46. Dominic
Chapter 46
Dominic
I can see from the look in her eyes that she wants to believe us. Penelope is clinging to the hope that we’re right and we can protect her from these men who have made her life hell. But there’s lingering fear there too, and that makes sense. These other Alphas clearly seem prepared to do whatever it takes to get what they want, not caring what they destroy in the process.
More than anything, I want to make that fear go away for her.
“Okay,” I say, snapping into management mode. “We need to get to work on this. We have lawyers and resources, and we need to use them. Call in whatever favors we have to so we can figure out a way to stop these fuckers. They don’t have the reach that we do, and we need to use that to our advantage, since they want to play blackmail games.”
Tristan and Xavier nod in agreement.
Instead of going to the office, we head back home together. Penelope looks miserable to be leaving her bakery behind in such a state, but it’s not safe for her to stay there by herself right now. And shitty as it is, she’s not going to have any customers like this.
“We’re not letting you out of our sight,” Xavier says, leaning into her when we leave. He’s trying to make her feel better, but it’s not really working.
We settle in the living room with our laptops and phones, and Penelope curls up on the couch. The TV is on low, and she stares at it, but probably isn’t really paying attention to anything that’s happening on the screen.
Over the years, between the three of us, we’ve amassed a lot of contacts. People in cyber tracking, surveillance, and hacking. Working in the tech industry is good for that.
We place calls and send secure messages, not leaving any stone unturned.
It takes hours to get through it all, and we wait to hear back.
Tristan paces, picking up his phone every now and then to answer a call. Whenever it’s bad news, his brow wrinkles and he curses under his breath.
“Either these men are experts at flying under the radar, or there’s not much to turn up on them.”
“Bullshit,” I fire back. “You don’t just wake up one day and decide to be a piece of shit. If they’re as horrible as Penelope says they are, they’ve had their fingers in something before. We just have to find it.”
But finding it proves to be easier said than done. We turn up dead end after dead end, and time is running out.
A day passes and then another, and we still have nothing, Nothing to go on that will help with getting them away from Penelope and off our backs.
On the last day before we have to give Isaac and his pack an answer, Xavier sits up with a start, holding his phone.
“Holy shit, I think I’ve got something,” he says.
We’re all immediately zeroed in on him. “What is it?” I demand.
“Okay, so I pulled some strings with someone I know who used to work for the ORD. Apparently Penelope is not the first Omega that these assholes were associated with.”
Penelope blinks, looking surprised. “I wasn’t?”
He shakes his head. “They had another Omega before you, and according to some records that were later buried, they treated her like shit too.”
Penelope’s eyes are wide as she takes that in. “Can we talk to her?”
“Already on it.” He has her contact information, and we reach out to her over the phone.
She sounds shaken up once we explain why we’re calling, and as soon as I use Isaac’s name, she interrupts me. “I don’t want to talk about him,” she says.
“You don’t have to talk to me about him. But you’re not the only Omega he and his pack have abused. And he’s trying to ruin someone’s life. If you were to come forward and speak out against them, it would help us to stop them from doing this to anyone else.”
There’s a long stretch of silence, interrupted only by the girl’s heavy breathing.
“I… I can’t,” she finally whispers. “I’m sorry, I know this kind of thing is important, but I don’t want to get involved with them.”
“I understand that you’re afraid,” Xavier says, trying be soothing. “But if you come forward, we can protect you. Coming forward means they can’t hurt you either.”
“No. I just—you don’t understand. I got away from them. I got away, and I closed the door on that part of my life forever. If I open it back up, even for this, they’ll have a hold on me again, and I can’t… I can’t do that. I’m so sorry, but I just can’t.”
She hangs up before we can get another word out.
“Fuck,” I growl, raking my hands through my hair. “That was our best fucking chance.”
Penelope was mostly quiet during that conversation, and now she looks wide eyed with fear all over again. The urge to protect her is even stronger now than it was, if that’s possible.
“It’s going to be okay,” I promise her. “We’re going to figure this out.”
But she knows like we do that we’re running out of options. And when the phone rings from an unfamiliar number, I know we’re also out of time.
As soon as I answer the call, Isaac’s voice is smug and self-assured. “Time’s up,” he says. “What’s your choice? Are you going to pay up, or am I going to make your little wife regret the day she decided to run from us?”
“You’re a piece of shit,” I snarl, letting my anger get the better of me. “And we’re not giving you anything. No matter what it takes, I’m going to expose you and your pack for the fucking assholes you are. I don’t care if we have to spend the rest of our lives and all of our resources bringing you down.”
Isaac chuckles, the threat bouncing off him. “You talk a big game, but your threats won’t mean shit if your company is ruined.”
That catches me off guard. “What are you talking about?” I demand.
“Remember you made your choice,” Isaac says and then hangs up.
“I’m guessing he didn’t want to be reasonable,” Xavier murmurs, looking pained.
“No,” I mutter back. “He didn’t.” I give them all a quick rundown on what was said.
Penelope gets to her feet, pacing frantically. “This is bad. They’re not going to let this go. I don’t want you guys to get dragged into this. And your company! You’ve worked so hard, and this is just—” She breaks off, putting her head in her hands.
“Pen, take a breath,” I say, trying to reassure her. “We’re going to figure a way out of this.”
“You keep saying that, but what if there is no way. What if they’ve won.”
“No. I won’t let that happen.”
Another phone rings, and Tristan snatches his up, impatient. “What is it?” he demands. He listens for a second and then his eyes go wide, the color draining from his face. That puts all of us on alert. “We’ll handle it,” Tristan says and hangs up, dropping his phone on the couch.
“What?” I ask, dread settling in my gut.
“As of about five minutes ago, everyone on the board of Vantage knows that our marriage was fake and that we lied to them,” Tristan says, sounding a little detached.
Penelope gasps in shock.