least it wasn't the acrid terror she'd given off earlier. Twenty minutes in the company of alphas without being attacked seemed to have convinced that not all of them were mindless rampaging beasts. "There has to be another way. Maybe tomorrow morning—"
"By tomorrow morning, your fingers will be rotting away from blood loss. Trust me, I'm not happy about this either, but the sooner I do it, the sooner we can all get back to our lives."
For a long moment, Josie gazed at him openly, tiny stars seeming to glitter in the depths of her emerald eyes. It was mesmerizing enough to make Knox wonder if the betas had somehow developed that technology too.
Finally, she nodded. "Okay. I'm ready."
That was it. No more begging like before, no admonishments to be careful like those coming from Gray and Olivia.
As if she trusted him.
As Knox carefully positioned the bolt cutter's blades on the chain between her delicate wrists, the possibility of that trust worried him more than anything that happened all day.
Josie flinched at the screech of metal slicing through metal. In seconds, the chain split, and her arms were freed. The numb ache from being trapped in that position for so long gave way to a burning stab of pain in her screaming muscles, but she nearly cried with gratitude.
And not just for the feeling that was returning to her fingers as blood rushed to them…but for what she didn't feel as well.
From the moment that she'd given Knox the go-ahead, she'd barely dared to breathe. What the hell was she thinking, putting her fate in the hands of an alpha? Yes, this particular alpha had a strangely calm demeanor. He didn't rage and threaten like his friend Gray. But that didn't change the fact that he was still an alpha.
But Josie had no other choice.
While she was grateful for Olivia giving it her best effort, it hadn't taken long to realize the omega wasn't going to be able to remove the cuffs. Just like it was pretty damn clear that Josie was headed for trouble if she didn't get them off soon. She'd been arrested often enough while protesting to know how the damn things cut off a person's circulation if they were fastened too tight or left on too long.
This time, though, she was faced with the possibility of losing a couple of fingertips versus risking becoming an omega.
Neither choice was great. And Knox could easily have decided for her. Instead, he waited until she gave him the okay.
In doing so, Josie had surprised herself.
But there was something about Knox that reassured her. She wouldn't go so far as to say she trusted him, at least not beyond this single task. But, so far, he'd given her no reason not to trust him, and right now, that was the most she could hope for.
"That was the easy part," Knox said. "Now comes the rough bit. Turn around."
Josie leaned her back against the metal wall of the truck bed to help steady herself and took another good look at the alpha. He looked like a damn Nordic god, with a strong nose and cheekbones that could cut steel and pale eyes that seemed to change color depending on the light. There were a few flecks of silver in his close-cropped beard, but his skin was tawny and unlined. And then there were the powerful shoulders his coat couldn't begin to conceal, his massive, strong hands. Was it his undeniable attractiveness that made it easier to trust him? Josie didn't like to think of herself as biased in that way, but she was only human.
"Put your hands out in front of you."
Ordinarily, Josie hated commands, no matter who giving them. This time, though, her outrage failed to surface. Gazing down at her fingers, she was shocked at how discolored they'd become. Her condition was even worse than she thought.
"Make sure you keep them still, no matter what."
Oh, that wasn't going to be a problem. An earthquake could split the ground between her feet, and Josie wouldn't budge.
She considered closing her eyes, but for some reason, she was transfixed by the sight of the alpha’s mouth tightening in concentration. His light-colored eyes narrowed as he slowly slid the tip of the blade under the cuff, angling for the best leverage without risking his hands coming into contact.
Click.
One cuff fell to the floor with a clang, and in seconds the other followed. Josie barely had time to catch her breath before he sliced