Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
brEE
She’s up in the early morning, marveling at the sunrise. It slowly creeps over the top of the trees, casting the town in light. In the distance, she can see a handful of cabins, each with stunning craftsmanship.
Bree sighs as she peers out the window. This is her life right now. She gets to be here , waking up to the beauty of nature and a stunning sunrise.
The only oddity is the dark, square building of Green Woods Facility that looms in the distance.
Her phone buzzes with an email, interrupting her train of thought.
It’s Doctor Porter. He’s moving their interview to the end of the week, the day before she is supposed to leave.
That’s fine with her. It gives her more time to prepare her questions and to explore the town. Granted, she’ll probably be done exploring before Friday, but she’s content to just luxuriate by the fireplace with a book .
There’s another email, too, one from the cabin’s property manager.
Apparently, the drunk stranger, Eugene, is a nuisance, but harmless.
She doesn’t like that answer.
Also, the name Helene means nothing to the property owner.
Bree doesn’t like that response, either.
But it’s a beautiful morning in Green Woods, and she doesn’t plan to waste it by worrying.
Green Woods Café is small and welcoming. The smell of espresso wafts through the air, and the only patrons are an elderly couple at a table in the corner. The lilac-scented Omega barista greets her from behind the counter with a warm smile and kind eyes, and Bree instantly feels at ease.
“You’re not from around here,” she observes. “What are you doing in Green Woods?”
Bree bites her lip, debating telling her the truth. “I’m here to investigate what happened at the prison.” It slips out of her mouth before she can stop it, and the Omega’s smile falters.
Darlene , her nametag says.
“Why would you do that?” The fear in Darlene’s light brown eyes tells Bree everything she needs to know.
She shouldn’t have opened her stupid mouth. She should have just ordered her tea and not bothered to share.
“I’m a journalist,” Bree replies, keeping a slight smile on her face. “I was interested in the story.”
“We’ve dealt with reporters for the last two weeks,” Darlene grumbles. “I don’t know how much more I can take. It’s not like we know anything.” Her gaze turns pointed. “I didn’t even know what was happening until the helicopters were searching for… him .”
For Erik Hart, the Alpha.
Bree nods. “I’m not trying to cause any trouble, and I won’t be bothering anyone,” she tells the barista earnestly. “I’m only here for a few days, and I won’t be in anyone’s way. I want to enjoy your town, too.”
Darlene looks at Bree for a long moment until her gaze softens. “Okay,” she says. “Well, we have a pretty cool antique shop, and there’s a town about forty minutes from here, Elmwood, that has more shops and some great restaurants.”
It seems all is forgiven as Darlene’s smile returns, and Bree matches it.
“Great. And can I order a green tea with honey?”
Darlene shakes her head, her dark high ponytail shaking. “Oh. Duh. Sorry ,” she chuckles sheepishly. “Of course.”
While Bree sits at her table waiting for her tea, she peers out the window. Her view is almost as lovely as it was from her cabin; but this time, Green Woods Facility takes up more of her vision.
A nagging feeling pulls at her chest. She knows the building is no longer in operation, but she wonders how it looks on the inside. The doors are locked, of course, so she has no way of knowing, but maybe she could peer from the outside.
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to explore the parking lot.
“Hey.”
A white teacup and saucer are placed in front of her, and she looks up at Darlene.
“Sorry if I was rude earlier,” she says, her light scent wafting over Bree. “The news crews have been annoying, and I had hoped it was the end of it for a while.”
“I know. It’s not the first time someone has been irritated with me for that,” Bree chuckles. “But I really won’t be bothering you, I promise.”
“Did you come here by yourself?” Darlene asks softly. “You’re an Omega, right? Did you bring anyone?”
Bree swallows. “No,” she says evenly as a queasy feeling builds in the pit of her stomach. “Just me.”
The barista’s eyes widen slightly. “Okay. I’m sure that’s fine, but let me give you my number. My boyfriend and I live over there.” She points out the window to a small dark wood cabin at the end of the road. “If you need anything, let us know, okay?”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that?—”
“Please let me. It would make me feel a lot better.”
Bree doesn’t want to argue, so she unlocks her phone and allows Darlene to enter her phone number. She texts her, just so Darlene has hers as well.
“Great. Thanks,” Darlene says. “I doubt you’ll need to, but just in case, text or call me.”
“Will do.”
Darlene bites her lip and looks back at the counter as a customer approaches. “Look, I love Green Woods. This is my hometown, and a lot of us are great people…but this place isn’t perfect.”
Bree frowns. “What do you mean?”
Darlene shakes her head. “Just text me if you need anything, okay?” She walks back to the counter, leaving Bree to finish her tea.
She’s just going to drive by the prison. That’s all.
She’s not going to try to go inside. That would be ridiculous .
The gate to the parking lot is open, and the area is empty. There’s no reason for anyone to be here.
Bree is sure the doors to the concrete building are locked.
She sits in her car, staring at the entrance to the building, debating whether to get out.
Observing the prison from the outside should be enough. She can already imagine what it must have felt like for Ellie Winters to step through those doors as an Omega, knowing she was assigned to an Alpha prisoner.
Why was she working with him in the first place? Who in their right mind places an Omega social worker with an Alpha prisoner?
Ellie must have been terrified.
Bree would have been.
She drums her nails on the steering wheel and chews her lip.
The entrance is locked. There’s no way it’s not locked.
But she opens her car door, anyway.
There’s nothing wrong with checking, she tells herself.
If it’s unlocked, she’s not really breaking and entering, is she?
She’s learned by now to ask for forgiveness instead of permission, anyway.
The wind picks up as she approaches the doors, blowing a chilly breeze that even her thick cream knit sweater can’t protect her from.
Are you sure about this, kiddo ? A whisper of her father’s voice sounds in her ear.
“Nope,” she says under her breath as she approaches the doors.
She pretends she doesn’t see the No Trespassing sign and grips one of the door handles.
Holding her breath, she tries it.
To her surprise, the door pulls open slowly with a creak .
Mouth hanging open, she steps inside Green Woods Facility.
Before she shuts the door behind her, she reaches for the light switch, which turns on.
The building still has power.
It’s much nicer inside than she expected. Despite the dreary outside, the interior resembles more of a sophisticated corporate office instead of a prison.
They really should turn this into a library , she thinks to herself.
She knows she should leave. Someone obviously forgot to lock the doors—she’s trespassing, and the anxiety of getting caught mixes with her need to explore.
She glances at the time on her phone.
She’ll just give herself five minutes to look around, and that’s all.
She hurries past the lobby and through another set of double doors, leading to a vast hallway.
The fluorescent lights flicker above her ominously.
She has the option of turning to the left and following the overhead signs that lead to the Beta ward or continuing straight down the hallway and toward the Alpha ward.
Bree retraces Ellie Winters' steps as she descends to a lower part of the building while the lights struggle to stay on.
But she finally makes it with a good two minutes to spare.
She stands outside a holding cell, taking in the worn cot and concrete floor.
A shiver rolls down her spine as the air turns colder.
Something happened here, something beyond what the news reported.
Bree just knows it in her gut.
How often was Ellie alone with Erik? Were they ever alone down here together?
Did he care about her? Was he in lo? —
Footsteps interrupt her train of thought. They’re slow and languid, as if the person walking toward her has all the time in the world.
There’s no plausible reason for her to be down here. Any excuse she could have dies on her tongue as she stands outside the cell, looking toward the hallway in horror.
There’s no talking her way out of this. She is far too deep in the facility to have any logical explanation to why she’s standing outside an abandoned cell.
She’s about to be arrested for trespassing.
Carl’s going to be so mad that he has to bail her out of jail.
Shit.
But when the owner of those footsteps comes into view, her eyes widen in surprise.
“I didn’t know this place was still in operation,” he says, his voice low and amused.
Her blood runs cold.