Chapter 9
My phone buzzed a bunch in rapid succession.
Jude:
S-O-FUCKING-S
Madison and Tyler broke up
He left her on the side of the fucking road???
BUT WAIT
THERE’S MORE
God I wish there wasn’t more
Dude, she’s my scent match??
I’ve never smelled her before
But this rando from the store is also her scent match and he’s offering her a whole apartment
I’m FREAKING OUT WHAT DO I DO AM I ACTUALLY GOING TO LOSE HER THE SECOND I HAVE A CHANCE?
“Jesus,” I whispered, taking in each message. Talk about a fucking roller coaster. Madison was single and that was good, even if that asshole she’d been dating had committed some dogshit behavior to make it happen. Once she was out of there, we could help her stay out.
Nathan:
Are you opposed to making him disappear?
Lots of places a person could get lost forever outside of the city
FBI agent watching our texts, I’m kidding
Jude:
NOT HELPFUL NATHAN
Nathan:
Does she know you’re her scent match and she’s still looking at the rando?
Jude:
She doesn’t know
I take blockers for work so my scent doesn’t fuck up the merchandise
Nathan:
Step 1: get OFF the blockers
Step 2: woo your omega
Who even is the rando?
How is he buying her apartments?
Jude:
He runs the OHI
He’s got some serious bank
I called him and he answered a second later. “Are you with her right now?”
“Yeah,” Jude replied, obviously already exhausted with everything.
“Pass her the phone.”
“Uh, what? Why?”
“Just do it.”
I heard him sigh and a moment later, her voice came over the speaker. “Hello? Nathan?”
“I’m terrible at this shit, but I wanted to be the first to congratulate you on being able to take your riding lessons without stressing.
I know it’s a crap situation, but you dropped some deadweight that was holding you back, and while I’m sorry you’re upset about it, I’m not sorry that you’re free from that asshole.
” I sucked in a sharp breath. “Listen, I know we met exactly once, but if you need anything, you can let me know, and you can’t say you need nothing, so please, tell me what I can do. ”
She hesitated, her breath hitching. “God, Nathan, I don’t know. I need everything. I don’t even have my purse, I—”
“Where’s your purse?”
“Tyler made me leave it in the car.”
That fucker.
“Okay, give me five minutes.”
“Wait, what? Where—”
I hung up, slipping out of Ava’s house—I’d just wrapped up babysitting duty—and walked casually down the street to where Madison had lived with Tyler. Luck was on my side because the car was in the driveway, not the garage. A quick glance inside revealed Madison’s purse and phone on the floor.
Well, not as convenient as on the seat, but hopefully I’d only get lightly stabbed in this endeavor.
I picked up one of the sparkling rocks they had in lieu of a lawn, aimed the pointy end at the window corner and shattered the glass.
The car alarm blared, and I shoved the broken glass aside with the rock, threw my top half inside, grabbed her things, and bolted down the street.
I was already within sight of Ava’s house when I heard Tyler’s pissed off shout.
I didn’t slow down until I had run all the way inside and upstairs.
“Nathan,” Ava called up the stairs. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Just a little petty theft,” I yelled back. “Don’t answer the door for a bit.”
Ava’s exasperated huff was cut off as I closed the door to the guest room I stayed in sometimes.
With the adrenaline wearing off, I could fully experience the sharp aching sensation across my rib cage where I had tossed myself through the car window, and the burn where some of the glass had cut my hands. I lifted my shirt to check the damage, but it didn’t look like I had broken skin anywhere.
After washing my hands thoroughly, I dialed Jude.
“Pass me to Madison,” I said when he answered.
“Nathan?” Her sweet voice was a welcome distraction from the growing pain in my ribs.
“Phone and purse acquired.”
“What—what do you mean? How?”
“It was still in his car. He left it unattended and unprotected. I might’ve been slowed down if it was in the garage, but this was a lot faster than I expected.”
Madison choked. “You broke into his car?”
“Not like he was gonna open it up and give me those things if I knocked on the door and asked.”
She let out a burst of hysterical laughter. “I can’t believe you committed a crime to get my stuff. Is ‘thank you’ the correct thing to say?”
I shrugged, even though she couldn’t see me. “Who knows, but I’ll take it regardless. Where are you so I can get this to you?”
I heard her ask someone for the address, and didn’t have a clue where the fuck it was since I wasn’t that familiar with Vegas yet.
“Drop a pin. I’ll be there in however long it takes me to get there from here.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Already committed a crime. Driving the stolen goods to you is nothing at this point. Do you want me to pick something up on the way? I bet a milkshake would help soothe the sting of the situation.”
“You’re ridiculous,” she said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t say no to a cookies and cream shake though. You can use my card and get something for yourself.”
I suppose that was one way of finding out pretty quickly if she’d been cut off financially. Who knew how on the ball Tyler was with that sort of thing?
“What do the guys want?” I asked.
Madison collected their orders, and I secretly delighted in the confusion in their voices.
I rushed downstairs, almost colliding with my sister.
“What the fuck is going on?”
“You said I should make friends, right?”
“Not friends who make you commit a felony!” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Do I have to worry about you?”
“Probably not?”
“You said that as a question… Do I need to get my pack involved?”
“Nah. Keep an eye on Tyler’s house, though.”
“Why?” Ava’s brows furrowed and I placed my thumbs on her forehead to forcefully smooth it out.
I wasn’t even being as chaotic as I had been growing up. You’d think she’d be used to me by now, but apparently, I still managed to surprise her. “He kicked Madison out and we’re figuring out how to keep her safe.”
Ava looked bewildered. “Are you doing this because you have a crush on her?”
“I’m doing this because she’s a person who needs help and my impulse control doesn’t exist. It took less than five minutes of conversation to understand he treats her like hot garbage, and I can’t imagine that’s going to get any better after he left her on the fucking side of the road.
I’ve got a lot of rage over assholes, and this was a lot more productive than punching him in the face.
If I didn’t break into his car, then Madison wouldn’t have her ID or phone, and it’s ten times harder to restart a life without those. Judge me later.”
I waved at her over my shoulder and bolted to the door, quickly scanning for any sign of Tyler but finding none.
I passed a pair of cop cars on the way out of the neighborhood.
They always responded so fucking fast to the wealthier areas, but not fast enough this time.
I couldn’t imagine they would go through the whole ordeal of DNA testing, and I wasn’t in the system, anyway.
The detour for milkshakes only added a few minutes to my journey, and then I was parking at a fancy-ass apartment complex. A man I didn’t recognize seemed to be waiting for me and opened the doors with a nervous smile.
“Are you Nathan?” he asked.
“I might be. Who are you?”
“Alve Sato. Can I carry the drinks?”
I gave him a once-over, assuming he was probably the rando Jude had mentioned, and passed him the tray of milkshakes. “How do you know Madison?”
“I don’t really, but I would like to.”
“You’re in good company, then.”
His eyes widened. “You broke into a car for someone you don’t know?”
“You offered to give her your apartment,” I pointed out. “I don’t think you’re in any position to throw stones.”
“No, not throwing stones at all. I can be both terrified and appreciative at the same time.” Alve swiped his card in the elevator. “Are you her scent match?”
“Not a clue. Her scent has never been out around me.”
“Well, you’re about to find out.”
Madison was waiting when the elevator doors opened, crashing against my chest the moment she could fit through them.
A groan tore out of me, both from the impact against my bruised ribs and the rush of sweet, buttery raspberry hitting my nose.
That scent settled into my foundation like rebar in concrete, locking into place with a simple breath.
She wouldn’t evaporate if I let go, but I didn’t want to chance it. Eventually, she jerked back sharply and stared up at me with enormous eyes.
“Happy to see me?” I asked playfully, even though my stomach was in knots.
“Scent match,” she whispered.
Jude and Alve both watched me with laser focus.
Fate was a fucked-up bitch. At least it had waited until she was free of Tyler.
I wasn’t entirely certain what I would’ve done if I’d known she was mine when she was talking about him.
I might’ve gone full caveman, tossed her over my shoulder, and walked right out of there with her.
My hands itched to touch her and she didn’t resist when I pulled her back in, her fingers curling in my shirt.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
The elevator started pinging, protesting us keeping the door open, so Alve nudged us into the vestibule in front of the open suite door.
“I need to sit down,” Madison announced.
Rather than let her go, I scooped her up, earning a squeak from her and a searing burn in my ribs. I ignored that for the moment, marching inside and setting her on the nearest couch. “Here’s your phone and purse, as promised.”
She took both from my outstretched hand and held them to her chest.
I plucked her cookies and cream milkshake from the tray Alve awkwardly held while staring at us, and passed her the cup.
She sipped it with a contented hum and I parked myself at the other end of the couch with my own drink, eyeballing Jude and Alve to take up their own seats.
I wanted to be closer, but overwhelming her wasn’t a great idea.
“Do we have a plan?” I asked.
“I wish,” Madison said between sips. She held her milkshake so tightly I was worried the lid was going to pop off and spill all over her.
“I’ll pay for a hotel if you’d prefer that,” Alve offered.
“You’re not cut off yet,” I pointed out. “The purchase went through for the milkshakes, but you might want to buy any essentials before Tyler decides to lock your cards. Or make some revenge purchases, I won’t judge. I hear gold is a good investment.”
Madison laughed, a hint of hysteria in the sound. “I feel like my brain is melting. How am I supposed to cope with my whole life falling apart? And now I have three scent matches I don’t know what to do with.”
Jude frowned. “Three? You haven’t scented me.”
Madison’s cheeks flushed. “I guess the third isn’t totally confirmed, but I’m pretty sure my riding instructor is one, too.”
Oh, good. Just what we needed: another stranger added to the mix.
This definitely wasn’t what Ava had in mind when she was up my ass to make friends, but there wasn’t a damn thing any of us could do when fate decided to have a sense of humor.
“The more the merrier?” I asked dryly and sighed. I didn’t know what fate had planned, but maybe Madison wasn’t the only one who needed her life flipped upside down to get to where she was supposed to be.