Page 125 of Pack of Crooks

I wince and imagine how that all went down. Vivian would have fought, she’s a fighter, but the guys are strong. I have faith that they didn’t hurt her though. That’s not the type of pack they are.

“What happened?” Ellen demands.

Sighing, I put the phone on speaker. “Ellen is here.”

“If you hurt my omega?—”

“Shut the fuck up, Ellen. I have your omega, and if you want it to stay that way, you will bring Hazel with you. If her shirt is even so much as wrinkled, you’re going to fucking regret it.”

My gaze collides with Ellen’s and hers drops to the bruise on my cheek. Her features contort with worry. I won’t let the pack hurt Vivian, but Ellen doesn’t need to know that right now. I think she deserves a little suffering.

“We’re on the way,” I tell Kill, rising from my seat.

“Good. Hey, Hazel?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.Welove you.”

I smile. “I love you too.” Wearing a dopey grin, I hang up, butterflies taking flight inside my stomach. They love me.

Aaaaaaand then Ellen clears her throat.

Buzzkill. Scowling at her, I grab my purse and meet her at the door. “You’re such a bitch,” I tell her, hating that she ruined my happy moment.

“You’re a little cunt,” she hisses as we walk to the elevator.

“Oh, good one, El. Do you really think you’re in any position to deliver threats? Tristan hates you and my pack has your omega,” I say on a whisper. “You are at my mercy.”

She glares at me. Whatever. Fuck her.

“Don’t you think you should apologize?”

Her eyebrows practically disappear into her hairline. “Excuse me?”

I brush my fingers over my cheek. “This was uncalled for.”

“I’m sorry,” she growls through gritted teeth and I know it kills part of her.

Good. She sucks. I give her a sickly sweet smile. “You’re not forgiven.”

“Bitch.”

“You’re one to talk,” I say, shaking my head and stepping into the elevator. Ellen starts to say more, but I hold up my hand, stopping her. “I have an idea. Let’s not talk, because frankly, I have nothing to say for a spineless alpha who let Tristan push her around to the point that she broke her omega’s heart. Fucking pathetic.”

Ellen rears back, and while her face turns a violent shade of red and I’m sure she wants nothing more than to throttle me, she keeps her lips firmly sealed. Kill’s threat is still too fresh in her mind.

I don’t mind the quiet. There’s nothing for us to talk about but how to ensure that Vivian is safe.

thirty-five

HAZEL

Ellen drives like a bat out of hell. The oh-shit bar is working overtime, but she gets us to her home in Brooklyn in one piece, whipping into a two car garage so fast my head almost smacks the passenger window. I shoot her a withering glare, but she’s already out of the car.

I unbuckle, glaring at her as she rushes toward the entry door, wishing a million bad things on her. Maddox rips the door open, his hulking form taking up every inch of space. My heart does a somersault. God I’ll never get used to how handsome he is. I climb out of the car as Ellen falters. She might be an alpha, but she’s still female and much smaller than Maddox. Who am I kidding? Everyone is smaller than Maddox. He’s a fucking bear.

Maddox shifts his rage filled gaze from Ellen to me, looking me over. He pauses on my cheek which is still red from Ellen’s slap. A deep growl fills the garage.