Chapter 7
Orion’s been quiet. Lost in thought during our drive to Maine. I’ve let him be, knowing that the only relief for his turmoil is to find Bea. When he sees her with his own eyes, then the fear fracturing his mind will ease enough for reality to bleed through once more.
Ridley messaged me halfway through our journey to let me know an agent would meet us there. At least he reigned in his misdirected anger long enough to do something useful .
Parking the car, I glance at Orion, his bleary gaze still trained on the view out the window.
“Let’s go,” I mutter tersely, opening my door and slamming it closed behind me.
When I hear his feet shuffling on the pavement behind me, I square my shoulders and head to the front of the hotel.
We’re going to start there and try to pick up some trace of her.
A familiar head of dark hair leans against the wall beside the entrance, eyes narrowed on me as I approach. Fucking great. Of course, the agent they sent had to be my little brother.
“Shiloh.”
“Jericho. Have you found anything?”
He studies me for several seconds before pushing off the wall and waving for us to follow him inside. We ride silently up to the room where Bea was staying. I am surprised to find a small team of agents inside working on computers and speaking on the phone.
Raising one brow, I look at my brother, but I don’t comment. I’m glad about the extra manpower.
“We spoke with the hotel’s staff, confirming what Orbital Somatic told you. Now we’re gaining access to all the external security cameras up and down the street. If they took her close by, we’ll be able to track them from there.”
I nod, guiding Orion to an empty chair to sit before moving to hover beside Jericho and his team.
Waiting is hard when my Omega is missing.
My foot taps on the hardwood floor, earning an annoyed look from the tech seated nearby.
The other option is for me to bark orders for them to move faster, so they can deal with my impatient ticks.
“We’ll find her,” Jericho tells me.
“Acherley.”
We both turn when one agent waves him over.
I can’t pull my eyes away from the screen, hoping we’ll find some clue hidden there.
The agent clicks through a video angled to watch the sidewalk a few yards down from the hotel’s entrance.
On the screen, we watch as Bea climbs out of a car, sleepily waving off the driver as she heads up the sidewalk.
She isn’t paying attention to her surroundings, which is how she misses the two men emerging from an alley and following her.
A growl rips from my throat when they grab her, injecting her with something to render her unconscious. A utility vehicle jerks to a stop at the curb, and they toss my Omega inside. I scour the image, looking for a logo to identify the company the vehicle came from, but they scraped it off.
“Fuck!” I roar, digging a hand into my hair and jerking at the strands.
“Calm down, Shiloh,” Jericho orders, his voice bordering on a bark. “Gault, follow the van as far as you can. Call me with updates on their route.”
Jericho grabs a set of keys from the table and heads toward the door. Another agent rushes to follow him. My brother looks back at me when he stops in the hallway. “Well? Are you coming?”
Glancing at Orion, one of the other agents gives me a sharp nod, letting me know they will look after him. Trusting them to keep him alive, I stalk toward the door.
The men who kidnapped my Omega had better hope I don’t get my hands on them. I’ll rip them apart if they even think about touching what is mine.
Following the camera feeds across the city, Jericho pulls the car to a stop outside of a large industrial building.
My stomach sinks when the tech agent confirms the van carrying my Omega went inside.
This shipping company’s location backs up against the Portland Jetport, giving her kidnappers easy access to steal her away. If she got on a plane…
“Local police will be here to back us up in fifteen minutes,” Jericho says. His body is tense, gaze traveling between me and the warehouse. He knows how difficult it will be for me to sit here when Bea could be inside. “You can’t rush in there.”
I grunt, acknowledging his concern, but making no promises. The short leash I have on my instincts has ignited, and I’m not sure how long the fuse will last before I explode. It would be reckless to tear into a building we now know acts as a camp for the breeding ring.
That doesn’t mean I won’t act if our backup doesn’t arrive soon.
Sighing, Jericho opens his door. “Let’s walk down the block and check things out from the outside.”
With a nod, I follow him. Cold October air presses against me, sending a shiver up my spine. My suit jacket is too thin to shield me from the rapidly dropping temperatures. Not that I am concerned about being cold. I’d suffer sub-zero temperatures naked if it meant getting my Omega back.
“How are things going with your new packmates?”
When I don’t answer, he turns to stare at me. “Shiloh, I swear to Fate, if you pushed your mate away over the shit with Cedes-”
We round a corner, out of view of the warehouse, and my phone rings. Grateful for the interruption and hoping the call holds some news about my mate, I am quick to answer it, switching to speaker so Jericho can hear, too. “Shiloh Acherley.”
“Shiloh.”
A groan rattles up my chest when I hear Ridley’s voice on the other end. “If you are calling to place more blame at my feet-”
“Motherfucker-” he hisses, but the sound cuts off, replaced by shuffling noises. My annoyance with the exuberant Alpha grows. If there weren’t a chance he had news of Bea’s whereabouts, I would hang up.
“This is Lex Ferguson.”
I’d met Mr. Ferguson a few times during his role as Omen Powell’s bodyguard, our interactions limited to a professional aspect. Given his close relationship to Ridley, it isn’t surprising that he, too, is one of Bea’s mates.
“Look, we can play the blame game all day, but it won’t get us anywhere.”
Pursing my lips, I take a steadying breath. “We’ve tracked Bea to a warehouse-”
“She isn’t in Maine,” he cuts in. “She’s here in Alabama, with Doctor Harrison.”
Rage and disgust flood my body at hearing that terrible man’s name. If he has my Omega… Thinking back on the pain I felt from our connection, Lex’s theory makes sense.
“I’ll be on the first plane-”
“No.”
A growl rips from my lips when this asshole interrupts me again .
“We’re tracking leads, but we need backup.
” Rolling my eyes, I start to explain that is precisely why I am heading down there, but he barrels onward.
“One of my military buddies—and a currently suspended FCDA agent—lives in New York. He isn’t answering his damn phone, so I need you to go to his apartment and fill him in on what happened. ”
“I am not your errand boy-”
“The longer Bea is with that jackass, the more likely we are to lose her. Don’t fucking argue with me.”
Click .
Gripping my cell tightly, I contemplate shattering the device on the sidewalk. If it weren’t the only way Bea could contact me, I would. Turning to look at my brother, I’m knocked to my ass when his fist collides with my jaw. “What the fuck?!”
“Apparently, you need some sense knocked into you.” Jericho towers over me, disappointment clearly written in his light brown eyes.
“It’s been weeks since the gala where I told you to let go of the past and give Bea’s other mates a chance.
You pushed her away instead, didn’t you?
” His head shakes when I clench my teeth, ignoring the flash of pain from his hit.
“I’ve always looked up to you, brother, but your stubbornness isn’t admirable.
You’re only hurting your Omega by remaining obstinate out of fear. ”
I accept his hand when he extends it, wiping myself off and avoiding meeting his eyes. Letting him down hurts more than I could have ever thought, especially when there is a part of me—one I’ve buried deep in my soul—that knows he’s right.
“Let’s head back to the car. I’ll have an officer take you back to the hotel so you can track down your pack mate’s friend. My team will search the warehouse and see if there is any evidence of where exactly in Alabama they took your girl.”
Stopping outside his car, I scrub a hand down my face. This whole day is a disaster, and we aren’t any closer to getting Bea to safety. I’m hanging by a thread. If we lose her…
Well, it won’t only be my Omega who doesn’t survive. I have no doubt Orion will fall into a bottomless pit of despair. Therapy won’t be enough to save him from this level of heartbreak a second time.
When the Portland PD’s S.W.A.T. team arrives, I turn to my brother and clap him on the shoulder. “Thank you.” He nods, jumping into his role as the agent in charge. Seconds pass before a regular cruiser arrives. The officer waves me over, and we’re soon on our way to the hotel to pick up Orion.
My phone buzzes as I walk into the building. A quick look at the screen shows an address from Ridley’s unsaved number. It feels ridiculous to take time away from my search to track down their friend, but if he can pull strings we cannot, it may be fruitful.
In the hotel room, Orion hasn’t moved from the chair I deposited him in earlier. His expression is blank, but the hopelessness in his amber eyes when he turns to look at me is gutting.
“We have a lead,” I tell him bluntly. “Bea’s other mates are taking over from here, but they need our help.”
He nods weakly and stumbles to his feet.
Silence envelopes us as we ride down to the lobby and head toward my car, where it’s parked outside.
Hovering by my door, I glance at him over the top of the car.
Keeping Orion from falling apart is a task I am unsure I can handle when my self-control is wearing thin, but fear of him relapsing makes me feel as though I have no choice but to hover.
Shaking my head, I climb behind the wheel and buckle in. For now, he is sticking with me, so I can manage us both. If a time comes when he must be on his own… I’ll figure something out.
Urgency pulses through my veins as we finally return to New York. We’re still forty minutes away from our destination and an hour from Starburgh. The sooner we track down Mr. Ferguson’s military friend, the sooner he can head to Alabama to help them track my Omega.
“Shiloh.”
I startle when Orion speaks. He’s remained silent and withdrawn throughout our journey. “Yes?”
“When we get back to Starburgh, can you drop me at the mental health clinic? My therapist agreed to an emergency session.”
My shoulders relax. Knowing he is taking steps to care for himself puts me at ease. If he is coherent enough to ask for help, there is hope he will pull himself together without my intervention.
“Of course.”
“And I’m sorry.” He turns to look at me, a mixture of fear and anger swirling in his eyes. “I know I have been a burden to you today. Lost in my fear when I should have focused on finding Bea like you have.”
With a sigh, I reach up and loosen my tie.
“Your reaction is understandable, Orion. After losing Serenity and having that pain resurface when you helped Belemorph through their loss, it can’t be easy to differentiate between reality and memory.
But she’s going to need us. When they find her, we have to be prepared to set our needs aside and focus on her recovery. ”
“I know. I will. That’s why I need to see Mia. To work through the fear and cut off this spiral before I lose myself to it.”
Nodding, I let him soak in the comfort of my support. There isn’t much more I can say to ease his distress, not when there are so many unknowns still at play.
Pulling up at the address Lex sent me, I’m immediately annoyed by the lack of a car in the driveway. I do not know how I will track this man down if he isn’t at home.
Shutting off my engine, I leave Orion in the car and walk up to the small front porch.
The one-story house is quaint, if in need of landscaping.
Maroon shutters offset light gray siding, and flower beds run around the front of the porch.
A swing hangs at one end, looking out over the small front yard.
As I step onto the porch, my brows pinch.
The mailbox is overflowing. Hoping this Alpha just doesn’t enjoy going through the advertisements, I knock loudly on the door.
Minutes pass, and no one answers. Scowling, I peer through a side window, but there are no lights on inside and no one appears to be home.
Noise draws my attention to the driveway, where an older woman heads toward me. “You lookin’ for Creed?”
“Yes, I am. I suppose he isn’t home?”
She stops at the bottom of the porch steps, leaning on the railing. “You work with him?”
Shaking my head, I explain without too many details why we are here. “Do you have any idea when he will return?”
“Ain’t seen that boy in weeks,” she grunts. “Isn’t unusual for him to be away for extended work trips, but he usually has the post office hold his mail and hires someone to keep his grass cut. I was hoping you had heard from him.”
Frowning, I glance back toward the door. Lex said he worked for the FCDA, but given that they are currently working on a joint operation with the DAU, I assume they would know if he was pulled away for work.
Digging a business card out of my wallet, I hand it to Creed’s neighbor. “If he returns, would you call me? We could really use his help.”
“Sure, sure,” she mutters as she snatches the card from my hand and turns to return to her home.
Once she is safely inside, I pull my phone out and dial Ridley’s number.
“Did you find Creed?” Lex asks.
“No, there’s no one here.”
“Where the hell is that asshole when I need him?” Lex growls.
“According to his neighbor, your friend hasn’t been home in weeks, so I don’t think he will be able to-”
“Wait, she said what?”
Narrowing my eyes, I repeat what the old woman told me. I’m getting very tired of these two interrupting me every damn time we talk.
“Do you want me to-” Click. Pulling my phone away from my face, I huff a frustrated breath when I see he’s hung up on me.
With one last glance at the empty house, I return to my car. Since this stop was a waste of time, I am more than ready to return to Starburgh. Orion needs to meet with his therapist, and I need to update the other label execs and security teams.
If I haven’t heard from Ridley or Lex by tomorrow morning, I will catch the first flight to Alabama and start searching for Bea myself.