Chapter Twenty-Nine
Frey
It was hard for Frey to sit in a room with an alpha such as Amatus when Frey’s own experience of dealing with a nasty pig wanted to surface. He’d spent some time going over the omegas’ transcripts and what he’d gone through was hardly comparable. He’d escaped, battered and bruised, but he’d gotten away. These men had no such luck, and it incensed Frey.
During the trip to the hotel where the omegas were staying, silence filled the car. No one seemed prepared to talk, almost like speaking about the awfulness made it worse. The trunk of the car had more than Frey’s suitcase in it. It seemed they’d all had similar ideas about supplying things for the omegas. Frey couldn’t have worked with better people.
When the car came to a stop, he was the first to get out, a nervousness coming at the memory of leaving the omegas behind to continue to suffer.
Hollis placed his hand on Frey’s arm. “You have to stop thinking about the ‘what ifs’.”
“It’s hard.” He released a shuddery breath. “The suffering…”
“They’re safe now,” Monty said with utter conviction as he came to him. “That’s what counts, and we all helped free them.” The otter had a look about him that suggested no one should argue with him. Otters were known to be cute, but they were also vicious when it was called for.
Frey nodded as Lennon took hold of his hand. “We are helping now. The brothers are helping. Monty’s right, it does count.”
On the street, looking at his friends, Frey had a sudden realization he’d made his own family with the PAs. He had upset his family by not accepting the lead alpha, and why he had not gone back. The PAs all had each other’s backs. He sniffed and his lips clamped together to contain the urge to blubber. Stupid hormones.
Distracted, Frey hadn’t noticed the second car pull up until Booker was charging towards them. “What is it? Who upset you, Frey?” he demanded, shocking everyone around them.
Booker’s furious stare went to the other PAs. Lennon started so hard he shook Frey’s arm, then immediately let go of his hand and took a step back .
Frey wasn’t quite sure how to take this change of events with such a public display when Booker’s brothers were watching with avid interest. As were the PAs when he glanced sideways, trying to work out how to respond to the bear towering over him.
“Frey, what is it?” Booker asked, this time in a softer tone, his gaze fixed on him. His fingers flexed and curled into fists by his sides.
Did Booker want to touch him? Intrigued, Frey peeked up through his damp eyelashes, giving Booker a sad smile. He had no time to brace as Booker swept him off his feet, like a damsel in distress in one of the old movies.
How romantic.
Leave it out.
Frey didn’t want to agree with his other half, but he was right. So he didn’t bother to stop himself snuggling right into the massive chest. Booker’s heart thundered hard against his ear. “I just got upset worrying about what the omegas suffered. I can’t seem to stop it.” That was the truth.
Booker jiggled him about a little and he came to rest on his hip, a large hand cupping his backside. The ease with which Booker moved and held him was a distraction all by itself. Frey blew out a breath, feeling heat warming parts of him that were wholly inappropriate right then. He really was going to have to ask his doctor for something to fix his hormones!
“What’s this all about?” Kodi questioned, loud enough to be heard .
“Looks like big brother has been keeping secrets,” answered Rue around choked laughter.
Booker didn’t so much as acknowledge their ribbing, his attention was on Frey. “We can’t change what came before, I wish we could. But we can focus on the now.” His thumb hooked under Frey’s chin, so they were staring at each other. “Things like what you’ve got in that large suitcase will help, so let's start there.”
Taylin and the others were making noises, and again Booker paid them no mind, giving the increasing feeling of warmth inside Frey a tremendous boost until he felt like he might combust.
“Okay,” he murmured and came forward with one thing on his mind. A kiss. He’d wanted a second one in the car and no one was going to stop him, not even himself. He pressed his lips to Booker’s in a chaste kiss, feeling his whiskers rub against his skin, making it tingle. He wasn’t sure he could offer more with an audience, but he was the one to initiate the kiss, so it was a total win for him.
When Frey eased away, Booker wore an expression that made him giggle. Stunned, looked good on his bear.
Our bear.
Frey wiggled, feeling smug satisfaction that everyone could see the bear was his. Booker carefully placed him down on the ground, his cheeks pink beneath his beard.
“Are we ready now?” asked Rue mockingly, as he eyed Booker in a way that suggested he would have lots to say in private .
With a confidence that came solely from Booker’s reaction, Frey sauntered to where the driver had placed his suitcase. “Yes.”
It took fifteen minutes to get through security and up to the floors where the omegas were staying. The plush hotel had clearly had instructions on how to keep the omegas safe, but Frey had to wonder if they’d left one prison for another, regardless of how nice it was. He tucked that thought away as the head of security, Oakland, met them at the elevator.
“Oakland, can we have a status update,” asked Rue, who stepped out first. Broad shouldered, he was a little shorter than Booker, but matched him physically otherwise. The rhino was the youngest Starling brother, and the one Frey had the least interaction with. The way he spoke suggested he’d been in the forces.
“We’ve a hotel suite for the base of operation, let’s go there and I’ll give y’all an update,” said Oakland, spinning around to stride off down the corridor, the thick carpet muffling the sound of his heavy boots. Dressed wholly in black, tall, lean and built, he made a striking figure.
“Can’t we go visit with the omegas?” asked Hollis before Frey could.
Oakland halted and glanced back at them. “Of course. We have men stationed on the four floors at all the exits. They are aware you’re coming.”
“Which floor is Aven on?” asked Taylin, who had followed Oakland .
Oakland wore an expression that Frey couldn’t read. “This one. He has the last room on the right at the end of the passageway.”
“I’d like to go say hi to him,” explained Taylin.
Hollis hurried after Taylin. “I’d like to meet him officially, too.”
After a brief discussion, Frey headed up to the top floor alone, Booker having gone with his other brothers for whatever update they needed. As he exited the elevator, two things struck him. All but one of the hotel room doors were open in the long corridor, and yet there was hardly any noise coming from any of the rooms.
A large alpha, whose name Frey couldn’t recall, stepped in front of him, the weapon holstered at his waist causing his tummy to heave unpleasantly. It didn’t matter that it was to protect the omegas.
“I’m a-allowed to be h-here.”
“Frey, right?”
He held out his hand, “Yes. And you are?”
“Brier.” He glanced at the suitcase, nothing about his expression changed. “You planning on staying?”
Frey blushed at the natural assumption. “I brought a few things for the omegas.”
A bright blond head poked out of a room as Brier moved aside. Frey couldn’t get over how the omega he’d first noticed looked so different. He gave him a shy smile. “Hi, I’m Frey.”
The slight omega came fully out into the corridor. Jeans and a T-shirt, both clean and well fitted, replaced the tatty, dirty clothes, making the guy look totally different .
“Hi.” He took a step closer. “My name is Bo.”
At the sound of his voice, other heads popped out of rooms and Frey’s nose burned at seeing them look scared, but not terrified. Was that a win?
He blinked back tears, sniffing and lugging his case past Brier, unsure. “Hey all, I’m Frey, and I did a little shopping and bought some things for you guys, if you’re interested.”
Some came straight out of their rooms and others hung in their doorways, but it was the closed door that held Frey’s attention. He shook off the worry for the time being, huffing and puffing while he lifted and laid the suitcase flat on the ground. Then he sat down on the carpet in the middle of the wide passageway, despite his work clothes, and crossed his legs.
He grinned at those now crowding closer, their scent clean. “So, who wants to see what I got?”
Three of them crouched down, including Bo, whose smile made his blue eyes twinkle.
A lump formed in Frey’s throat at how he’d gotten taken advantage of. Life truly sucked sometimes.
“Yeah,” answered Bo, looking at the omega next to him, whose arms were heavily scarred. “We do, don’t we Harry?”
Harry nodded, then plonked himself down on the carpet. The others slowly followed when Frey unzipped the case. When he flicked back the lid, he got gasps, oohs, and several giggles. They were to be expected with the eclectic mix of things inside.
He lifted his arms wide. “Take what you want.” There was a very obvious hesitation by them all. “Seriously, take what you want. I bought it to share with you guys, though if someone opens a bar of chocolate, could I have a piece?” he teased, wanting them to see him as non-threatening.
Bo seemed the bravest, and he was the first to reach in and pull out two books, then reached back to take one of the massive kilo chocolate bars. He wiggled back and leaned against the wall, grinning at what he held.
The others looked from Bo to the suitcase, and that was all it took to break the ice. Giggles, the best sound in the world, erupted as they pulled out the things Frey had thought to pack.
Frey couldn’t remember a time when he’d had so much fun watching others enjoy the simple pleasures of life. As he witnessed their interaction with each other, he could see that they’d formed a bond. That their experiences had made them… family.
His gaze drifted to the closed door.
Who was in there?
Why wasn’t he with the others?
He wasn’t sure how long he sat on the floor with them before he heard Booker’s voice behind him, talking to Brier. He looked over his shoulder and grinned at seeing Booker’s hands full of shopping bags bearing the Starling logo.
A stillness came from those surrounding Frey, and he rushed to reassure. “It’s Booker, you’ve seen him before. He was the one who helped you. He’d never harm an omega, ever.”
Booker moved slowly as he gave Frey a smile that warmed his toes .
“You liked the work we did,” said an omega who barely looked to be twenty years old.
Booker got down on the floor, placing the bags inside the still half full suitcase. “You do exceptional work.” He glanced at them all. “You all do.”
“Will we be going back to work soon?” asked Bo, wearing a serious expression.
“That will be up to you to decide. Those contracts you were all given mean that you get to control what happens next. If you wish to work with Starling Enterprise to create the leather pieces, then we’d be more than happy for you to do that.”
“How will that work?” This came from an omega who bore a scar down the left side of his neck. His eyes were wary.
“The factory belongs to you guys. We can get lawyers to come in and assist you in getting new contracts with other companies. Or you can work solely with us and our designers. The choice is yours.”
At the following silence, Frey’s ears picked up the sound of a muffled cry. His gaze snapped to the closed door. Compelled to get to his feet, his heart thudded against his ribs. “Who’s in the room with the door shut?”
“That’s Toby’s room,” someone answered, but no one looked down the corridor, making Frey anxious for reasons he couldn’t quite place.
He picked his way through the men on the floor and was running before he could figure out why. The sound of a scream made his blood run cold, and he knocked on Toby’s door, but didn’t wait for an answer. He burst in, his head swinging side to side. He smelled blood, but the room was empty.
“Toby,” he called out as he went to the closed bathroom door, “are you okay?”
The next cry nearly brought Frey to his knees as he imagined the worst and, without thought to his own safety, he thrust open the door.
He gulped, his throat clicking at the sight of the small omega on his knees in the large tub, blood smearing his thighs as the head of a baby hung from him.
“Booker,” he shouted at the top of his lungs as he crouched at the side of the bath, his hands hovering over the gray-looking omega, covered in scars.
Green eyes, huge and desperate, stared at him as he clutched at the edges of the tub. “Help me,” he pleaded in a thready voice, “my baby.”
Sounds came from behind Frey. “We need medics, a hospital,” he stated as calmly as he could, though he didn’t feel calm at all. “You need to push.”
He could see by the color of the baby's skin—not that he’d seen a baby being born—it wasn’t right. Blue, no baby should be blue.
Toby rested his forehead on an arm, visibly shaking. “Don’t have the energy,” he mumbled.
Those words made Frey fight his tears. “I’m gonna help you.” How, he had no idea. He could hear voices coming from the other room, but he focused on Toby .
Frey stripped off his jacket, rolled up his shirt sleeves and climbed into the tub behind Toby, reaching for the baby’s head.
“Do you feel your body wanting to push?” he asked shakily, doing his best not to think about the blood and slimy stuff he was kneeling in or covering the baby’s head.
“Not sure.”
“Okay. Okay.” He blew out a gusty breath. “Can you push for me? Brace on the tub, use that to keep you up and push.” Was he saying the right things?
A large medic bag landed on the floor next to the tub with a thud. Brier was there, looking much more confident than Frey, he was sure.
He glanced in Frey’s direction. “You’re doing great. Toby, we need to get the baby out.”
Frey didn’t fire back the sarcastic comment that sprang to mind. Toby was well aware that he had a baby trying to fight its way out of his body. Toby didn’t lift his head, only making a mewling sound as his body writhed with pain.
“Push, I know you can do it,” Frey encouraged.
Toby hissed through clenched teeth, looking back at Frey. He could see the head of the baby moving and Frey did something he’d never have thought himself capable of and put his fingers into the omega, driven by pure instinct. The muscles were flexing against his fingers as he wriggled them around the neck of the child.
“Push,” he muttered as he slid his hand around a shoulder and worked to move it when it felt like it was stuck. Sweat slicked his skin, but Frey didn’t feel it, his instincts guiding him.
He heard nothing but his own labored breathing as he worked with Toby, encouraging him as his hand manipulated the baby with each weak push. Then the baby was there in his lap, squealing loudly at the injustice of what had just happened.
It was the best sound in the world as the tiny thing looked up at Frey and Brier did something that separated the child from Toby.
“Get him out of the tub,” demanded Brier, seconds later, in a tone that sent fear through Frey.
Before he could register who Brier was talking to or what was happening, he and the baby left the tub. He cuddled the child to his chest as Booker plonked them on a bed. He had a moment to consider what covered his pants before the baby let out a loud squeal, just as there was a thud in the bathroom and several curse words.
Chaos surrounded him, but Frey didn’t take his eyes off the baby that clung to his finger, bringing it to their hungry mouth. Eyes so innocent stared at him while his finger was sucked on, quieting the cries.
Frey stifled a sob, feeling the loss hit him. The grief was overwhelming at the knowledge he’d most likely never experience this. Have this tender moment with a baby of his own.
He brought the infant closer to him, cradling it, ignoring the blood and goo to rub his cheek over the child’s head. “I’ve got you.” If only for a moment.