52. Ben
Ben
T wo out of my three omegas were in trouble, and as an alpha I was losing my mind.
We arrived at Computer Solutions in record timing, thanks to Rian’s unwillingness to follow traffic laws. We headed straight for the employee parking, and West met us at the elevator leading up to the office.
His voice sounded thick, like he’d barely managed to hold back tears. “Thanks for coming. Sorry, I needed a moment in the car.”
I pulled him into a hug, but he went stiff instead of yielding. I let go immediately. “What do you need?”
He shrugged. “I’m okay.”
Rian shifted next to me, confused filtering through our bond. “Is Ember chewing your boss out?”
“Maybe?” West sounded confused, like he was struggling to focus. “She saw…everything. I stepped outside to clear my head. Why?”
Rian cleared his throat. “We felt her get really upset through the bond and then it smoothed out.”
“Everything feels like garbage,” West muttered. Rian took my arm, and we headed off concrete floor to harder sidewalk. The shrill of electronic beeps came, and I got onto the elevator.
I reached out through the bond with Ember, but staticky blankness came inside of her usual range of feelings. Like when she was asleep.
She should be livid. Pissed off. Angry, like I’d felt a few minutes ago.
Not this weird quiet.
The elevator pinged and all my senses went to high alert. I swung my cane around the room, tuning in for Ember’s voice. If I could just smell her, touch her, everything would be okay.
“Where’s Ember?” West’s voice was tight, and he must have been talking to a coworker because a voice I didn’t recognize answered.
“I thought she was with you. She left shortly after you did.”
Rian’s brief flare of panic hit me through the bond.
West’s voice was tight. “Go get Mr. Arnold.”
We waited less than a minute before an alpha scent came near us. Hackles raised, I stepped in front of both West and Rian, barely stifling a growl. I wasn’t usually this overprotective, but Ember was weirdly muted through the bond and West was trying to keep himself from falling apart.
“Erm, yes, hello. So sorry about the, uhhh, situation, West. We’re working on getting it removed as quickly as possible.”
“You had better.” West’s voice was cold. “Where’s Ember? Denise said she left after me, but we didn’t see her in the garage.”
“I haven’t seen her.” Mr. Arnold sounded both placating and annoyed.
I stiffened. I had enough with this asshole. “Here’s what’s about to happen. You’re going to cut the power to all of the computers, except for one in your office. Next, you’re going to page Ember in case she’s in the building somewhere, looking for West.”
“I already texted her,” Rian said. “She knows to contact us.”
“But our workday—” Mr. Arnold started, but I held up a hand. “Did you want me to call my very expensive lawyer?”
The other alpha sputtered but quickly caved. “Everyone, power down.”
Long minutes passed. Rian gave me a running commentary, and we were shown to a side office.
I drummed my fingers on the top of the table.
The scent of leather and spice came back into the room, and Mr. Arnold cleared his throat. “We’ve paged Ember, but three other people saw her leave the building.”
“What?” West’s voice was filled with fear. “She didn’t come to our car. She wouldn’t have walked down to the corner market for a bagel.”
My instincts screamed. “Get us the security footage of that elevator. We want to know which direction she went in if she didn’t meet up with West.”
I could feel the other alpha wanting to object. The way he paused, his shape and scent looming. In the end he simply left.
“I tried texting her again, but nothing.” Rian’s worry was an electric brand inside me. I reached out for West’s hand, fumbling in the dark.
West moved his hand and squeezed mine. I didn’t have a bond with him, so this would have to do.
I tried to tell myself I was overreacting, that she would turn up soon and I would feel like I was too protective.
But I knew in my gut something was wrong.
“I shouldn’t have left.” West sounded guilty. “I should have stayed?—”
“No,” Rian said immediately. “I would have left too. Having your private business plastered all over the computers? Nope.”
We waited, tense, until twenty minutes later, Alejandro showed up. The other alpha was quickly brought up to speed and we waited for the recording.
“About my record…” West paused, his voice flat.
I put my hand on his wrist. “You don’t have to talk about it. Any of it.”
He ignored me. “I stabbed my stepfather. For touching me.” He paused, and murderous rage rose so quickly I thought I would simply teleport to wherever this stepfather was.
“I was charged, but they didn’t convict. My stepfather died in prison,” he said, patting my hand. The murderous rage must have made it to my expression.
I squeezed his hands, cold and clammy. I hated that life had been so unkind to him, and now someone was using that against him.
“Good,” Alejandro said, his voice hoarse. “Otherwise Ben and I would have taken a little trip as soon as we found out where Ember was.”
West sighed. “I’m fine. I mean, I don’t like my business being plastered everywhere, but I’ve moved on. All of you have helped me move on.”
“Good,” Rian said, his scent shifting. “We would never hurt you.”
“I know,” West said quietly. “Whoever did this, they had to hack the sealed records.”
Mr. Arnold came back into the room, bringing his gross scent with him. “We’ve already alerted security.”
I stood up so fast I banged my knee on the table. “What?”
“The angle is bad, but…” He paused. “We have her leaving the elevator and leaning against one of the pillars. She struggles, and then someone lifts her into a van.”
A roaring sound hit my ears. Alejandro and I snarled at the same time. “Who?”
“The angle doesn’t show anything more than someone a bit taller than her wearing a black ski mask.”
“Call the police,” Alejandro said from my right, his voice tight. In the bond, all we felt from Ember was muted nothingness.
“She’s unconscious,” Rian said. “Has to be. She doesn’t feel upset at all.”
After that was a flurry of activity after that, but my eardrums wouldn’t stop roaring.
Someone had my omega. I would burn the world down if it meant finding her.