Chapter Five
Echel looked at Samsor, “Did you get it?”
He nodded. “Got it.”
“Share.”
Samsor grinned and sent the picture of Emhara in a dress. That was an image that he didn’t want to forget.
Her father said, “Send that copy to me, please.”
Samsor cocked his head. “Why? Are you going to try and auction her off for a spouse?”
Her father paused. “No. I want to have photos of her with me. I can’t make up for what happened to her, but I can try to build a relationship going forward.”
Samsor paused. “Good answer.”
The image was sent.
Em came back in, and the blue was the winner. Samsor took several images without moving. That was his skill and what made him good at investigating. The images appeared on his camera when he needed to turn over his SD cards as well.
He smiled as she fit this dress as perfectly as she had the first one.
Alderna laughed. “You are a perfect ten, Emhara. No alterations necessary.”
She sighed. “Great. Duran, add that to the lawsuit. They charged me thousands for the gowns that were supposedly custom creations that should have fit me out of the box.”
Duran nodded. “Got it.”
She sighed. “This lawsuit is going to go on forever.”
Duran shook his head. “No, it isn’t.”
Em frowned at him. “Why not?”
“Because I can’t make a move on you if I am acting as your lawyer. and I definitely do want to make a move on you.”
Her father blinked, and Samsor grinned. “We know she’s a beta, but we are deltas. Things are easier for us.”
“All of you?”
“Yes, all of us.” Duran grinned.
Echel said, “All of us.”
Alderna snapped to one of her assistants. “Shoes.”
Samsor suspected what would happen when the shoes were presented, and the disappointed whine made her father blink. She glared at him. “Get over yourself. I like these socks. I like comfy feet.”
Samsor smirked. “You just need to wear them for court. You can take them off in the car and again when you are sitting at the table. Just put your shoes on when you go give testimony.”
Duran sighed. “Or just keep your shoes on.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and stepped into the four-inch shoes.
Samsor grinned. Her butt and breasts were both exaggerated by the shoes and her balancing. “Take a few steps, Em.”
He took photos as she moved, and she flipped him off every time she faced him.
“So, size eight feet and size ten everything else.” Alderna nodded. “I can work with that.”
Em nodded. “Great. Is there anything casual?”
Alderna said, “Casual?”
“Wash and wear? Denim? Cotton? Running shoes?”
“Why?” She was obviously appalled.
“Because that is what I live in. I work remotely, so I don’t need dry-clean-only anything for my day-to-day.” She shrugged.
Alderna looked at her brother. “I think that is going to change.”
“No, it fucking isn’t.”
Her aunt winced, but her father grinned. “I had forgotten how scrappy she was when she wasn’t terrified all the time.”
Em looked at her father. “Don’t peak too soon. I am still terrified. I have just gotten two hours of sleep. That gives me hope.”
Echel grinned.
She looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Yes, yes. Shut up.”
He laughed.
She sighed and looked away from his knowing gaze. His sound wasn’t a purr, but it was a rumble that had caressed her bones and let her know that someone was watching over her. She had needed that more than she wanted to admit.
Her father stood in front of her. “Today is about proving you competent.”
She nodded. “Right. Dress, heels, hair, and makeup done to denote that I am a nice, normal woman who her family has abused. No wild eyes or panic. I need to look wary but not pathetic.”
Duran nodded slowly. “That’s right. I will show the images of all the wounds and other injuries you have suffered, the financial statements, and the sizing of the clothing in question, as an expert has just told us that you are a solid size ten. You would never buy a two, four, or six.”
“Ah. Right. So, that means that someone else has to be buying the designer items out of my trust account.”
He nodded. “Correct.”
She nodded and smoothed her hands down the dress. “Right. I am going to take this off. I don’t want to get it wrinkly before I have to go to court.”
Her father smiled. “Wear the green one as your spare. Now that the pancakes are gone, you should be fine.”
She snorted. “You haven’t seen me drink coffee.”
Samsor walked up next to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “We will get you a straw.”
Alderna flipped through the dresses and found something that was less formal and more relaxed. “Wear this instead. You can move in it.”
The dress was soft and would cling, but the fabric was flexible, and she could, indeed, move in it. It was an omega’s dress but still pretty for that.
She went to the bathroom and got changed into the dress with soft, clingy sleeves.
When she got back, every guy was on their phone. “What’s going on?”
She pulled the socks back on.
Alderna smiled. “They are ordering things for you online. I believe it’s a competition.”
Em snorted. “Right. Oh, shoot, I need makeup.”
Duran smiled and handed her his phone, set to a same-day shopping app with a makeup store.
She smiled and ordered the makeup she was used to getting, and then she paused and found something in the same shade but with lighter coverage.
She didn’t want to obscure the remains of the bruising.
She ordered lipstick and eyeliner, mascara, and something to get her brows under control.
The applicators and cleaners were also put on the order, and she said, “It’s coming here? ”
He nodded. “Nearly made that mistake. Yes. It’s coming here.”
She nodded and wiggled her toes.
“Well, I have to get to court, so the others are going to bring you before one.” Duran smiled. “If anything changes, I will call Samsor.”
She nodded.
Duran kissed her cheek and said, “Just be yourself today.”
“That is what I strive to do.” She smiled.
“And get some more sleep.” He touched her cheek. “Echel said he will help with that.”
“I don’t think I can sleep until I am legally free. You had better be good in court, Duran.”
He grinned. “Oh, if only you could see my glamour, you would be impressed at how boring and beige I look. No one expects what I can do with my mouth.”
She frowned and looked to the other guys. “Is that flirting?”
Echel and Samsor grinned and nodded.
“Right.” She patted his cheek. “Save it until you aren’t my legal representative anymore.”
He smiled. “That is happening today, regardless. I am handing the litigation over to Marshall. He’s delightfully vicious at work, and we have a case that a blind man could win.”
“He isn’t blind, though, right?”
“He isn’t. Now, what will help me win today?”
“Ideally, if the judge is a woman, that will help; if there is a large crowd in the gallery, that will help. She depends on soaking folks with her energy. More than six people and it loses effectiveness.”
“Noted. We have to work against the pack, as your sister has no legal standing.”
“Right. Richard is ostensibly in charge, but Elmer moves the money. The others are just there for Augusta support. She’s voracious. Peter is the one with the social contacts, and that’s how they go to the different events.”
Echel nodded. “Nice, that is what I was missing. Hang on, Duran.”
He began typing on his laptop, and from her vantage point, Em could see images of Augusta popping up and overlapping.
“There they are.” Duran smiled. “Thank you, Echel. No one can slog through gossip columns like you can.”
“Thanks. I am a spring, if anyone wondered.” Echel smiled. A printer whirred somewhere in the house.
Duran’s phone chimed wildly.
“Where is my original phone?”
Duran winced. “It is at my office. Why?”
“I would like the phone number forwarded.”
“I will do that when I am at the office. Stay here, relax, rest, and eat something. You are hollow.”
She crossed her arms and scowled hard.
He grinned. “I thought you were going to say that I wasn’t your boss.”
“I am not in the mood to trigger a proving anytime soon. Now go before I smack your ass and tell you to have a good game for some reason.”
Duran looked at her curiously. “Marshall’s pack mate is Rayden, a hockey player. Did you start discovery just because I mentioned a name?”
She shrugged. “I dunno. Did I?”
He tapped her nose. “See you soon. The delivery will be here in half an hour.”
“Thank you.” She inclined her head and heard him suck in a rough breath.
He gave the other two a look that conveyed something nebulous, walked out of the house, started a car, and then drove off.
She nodded. “Right. What’s next?”
Echel beckoned to her and pulled her onto his lap. She was still scowling, but the humming throb that he put out made her feel safe. She glared at him. “Stop that.”
He grinned and shook his head. “Is it uncomfortable?”
“No, but it feels like you are convincing me to relax.”
“I only work with existing fatigue. You are tired. Your body is still healing. This is natural sleep while using the sound as warm milk.”
She chuckled. “There’s a nickname for a t-shirt.”
He grinned then kissed her temple. “You can wake up if you need to. This won’t hold you down. We will talk around you. Alderna wants to know what we want to see you in and if we have any events coming up. Your father has made a list and has consulted your brother as well.”
She was dozing again. “Half-brother. His mother wants me dead. Bribed my mom to send me out of town twice, but Augusta said she needed me, so I stayed.”
Echel asked softly while the thrumming continued, “Your mother is still alive?”
“Yup. She’s probably freaking out about the arrests. Hah.” Em felt herself slipping against Echel’s shoulder.
Her father spoke, and the guys talked softly, with Alderna adding her opinion of things. Even the assistants, who might be some sort of cousins, spoke. Em floated in a calm world and had to admit she liked it. Safety was new, and she felt addiction loom.
Her father, who was nearby, said, “Emhara, I have something for you.”