“They dismantled the alarm somehow,” Theo said, looking stricken. “We should have gone into hiding. I’m so fucking sorry.”
I wrapped my arms around both of them the best I could and held them tight.
“Please don’t apologize,” I whispered. “It’s not your fault.”
Both of them started to speak, so I cut them off. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to see you again,” I said, closing my eyes and swallowing past the lump in my throat. “I don’t want our time to be shadowed by the what-ifs. I love you more than anything. All I wanted was to get back to you, and I did it. I rescued you.”
Ben’s hands tightened on my hips. “You did so good, precious. So, so good.”
My tears came faster as I lapped up his praise.
“I’ll never stop being sorry for being separated from you. Never again,” Theo said.
I nodded into his chest.
“I should tell you off for risking yourself like this,” he added with a watery chuckle. “But I’ll let Cam scold you when he wakes up.”
I wiped my tears. God, being scolded by Cam would be a dream come true.
“Where are we?” Ben asked, looking around.
“West of town. There’s a safe house down that path,” I said, gesturing at the marked tree. “Amirah said it was about a two-mile walk.”
“Amirah? What happened after they arrested us?” Theo asked, his voice sharp.
I bit my lip, hesitating. I didn’t want to get into everything that happened while we were in the middle of the woods. My omega urged me to get my guys to safety so we could bond them. And fuck them. At least she was consistent with what she wanted.
“I’ll tell you when we get to the safe house,” I hedged.
“No, you’ll tell us now,” Ben said, startling me with his commanding tone.
“Umm… I just…” I looked around, feeling exposed in this clearing. I knew Charlie was currently wreaking havoc on all the courthouse systems, preventing them from tracking us, but our position still didn’t feel secure enough.
“I promise I’ll tell you everything once we’re safe.”
They looked like they were going to argue with me.
“I need to see Cam,” I added with a whine.
“This is not over,” Theo said, gripping my chin.
I nodded, leaning in to steal a quick kiss from each of them before standing up. Ben reluctantly released his hold on me. I watched him carefully as he stood, making sure he wasn’t injured.
“Come on, beautiful,” he said, leading me over to the van and giving me a boost into the back. His hands might have lingered a bit longer than they needed to on my ass, and I might have wiggled back into his hold. That part of me that wanted, thatdesired, felt like it had woken up again.
It took a moment to adjust to the dim light in the van, but my eyes were immediately drawn to Cam’s prone form. I crawled on top of him with a sob, unlocking his handcuffs before wrapping myself around him and burying my face in his neck. I breathed in deep lungfuls of his scent. The only thing that kept me from panicking was feeling his chest rise and fall steadily beneath me.
He shifted slightly and groaned.
“Cam?” I cupped his face with my hands.
“Baby girl?” he croaked.
Relief rushed through me at the sound of his voice, the feeling so sharp it took my breath away. Cam’s eyes blinked open and his expression was one of pure shock. His hands gripped my hips tightly and he pressed his face to my skin, scenting me as I had him.
“Am I dreaming?” he whispered.
“No,” I said, wiping away the tears on his face.
