Page 64 of Petals & Promises

Slowly, Eli released his hold on my shirt and stepped back with his hands held in surrender. Detective Kelsen entered the room and paused, feeling the energy coming off our girl. Unsure if she should leave, the detective looked to us for help. “Ah… is this a bad time?”

“No, it’s perfect timing,” Bailey-Rose answered, shoving up her sleeve past her elbows. “Let’s get this over with before my brother or I end up in a cell.”

Marching out the door, the rest of us scrambled to follow. Two doors down, Vogal waited outside the door and watched as Rosie gave Waffles his marching orders. She looked over her shoulder at Yun and me. “Coming?”

“Bet your ass we are,” I grumbled, stepping into the interrogation room.

Randall was cuffed to the metal bar on the table, and when I glanced at his feet, they were cuffed to the floor. It seems they made an extra effort to ensure Rosie would be safe. Detective Vogal held out a chair for Rosie and then sat beside her, pulling out a notebook. Using his pen, he hit the record button on the microphone attached to the center of the table.

“All right, Randall, I’ve managed to convince Mrs. Thatcher to be here, and now you have to hold up your end of the deal,” Vogal stated. “What was the name of the Omega who rejected you?”

Randall wasn’t paying any attention to what the detective was saying. He had eyes only for Bailey-Rose. I watched as he studied her, and his eyes narrowed when his gaze fell on the bonding mark on her neck.

“You let them mark you?” Randall hissed. “Bumblebee, how could you allow yourself to be defiled like that?”

“I didn’t come here to talk about me. Besides, you’re one to talk. I hear you have another Omega,” Rosie countered. “What happened to me being the only one for you?”

That’s my girl.

“No, Bumblebee, they are lying to you,” Randall gasped, lunging forward. “Don’t believe them. There is no one but you, I promise. That bitch said she loved me, told me we were meant for each other, but she lied. The night we were supposed to bond our pack together, I was handed a letter telling me I was no longer part of their pack. They’d rejected me… me, Bumblebee. So I had to punish her for lying. It’s not good to lie about something so important. The bitch wouldn’t admit the truth, so I had to keep punishing her. Then the others showed up and tossed me out of the house, said they’d call the police. Mother would be upset with me if the police were involved, so I left and went right to her office.”

“What happened then?” Vogal asked.

Randall acted as if he hadn’t heard what the man said, so Rosie repeated the question. “What did your mother have to say about all of her lies?”

“She told me that cunt wasn’t worth it, that she would find me someone else, someone better. In fact, she printed out a whole list of people I could pick from. I wasn’t ready to give up yet, not until I made Crystal admit she lied,” Randall explained.

“Crystal, is that her name?” Rosie asked. “Just so I know who not to listen to since it’s all lies.”

“Yes, that’s the bitch, Crystal Declan, but I don’t know if she kept her last name or not. Safer just not to trust any Crystals… they’re all liars,” Randall decided, nodding to himself. “Liars are bad, the worst kind of people. You don’t lie at all, do you, Bumblebee? No, you’ve always been honest with me… that’s what I love most about you.”

“That’s right, Randall, I’ve never lied to you, and I won’t ever say anything untrue. Do you want to know why?” Rosie asked, cocking her head with a sweet smile on her face.

“Tell me, please. I want to know what makes you so special,” Randall urged, a look of excitement on his face.

Rosie stood and rested her hands on the table. “I will never tell you a lie because I need to know you believe me when I tell you something. The most important thing in a relationship is trust and honesty, don’t you agree?”

“Yes, yes, I couldn’t have said it better. No secrets, none… they are like poison,” Randall agreed emphatically.

“No secrets,” Rosie murmured. “Now, I have something important to tell you, one of the most important things ever.”

Randall gazed at her with rapt attention. “I’m listening, my dearest Bumblebee.”

“You. Are. Not. My. Fucking. Alpha,” Bailey-Rose stated bluntly, making sure every word was crystal clear for the man to hear. “I do not love you. In fact, I have no feelings toward you that are even remotely affectionate. We will never see each other again because I have a pack and five Alphas I love more than anything in the world. They treasure me like I’m the eleventh wonder of the world, and you would never ever be able to come close to giving me that kind of love. I hope you rot all alone in your cell, destined to be rejected forever.”

“You fucking whore,” Randall bellowed, shoving the table so it crashed into her.

Yun-Sun darted forward and scooped her up just as Randall flipped the table, nearly hitting them both with the metal legs. Vogal hadn’t been so lucky and got clocked in the jaw, knocking him onto the floor. Feeling that this was an acceptable moment for physical force, I dragged the detective out of the way and faced off with the raging Alpha.

“Hey, jackass,” I shouted, drawing his attention.

Randall tried to throw the table he was still attached to at me, but instead of moving away like he thought, I got right up close and personal. Putting every ounce of strength I had, my fist slammed into his face. Stunned, he stood motionless, so I took the chance to follow it up with my other fist. This time, he crashed to the floor, and I may or may not have helped the table land squarely on his chest, pinning him to the tile floor.

“Stay the fuck away from Bailey-Rose, or next time you won’t be going to jail… I’ll bury you six feet under,” I snarled. Vogal, now on his feet, just stared at me, eyes wide. “What? The bastard attacked us first. I had every right to defend myself. Saved your ass too, didn’t I?”

Not waiting for a response, I marched out of the room and made a beeline for the only person I needed right now. Without even stopping, I picked up my Omega, who instantly wrapped herself around me and headed for the door.

“Where are we going?” Rosie asked.