Chapter Five

She still smelled like alphas and cum, two things she’d never expected to like as much as she did. Despite the wipes Maddox had given her and what she’d read was called a whore’s bath—and didn’t the name seem fitting all of a sudden?—the scent still clung to her.

Emily didn’t mind, at least not much. It gave her a sense of belonging she’d never had before and, judging by the way the alphas would draw in subtle breaths through their noses in her direction, she’d guess they liked it too. It was like a claim they’d placed on her.

The part that bothered her was thinking about it coming to an end.

They hadn’t offered her anything. She hadn’t offered anything, either. What was there to offer? Emily was one of those catches on paper, but one that didn’t live up to the hype in real life. The sorts of alphas who wanted to enter a mating with her were the sort who wanted her power, her position, her money. Those were the same who didn’t want her and sure as hell didn’t want to deal with a bratty omega, as Grant put it.

That had never bothered her before. She’d used her position to manipulate the males around her, enjoying the power there, enjoying the sex and the lust that always fizzled out once they realized she was too challenging.

These alphas knew that better than most, with all the files they had on her, with having spent even this short amount of time alone with her. They’d seen who she was.

She wasn’t worth it, in the end. She knew it. Accepted it.

Or at least she had, until she’d found herself pressed between their hard bodies and yearned for something more. What exactly more was, she had no idea.

Still, the alphas had said nothing, and she wouldn’t be the one to broach the topic. They’d still headed toward the airport. They hadn’t said they wanted to see her again, hadn’t said anything about what would happen once she boarded the plane.

Just because they’d fucked didn’t mean there was a future, something she’d already told herself. If only she hadn’t started to want that future they weren’t offering…

The town was quiet, and the four of them sat inside the small airport. The private plane would arrive within the hour, and her new security detail would be on it.

Her alphas would hand her off like an unruly pet they were only too happy to be rid of.

And Emily? She’d go, because it was easier to pretend it didn’t matter than it was to admit anything. She didn’t need pity. She’d play her part, be the person she always pretended to be. Emily Pitch didn’t need anyone.

“Breathe, Miss Pitch,” Levi said as they sat in the hard airport chairs. Seemed even in a tiny airstrip, they had the same stupid chairs. “You’re almost safe.”

Safe? Like that matters.

She leaned back in the chair, choosing to stare out of the large window, waiting for her plane to arrive rather than look at any of them.

What was the point?

She’d thought one time would get them out of her system, but instead, she suspected it had just buried them deeper, like a splinter she’d never be able to rid herself of.

“Hey, Emily,” Grant said, voice soft. Her name on his lips sounded strange, and she missed when he called her brat. She missed that sweet connection.

Then again, they were sending her off. What did a pet name matter? Maybe its absence was fitting.

“Look at me,” he pressed.

Before she had to gather her nerves and throw out some expected quip—or, worse, maybe actually look at him—an unexpected voice caught her attention.

“Emily!” Walking up was Garret, her last bodyguard and pseudo-boyfriend. He had the same ice-blue eyes she’d stared into, but they didn’t cause any reaction. They didn’t make her stomach flip, didn’t make her skin heat and her body ache. She felt nothing but confusion.

Emily frowned, standing as she watched him, his face familiar and yet different.

Before he could get close, however, Maddox was on his feet, pressing Emily behind him.

She peeked around the man’s massive bulk. “What are you doing here?”

“You father heard about the car accident. He’s been worried sick.”

Guilt ate at her. She’d known she should have contacted him. As much as she enjoyed skirting her father’s rules, she hated to see him truly worried.

Levi was also on his feet, body close, gaze shrewd and suspicious. “Mr. Pitch has been informed by my boss that Miss Pitch is alive and well.”

“Yeah, well, can you blame him for not trusting that since he couldn’t actually talk to her?” Garret cast a withering glare Levi’s way, but the alpha showed no reaction to it. “He wants her home.”

“The car accident is proof she is not safe here, not until he finds the person who is giving out her personal information. She will be best protected far away.”

“That’s bull. He’s had people working with him for years. In fact, isn’t it more likely it was someone in your company? She wasn’t attacked until you came on.”

The jab might have made her worried before, but after her time with Levi? There was no way it was any of the three of them. Even if they were ready to write her off, they did seem to want her safe.

Grant spoke, all the charm he normally used gone, his voice as sharp as any blade. “I handled all arrangements personally. No one outside the three of us on her detail in our company knew where she would be. The information could only have been leaked by someone on Mr. Pitch’s personal staff.” Grant took a step forward, flanking Maddox. “Which also makes me wonder why you are here. Even if Mr. Pitch did want confirmation of his daughter’s safety, he would go through our boss. He wouldn’t send her old bodyguard. Even if he wanted to, how did he know where we are?”

Tension thrummed through Garret despite none showing on his face. Maybe Emily would have missed it if she hadn’t spent so much time with him. “It was an easy guess. This is the only place that makes sense. Private planes and close to the crash. You aren’t as hard to find as you think.”

“So what exactly are you thinking will happen here?”

Garret nodded toward Emily. “Her father knew she’d trust me. I was her guard for six months, so he figured I was a better bet than someone she didn’t know.”

Emily couldn’t find a fault in his words, yet they made her want to press closer to Maddox’s back.

Maybe it was how hard Garret pushed.

Garret hadn’t been a great man, but he’d never pushed her much. If anything, he’d let her get away with a hell of a lot. He’d allow her to go out when she begged, hadn’t restricted her movements. Was this just guilt, maybe? It wasn’t that he missed their relationship, she was sure of that.

He’d never reacted the way Maddox did, the way Levi or Grant did. He’d had sex with her, but it had seemed as passionate as a physical now that she’d tasted something else. Just two people getting off while in the same room, really. There had been no connection, nothing personal. He’d tried to contact her afterward, but she’d ignored his attempts. What had been the point? Things clearly weren’t going anywhere.

“Dad said you were let go,” Emily said. “That because my security was being taken over by a new company, you weren’t going to be employed anymore.”

“That’s right. When he called and said you were missing, though, I wasn’t going to just sit on the sidelines. Come on, Emily, let’s go to your dad. He’s worried about you.” Garret took a step closer.

Emily pressed past Maddox, the reminder of her father hitting home. She hated the idea of her dad worrying. He always worried, often too much, but he did it because he had a good heart.

Levi pulled his phone out, fingers moving on the keypad without taking his gaze off Garret. A quiet ringing sounded as he lifted the phone to his ear.

“Mr. Pitch.” He went silent, and Emily could hear her father’s demands without needing to actually hear his voice.

“Yes, I understand. Your daughter’s safety is the most important thing to me.” Levi’s words came out with such gravity it made Emily’s heart drop. He…meant them. Totally.

But then again, that is his job, isn’t it? Of course he means them. I’m a job.

“You can berate me later, if you wish, but I did what was right. I cannot explain to you enough how much I disagree with having Emily returned to you at this time. It isn’t safe until the leak is found and dealt with.” He paused, his brows furrowing. “Her former bodyguard is here at the airport—”

The sudden tension that shot through Levi as he dropped his phone had Emily tearing her gaze back to Garret, who held a pistol pointed directly at her.

“Come on, Emily.” Garret’s voice came out hard, and yet she couldn’t say unfamiliar. Maybe there had always been that dark current below the surface, a part of him he had kept hidden. A part she’d refused to see?

“You’re not taking her anywhere,” Grant swore.

“Why are you doing this?” Emily fought not to let anything show in her voice, to hide the hurt deep down. Sure, he hadn’t loved her, that was always the deal, but had she really meant so little to him?

“This was always the plan. You’re worth a bundle to a lot of people. Your father would pay anything to get you back, but despite the fact you never listen, you turned out to be hard to actually get alone, at least without implicating me.”

“So everything you said was a lie?” She spat the question at him, as if she could hurt him with it when it only hurt her. Worse, her words made her sound like a jilted lover.

“You were a job, Emily, just like you’ve been to everyone else in your life. And, even though you were an okay fuck, you were still a pretty shitty job.”

She tried to ignore the places where the words cut, unwilling to let him have another moment of her energy. “You won’t get away with this now. Everyone knows.”

“You being out of the country and under a new security force would make it impossible to grab you there. This is the last chance, so the people paying me offered a better deal. I’ll take the money I’m paid and fall off the map, live happily wherever I want. And if you’re a good little omega? Your daddy will pay what he has to, and you can go back to your life of being a problem to everyone else.”

Maddox’s lip lifted, a snarl leaving him. The sound was terrifying, like a beast living under the skin of a man large enough to be a serious problem. Funny that she had grown so comfortable around him she’d forgotten how terrifying he could seem. He’d turned gentle in her mind, but his snarl reminded her.

Garret’s face paled, but he didn’t move, didn’t give away his fear in any other way. “We don’t have to do this. Hand her over and I’ll cut you in. She isn’t worth anyone getting killed over, so why don’t we do it the easy way? Isn’t getting rich better?”

I’m not worth that to anyone. The thought scraped against her already frayed ego. She’d spent so long hiding behind her name, behind being Miss Pitch so she didn’t have to think about the fact that no one, save for her father, really cared about her.

“How do we know you’ll keep your word? You could just take her and cut us out entirely. You haven’t done anything to warrant much trust,” Grant said.

Garret shrugged. “Come with us. I’m handing her off and getting the cash immediately. Better to get her out of our hair as quickly as possible and get the hell out of town.”

The ground crumbled beneath Emily at their conversation. She couldn’t breathe, even as she tried desperately not to show any of it, tried to keep her exterior intact. Was she really just a problem to everyone? She’d worked hard to be that, but then again, she’d done it for attention. She’d been happier being noticed, even if it was for bad things, than to be forgotten and shoved into some pre-made box for her future.

Levi took her arm and pulled her forward. “Hell, this job was only going to pay a thousand, and I’m a little tired of doing other people’s dirty work.”

“What?” Emily didn’t bother to pull at his grip, willing herself to go along because, well, what was the point of fighting?

Garrett had betrayed her. The alphas she’d fallen for had betrayed her. Everyone was so quick to give her up. The only people who looked out for her did it because of what she was, not who, not her.

Garret laughed and nodded. “Look at that, she’s so shocked. What, princess, didn’t think anyone would dare turn against you? Thought Daddy’s name and money would always be there? I’m going to bet your dad will pay the ransom, because he’ll get a hell of a lot more money from selling you off to some alpha as a mate, but if he doesn’t? I can’t say I’m not looking forward to seeing how they decide to take you down a few pegs. Who wouldn’t love to own a rich, spoiled omega like you?” His voice held so much twisted lust she was worried she’d throw up.

To think those boring times they’d had sex, he’d really thought like this? It made sense, though. He didn’t want her when she wanted him. He didn’t want a partner. No, he wanted her humiliated. He wanted her brought low.

Emily lifted her chin.

She was Emily Pitch, damn it. It didn’t matter who her father was. It didn’t matter what her family line was or how many zeros were on her bank account.

Maybe the alphas didn’t want her. Maybe no one thought anything of her. Fuck them.

She wouldn’t let trash like him bring her down, no matter what he did. Everyone else could write her off. They could think anything they wanted about her, but it didn’t change who she was.

Garret’s eyes narrowed, and he reached forward and grasped her chin in a tight grip that would mar her light skin. “You always thought you were too good for me.”

“I am too good for you. Gum on the bottom of my shoe is too good for you.”

He tucked the gun into the holster at his waist. His hand lifted, a vicious smirk on his lips. “We’ll see if you keep feeling that way. I mean, maybe having his goods a little roughed up will help make the point to your father.” She didn’t flinch. It wasn’t like she didn’t know he’d strike her, that he’d lifted his hand to slap her across the face, to humiliate her and scare her.

Fuck him. If I’m going down, I sure as hell am not giving him a moment of satisfaction.

The hit didn’t come. Everything moved, instead.

She was shoved backward, knocked down with a body over her, the weight crushing. A shout, a grunt, a pained scream.

“It’s okay, Em,” assured Maddox, his frame covering her body, his rough voice soft against her ear.

It seemed like an hour, but could have only been a minute later before Levi’s voice called out, “Clear.”

Maddox rose, quicker than seemed possible with his size, and helped Emily to her feet. She found Grant with the gun Garret had held, and Garret cradling an arm to his chest that was bent in a way arms should not bend.

Levi turned a hard look on her, his gaze moving from head to toe. Not entirely detached, but too clinical for what she wanted. He didn’t stare at her like he had in the woods, but rather like he would at property, to assess damage.

The adrenaline that had swamped her from the moment she’d met them seemed to dissolve as she realized the threat was over. They’d found the man who had attempted to kidnap her, and the alphas had, in the end, saved her.

It meant she didn’t have to leave. She didn’t have to run away. She could return to her life.

To the life that she realized wasn’t nearly enough anymore.