Page 272 of Knot What I Expected

Nothing.

“ETHAN!”

Dial tone.

Every fear I have ever carried comes roaring back at once.

Matteo screaming as a newborn. Running with nothing but a diaper bag.

Ethan’s chains.

Nando’s demands for money.

The Wake.

The threats.

Years spent looking over my shoulder.

All of it.

And this time, my worst nightmare has finally happened. He has my baby.

The phone slips from my hand and clatters against the counter.

I can’t breathe.

“Oh God,” I gasp.

I can’t fucking breathe. My lungs are working, but no air is getting inside them. I grab the counter.

Move.

I have to move.

Western trail.

Alone.

I need my keys.

I need⁠—

“Gabby?”

I don’t hear him come in. Don’t feel the matebond screaming his arrival.

Nothing registers until a huge body vaults over the counter. Then my knees give out. But Rowan catches me before I hit the floor.

Good mate.

“Gabriella!”

His arms lock around me.

Home.

For one insane second, instinct tells me to push him away.