Lahat ng Kabanata ng AN ALPHA IN HEAT: KNOTTED BY THREE POSSESSIVE ALPHAS: Kabanata 141 - Kabanata 150

I move past the main wreckage, leaving the noise of the popping metal behind me as I head toward the dark shoulder of the mountain pass.The asphalt slowly gives way to soft, wet mud and tall winter grass.If the cartel took Daniel alive, they had to transfer him into a secondary transport vehicle waiting just outside the immediate line of fire.They would not drag him all the way down the highway on foot, because they needed to clear the area before our reinforcements arrived.I walk slowly along the edge of the road, looking for the exact spot where they pulled our hacker out of the crossfire.The wet gravel shifts under my boots as I search for any sign of a struggle.I spot a distinct set of scuff marks cutting through the dirt, leading directly away from the shattered passenger door of the flipped SUV.Daniel did not walk away from this crash on his own.The toes of his shoes dragged through the mud, leaving twin parallel lines in the soft earth.He was either unconscious from th

I stop jogging and crouch down low to the ground, sweeping the barrel of my rifle over the faded yellow lines in the center of the road.Small, dark droplets are splattered across the gray pavement, forming a distinct, dotted line leading straight down the highway.I pull my tactical glove off and press my bare index finger directly against one of the dark spots.The liquid is still warm and incredibly sticky to the touch.It is fresh blood.My mind flashes back to the terrible moment Daniel collapsed on the floor of the estate, clutching his ruined shoulder to shield Beau from harm.The brutal mercenaries must have ripped his fragile stitches open when they dragged him out of the crashed transport vehicle.He is actively bleeding out inside the back of that freezing truck, and every drop on this road means his time is running dangerously short.I wipe the warm blood onto the dark fabric of my pants and stand back up, my jaw locking so tight my teeth actually ache.I start moving fast

I ignore his question and plunge my shaking hand inside the compartment, pulling out a thick manila folder containing our emergency syndicate documents.I flip the folder open on my lap and slide out a stack of blank territory transfer agreements.These are the official underworld contracts used to hand over jurisdiction of our borders to rival factions.If Rossi wants control of our city, I will give him the southern borders to satisfy his greed.I reach back into the lockbox and retrieve my silver fountain pen.It is the same pen my father used to sign the original syndicate treaties, a symbol of royal authority passed down through generations.My fingers are slick with cold sweat, making it incredibly difficult to pull the cap off the smooth metal barrel.I fumble with the object, nearly dropping it onto the floor mat before I manage to get a solid grip."Beau, put the pen down," Rhett rumbles gently, recognizing exactly what I am about to do."I have to fill out the paperwork so I

Dean kills the headlights and the engine cuts to a silent electric idle, allowing us to roll quietly down the cracked pavement toward the coordinates Seth provided.The overwhelming smell of rotting wood and stale copper seeps through the air vents, confirming we are deep inside the forgotten wasteland.The meatpacking district has been abandoned for over a decade, left to rot after the city condemned the old factories.It is a maze of rusted metal and collapsing roofs, making it the perfect place to hide a hostage from the authorities."I am sending the orders to the southern captains this instant," Dean announces, pressing the final button on his encrypted tablet."They will stage the decoy convoy at the edge of the city and push toward the harbor in exactly twenty minutes.""Tell them to make a lot of noise on the open radio frequencies," I advise, wanting to ensure Rossi's surveillance teams intercept the movement."We need the cartel to believe we are truly surrendering, so tell

I stare at the green digital clock glowing on the center console.It reads exactly five in the morning, leaving us just a single hour before dawn breaks over the city.We have one hour before Vincent Rossi realizes my surrender was a lie, and only thirty seconds before my best friend suffocates in a cloud of poison.Dean does not hesitate to shift the transmission into reverse."We cannot leave the truck this close to the breach point," my logical brother murmurs."If the cartel lookouts spot a massive armored vehicle idling near their gates, they will panic and trigger the gas before we even reach the front door."The electric motor whines a soft, high-pitched tune as Dean backs us away from the narrow alleyway.He navigates the dark, winding streets of the forgotten industrial park with practiced ease.We travel about three blocks away from the processing plant before he finally parks behind a towering, ruined brick wall.He kills the engine, plunging the cabin into absolute, suffoc