AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I kick something with my shoe, and I can’t stop myself from shifting my dress out of the way. What the hell? It’s a phone. Ezra’s phone.
Now I realize why I didn’t see him.
The part of me that wanted to break heals with the hope flooding through me.
This isn’t over.
No one has won.
29
Ezra
Promise
“Ididit.Ifucking did it,” I say to myself, peering from the bushes.
The horn honks twice as the two SUVs barrel away. Fury edges my vision in shadows. I can’t believe those monsters took her. Scarlett’s screams etch into my brain. I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of them from my mind. It took all my willpower not to put up a fight. I know I could’ve taken down one guy, but the others would’ve sent me down with him. I’m no match for a bullet. My love for Scarlett can’t defeat a gunman no matter how much I will it to be true.
I’m just a man and an alpha. I’m not invincible.
My heart hammers, my nerves shot. The second the smoke bomb went off, I knew shit was going down. I took advantage of the smoke and ran, breaking open the window behind the altar. The driver was too busy keeping an eye on the door of the chapel that he missed me tossing my phone through the open back window.
“Come on, Scarlett. Find it. Find my phone.” I wait until the two SUVs vanish, burning rubber at the signal from the parking lot. I don’t know if my plan will work, but I had to try something. If anything, we can track my phone.
“You guys! Scarlett’s calling from Ezra’s phone.” Dominic’s voice rings through the air. “Where is he? Do you think—”
“Over here,” I call, shaking the dirt from my trousers.
“Shit, Ez. Are you okay? How did Scarlett get your—”
A scream rips from Dominic’s phone, Scarlett’s voice stabbing me through the heart. She sounds more pissed than scared. It’s the only thing keeping me from losing my shit.
“Fuck! Fuck! They’re torturing her!” Adrian hollers, rushing to grab the phone from Dominic.
“You fucking assholes! I’ll destroy you! I’ll cut your balls off! You can’t do this. I don’t belong to Pack Steele anymore. I’m married.” Scarlett’s screams turn into a slew of swearwords, competing with something I’ve only ever heard from Leo. “Turn this piece of shit vehicle around. Do it or I’ll kick your asses! You’re weak little bastards who hide behind weapons. You let an omega push you around and tell you what to do. If I couldn’t smell the damn stink of your order, I’d think you were betas. Fuck, maybe even omegas. You—”
A man hollers, his voice turning a pitch I didn’t think possible. “Goddamn it, Rip! She kicked my dick.”
“Scarlett, don’t fight! Please, you have to stop. They’ll hurt you.” Adrian snatches the phone from Dominic, yelling into the mic.
“Adrian, no!” Panic shocks me, and I dart my hand out, yanking it from Adrian. I spot the mute on, thankful that Dominic thought to do so. If these men discover that I managed to sneak my phone to Scarlett, they’ll take it away.
“I’ll fucking do it again! None of you will ever get to breed. You assholes!” Scarlett’s voice hums through the speaker, her anger nearly palpable.
Adrian growls, preparing to fight me for the phone. “She needs our help. We have to tell her what to do. They’ll hurt her! They’ll only put up with so much.”
Jonah flings his arms around Adrian, pulling him back, breaking his focus on me. “Calm down, Adrian. They won’t hurt Scarlett. It sounded like those guys worked for Pack Steele. She knew them.”
“Then we need to hunt them down. They can’t be far.” Adrian loses control of his sensibility. He’s thinking with his alpha instincts and not his mind. If I didn’t worry about losing contact with Scarlett or jeopardizing our chances of getting to her, I’d join him on the manhunt.
“Take a breath. You’re supposed to be our leader, not the one to throw together impossible plans with grim outcomes. That’s Leo’s job, especially after he faked getting hit to ensure they didn’t shoot at him again.” Dominic helps Leo to his feet, patting him on the back. “Which I’m thankful for. If we go after them now, they won’t hesitate to kill us. We can’t do that to Scarlett. Those bastards took advantage of the element of surprise. We can do the same. We’ll make the appropriate phone calls and plan from there. They killed Dean Clearwater, and I’m sure Pack Clearwater will not tolerate it. They will help us.”
“He’s right, Adrian. I know it’s tough not to act, but Scarlett needs us alive.” I scrub my fingers through my dark, curly hair, trying my best to remain calm as I face my leader. I should fall in line, but Adrian’s never been the type to use hierarchy against us. “I feel your need too. All I want to do is jump in the car and chase after her, but there’s no way we can fight a bunch of armed criminals right now.” Dealing with rowdy students is one thing, but an armed psychopath? It’s out of my damn repertoire. We need a plan. We need to ensure our safety as well as Scarlett’s. She could get hurt in the crossfire.
“Don’t underestimate us! We can handle them. We have to!” Adrian hollers, punching his fist into the stained-glass door of the chapel, shattering it to pieces. Blood coats his hand from the cuts, and I pull out my handkerchief and stanch the bleeding, forcing him to stay still by tightening my hand around his.
“We will, but not like this. They messed up. We signed the marriage certificates before the ceremony. We’re legally married to her. They can’t keep her. Everything is in order, and our certificate has been backdated to prove that we have been serious, and Scarlett’s mother’s accusations are unfounded.” Dominic dusts his suit jacket off. “Now, get yourself together. We need to focus. We need to get Sandy and Harold out of here. They’re witnesses to this all.”
