Chapter 28
Istrode away from listening in on Dorian’s conversation with the ORD director, leaving him near the entrance of the air-conditioned brick building to head for the rounded desk. Cade was already there, arms moving as he spoke to the woman behind the desk.
We’d looked everywhere for Eva. Near The Bordello, close to the house, we’d even driven the streets nearby in hopes of seeing her.
Two days had passed, and finally, the lack of sleep had paid off.
One of Dorian’s hoity toity college friends who worked with surveillance had hacked into the street light cameras and tracked Eva coming to this ORD office.
“Sirs, we’re not allowed to share any information about any Omegas,” the woman insisted to Cade.
“It’s just—”
I gripped his shoulder, and I pulled him away from the desk.
“Let it rest.” I squeezed his shoulder to make a point. He rounded on me with a feverish expression. Slowly, Cade was losing himself.
“How can I let it rest?” he hissed. “She’s gone. What if we never find her?” Cade raked his hand through his hair. Panic simmered beneath the surface of his determination. If we didn’t get answers soon, he’d begin getting destructive.
A destructive Cade made shit decisions. This time, he had an actual reason and that reason could drive all of us to the same brink. I was holding on by pure determination, but the frustration would eventually win, and Cade wouldn’t have us to pull him back because we’d all be lost.
Dorian had already shut down, but he’d always been able to function even though he hung on by a thread.
“Gentlemen.” An older man with salt and pepper hair strode toward us and hung up the phone he’d been holding to his ear. Dorian did the same.
“Director.” The woman behind the desk stood quickly.
“Sean.” Dorian approached him and shook his hand. Sean clapped him on the shoulder. He looked toward us, then turned back to Dorian without a word. I crossed my arms, studying the put together man.
“Come to my office,” Sean said, and Dorian matched his pace. Their chatter about Sean’s son, Dorian’s acquaintance, faded into the background.
Cade scratched his neck, matching my stride. I followed them up the incline toward the office they entered.
“This isn’t normal practice, Dorian, but as a favor to you, I’m happy to oblige this once for one of my son’s friends.”
Dorian chuckled. “And the donation we’d make to your foundation will show how grateful we are.”
Sean’s smile turned predatory, then he strode over to the desk, turned the large screen to face us and scooted the keyboard over. He typed in his password, and the screen showed a lineup of footage with dates below it.
“I need to head out for lunch,” Sean commented and walked out of the door, closing it behind him.
Dorian braced himself on the desk, one hand on the mouse, and clicked through a few frames. The narrowed in time frame and dates allowed him to find her quickly. I sucked in a breath. Pressure in my chest pulsed.
“That’s not her,” Cade spat, straightening and shoving his fingers through his hair.
“Play the clip,” I bit out to prompt Dorian since his hand had frozen on the mouse.
The camera faced the front of the building, and he’d stopped the clip as she walked up to the building.
He pressed play, and we watched her yank at the door.
She kept rubbing her arms, obviously cold.
She stood still for a moment, shivering, then she went to the stone to the side of the entrance.
The camera quality didn’t allow us to see her expression.
She leaned against the stone, dozing. She almost fell and eventually settled on the floor, hugging herself for warmth.
I couldn’t breathe the entire time I watched.
“How many hours was she there?” I croaked, exhaling hard.
Dorian sped through the footage until the sun had risen, and a woman woke her. “Around four.” Dorian’s voice broke.
“No. We did that to her. We did.” Cade gasped, striding over to the wall near the door and bracing himself. He thudded his forehead against it. “I did that.” He slammed his head again.
I snarled and rounded toward him with brisk steps. My chest felt like it was going to rupture. I gripped Cade’s shoulder and yanked him back with more force than I meant, but the anger boiling in my veins was clawing for release.
Cade whirled and socked me. I grunted, absorbing the fist to the nose. The sharp pain did nothing to dull the agony in my chest.
I wanted more. I swung at him, and my knuckles split as he slammed against the wall. He smiled, blood staining his teeth and dripping off the corner of his burst lip.
He spat blood and swiped the back of his hand across his face, smearing it across his cheek. The bridge of my nose throbbed with sharp pain.
“Enough,” Dorian spat, voice fueled with dominance.
My chest heaved with each of my breaths, exploding out from my lips.
Dorian turned back to the screen where he’d zoomed in on her huddled on the cold cement, sleeping.
My heart ached. “This is what we’ve driven her to.
We hurt her. She won’t return to us.” Dorian dropped his head, shoving his fingers through his hair.
“You, fucking stop,” I snarled, storming over to him.
He whirled on me. I gripped the front of his shirt and shook him, making him sneer.
Depression almost took over before giving way to anger.
Dominance came from him like a slap, but I didn’t cower as I gritted my teeth.
His eyes narrowed, and he gripped the front of my shirt so we were left glaring at each other.
“Usually, the first place the ORD sends Omegas is The Bungalows,” I bit out.
The thought of her surrounded by Alphas boiled rage to the surface. Dorian must have had the same thought. The Bungalows, a place where Omegas could linger and find a pack to satisfy their heat. There were plenty of places like that across the country, but the closest to us was an hour out.
“She’s ours,” he bit out and released my shirt angrily. I did the same and clenched my hand hard, making my knuckles pop. “Let’s go get our Eva.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Cade was already out the door.