Chapter 16 #2
“Ms. Fields is not only a scarily efficient Head Housekeeper,” Icarus whispers. “She is also the perfect first Beta Jame Bond, sneaking Maya’s glass from her and getting it to Hatton. He did the rest.”
“How does my little brother know what to do?” I blurt.
I imagine the little, pretty Omega who trailed after Bird and me, trying to join in our games but never quite being part of the gang.
The Sheriff of Nottingham to our Merry Men.
After all, Bird and I rarely saw Hatton, since he was educated separately and paraded around on his mom’s arm.
Maybe I don’t know him at all.
Icarus gives me a long look. “He’s a man now. A smart one. He wouldn’t have survived alone with Mrs. Frost in that penthouse if he wasn’t.”
I glance down. “Hatton survived because his dad is the First Omega.”
Icarus hums, but I’m not sure that it is with agreement.
“I hate Ellington. But I don’t hate how hard he has tried to be a good dad to your brother.
Now that I am… Now that I have Zoe to protect, I can understand his fierce urge, even if I don’t agree with his methods. No Omega has it easy in this hotel.”
I pull back from Icarus in shock. “You have a bruise the size of my hand from Ellington’s cane on your side. I can see how hard you’re trying to hide your pain. But you’re fucking forgiving him…?”
Icarus grips the bag more tightly. “Who said anything about forgiveness? I understand him. And there are things you don’t see.”
My mouth is dry. “Like what?”
“Like what happens between Maya and Ellington when I’m with them and you’re not.
How hard Ellington tries to intervene for the other staff.
How he takes consequences for it too. How he has huge pressure to keep the Omegas in line, or his position as First Omega, along with the future one of his son, is threatened.
What would you have done if Zoe’s future was held hostage?
Ellington puts on as much of a performance for the cameras as I am, and probably has been from the moment that Maya bonded your dad.
And that bonding came after his own, just as Jelani was added to his nest, neither with his consent.
Your other two fathers were allowed to support and cling to each other. Who did Ellington have?”
I feel like my world has been turned upside down.
I stare at Icarus in shock.
No one.
I never believed that Ellington needed anyone because he had everything.
Status, respect, and luxuries.
He had the position as First Omega and the Golden Child, Hatton.
But all of that is meaningless because Ellington was trapped working for and bonded to an Alpha like Maya.
“I should have tried harder to be close to Hatton,” I say, desperately trying not to cry.
“He adores you.” Icarus drags me into a one-armed hug that I fucking need, stroking my hair. “Hero worships, actually. Don’t go thinking that it was your job to save him more than you did.”
“Curse of the big sister.”
“I thought that it was the curse of being an Alpha.” Icarus’ lips twitch.
“How about we both make a promise not to shoulder every responsibility, up to and including whether each pack member has every Christmas wish magically fulfilled, and focus on pulling off the most daring heist this state has ever seen?”
“How unambitious of you,” I tease.
“You know me.” Icarus draws back, adjusting his tie. “I’m only a simple general manager in a hotel, after all.”
I snort. “And you’re also a comedian.”
“You’re the one with the best lines, Sweet Sin. I’m more like a magician.” Icarus reaches into the dinosaur bag with a flourish like he’s about to pull out a white rabbit.
My heartbeat races.
Instead, he pulls an iPad out just enough for me to see the edge of it.
Hurriedly, I shove at his arm, forcing him to drop the device back into the bag.
“What are you doing?” I hiss. Fear races through me. “You know that you’re not meant to have that here. Did you steal it? If Maya discovers you wandering around with an electronic device, she won’t just leave you with a few bruises.”
“Worried for me? Don’t worry, if she opens this and finds it’s not filled with diapers, I’m sure that she’ll be more furious about the safe cracking kit or possibly, the stolen impression of her fingerprint.”
“Stop it. This is serious.”
“Also, worth it.”
I stare at Icarus, as he throws my own motto back at me.
Icarus’ eyes are creased at the side with laughter.
I reach up, tapping him on the nose. “Proof that Alphas are trainable.”
“If they spend long enough around you, even a saint Alpha would end up throwing away his halo and deciding that the fallen have much more fun. Your pampered, sheltered brother, you see, isn’t such a good Omega as your mom believes.
Hatton made a deep fake on that iPad of her face.
It will override the final security measure.
It seems that your dad and papa have become close to Hatton secretly over the last few years.
They have been working together on plans to rescue Bird and you, including on breaking through the safe. ”
I’m shivering, and it’s not because of the cold.
My parents and my younger brother have been risking everything, including being turned into Rejs or being abandoned just like Bird and me, to help us.
I should have known.
I should have fucking known.
When a tear slips down my cheek, I don’t wipe it away because it’s not one of sadness but a happiness that I didn’t know I was still capable of feeling.
Of family lost and now found again.
“Now, I’m ready,” I whisper. “I’m fucking ready to do this.”
Icarus nods determinedly, before his expression becomes more grim. “I have one more thing. Hatton passed me a note.”
Adrenaline surges me. “Who from?”
“Your dad.”
I can’t hold back the choked off sound.
I miss Dad. I’m desperate for him to hug me again after what I’ve learned.
If things go wrong tomorrow, then I will never see him again.
Does he know that? Is that why he is writing to me?
Icarus reaches into the bag and pulls out a scrap of paper that looks like it was raggedly ripped out of the back of a diary.
Dad must have written this note secretly in a hurry to make sure that I got it.
When I hold out my shaky hand, Icarus drops the paper into my palm.
I can hardly breathe, as I read:
My dearest daughter and brave Robin Hood, I am proud of you. I need you to know that.
I have always been proud of you, Bird, and Hatton.
Your papa is too.
We both love you all so much
I have told you stories about your Alpha Dad and my bond rings that are locked in the safe.
Apart from my children, they are the most precious thing in the world to me. I am gifting them legally to you now.
The reason Maya took them from me is that they are made of the Frost’s famous 40 ct diamonds.
They are near priceless. Add them to the rest of the family’s shares and then take back my hotel.
If anything goes wrong, I have already laid out the evidence to point to myself — and myself alone — as the criminal Omega who has ordered the rest of you to break the law.
It has wrecked me to be unable to protect my children and grandchild.
Finally, allow me to protect you, even if kills me.
But I trust my smart daughter will pull off the most daring Omega heist of the century.
You’ll be a legend.
You already are to me.
Love you,
Dad