I contemplated texting Findlay to ask him to meet me somewhere, but I decided to go to The Association to lure him out in case the faction could intercept his messages.After Amy agreed to help me, I picked her up at the manor, and we drove to The Association Complex and parked in a lot near the front of the main entrance.At the door, I saw Rodney Wells, the head of the complex security, speaking with another security guard.“Just go with whatever I say,” I told Amy. “Although this guy gives me bad vibes, I’m going to ask him for help. I don’t want to seem like I suspect anything.”“Don’t worry,” Amy said. “I’ll follow your lead.”I took a deep breath, and we walked over to the security guards.“Hi,” I said with a faux giggle. “Rodney, right?”He tapped his name tag.“Oh, yeah.” I giggled again. “I was hoping you could help us. I need to talk to Victor’s personal assistant, Findlay, without Victor knowing about it.”Rodney’s eyes narrowed. “Why?” The suspicious vibes he was giving of
Findlay tried to call his husband again with the same result. “Daisy, we need to go back right away.”“Amy, I don’t think you should go with us,” I said. “I don’t know what’s going on at The Association, and it might be safer for you to stay here.”“Sure. I’ll visit with Dad and have Justin pick me up.” Amy jumped out of the car. “Hey, Why don’t you take Dad’s pickup back to The Association? It might be better if the faction doesn't see you coming.”“What do you think?” I asked Findlay.Findlay nodded. “If the faction knows I am a spy, it would help if they didn’t know I was returning for Tony.”“The keys are under the floor mat,” Amy said. “Good luck, Findlay. I hope Tony is okay.”“Thanks, Amy,” Findlay replied as he jumped into the passenger seat of Elliot Gray’s old pickup. He was shaking with fear for his mate. “Please hurry, Daisy.”The truck started easily, and the controls were similar to my car. And it was kind of fun to be behind the wheel of something so high from the groun
The passages were silent, and they seemed much more familiar to me than they had before.Leading Findlay through the shorter tunnels and then down the longest passage, I quickly found the stone wolf that opened the door to the bathroom.I pressed the wolf’s nose, and the stone wall between the ivory columns moved inward.“It’s a good thing you know about this way inside the complex,” Findlay whispered. “I’m grateful, Daisy.”Doing something to help Tony was making Findlay feel much calmer. I was glad. It would take cool heads to survive this situation, especially if it was as bad as I thought.“Let’s find those weapons,” I said. “We may need them.”I was frightened and didn’t like the thought of handling a gun, but I was determined to help Victor and Alex in any way necessary.We went out the bathroom door into the hallway, and Findlay looked around.“I never used this bathroom, but I know where we are,” he said. “It’s not far from my office.”It was my turn to follow him. The halls o
“No, Daisy.” Victor shook his head. “You can go back to the passages, even for Cassidy. It’s too dangerous.”I pulled away from him. “I’ve been in the passages twice this morning. I just came from there, and I’m in one piece. I’ll be fine.”“Listen to him, Daisy. I can’t lose you either,” Alex said. But his face was contorted in agony. He loved Cassidy. She was his second chance for happiness in life.I couldn’t let him lose her like he lost my mother.I kissed Victor and backed away. “I’ll be back soon.”“Daisy, no!” Victor and Alex shouted.“Don’t worry.” I tucked the gun into my waistband. “I’ll be fine.”“I can’t ask you to risk your life to save Cassidy’s,” Alex said. “I’ve only had you back in my life for a year. I don’t want to lose you either.”“You didn’t ask me to do anything. Stop worrying. I’ll be back,” I insisted and hugged Alex.After giving Victor a last loving look, I left the room and made my way through the complex’s empty halls to the bathroom.I checked the bathro
The door to the outside opened. Cassidy and I picked up the bomb and ran out to the parking lot.“We need to get it away from the building,” Cassidy said.There was a field beyond the parking lot, but we’d never be able to run there in time and then get far enough away before it exploded to not get killed.I spotted Elliot Gray’s truck parked a few feet away and realized the parking lot tilted toward the field. It gave me an idea.I opened the driver’s door. “Help me put it on the seat,” I told Cassidy.She didn’t argue. We had fifteen seconds until the red light came on. Ten seconds after that, the bomb would explode.After the box was on the driver's seat, I stepped on the brake and put the transmission in neutral before closing the door.Then Cassidy and I pushed the already rolling truck to get it moving faster and rushed back inside the passageway door.We were about fifteen feet inside the passage when the sound of the explosion tore through the air.When it was over, we ran bac
Instead of hiding in the bathroom and crying, I changed into shorts and a t-shirt so I could go into the home gym to take out my anger and frustration on the heavy punching bag.Kickboxing had become a hobby that I enjoyed. I attended classes at Jayden’s gym at least three times a week. The instructor told me I had a natural talent for it.Avoiding Victor, I went through the living room to get to the short hallway that led to Victor’s den and gym.I flipped on the lights and gazed at my reflection in the mirrors lining the walls. The sour expression on my face made me cringe.I began practicing leg work on the heavy bag, remembering the romantic dinner Victor had ready for me when I woke up.I kicked the bag harder, wondering if I had been unreasonable.He didn’t want me to quit college to work full-time with Shane. After the experience with Chloe, I understood how jealousy can make you think irrationally. But I’ve never done anything to give Victor a reason not to trust me.“You had
Victor was gone when I woke up the next morning. I was tempted to call him, but I knew he was probably busy after yesterday’s events at The Association. Plus, I had classes to attend. I couldn’t afford to miss more of them.After sending Victor a heart and a flaming kiss emoji, I climbed from the bed to prepare for my day. I showered and dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers before putting my hair in a braid and applying light makeup.With a cup of coffee in a travel mug, I went downstairs to my car and started the drive to the university.I parked in the student lot and walked to the coffee shop to meet an Alpha Sophomore named Mia Johnson. She was a business major, studying to take over her family’s convenience store chain.Like me, Mia had a Beta best friend who had been denied admission to all the better Universities, including Frampton U.Mia wanted to arrange a meeting between me and her friend. She was angry because her friend couldn’t attend classes with her even though he
While my two attackers were distracted by the taller, more confident Alpha male who had come to my rescue, I rolled away from them and got to my feet.Clutching my phone in my hand, I continued to record.“They were threatening me to get me to quit coming to classes here,” I told my rescuer. “When they found out I was recording them, they tried to take my phone.”“Were you threatening my friend? Shane Ross asked. There was an edge to his voice that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.“She’s a Beta-loving troublemaker,” the blonde Alpha replied. “She wants them to go to school with us.”“Yeah,” the brunette chimed in. “Maybe you should pick your friends better. Or are you one of them too?”“I think more highly of Betas than either of you dirtbags,” Shane replied. “Most Betas wouldn’t gang up on a female to bully and attack them.”“You better walk away, pal,” the blond growled. “Or you’re gonna get hurt.”“Sure, I’ll leave.” Shane gave them a chilling smile. “Come on, Daisy.