fuck away from my omega and her family.”

“Six …”

“Argh!” she screams with frustration, thrusting Molly forward. Molly stumbles and Colt catches her in his arms, immediately drawing her in close and shielding her with his body.

As he does, a voice shouts down the hallway. “Hannah? Hannah? What’s going on?”

The woman peers in that direction with horror, then her features turn murderous and with rage in her eyes, she screams again, this time racing towards us, her knife slicing through the air. I block her path, her knife plunging into my arm as gunshots rocket down the hallway from the other direction.

“Get down,” I yell, and Colt drops to the floor, taking Molly with him.