Chase had thought the same, that playing along with the ten secrets had been Lucky getting closer.Knowing Lucky hadn’t done any of that with an agenda was refreshing, but Chase was starting to realise that he’d opened up to someone who might not actually be available.He hadn’t even realised he wanted Lucky tobeavailable.“I fucked up.”
“How?”
“The bond sparked.”
Grant choked on a peanut and spat it into his hand.
He smiled, not surprised his best friend was shocked.“In the library.Just before you arrived, Lucky kissed me.I felt like I’d been hit by lightning.”It had almost hurt as much, but Chase wouldn’t admit that.The pain could have been the bond ricocheting off Lucky’s disinterest.
Grant put the peanut packet aside.“Now what?”
“I kind of suspected before that, so I invited him here to make sure my hunch was right and give us time alone outside of campus, but?” Chase groaned and sat back, hating himself for being presumptuous.“I filed the bond.Do you think he found out and that’s why he’s not here?”He trusted Grant to tell the truth, but he just looked confused.
“I hope not.”
* * * *
Ford
He stared at the gun, heart racing.
Scout crossed to his side, watching the gun as if it would explode.“The gun jammed.”
He’d had to use every ounce of his courage and resolve to do the right thing for Lucky by pulling the trigger, putting him through the agony of knowing what was about to happen, the pain of hearing the alternative.After all that, the fucking gun hadn’t fired.
Ford shot into the corner of the room, the gunshot echoing through the space, as loud as Lucky’s startled yelp.When he started sobbing, the brutal truth sank in—the gun had fired.“Maybe Omha really is watching over you.”
A shrill ringtone filled the room, and Scout fumbled for his back pocket to grab his phone.He read the text and looked at Ford with wide eyes.“That’s the Roach.He’s hacked into the database.He says there’s a listing for Lucky Darro.”
“What?”Talk about leaving things to the last fucking minute.What if that message had come inafterhe’d shot Lucky?
Scout winced and shook his head.“Seems Chase Walker registered a mate bond this afternoon.According to the paperwork, he registered within hours of first sensing the bond.”
What a fucking mess this was turning into.“Let’s go.”
“Go?Where?”
He crossed to the sofa, where Lucky was lying, burying his sobs in the cushion, and lifted the twice-blessed omega into his arms.Ford almost flinched when Scout put a hand on his arm to stop him.When he lifted off his hoodie to lay over Lucky, he nodded his thanks.The mix of scents might disguise the powerful blend of a heat and slick that Lucky was producing as a result of the OX.
“I’m taking him to Chase Walker.Maybe he can stop this becoming a bloodbath.”Because if he didn’t get Lucky to an alpha mate who would handle his heat without leaving the omega with mental and physical scars, Ford might kill everyone in the next room just for putting such a sweet, innocent omega through this shit show.
Scout stepped in front of him to open the door.“I’ll cause a distraction.”He slipped out and shut the door, leaving them alone, which was the last thing Ford wanted.
The omega in his arms felt like a lead weight on Ford’s heart, never mind his biceps.He glanced at his watch while Lucky cried, frustrated that it took Scout nearly seven minutes to come back, hovering in the open doorway.
“It’s unreal out there.I can’t explain it, but…Lincoln’s gone into heat,” he said, though those words didn’t make sense.Alphas couldn’t go into heat—it was physically impossible.“The boys are going ape.They say they can’t scent anything but Lincoln, like, he’s an omega in heat.It’s making them keep their distance, because none of them want to fuck him from sheer desperation.”He laughed, like he could hardly believe their luck.“There’s a clear path to the rear exit.”
Ford looked at Lucky, mind churning with the unlikely events that had brought them this far—the misfiring gun, the distraction, and a clear exit.“Did you sacrifice a couple of alphas to Omha?”
Lucky snorted and leaned into his shoulder.“I wish.I would have started with Lincoln.”
Ford barked a laugh, stunned but delighted by the reply.“Glad you can still think clearly.”He doubted it would be that way for much longer, but Ford could only pray that Omha was taking care of this particular omega tonight, because his ordeal was far from over.
* * * *
Scout stayed behind to take care of the crew, arranging for someone to pick Lincoln up and remove him from the building before things got hairy.With twenty horny alphas, the scent of an omega in heat, and whatever had happened to Lincoln, Scout had a tough night ahead.
Ford had a feeling they’d used up all their luck by escaping that building unscathed, but he prayed it lasted long enough to get them to Chase Walker.“You doing okay back there?”He glanced at Lucky in the rear-view mirror, where he lay on the back seat, clutching his stomach, moaning in pain.
