Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Penthouse, Omega Hotel
My heart is hammering in my chest. Sweat drips down the back of my neck.
I am filled with both fear and excitement. I am hoping that it is only the adrenaline, which is making me feel like this.
And nothing more.
Not now.
I hike the dinosaur bag, which I found hidden where Icarus had told me I would, further onto my shoulder.
The knuckles of my right hand are white, where I am tightly clutching the shiny keycard, which has already granted me access to the Frost’s private elevator that carried me up here.
It should have alerted security when I used it.
Let’s hope that the Beta team truly are as large Immortal fans as Icarus told me they were and aren’t standing focused on the monitors right now.
This is finally my time to fly, and if I can do it by being the outlaw Omega that everybody needs me to be, then I will open my wings and head toward the sun.
I glance down at Icarus’ sleek watch. He slipped it onto my wrist with a quick brush of his fingers over my delicate skin when we were in his rooms.
Ollie saved for years to be able to afford to give the watch to his brother as his first proper birthday gift this summer. It is the only thing that Icarus truly owns and treasures, and he has given it up to me.
I hug it to my chest.
This is how much faith my Alpha has in me.
I am going to succeed tonight. I will return this watch to Icarus.
And I will return Zoe’s mom to her.
I take a steadying breath.
This is for Zoe. I am taking back her future.
I glance down at the watch: 12:16
Immortal’s set ends at half past midnight.
I have less than fifteen minute to pull off this caper.
This watch is also the only way for me to judge the critical seven minutes that I will have to open the safe. It will be triggered from the moment that the security systems are disabled, sending a notification to the team’s phones.
From beginning to end, I need to disable the security measures, crack the safe, and get out of the penthouse in no longer than seven minutes.
Otherwise, everything is over.
Is that a footfall behind me?
I twirl around.
I frantically scan the plush penthouse corridor.
Nothing.
I glance up at the security camera that is pointing straight at me.
I wince.
I have to trust that Michah was convincing in the hype that he spread about Immortal. Everyone else has followed through on their part of the mission, including Dad, Hatton, Lashonda, Ms. Fields, and Ollie.
Oceans Twelve have nothing on my team.
These Alphas, Betas, and Omegas working together are the Omega Hotel’s team. I am alone in cracking the safe but not in this heist; the entire Sinner pack, the staff, have come together to battle for our freedom.
There is no right or wrong; there is only what you’re willing to risk for the people you love.
What you’re willing to sacrifice for family.
I stare up at the palatial Lebanese cedar door in front of me. I hesitate, touching it with the pads of my fingers.
I breathe in deeply its pleasant aromatic scent.
As a kid, when I returned to the penthouse, I would rest my cheek against this door and sniff, until Dad would lift me up to carry me on his shoulders.
“Maybe you’re fated to bond with an Alpha who smells of our front door, but for now,” Dad would tease. “Let’s go inside before you get too cold.”
Except, I didn’t like the smell because of that. Despite everything with Maya, the smell of this door meant home.
Now, I wrinkle my nose, as a deep wave of homesickness hits me more powerfully than I was expecting.
I haven’t stopped and allowed myself to feel it like this before because I was thrown out of this penthouse as trash. I wasn’t seen as worthy of belonging behind these doors any longer.
Yet it is still my home.
Maybe I have been thinking about this all wrong.
Maya is the intruder, the invading force
She is the Prince John who came in and took over Dad’s kingdom, his empire of hotels.
If I overthrow and eject her from our empire and this hotel, could this penthouse be my home again?
Is it possible for me to have my family with my brothers, parents, and daughter, as well as my bonded pack?
It’s more than I have allowed myself to dream possible.
I shake my head, forcing those thoughts away.
Then I swipe the pass, and the door opens with a click.
My heat rate kicks up, as I take a step through the door into the dark penthouse, leaving the door open a crack to allow for a speedy exit.
Moonlight streams through the entire back wall of the lounge, which is glass and leads to the outside terrace with gardens, sculptures, and swimming pool.
It also spills from the roof, which is studded with skylights.
I had forgotten just how much light floods this room at the top of the hotel even at night, whereas the staff aren’t allowed a single window.
It’s on my list of changes when I take over this place. Everyone deserves to see the sky.
I distract myself from the onslaught of memories at being inside my home for the first time in years by slipping the bag off my shoulder and unzipping it. I drop the keypass back inside.
I glance at my watch: 12:18
Then I dash hurriedly across the marble floor of the vast lounge with its ornate green onyx fireplace. The room has been beautifully decorated by Dad like it is every Christmas with dancing angels and reindeer.
It makes my stomach twist to see the stacks of brightly wrapped and beribboned gifts underneath the fir tree.
I ignore the doors that lead off to the kitchen, Omega Chamber, and the corridor to the bedrooms.
Instead, I skirt the circular white couch, which is littered with gold cushions. I stumble, however, when I notice that a knitted Santa has been abandoned on the couch next to knitting needles like it was hurriedly finished.
Papa loves knitting. It’s one of the few approved activities by Maya for him.
He knitted a Santa for each of us kids every Christmas, since he has no money of his own to buy us gifts.
Next to the knitted toy, a book rests with the spine bent wide in the way that Dad always leaves novels if he forgets his bookmark.
I can imagine Dad and Papa like ghosts quietly sitting together. I am certain that the two men have grown to deeply love each other.
I hoped that they may be here tonight. But has Mum locked them in their rooms? If I’m caught, and Dad takes the fall, will they ever sit here like this again?
I don’t have time to check where they are.
With a steely self-control, I don’t head for the bedrooms. I am desperate to say goodbye to Dad.
Just in case…
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath.
I won’t crash into the sea. I will fucking fly.
Skirting the couch, I head to Maya’s forbidden study. It fills me with a vicious delight to shove her door boldly open.
I head with a renewed determination past Maya’s oak desk and leather chair to the wall of books at the back.
I have been training for this my entire life.
I stare at the book that started this entire quest for me. It has a spine in swirling colors: The Book of ABO Secrets.
This is it.
I drop the bag onto the floor, before pulling out the book.
The entire wall swings open, revealing a giant vault.
Eagerness floods through me like it always does at the sight of this beautiful work of art in iron and gold with a giant wheel in the middle.
This is a testament to the talent of Ryan’s ancestor in the 1920s: The notorious safe cracker turned safe engineer. Also, an Omega who was the most famous criminal in America.
I want to make him proud.
I want to make my dad proud.
All the times that I practiced on the safe, Dad still never allowed me to look through what was inside. Perhaps, he thought that it would be too much of a temptation.
Except, now I finally know that I am going to complete my mission to take back the shares to the hotel and Ryan’s bond ring, the Frost’s famous 40 c diamond.
It’s twenty minutes past midnight.
Only ten minutes to complete the entire mission and get out of here.
In the midst of Christmas, I am gambling that Maya won’t look inside this safe for one day at least.
Why would she?
Who does she think is brave enough to stand against her? Who would she believe capable of breaking into a safe with these types of security measures?
You should never underestimate an Omega.
I clench my jaw, feeling achy like I’m going down with flu. I shove my sweaty hair behind my ears and bite my cheek to force myself to concentrate.
Nothing must distract me now.
My gaze zooms in on the combination lock. My fingers itch to start working on the dial, but I hold myself back.
I have two security measures to get through first, and the moment that I start breaking them, an alert will be sent to the security Betas, even if they’re rocking out at the concert.
Suddenly, I freeze.
My eyes widen in fear.
Was that a noise outside in the lounge? A footfall?
Is it Dad? Papa?
I can’t risk calling out in case it is Maya or Ellington returning early.
I flatten myself against the safe, taking fast breaths in the dark. The moonlight feels frighteningly bright now, as it spotlights me from the skylight above.
I struggle to quieten my breathing and strain to listen.
Silence.
I can’t wait any longer, even if someone is outside.
I only have one shot at this. A single window of opportunity.
First is Maya’s fingerprint. I hope that Ms. Fields got this right.
Only one way to find out.
Trembling, I bend to the bag at my feet and pull out the glove with Maya’s fingerprint fitted on one finger.
I have no idea whether this will work.
I may be the expert in safe cracking, but Hatton has turned out to be the criminal gadget guy.
We’re a family of pretty crooks.
I couldn’t be prouder.
I am intently focused now like I always am when I work on the safe. My world is narrowed to this beautiful metal beast. I will conquer it.
I rest my other hand gently on the safe, as if quietening a feral Alpha.