Hooking Him (How to Catch an Alpha #3)(60)

“Calvin is my soul mate,” she says suddenly, and I open my eyes and watch her rip her hand through her hair.

“I know,” I whisper in agreement when I see her finger press down on the trigger ever so slightly.

“I don’t want to do this, but I need to be with him. I should be with him, not you.” Her hand starts to shake, and my heart pounds. “I don’t like hurting people.”

“You don’t have to hurt anyone.” My voice is barely above a whisper as I stare down the barrel of the gun pointed at me. “Calvin wouldn’t want you to hurt anyone. He’d never want you to hurt anyone.”

“I know.” Her chin wobbles; then her eyes and the hand holding the gun fly to the side when the doorbell rings. “Who is that?”

“I . . . I don’t know.” I swipe away the tears on my cheeks as I attempt to breathe.

“Get rid of them,” she hisses, and I whimper in fear when she swings the gun back in my direction. “Now.”

I jump and hold up my hands. “Okay . . . just please don’t point that at me,” I beg, and she lowers it to her side, then glares at me when the doorbell rings once more, and Bane starts to bark again.

I walk down the hall with my heart pounding, feeling her right behind me, then stop when she presses the gun into my lower back and places her mouth close to my ear. “Do not be stupid.” I nod, unable to speak, then let out the breath I’m holding when she takes a step back.

With my hand shaking I open the door and attempt to smile at the woman in a navy-blue pantsuit with a briefcase in her hand whose eyes latch onto mine. “Ca . . . can I help you?”

“I’m Amanda from Custom Designs, and I have a meeting scheduled with . . .” She glances at the iPad in her hands. “Calvin Miller.”

“He’s not home.”

“Oh.” Her brows knit together. “Do you know when he’ll be back?” Hopefully soon, I think but don’t say as I shake my head in a negative motion, and she looks at me like I might be crazy. “Just let him know that he needs to reschedule with the office.”

“I’ll let him know.”

“Thanks.” She turns to walk away, and I wait until she’s far enough away that she should be safe before I shove all my weight into the door behind me. Sandy grunts as it rams into her. Knowing this is my only chance to get away, I take off on a run across the porch and down the steps, then scream as the sound of a gun firing goes off, and pain radiates up my side.

My legs give out from under me, and I hit the ground, seeing Amanda’s wide fear-filled eyes as she turns around to look at me. “Run!” I scream, and her eyes widen more; then she takes off. I fight through the pain and force myself to get up, then hear another shot and another, not registering the pain. Instead, I’m focused on the sound of the sirens that seem to be getting closer before everything goes dark.



I wake to the sound of beeping. My tired eyes open slowly and see nothing familiar as I look around the sparsely decorated room. I attempt to sit up, but the pain in my side and back makes it almost impossible to move; then the weight of a heavy hand presses against my shoulder, and I meet Calvin’s worry-filled gaze.

“Don’t move, baby,” he says gruffly, pressing his lips to my forehead as he reaches over me. “Are you in pain?” I nod, and his expression softens. “I’m sorry,” he whispers; then, before I can tell him that it’s not his fault, darkness creeps over me, and I fall asleep once more.



“She’s our daughter; you can’t keep us from her!” I hear my father shout, and I blink my eyes open at a low rumbled response I can’t make out and the sound of shuffling. I start to sit up to see what’s going on, then stop when a hand takes hold of mine. I turn my head to the side. I see Edie and watch her eyes fill with relief as they lock on mine.

“Welcome back, honey.”

Welcome back? I close my eyes, and everything that happened flashes through my mind like a bolt of lightning. Tears clog my throat, and I breathe through my nose, trying to get my emotions under control. “Calvin.” I whimper his name, needing him more than I need my next breath.

A hand smooths the hair back from my face, lips touch my forehead, and warmth fills my senses as Calvin whispers, “I’m right here, baby.”

He’s here, right here, with me, where he’s supposed to be. I lift my hands, lock my arms around his strong shoulders, and hold on to him, vowing to never let him go. “Sandy.”

“She’s gone; she can’t hurt you.”

“Gone?”

“Dead,” Calvin whispers, and the tears I’ve been trying to hold back slip from between my lashes while pain radiates through my chest. I know she wasn’t a good person, but she was unwell, and the human part of me hates that she died before she could get help.

“Shhhh.” He pulls back, and I blink my eyes open as he swipes the tears from my cheeks. “I love you.” He rests his forehead to mine.

“I love you too,” I say as my eyelids start to grow heavy.

“Sleep, baby. When you wake back up, we’ll start our forever.”

Before I can tell him I’m looking forward to that, darkness takes me, but I fall back to sleep with a smile.