Chapter 41
Savannah
“S avvy, baby, wake up .”
Groaning, I roll over and snuggle into the nearest body. “Leave me alone.”
“Savannah, you need to wake up. Daphne is on the phone and she’s freaking out.”
That has me shooting up straight into a seated position. I look at Jake, who’s naked, sitting in bed, holding out my cell phone.
Taking it, I answer. “Duchess?”
“Savvy, I need you at Salvation, now!” she shouts.
My spine stiffens and any post heat bliss I may still be feeling is gone. I’m on my feet, running over to my dresser to pull on some jeans.
“What is it? What's wrong?”
“Everything is wrong.” Her voice cracks with anger and emotion. “She’s gone. He fucking took her.”
My brows furrow. “Who took who?”
“Corbin.” Her growl is low and dangerous. The mention of his name has me nearly dropping my phone. “He took Lucy.”
“No,” I whisper, my chest tightening. “No. No, that can’t be.”
“He fucking took her, and we’re getting her back. So get your ass over here, now!” she shouts before hanging up.
“Sweet Girl, what's wrong?” Jake asks, slipping on some sweatpants. Putting my phone on the dresser, I rush to finish getting dressed, trying to keep it together as I do.
Corbin has Lucy? How? How the fuck did that happen?
No. There has to be some sort of mistake. Lucy is always with Duchess, unless Duchess is working, but even then she stays at Salvation. The security is good there. She would have been safe. Right?
“Savannah?”
“I have to go.”
“Go where?” he asks, brows furrowing. “Baby, you just got done with your heat. Whatever Daphne needs you for can wait.”
“No, it can’t,” my voice shakes.
“What's going on?” Caleb asks. My eyes snap over to his, finding him sitting up in bed with sleepy eyes.
“Get dressed, you're coming with me.”
“Where?”
“To Salvation. Let's go. Now!” I bark.
“What's going on?” he asks, getting to his feet.
“Your sister called. Said Corbin took Lucy.” I swallow hard as I run a shaky hand through my hair.
“Savvy, baby, breathe.” Jake takes my shaking hands and brings them to my sides before cupping my face. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
“You can’t say that.” My voice cracks as I start to feel myself unravel. “It’s Corbin Miller we’re talking about. Rich, ruthless, sick bastard. He’s back and has Lucy.”
“I’m going to get dressed.” Caleb rushes out of the room.
“I’m going to call my mom, check in on Athena.”
“NO!” I shout, spinning around to face him with wide eyes. “You do not take your eyes off that baby girl. Do you understand me? Have your mom bring her back here. We have good security. You can keep her safe here.” I’m shaking now. “I can’t let him get near her. He can’t take her from me, too.”
“Shhh.” Leroy wraps his arms around me. “No one is going to touch her, okay? Jake and Walker will stay here with the baby, okay? But I’m coming with you and Caleb.”
“Okay.” I nod.
“You can’t just go, Savannah.” Jake’s eyes are wide. “This is the man who ruined your life.”
“I know,” I growl. “And I want him fucking dead. It was always my end game to take him off this planet. It’s just happening sooner than planned.”
“No.” Jake shakes his head. “You can’t go.”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” I argue back, shaking my head.
“You're our Omega! I love you,” he shouts, voice cracking. “I already lost you once. I can't lose you again.”
Swallowing hard, I walk over to him. “I love you, Jake. Nothing in this world will keep me from coming back to my pack, do you understand me? But I need to do this. My best friends need me. Duchess is going to go for the kill, and I need to be the one to end him. I’ll never be able to live with myself if his blood isn’t on my hands.”
“Please come back to me.” His eyes fill with tears. “Please?”
Grabbing his face, I bring his forehead down to mine. “I’m coming back to you. You're my home. I’m not going anywhere.”
I kiss him hard, trying to soothe his agitated mind while trying not to feel sick for telling him what I just told him. Because I don’t know if I can keep that promise, I can’t predict what's going to happen.
But the fact is, Corbin Miller will die today, even if it kills me too.
We’re all dressed, out the door, and on the road in less than five minutes.
I’m a mess, chewing on my nails as I look out the window, my knees bouncing. A hand lands on my thigh, giving it a squeeze. My eyes land on Leroy’s hand, then crawl up his arm to his face. He’s watching the road.
He doesn’t tell me everything is going to be fine, and I’m glad for that.
How is this even happening? Just an hour ago, I was coming down from the best heat of my life, surrounded by my Alphas, happier than I've ever been.
And now I’m about to go toe-to-toe with the devil himself.
When we get to Salvation, the place is swarming with people.
“Coby, what's going on?” I ask, jogging over to him. He’s standing by the front door and waves us in the moment he recognizes me, but freezes the moment the words are out of my mouth.
“Coby? Are you sick or something?”
“What did you just call me?” he questions as if that is the most important thing right now.
“It’s your name, isn’t it?” I ask, frowning.
“Well, yeah. But normally you call me Cobra.”
“Right.” I nod. “Nope I’m not sick, but I am freaking the fuck out,” I mutter as we follow after him.
“There you are.” Duchess rushes over to us as soon as we step into the lobby.
“How did this happen? What is going on?”
“I can explain.” I look over and see a ghost.
“Jeremy?” Caleb breathes out before rushing over to his brother. Jerry grunts as Caleb wraps his arms around his brother.
“Nice to see you, big bro.” Jerry pats his back. “I just wish it were under better circumstances.”
“What is he doing here?” I ask, walking over to him.
“Savannah, you're looking good. Mated to my brother, I see.” He gives me a tired smile. “I’m happy for you.”
“Can we all have this fucking family reunion when my Omega isn’t missing!” Duchess roars.
“Fuck. Sorry,” Jerry grunts. “So, pretty much, Corbin found out that you're alive.”
My stomach drops. “Fuck. For how long?”
“Not long. He just found out a few days ago. By any chance, were you at a golf course?”
“Yeah, why?” I frown.
“Because he was there, golfing with some of his friends.”
“Oh fuck.” My eyes widen. I knew that place was for rich people, but I didn’t think someone like him would go there. The thought of running into him out in publict never even crossed my mind.
“From what I’ve overheard, he saw someone who reminded him of you. It got him thinking, so he went searching, and then he came to try and find me. I knew shit was about to hit the fan, so I made my escape, but not before some of his men tried to kill me. Luckily, I was able to get away. I planned to go into hiding and called Daphne for help. I’m not sure how, but he tracked my call here. I think he thought you would have been here too. And when he didn’t find you, he took Lucy out of anger. Or with the intention of trading her for you.”
“Jeremy thinks he's taken Lucy back to his office on 95th and 4th,” Duchess says.
“Why would he bring her there?”
“Because, at the moment, we have an advantage. Corbin has been spiralling big time since you left. The deal with the Russian mafia leader clearly didn’t happen, and that guy was not happy. He’s been working on taking Corbin down for wasting his time and screwing him over. He’s taken everything from him. Corbin’s trying to act like nothing’s wrong, but he’s a desperate man. He blames you for his losing everything because if you hadn’t died, none of it would have happened. So when he found out you weren't dead, he made it his mission to get you back. He just didn’t plan for you not to be here.”
“Fuck.” I start to pace. “He knows I’m alive. Fuck! FUCK.” I spin around with wide eyes. “Walker, Jake, and the baby. If he knows I’m alive, he’s going to go after them,” I croak.
“We have men on them,” Caleb reassures, wrapping his arms around me, holding me tightly. The warmth and strength of my Alpha is exactly what I need right now to keep me from falling apart. “I called up some of my connections, and there are about five squad cars outside our house.”
“How did you make that happen?” Duchess asks.
“I told my boss I had a lead on your case.” He looks down at me. “The one I’ve been working on for years. It’s a long story, but I have permission to take Corbin down by any means necessary.”
“None of this makes sense,” Duchess growls. “You're just a cop. Shouldn’t this be the FBI’s doing or some shit?”
Caleb and Jerry share a look. “We are FBI,” Jerry says.
“What?!” Both Duchess and I shout together.
“We can get into all of that later,” Caleb says. “Right now, we have a sick motherfucker to bring down and an Omega to get back.”
“I have so many questions,” I growl at my Alpha. “FBI?” I shake my head. “Listen here, buddy, you better know that I’m killing Corbin, do you understand me?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Baby Girl.” He kisses me hard.
Turning to Duchess, I grab her shoulders. “We’re going to get your Omega back, okay?”
She nods. “Fuck yes we are.”
“I’m so fucking sorry,” my voice cracks.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. You did nothing wrong. This is all him. And it’s about fucking time he died.”
“I couldn't agree more.”
You fucked with the wrong people, Corbin Miller. You think you're some kind of god. That you're invincible. But you're nothing. And tonight, your reign of terror ends.
W e’re outside of an office building on the outskirts of town. It’s dark, all the lights in the building are off.
“Are you sure he’s here?” I ask Jerry.
“Yeah. One of our men confirmed it. They followed Corbin back here. They watched as he took Lucy inside. From there? I have no clue. We tried to hack into the security system, but it’s offline.” Jerry turns to us. “Be careful in there. He’s desperate and reckless, so he’s going to be more likely to make mistakes. The Corbin Miller the world feared isn’t who he is anymore. He’s a man with nothing left to lose.”
Part of me is thrilled that he’s lost everything. A man who used to think of himself as invincible got too cocky and lost it all.
But I can’t celebrate or gloat because he has my best friend.
He’s already taken so much from me, I won't let him take anything else.
“Is it even safe to be out in the open like this?” I ask, looking around. “Where is everyone?”
“Most likely inside. When I tell you Corbin has lost everything, I mean everything. Not just his money and properties, but his men too. You find out real fast where loyalties lie when it only existed in the first place because you paid them. Corbin never cared about the people who worked for him, so they turned on him quickly when his money disappeared. The only people left are those in his close circle.”
There are a lot of us here tonight—a whole little army at our side. While Corbin ruled with fear and money, Duchess built a family out of love and loyalty.
The people here will fight at her side and die alongside her if that's how the universe chooses to take this.
“Savvy,” Duchess gets my attention. She looks badass right now, dressed in all black, her red hair up in a ponytail, and guns strapped to her body.
I’m dressed pretty similarly.
“If you find yourself in a position that won’t lead to the ending you want, I want you to leave.”
“What?” My brows furrow.
“I don’t want you to die trying to kill that monster,” she growls. “You have so much to live for. I don’t want him to take it all away from you again. So if it’s between you and him, you need to pick yourself. Always.”
“No–”
“Yes,” she growls.
“I’m going to kill him,” I insist.
She gives me a big grin. “Fuck yeah, you are.”
We’ve gone over the blueprints and have a plan in place. Or at least the best we could with what little time we had to really think things through.
Jerry is right. If we drag this out too long, Corbin could get impatient and end Lucy at any moment. We need to get in and get out, make this quick.
She’s not the one he wants; I am. He’s expecting me, and I’m walking right into his trap.
My eyes find Jerry, and I nod. He nods back and looks to Cobra.
In a flash, Caleb and Leroy are gagged and cuffed as they get dragged towards one of the vans we brought.
“I love you,” I call out. “I won’t let him hurt you. I’m sorry.” Tears fill my eyes at the look of rage and betrayal directed at me as they fight to get free.
“We need to do this. Now,” I tell Duchess.
She nods. “Let’s go!”
Guns in hand, we head into the building.
The plan is for everyone to look for Lucy, taking out anyone who gets in their way while I make my way right to Corbin’s office.
Knowing him, that's where he’s going to be. Sitting in his chair, thinking he’s won. Waiting for Duchess to show up with me at her side and make a deal. At least that's what he’d want us to do. He would think that he’d kill Duchess and Lucy before running off with me.
His plan is for everyone but the two of us to die tonight.
Not fucking happening, buddy. Not while I’m still breathing.
We split up, people taking off in all different directions.
It doesn't take long before gunshots ring out.
Some of Duchess’ men take off up the stairs in front of me, and as I run up, bodies drop, falling past me.
One by one, men come spilling into the stairwell. Raising my gun, I start shooting.
By the time I get to the top, I’m sweating, my body hurts, and I can hardly breathe.
“Thanks.” I nod as I enter the top stairwell. “I got it from here.”
“Are you sure?” the man asks.
“Go find Lucy, help Duchess.”
He nods and then takes off as I walk through the door to access the rooms on this level.
The door clicks behind me, and I’m left standing in the dark alone.
It’s quiet. Too quiet.
I don’t like it.
Looking both ways down the hall, I try to see if anyone is around, but there’s no point. It’s pitch black.
All but the door at the end of the hall. Light spills from under it, lighting up the space around it. And is that... is that music?
Classical music fills the quiet, dark hallway the closer I get to the only door with light spilling from the crack at the bottom.
Gun raised, my heart races faster with every step.
Am I dreaming? Is any of this real? Maybe I’m still passed out cold, mind and body exhausted from my heat.
When my time came to kill Corbin, it wasn’t supposed to be like this.
I had a list, a plan. He was meant to be my last. I haven’t even gotten through half of it.
It’s because you let the life you’ve always dreamed of swallow you up whole, making you forget about the reason you do what you do.
I did, didn’t I? All the people who hurt me were still living and breathing, going about their lives like nothing happened. Where they could have hurt more people.
And what was I doing? Changing diapers, cleaning the house, and fucking my Alphas.
Now is not the time to beat yourself up, Savvy. The monster who ruined your life is behind this door.
It’s now or never. You or him. Live or die.
As I shove open the door, I try not to think about my Alphas. About the little girl who tried to heal a mother’s broken heart. I try not to think about how the last time I laid eyes on them may very well be the last time.
No. Failure isn’t an option. I won’t let that bastard take one more thing from me.
This ends tonight.
When my eyes land on him, he’s sitting in his chair at his desk.
The smug look on his face melts away when he sees I’m alone. Looking behind me, then back to me, he glowers.
Bile turns in my stomach, my chest heaving as I kick the door closed behind me and lock it.
It’s him and me. No one comes in, and no one goes out. Not until this is over.
“Alone? Well, isn’t that little mafia bitch friend of yours stupid. Letting you come up here all by yourself.”
“I can handle myself,” I grind out, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me.
Admittedly, since meeting my pack, I’ve grown soft. And for the most part, that’s a good thing. They were able to smooth out my rough edges.
But right now, I can’t be Savannah, the domesticated Omega. I need to be Savvy, the killer, the scorned Omega, who’s bloodthirsty and calculating.
“Well.” He stands. “Have a seat. It’s been a while. You have some explaining to do.”
I don’t hesitate when I pull my gun and shoot him in the knees. He screams, falling back into the chair.
With wide eyes, he reaches for the gun on his desk, shock written all over his pain-filled face. He underestimated me, expecting me to be the same helpless Omega he had control over for years.
He knows nothing of the woman I’ve become. But he’s about to find out.
I shoot again, hitting his hand before he can make contact with his gun.
Cradling his hand, he holds it to his chest before going for the gun again with his other hand.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” I raise the gun, aiming at his head. “Next one is between your eyes.”
“Who the fuck are you?” he roars. Ah, he’s second-guessing himself, not believing I’m me. How rude.
“Who am I?” I cock my head to the side, walking towards him, gun still pointed at his head. “Why it’s me, silly. The meek little Omega you kept locked up, doing all the fucked up and twisted things you love to do. The one you kept around for a power trip. Did it make you feel good to take everything away from my father? To rape me and beat me just to stick it to him?” I grin. “How’s that going for you now?” I laugh. “Karma and me... yeah, I’m going have to marry that bitch because she fucked you real good. All that work, and in the end, you lost everything.”
His nostrils flare and his dumb-ass goes for the gun again. I shoot him. Of course. What else was he expecting?
“Fuck!” he roars.
“You really are stupid, aren't you?” I laugh, grabbing the zip ties from my back pocket. He tries to fight me as I secure him to the chair. But he’s weak, and in a hell of a lot of pain. So it doesn’t take long until I’m pushing his chair back so I can sit on his desk. “You’ve lost your touch, Corbin. Where’s the big, bad billionaire? You got too cocky, too in your own head, and look where it got you. Didn’t expect to see me like this, did you?” I grin, and it’s more sinister than all the ones he gave me in the past. “Look at me, I'm all grown up. I’m not that Omega anymore, Corbin. I’m so much worse. Did you start to wonder what was going on when people who’ve been connected to you started to go missing one by one?”
His eyes flash, his teeth gritted as he tries to breathe through the pain. “You got that little bitch to do it for you, huh? Some kind of avenging angel to kill all the people you wanted dead? I should have killed that cunt when I had the chance.”
I snort a laugh. “Oh, honey, you would never stand a chance against Duchess. She eats men like you for lunch.”
“Yeah? Then why hasn’t she taken me out herself?” He smirks.
“Because I asked her not to.” I lean forward, running the gun along his jaw, loving the way he shudders in fear. Fuck, it’s like a drug.
“W-why would you do that?” He looks from the gun to me.
“Because I wanted to kill you myself, silly.” I laugh. “Oh, and Duchess has never killed for me. No, no, no. That was all my doing.” I grin. “You should have seen it. You would have been so proud. I fucked them up real good. And I’m going to do the same to you.”
“I’m going to kill you!” he roars. “I’m going to beat you until you can’t fucking move, then I’m going to fuck you like the stupid whore you are. After that, I’ll end you with a bullet in the head like I should have done a long time ago.”
“You know what, you really should have done it a long time ago. This sick little fucked up thing you had going, keeping me in the basement and treating me like your own personal little play doll, was only a waste of time. Yes, you got what you set out to do, only you didn’t, did you? Heard the nasty fucker you were trying to sell me to didn’t like the fact that he didn’t get what he paid for. How's it feel to lose everything?” I ask, cocking my head to the side. “To know you have nothing. That you're no one. That everything you’ve worked so hard for is... poof, gone.”
“You!” he screams. “It’s all your fault. You ruined my life.”
I raise a brow. “And my life was all rainbows and sunshine? Riiiight. Pretty sure you ruined my life first.”
He laughs, and laughs and laughs. Honestly, I start to get a little concerned because he seems like he's downright having a manic episode. I don’t blame him, but still. It’s ruining my vibe.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s soooo funny?” I say with the roll of my eyes.
“You,” he grunts out, panting heavily as he tries to catch his breath. “You don’t even know the half of it.”
“I’m not a mind reader, Corbin. The half of what?”
“What I did to you!” He laughs again, gasping for air. “For years, no matter what I did, you never fucking broke. You never cried, or screamed—nothing. Not unless you were lost in your heat like a whore,” he spits, then he smiles. “My time with you was up. I’d done everything I could think of, all while I ruined your father’s life. I could have killed you, but I didn’t want your suffering to end. So I sold you to someone who would make that happen.” He chuckles. “But not before doing the one thing I know that would destroy you from the inside out.”
My breathing picks up, panic filling me as I try to think of what he could have possibly done that I didn’t already know about. I try not to show the way my body shakes as my gut turns, the anticipation killing me.
“You can’t destroy me, Corbin. You're going to die tonight. Just give up already,” I growl, trying not to let my words break.
“Oh, but I already did,” he laughs again. “I was outside the room, you know. I heard every gut-wrenching sob leave your chest as the nurses told you our baby was dead. It was fucking music to my ears. I’ve never been so hard in my life.”
My body stiffens, and I’m unable to hold back my anger. “You’re a fucking sick bastard!” I spit, vibrating with rage.
His eyes light up seeing that he’s getting a reaction out of me. I hate it but I can’t fucking control myself.
“Knowing you were a wrecked, heartbroken, and defeated mother who lost her son would have been just the right amount of pain to send you off to your next owner with. Knowing you would give up, shut down, lose the will to live, and let yourself die was the ultimate win.”
“Yeah, well, it didn’t turn out like that, now did it?” I shout in his face, pressing the gun to his head, my hand shaking as I do.
“No.” He laughs. “No, it didn’t. But it’s like the gift that keeps on giving.” He continues to fucking laughing every moment he’s not speaking. What the fuck is so funny?
“Wanna know why?” he grins. “Wanna know the big secret?”
“Sure, why not?” I grind out.
“The baby never died.” He tosses his head back, laughing so hard he can’t breathe.
My brain tries to make sense of his words, but before I can untangle that web of nonsense, he keeps going.
“I told the nurse to tell you he died. But in reality, the moment he slid out of that gaping cunt of yours, I had it taken away.”
“No.” I shake my head, refusing to believe it.
“Yes.” He grins. “I had no need for the little bastard. The idea of killing my own blood didn’t sit right with me, so my plan was to put the baby up for adoption.”
This can’t be right. No. No. My baby isn’t alive, he’s dead. I saw him with my own eyes. He was so small, his lips and face so blue. He was dead. No. NO!
My breathing is erratic, my eyes and mind growing hazy as I spiral. Fuck. This isn’t real. None of this is real. He’s lying, Savannah. This is his one last-ditch effort to hurt you before his miserable life is ended.
“While I was waiting for you to come tonight, I did some research to make sure I had every tool at my disposal to destroy you.” He grins. “I know all about the new life. The new pack you found yourself.”
“Don’t speak about my pack!” I scream, my voice cracking as tears spill down my face.
He doesn’t listen. “Sweet little baby girl, too. What a precious little thing.”
“Don’t!” I rasp. Not my baby girl. How fucking dare he even think about her.
“Athena, is it?” he asks, letting out a choked sound, his injuries and loss of blood starting to get to him.
“Don’t you fucking say her name.”
Kill him, Savvy. Just end him, and all his ramblings will stop.
Only... I can’t, my trembling finger is frozen on the trigger. I can’t fucking move.
“Those Alphas of yours had her through a surrogate, right? A pretty little young thing named Ashley.”
“Stop,” I scream.
“Did you know, I’ve met Ashley before?” He grins. “She was a mess. A few months had gone by, and I was looking for the right family to take the baby. That's when I found Ashley outside the agency. One that I owned, by the way.” He winks. “She was distraught, and was going on and on about how she was going to lose everything if they found out, blah, blah, blah. I was out having a smoke, her words intriguing me. So I went over to her and she told me her story. Do you wanna hear it?”
I shake my head, not wanting to hear him speak anymore. But my damn brain can’t make my fucking mouth work.
“She was pregnant, almost full term. She just got the devastating news that she lost the baby and was freaking out because she would have lost all the money they paid her, leaving her with nothing. Now, at the time, I didn’t know the pack she was working with would have ended up being yours; the offer I made her was just to hurt you more if I ever needed to use the information against you. So... I made her a deal. Would you like to know the terms of that deal?”
“No,” I rasp, everything inside me shutting down. Whatever he’s about to say... I just know I’m not going to be able to handle it. It's too much. It’s all too much.
“I helped her make it look like she gave birth while the guys were on a mini guys’ vacation. The doctors cut their dead child out of her, and I placed a new one in her arms.”
“No!” I gag as bile tries to make its way up my throat. I’m a mess, shaking, crying, and losing my fucking mind right now. His words are lies. Fucked up twisted lies. It’s how he works. It’s what he does. It’s not real. It’s not fucking real.
“Yes, Savannah.” He laughs manically. “The baby they’ve been raising, their daughter, isn’t theirs. No, she’s ours, Savannah. You didn’t give birth to a son, but a daughter. And you’ve been raising her all along. The baby you’ve spent the past four months treating like she’s yours... is your biological daughter.”