Chapter 28 – Arin
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
ARIN
One phone call.
That was all it took.
The man in front of me doesn’t waver — an echo of Seth’s features on his face. They could be twins except Seth’s skin is tanned and his cousin is pale. He bears a careful, composed expression — like my love’s life isn’t hanging in the balance of a madman’s tenuous grip on reality.
Gabriel Abramowitz’s eyes track the screen in front of us. I can admit when I’m out of my element, and this is one of those times. Sheer panic rushes through my bloodstream, but the other alpha just studies the cameras.
Seth steps closer, shoulders brushing like second nature, bending to mutter something in his cousin’s ear. Gabriel’s eyes raise, then he nods, his voice carrying. “Vivian will enter first, Cyrus will take care of any accomplices.”
What the fuck have you been hiding from us?
Bennett winds his arm around Seth and I glance at Theo, chest aching as he stares at nothing, eyes lost. I move closer, hand bracing against the back of his neck, so familiar, but this time, both of us are in pain . “She will be okay.”
“I didn’t even think this was a possibility.” His voice is raw, blue eyes wrecked as he looks at me. “Should we have gotten her a security team? Did we put a target on her back?” Theo searches my face for answers that I don’t have.
“It isn’t your fault.” Gabriel steps over, pushing up his sleeves to reveal a veritable crosshatch of tattoos that rival Theo’s own. I can’t distinguish the art in the low light as he waves a hand at the monitors. “She was being stalked, for years, from what my people have figured out in the short amount of time we’ve had. He clearly believes in the old ways — one alpha, one omega — pure ownership. You can’t get better than Vivian and Cyrus. They’ll get her back for you.”
David Masterson .
The man’s face is on one of the monitors, blurry information about the psychotic alpha not registering in my brain as I stare at his photo. Greasy brown-black hair hangs around his face. He was in London — he made a commotion at June’s signing, only interrupted by her oncoming heat. He had a rental car parked outside our townhouse. He lived in the same building that June did, and tagged her car with a tracker, which is how he found Seth and her at the grocery store, then later the location of our home in Rochester. He paid off an employee for access to our home security network.
He saw his chance with her signing and took it.
I feel sick .
Gabriel looks up at me, a few inches shorter. Prime to prime. “They’re going in.”
We cluster around the monitors. Both of Gabriel’s people have cameras on their suits. The female alpha — Vivian — rushes in, entering the building and the camera on the man — Cyrus — catches glimpses of her as they clear the bottom floor together. The apartment building is abandoned and wasn’t hard to find. When David took June, he clearly planned to be in and out as quickly as possible.
But Seth’s call was faster.
The building is filthy through the grainy cameras. My chest smarts and I press a hand against my heart, feeling the bond tug, awareness, sleepy and panicked — June’s awake and I watch as Cyrus kicks a door down.
David stands by a door, clutching a bottle of pills.
Cyrus doesn’t hesitate.
The monitors flare with light, gunshots firing before Vivian darts around Cyrus and bends down to check the body lying on the floor. Cyrus moves, immediately clearing the rest of the apartment and my eyes dart to Vivian’s body camera as she enters a room.
June is strapped to a gurney, medical supplies all around her.
Theo snarls, and the noise is echoed by Bennett as Seth shoves forward, staring with his mouth partially open. “Gabriel.”
Gabriel touches his earpiece, talking quickly. “Is she unharmed?”
Vivian darts to June’s side, her pale face sheened with sweat. She flinches away from the female alpha and Cyrus moves quickly, working to get June free from the cuffs.
I’ve seen enough . Turning sharply, I leave the room, the entire building, legs eating up the distance between us and the building two blocks away. Someone shouts my name, but I ignore them, passing a van where Gabriel has two EMTs waiting.
Then I see it.
The door to the abandoned building opens, Vivian holding it as Cyrus passes her.
And I’m running .
The man holding June looks up sharply as I nearly knock into him, gasping, “Juniper — June —” Her pretty white dress is dirty as I take her from Cyrus’ arms, round face pale as I wrap my arms around her, pulling her to my chest. Tears stream down my face as I press my nose against her hair, breathing her in and chasing away the smell of the other alpha at the same time.
Seth, Bennett, and Theo’s presences all join us, touching her, crying too, as she shakes. I don’t let her go as we make it to the EMTs, all but snarling when they check her over. One of them touches her arm as she trembles, feeling so small to me, so human and vulnerable.
As they raise her arm, I see the gash and come undone.
Her fingers cling to me when I start to move her away — I know the other alpha is dead — but I have the sudden urge to absolutely rip his body to shreds myself.
“No,” June gasps, sobbing as she clamors to hold onto me. “Don’t leave me.”
Theo strokes her hair, half-panicked as he looks over at me. One of the EMTs starts the process of cleaning her arm as I jerk her firmly into my lap, pressing my nose against her throat, whispering, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Juniper.”
She shakes harder, crying, entirely soundless. Bennett cups her face, pressing his lips against her forehead as he holds onto her.
The beta EMT looks up at our pack, eyes soft. “She doesn’t need stitches and the suppressants he spiked her with will be entirely out of her system by tomorrow. They were quick acting — meant to subdue feral omegas. I have no idea how he could have accessed ones this powerful.”
June turns her head, burying herself against me as she sobs harder. My heart breaks as I shush her, letting her fall apart in my arms.
Seth and Gabriel talk rapidly, stances nearly identical, only a few steps away. The female alpha approaches them, then touches Seth’s arm. He looks back at June, eyes cutting before he parts from them. When he steps over, he takes June’s face into his hands, pulling her nose to nose with himself.
“You’re safe now, baby. You’ll always be safe. I’ll never let anything else happen to you.”
The omega in my arms stares up at him, her expression broken. “I want to go home .”
Bennett makes a distressed noise in the back of his throat, and my pack looks to me. Shifting, I push June into Theo’s arms, bereft to let her go as she chokes on another cry, her hands grasping at me.
“Go with Theo, love.” I touch her cheeks, wiping away the dirt and tears as best as I can. “I will be right there.”
Gabriel approaches us as Theo swings June into his arms, his head bending down, muttering softly to her as Gabriel slows. “I will see to getting this cleaned up and quieted. Do you need a plane to get back to your home?” His eyes briefly find June and I fight the urge to rip his head from his body for even daring to look at our omega when she’s this fragile and vulnerable — but he helped us — so I stare at the man with hands in the pocket of every powerful person in this wretched fucking city.
“We need a car to the airport.”
“Of course.” Gabriel nods at a black vehicle. “Take mine.” He glances to Seth. “I didn’t know omegas could emerge this late.”
Seth gives him an annoyed look, hands on June’s back as he begins to guide Theo toward the car. “Of course you didn’t know — is this the first time you’ve left the compound in a decade?” I’m momentarily shocked by the utter vitriol in his tone.
“I’m busy running the family, Seth.”
Bennett and I exchange a look as Theo and Seth take June to the car. Noise rushes into my ears as she makes a pained sound, calling out for Bennett. The alpha beside me joins them, leaving me alone with Gabriel.
“I want to see the body.”
He looks over at me, understanding in his cool gaze, then nods.