“You’ve made me look stupid and weak for the last time,” Robert swore, giving Bianca another vigorous shake. “You’re going to regret ever crossing me. I can promise you that.”
Bianca opened her mouth to retort but then she looked at Callum and her face crumpled. “Fine! You have me. Let him go. He has nothing to do with this. Frank, stop it! He can’t breathe!”
To Callum’s immense relief, the arm around his neck loosened just enough for him to pull in a sharp breath. He sagged against the man she’d called Frank, hating the contact but needing the support. He felt lightheaded and unsteady, not to mention furious with himself for charging in like an idiot and putting Bianca in more danger.
“Now why would we do a thing like that?” Frank laughed, the sound cruel and humorless. “Our luck just doubled. It’s an omega BOGO.”
Callum shivered, his instincts moving faster than his muddled brain. The situation was much worse than he’d anticipated. This wasn’t just a matter of jealous exes. There was something sinister happening here.
“I knew you’d make up for all the trouble you caused us, Binks,” Robert declared, seemingly regaining his composure. “See, if we’d known back then how much you were really worth, we never would’ve fallen for your fathers’ bullshit. But you’re going to make it all better.You’re still rightfully ours and we’re going to get what we’re owed. We have a buyer lined up who’s paying enough to fund our next startup and allow us to put away a nice nest egg for a rainy day. We’ll be back in business in no time.”
“Fuck the business!” Frank countered, laughing his mirthless laugh again. “With a second omega of this caliber, we’ll never have to work again. Text the buyer. Tell him the price has gone up.”
A sharp crack reverberated through the garage and suddenly Callum could breathe deeply. He dropped to his knees on the concrete, clutching his throat and gasping for air. Even through the haze of noise and confusion, he found Bianca’s titanium eyes. They were fixed coldly on a point above his head. Beside her, Robert was backing slowly away, his hands raised in surrender.
“One wrong move and the next shot will split your fucking skull.” Bianca’s voice was clear and strong, cutting through the silence that followed the explosion.
For a moment Callum couldn’t figure out what had happened. He glanced over his shoulder to find Frank swaying on his feet, groaning and clutching the side of his head. His hands were covered in blood.
Dante emerged from the shadows, gun raised and eyes darker than Callum had ever seen them. He approached slowly, scanning the area before closing the space between them. He kept his weapon trained on Frank as he extended a hand to Callum.
“You okay, Spider?” he asked, his eyes softening.
Callum took Dante’s hand and started to stand. Then, thinking better of it, he paused on one knee, pulling away from Dante and turning back to Frank, who was still staggering and clutching his head. Callum punched him in the balls as hard as he could, pleased when the assholecrumpled to the ground. Satisfied for the moment, Callum let Dante pull him to his feet.
“Hands where I can see them motherfuckers,” Dante commanded, gun still leveled at Frank, even as he jerked his chin at Robert too. “If you’re packing, toss that shit on the ground nice and easy.”
“Not…armed,” Frank wheezed, still clutching his balls.
King had appeared beside Bianca and if Callum hadn’t known him, he’d have pissed himself with fear. King’s face was a blank mask but the fury radiating off him was palpable. He fixed his attention on Robert, who froze, going deathly pale. The prick looked small and inconsequential in the shadow of a real alpha.
Slowly, Robert reached into his jacket and pulled out a handgun. Callum felt suddenly cold all over. He watched the man shakily lay the weapon on the ground, before kicking it away toward King. Then he straightened again and held his hands high in the air.
King put a hand on the small of Bianca’s back and Callum saw her shoulders loosen. Her rage was nearly as frightening as King’s, but Callum could see the torrent of emotions simmering beneath the surface. He was impressed by how well she was holding it all together.
“Are you hurt?” King asked her, his eyes never leaving Robert, who still held his hands up, frantically searching for an escape.
“No. I’m pissed,” Bianca snapped, and Callum almost laughed.
“Trouble?” King called.
Callum cleared his throat to reply, but his voice didn’t come out as clearly as he intended. It was more of a whisper-croak. Dante brushed his fingers over Callum’s neck, making him wince. His throat was sore and his skin tender to the touch. The alpha’s black eyes hardened again.
“He’s okay,” Dante answered in a gruff voice that belied his words. “Bruised though.”
King growled and Robert retreated another step. Frank whimpered, still holding his bleeding head, eyes locked on the gun Dante had pointed at him. Callum could see that there was a nasty gash on Frank’s cheek and that his left ear was a grotesque mess. If the bullet had been an inch or two to the right, the son of a bitch would be dead. Callum was certain Frankwouldbe dead if Dante had wanted him to be.
In a move so fast Callum barely registered it, King advanced on Robert. He shook out his huge arms as he lifted his fists with the perfect form of a professional boxer, before throwing two punches in quick succession. The cracks that echoed when his fists collided with Robert’s face were almost as loud as the gunshot had been. Robert staggered backward, nearly falling, but Daniel was suddenly there to catch him.
“It’s way too soon for you to lose consciousness, friend,” Daniel snarled, shoving Robert upright. For once, the big alpha wasn’t smiling. “We ain’t even got started yet.”
Callum gasped as Robert reached into his pocket and something metallic flashed in his hand. Before he could cry out, Daniel shoved Robert sideways, laughing as the other man slashed at him while trying to regain his balance.
“You don’t want to do that, dipshit,” Daniel warned, his smile more menacing than amused. “It ain’t gonna go well for you.”
Robert lunged clumsily, the knife clutched in his fist missing Daniel by several inches as he calmly sidestepped the attack. Callum gasped. He heard Dante sigh.
“Stop playing with your food, Van. You’re scaring Spider.” Dante sighed again. “Make sure fuckface isn’t hiding any more surprises.”
