Page 58 of Unhinged

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

GEARS

I rub the back of my neck, pacing the length of my office like it might shake loose answers.

The leather couch creaks as Arrow shifts, legs wide, one hand fisted over his mouth while he stares at the floor, his laptop balanced on his lap.

Acid’s by the door, arms crossed, chewing the inside of his cheek.

Not one fucking sighting. Not from the boys on the street. Not from Nikola. Nothing.

Where the fuck did Earl take her?

And we still haven’t found Marcus either. No one’s seen him since the party.

Brydgett’s scent is still faint in the air—sweet jasmine and citrus heat. It’s stale now, almost ghostlike. Wrong.

The women and kids left thirty minutes ago.

Nitro, Peter, and Mayhem rode out with them.

Nitro was bitching about his sister getting sent to the same safe house as the other women—mostly because Peter was going, too.

That guy’s been sniffing around her for weeks, and now she’s pissed at him on top of everything else.

Nitro didn’t trust the setup anymore, said it was a powder keg waiting to blow.

He found somewhere else to send her last minute.

Good. We can’t afford distractions—or mistakes. Not now.

Arrow’s tapping fast on his laptop, eyes scanning across search engines, deep web stuff, anywhere he might find something about Brydgett’s past. But there’s nothing.

No adoption record. No birth certificate trail.

No damn school transcripts. Like she just appeared one day—pregnant, wild-eyed, and dangerous.

“What about Earl?” I ask, stepping closer. “Can you find anything on him? He had a whole life before he fostered Gidge—there’s gotta be a record of that, right?”

“Nothing on him either. Earl must’ve wiped everything,” he mutters.

I sigh. I already know what we have to do. And I hate it.

“We need to call Ike.”

Arrow nods, fingers still flying.

Acid exhales slow through his nose. “He’s not gonna like this.”

“Yeah, well, neither do I.” I wake up the screen on my phone, thumb searching the contacts until I hit Ike . My gut knots as I hit dial and put it on speaker.

It rings twice before his voice comes through.

“Gears.”

“Ike.” My voice is too flat. He picks up on it instantly.

“What happened?”

“Brydgett’s gone.”

He sighs. A long, tired breath. “I thought this might happen. She’ll be back. If she comes here, I’ll talk to her. You boys seem like decent guys. A little ignorant, but?—”

“No,” I cut him off. My voice cracks a little. “Earl took her.”

Ike goes silent. Then he growls. “Tell me fucking everything. Right now.”

I clench my jaw and start from the top. “We were having a club party. Everything was smooth. Franko showed up. So did Marcus. Gidge…she was enjoying getting under our skin. She was smirking, pushing buttons. Then she went outside, and apparently Earl and his guys were there. They had my sister and Judge. She traded herself to protect them.”

“Fucking hell,” Ike whispers like a prayer. “She’d do anything for that boy. Is he safe? Do I need to come get him until you straighten this out?”

“He’s safe. He went with our mom, sister, and the rest of the women and kids. We got them headed to our safe houses. We’re combing every damn street for Earl or a sign of her. But if you know anything about where he’d take her... we need that.”

Ike hesitates, then clears his throat. “She didn’t talk much about her past. I know she took a bus out of Michigan while pregnant.

She was living in a tent when I found her.

Let her crash at the gym. Then she moved in with me.

Tina, who’s Earl’s wife, worked for this cleaning company—Brydgett mentioned it once.

..it was called...damn it... Dainty Dusters .

Maybe look up a tax filing or something? ”

“Arrow’s on it.” I glance up at him. He’s already typing faster.

My phone beeps.

Incoming call.

Nikola.

“Ike—I’ll call you back. Got a call coming in.” I don’t wait for him to respond before switching over. “Nikola.”

“One of my guys might’ve found something. A car registered to an Earl Osbourne was seen driving away from the old meat factory. Far north side of town.”

My pulse spikes. “Did they see who was in it?”

“Said it was dark. Looked like a young guy. Not the wormy one you sent. Could be an associate.”

“Maybe,” I grunt. “We’ll check it out. Thanks, Nikola.”

“You want backup?”

“No. We got this.”

I hang up and turn to my brothers.

“Gear up. We’ve got a lead. Meat factory on the north end. I want our omega back now . Her heat’s gotta be close—maybe a day, maybe hours . If Earl thinks he can use that to bind her to him?—”

Acid’s already halfway to his room. Arrow’s right behind him.

No one speaks.

We just move.

I head to my room and grab what I need—my Glock and an extra blade. We meet beside our bikes. The engines roar, echoing off the cement walls of the clubhouse. My heart’s pounding like a college drumline.

She traded herself for her kid and my sister.

That’s the kind of omega she is.

Ours.

And I’ll fucking burn this city down to get her back.

brYDGETT

I open my eyes when the door creaks again.

Earl.

Shit.

I didn’t mean to doze off. But I’m hanging by my arms, and exhaustion won the fight. My shoulders are on fire: screaming, stretched, burning like a motherfucker. I thought he’d be back sooner. I waited, ready, holding still like a coiled spring. Ended up passing out like a damn rookie.

So either Tina didn’t tell him what I did—or he doesn’t care.

He strolls in, all smug swagger and empty menace. His boots scrape against the concrete floor, slow and heavy, and he’s got that stupid satisfied look on his face. He touches my face. His fingers are soft, pretending tenderness where there is none.

"Such a pretty little omega," he murmurs, like we’re sharing a moment.

I spit in his face.

The slap comes fast. It snaps my head to the side. Heat flashes under my skin, pain sharp on my face, but I’ve had worse. I’ve done worse.

He wipes his cheek slowly, and I see the shift in his eyes. Rage. Embarrassment.

My pulse spikes, but I lock it down. No panic. Not now.

I smile. Just a little. Just enough to piss him off. “You hit like a bitch,” I rasp. “Almost as pathetic as you fuck.”

That gets him.

He grabs my hips to steady me, and I don’t give him the chance to think.

I wrap my legs around his middle and then use that grip to twist hard, throwing my weight sideways.

He stumbles, trying to stay upright, but I plant my feet on his chest and kick off with everything I’ve got.

The force knocks him backward; he crashes to the floor, cursing as he lands hard on his back.

Perfect.

For half a second, I think I’ve bought time. But then he’s snarling, grabbing at the waistband of his pants.

“I’ll show you pathetic,” he growls, yanking them down with shaking hands.

He steps back, fumbling with his zipper. The sound slices through the silence. His gaze is wild. Fixed. He starts toward me.

I thrash, twisting, trying to get some leverage, but my hands are still chained above my head.

I had a plan. Had a damn bobby pin in my mouth, pulled from Tina’s hair while she gloated.

I was going to use it. Pick the lock. Get free.

But then I passed out and dropped it somewhere and now I’m fucked . Hopefully not literally.

No. No fucking way.

I scream. Kick. Fight. I won’t let it happen again. Not ever again.

And then?—

BANG.

One deafening gunshot. Earl’s eyes go wide and he drops. Just crumples to the floor, body slack and useless.

My breath freezes in my chest. My alphas. My heart leaps.

But it’s not Gears. Not Arrow. Not Acid.

It’s Marcus.

He’s standing in the doorway, still holding the smoking gun looking like a vigilante. His eyes sweep over me, and I see the guilt hit him like a truck.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand, breathless.

He doesn’t say anything. Just rushes over and drags some old crate under me.

It’s wobbly but solid enough that I can get my feet on it, and holy shit— relief .

My legs shake and I gasp when the weight finally shifts off my arms. The blood rushes back into my hands and shoulders so fast it feels like I’m being stabbed with a thousand needles.

Marcus bends over Earl’s body, yanks the key from his belt, and starts undoing the chains. The second I’m free, I stumble, but he catches me. It feels weird to be upright. To not be chained. My body is drained. Aching. Raw. But I’m me again.

I wrap my arms around Marcus. Not because I’m falling apart or need saving—but because he came. Because I trust him. He’s my friend. And right now, that means more than I can explain. I press my face into his shoulder for just a second. Just to breathe. Just to feel safe .

The door slams open.

It’s Tina. Screaming her head off, waving a knife like she’s in some slasher movie. Her eyes are wild, mouth foaming, hair stuck to her face like she’s been running through Hell to get here, and maybe she has. Wouldn’t surprise me.

Marcus turns, but he’s too slow.

I shove away from him and throw myself at her, grabbing her wrist as the blade swings toward his neck. We slam into each other hard, our bodies tangled, fighting, both of us slipping and tripping and clawing like animals. The knife flashes between us, too close, too fast.

“Get off me!” she screeches, spit flying, her face twisted.

She’s stronger than I thought. All frantic and twitchy and pissed off. I feel the blade slice across my abdomen, slicing my shirt open but not catching my skin, but still I don’t stop. I won’t stop.

And then she moves wrong. She jerks forward instead of back, tries to twist out of my grip, and she messes it up badly.

She lunges right into the knife. All her own momentum.

It slides in deep. Right under her ribs.

Her eyes go huge. Her mouth falls open. She gasps once.

Then again. Blood spills out of her mouth, running down her chin, and she just sort of sags.

“You were supposed to love me,” I say, and my voice comes out weird. “Protect me.”

She drops to her knees, hands still kind of reaching for me. Then she falls all the way back and goes still.

Gone.

I stare at her for a second. Just long enough to feel nothing. Then I pull the knife out of her chest. My hands shake, but only a little.

“You should’ve stayed gone,” I whisper, stepping over her body.

Because I don’t have time to fall apart right now.

I need my alphas. And I don’t know why the hell they haven’t come for me yet.