Page 95 of My Unhinged Alphas
Actually him. Not my imagination. Not a stranger with the same name. Knox, standing on the other side of the counter like he belongs there, dark eyes on me, expression unreadable.
For a second I can’t breathe.
“Lena?” Jess is at my side first.
Then Mara, already rounding the counter. “What happened?”
I take a step back, but my legs feel wrong, weak and buzzing at the same time. “I—” My voice catches.
Jess follows my line of sight to the man at the counter and then back to me. Her face changes immediately. “Do you know him?”
Knox doesn’t say anything. That somehow makes it worse.
Mara looks between us, alarm rising fast now. “Lena?”
I swallow, but my throat feels dry. “I’m fine.” It comes out thin and unconvincing.
“No, you’re not,” Jess says.
People are staring. Another customer shifts awkwardly in line. The whole café feels too bright all of a sudden, too public and exposed, and Knox is still just standing there, not moving, not helping, his very presence dragging last night right back over my skin.
Mara’s hand lands on my arm. “Who is that?”
I don’t answer. Because I don’t know what answer to give.
Because if I say his name out loud like it means something, then all of this becomes more real than I’ve been letting myself believe.
Knox finally speaks. “Can we talk?”
That’s it.
Quiet. Controlled. Like he isn’t the reason my pulse is going wild because hearing his name felt like being dropped back into the worst part of the night.
Jess steps slightly in front of me before I can react. “She’s working.”
Knox looks at her, then at Mara, then back at me. “I won’t take long,” he says.
Mara’s voice goes hard. “She said she’s working.”
I realize then that I’m gripping the edge of the counter so hard my fingers ache. I drag in a breath that doesn’t help much and stare at him, trying to understand why he came instead of Havoc, and why that somehow feels even more dangerous.
“I need a minute,” I say, though I’m not sure who I’m saying it to.
Jess turns to me at once. “Lena, you don’t have to?—”
“I know.” My eyes never leave Knox. “I know,” I say again, quieter this time.
Jess is still half in front of me, protective and tense, and Mara looks about two seconds away from throwing Knox out herself. It would almost be sweet if it weren’t making this harder.
I don’t know why he’s here. I don’t know what he wants. But I do know that if I start acting too weird, too scared, too obviously connected to him, Mara and Jess are going to know this is bigger than some bad date story. And once they know that, they’ll push. I can’t have that.
“I’m fine,” I say, steadier this time.
Jess turns to me. “Lena?—”
“It’s okay.” I force a tiny, false smile. “I know him.”
That’s the wrong thing to say, judging by the look on both their faces, but it’s too late to take it back.
