Chapter 54
ADAM
I hated how weak I was. I could barely speak, because even that caused me pain. My throat was hoarse and sore all the time, and the stitches in my neck were garish and ugly—but they saved my life.
I got lucky. Real lucky.
Tank was out for blood that night, and he damn near succeeded. I just hated that Fletcher had blood on his hands now. No Omega should have to kill an Alpha to protect themselves. I should’ve been there to stop it. I should’ve been able to protect him, and instead, I was weak.
Fletcher was by my side, an ever-present companion while I healed. And I did heal, but it was slow.
We were both brought in for questioning a few weeks after I was released from the hospital. To save my voice, I gave the officers a written statement of what had happened. Everything that I could remember, down to the very last detail.
It spanned pages.
Officer Blunt, a portly older gent with a shiny bald head, took the signed statement from me and tucked it into his files.
He turned to Fletcher, wrinkling his nose, which made his mustache twitch. “The restaurant’s surveillance system caught everything that happened. We have the footage of that night, evidence clear as day that the victim attempted to murder Mr. Sinclair, and then dragged you away.”
He puffed out his cheeks on a sigh. “Of course, there’s also evidence of you stabbing the victim to death, but what’s done is done.”
The other officer, a brunette woman with her hair scraped into a severe bun, made a face at her partner.
“It was premeditated; the victim followed your vehicle to the restaurant, waited until you went inside, then slashed your tires. He then waited for you to return from dinner. Along with incriminating evidence found on his phone, as well as the harassing texts sent from two different burner phones that were located at the victim’s residence, we feel like we have everything we need to seal this up as a self-defense case,” she said, matter-of-fact.
“Of course, a judge needs to agree,” Officer Blunt added.
“What if they don’t?” Fletcher asked, sounding very small.
The cops exchanged a glance, and my stomach turned over. I already knew the answer to this question before they ever said a word.
“You’re looking at thirty-to-life in a state shifter prison,” Officer Blunt said.
I reached out and squeezed Fletcher’s shoulder. The idea of my Omega locked away forever? It hurt. We still had so many dreams, so much of our lives left to live. How could one bad decision cause this much pain and trauma?
Fuck Tank. Never again.
After six long months of uncertainty and anxious nights, our court date finally came around. We walked into that courtroom with hope in our eyes and fear in our hearts, because this was it.
This was the day of reckoning. Would I lose my mate forever, just like he almost lost me?
Thankfully, the judged ruled the case in our favor after looking over the evidence. Self-defense, case dismissed. The fact that she was an Omega probably helped.
I threw my arms around Fletcher as we stepped out of the courthouse, the sun shining brightly down on us.
Fletcher looked up at me with tears in his eyes. “Can we leave?”
“What?” I was taken aback by his question. “Of course, baby. Let’s go home.”
“No, I mean, can we move? Away from here? This place has too many bad memories attached to it now, and I want so badly to start over again. Start fresh.”
I couldn’t help but admit he had a point. I couldn’t even walk in my own front door without catching a faint whiff of Tank’s piss, even though we’d bleached the hell out of the porch.
“That sounds like a good idea, kitten,” I told him, hugging him close. “What do you think about joining a pack this time? Someplace where we’ll have backup in case anything like this ever happens again.”
“Safety in numbers,” Fletcher agreed softly. “I trust you, Adam. Find us a new home. I’ll go wherever, so long as it’s with you. I love you.”
“I love you too, but for right now, let’s call Aria and give her the good news that you’re not going to jail.”
Fletcher barked a laugh. “Yeah. That is a relief.”
Aria called us that evening over video chat. “I could come up? We could go to a bar?”
“NO!” Fletcher and I both practically shouted in her face. She blinked in bewilderment. We exchanged a look. I shook my head. “No bars. No clubs.”
“Okay, fine. Maybe I could bring over some wine? Girls night in?”
Fletcher wrinkled his nose. “How about pizza? Takeout?”
“God, you guys are needy!”
We all laughed.
I hummed. “Now that you mention it, Korean BBQ does sound fire…”
Aria heaved a melodramatic sigh. “Only for you. I’ll be there in an hour—with wine and takeaway.”
“You’re the best,” I said.
She just smiled and said, “I know.”