Chapter 9
VINCENT
A month.
It’s been a fucking month since Skylar disappeared.
Batches of O have Omega blood in them, but none contain Skylar’s or April’s DNA.
I’m grateful to Ben; he’s kept me informed throughout the whole process. In the years I’ve known him, I’ve always been cold to him at best. Never friendlier than I needed to be.
But he’s still offering up information, more than what’s available to the public.
Omegas are being trafficked for their blood.
It’s a fucking nightmare.
Hundreds of witnesses have been interviewed, some by police, some by special government agencies, and some by Landon and River.
But I’m on my own with only one goal—to find Skylar.
I’m not employed by anyone—ever since I “retired,” I have no one to answer to.
So, I use all my free time investigating.
It took far too long for me to get access to security footage from April’s Café, but now that I finally have it, I can cross reference it to any sales from the day April disappeared.
My gut instinct says that finding out who took April will lead me to Skylar.
After all, she was the first disappearance.
“You don’t have to be doing all of this, you know,” Landon says as I stare at my laptop. I’m at Skylar’s kitchen counter, sitting on a stool and studying video footage. “We’ve got everyone working on these cases now. You don’t have to feel obligated.”
After the first week of her disappearance, I started staying at a local motel instead of going back to my apartment.
Something inside me has changed.
A month ago, I would have sworn I would never enter this line of work again.
But there’s a pull in my chest, an ache so intense that I have to do this for her.
I need to find her.
“I’m not obligated,” I mutter. I compile a list of customers from that day, then run background checks on them.
I can feel Landon watching me, and I turn my eyes away from my laptop. “What?” I ask.
There’s a peculiar expression on his face. We’re both drained, and he looks as exhausted as I feel, but there’s a knowing glint in his eye. “I’m glad you’re helping,” he says, shrugging. “It means a lot, you know. She’s important to me.”
Irrational jealousy flares in me. Landon spent time with her. Landon has seen her smile, held her…
“She’s important to me, too,” I mumble, turning my eyes back to the screen.
Which should be impossible, because we only spoke for a few minutes, and our conversation didn’t end well.
But I’ll be damned if I go back to my apartment without resolving this.
I need to.
My inner Alpha growls in agreement.
All the days I spent numb, wasting away in the fog of my mind…
I can’t go back to that.
Landon is still watching me.
“What?” I turn to growl at him.
He’s unphased by my intimidation tactics. He always has been. Back at the bureau, we worked well together, able to stay on the same page when we shared cases.
And he has that expression on his face, the calculated one where he seems to see right through me.
He’s always been good at reading people, but I don’t appreciate it when he does it to me.
“You feel it too, with her,” he says softly. “After only speaking with her briefly.”
I nod, and he almost smiles.
“Good luck telling River that,” he says to himself.
I scoff.
As if on cue, the front door unlocks, and River enters, his eyes furious as they fall on me.
“Oh, so we all just show up at her place now?” he snaps. “It’s a violation of her privacy. What are you doing here?”
I give him a warning growl. “Since when do you care about anyone’s privacy?”
Landon sighs and rubs at his forehead. “I’m not doing this,” he murmurs. “Not today.”
River’s eyes narrow, shooting daggers at me. “I’m here because we have another DNA match.” He turns to Landon. “April.”
“Holy shit,” Landon breathes. “Are you sure?”
River nods. “Yes. I’m fucking telling you, it’s April Waters, and it’s from the sample I gave them?—”
“How did you give them a sample of O?” I snap, already knowing the answer. River turns to me while Landon groans.
“By doing my job, asshole,” he hisses, narrowing his eyes. “I don’t need to see that judgmental look on your ugly face. I was working. You know, the thing you haven’t done in three years.”
Fuck, I want to punch him.
Skylar wouldn’t like it, an inner voice says. Stay calm for her.
For whatever reason, she cares for River.
And though he may have punched me, I can be the better man.
“Is there anything else?” Landon says quickly, changing the subject before things escalate.
“They’re questioning a dealer that’s selling April’s batch,” River adds. “Ben uh, found the guy based on some info.”
Meaning River went and bought the damn O himself.
Idiot.
“I don’t think he should be here,” River continues, motioning to me. “This is confidential information.”
I bite my tongue. He’s goading me.
Be the better man. Don’t kill him.
It would make Skylar upset.
“He’s staying,” Landon snaps, and I’m grateful. “He’s been involved in everything so far. Ben and I have kept him up to date.”
River snarls and looks between us. “Fucking fine. But don’t be surprised if he quits again.” He stomps down the hall, and I hear him slam the bathroom door.
Landon rolls his eyes.
“Is he still being a prick to Ben?” I mutter, drumming my fingers on the counter.
“Of course,” he says matter-of-factly. “You know he’ll never forgive Ben for turning down that scholarship.”
I scoff. “He was old enough to make his own choices. He didn’t need River telling him what to do.”
It took a while for Ben to reveal why River is permanently pissed at him—Ben had an opportunity to leave the state with a full scholarship to almost any school of his choice. But instead, he chose to stay in town and become a cop.
River never let it go, it seems.
Which isn’t surprising—if it’s one thing River’s good for, it’s holding a grudge.
“You know that and I know that, but you know how he is,” Landon says.
“I CAN HEAR YOU ASSHOLES TALKING ABOUT ME!” a voice from the bathroom echoes.
I roll my eyes and return to my laptop while Landon makes a call to Ben.
Hours pass.
Another Omega is found relatively unharmed, and Landon and River leave to question her.
I stay in Skylar’s kitchen, breathing in the stale smell of her vanilla essence, using it to remain calm.
I will find you, Omega, a primal part of me thinks.
I can’t fail again.
She’s still alive. As sick as it sounds, she’s useful to them alive.
As long as she stays alive, there’s more blood to give.
Watching the footage from the café is tedious, but I tell myself it’s worth it.
So far, no customer has a criminal record. I do basic research on all of them, running quick background checks, but nothing stands out.
Of course, a customer may not have abducted April. The person responsible could be anyone and anywhere.
But it doesn’t hurt to double check.
Skylar appears on the screen sometimes, and I drink in her appearance every time.
But in all of it, she looks…forlorn.
As if she’s plagued by sadness but forcing a smile onto her face.
Before she met Landon and River.
My gut churns as I watch her go through her shift, her expression falling every time she turns away from a customer.
I remember our only meeting, with the tentative smile she had on her face before the conversation turned sour.
Landon and River were behind the change.
They brought her happiness.
I swallow.
As much as I can’t stand River, I’m glad he was there for her.
And I’m glad she had Landon, too.
You could have been there for her too, if you were still working for the Bureau.
I shake the thought away as I continue studying the footage.
Something finally catches my eye.
There’s a customer lingering far too long near the back of the café. He pretends to look at the signs above the counter, but his gaze follows the workers.
First, he watches April as she’s at the register. Then his gaze flicks to Skylar, who is busy organizing the pastry case.
He’s there for a good ten minutes.
April looks up and says something to him, but he shakes his head and she walks to the back.
That’s when he goes up to the counter and speaks to Skylar.
I growl as I watch their interaction.
It takes almost ten fucking minutes before he decides what he wants to order, and in that time, April leaves, and it’s just Skylar and the other Omega left.
The café was already closed.
My gut instinct tells me something is off about him.
He stayed there too long for a reason.
He was the last purchase of the day, and I’m able to locate the digital receipt in the café’s sales reports from that date.
John Briggs.
It takes some searching, but I find a John Briggs within the county.
He’s unemployed, but his most recent job was at a hospital.
No arrest record. One parking ticket.
That should be fine. That should be all there is to it.
But I rewatch the footage, and he just looks…off. He observes April for far too long.
And when he goes back to Skylar, giving her a grin, I want to jump through the screen and tackle him.
I haven’t trusted my gut like this in years. I haven’t bothered to.
I’ve learned that a hunch usually has a kernel of truth to it, and I intend to find out everything I can.
A quick search of property records shows he owns a house in Isleton.
But there’s also a separate plot of land in a county three hours away, which, according to the deed, was purchased a year ago.
I drum my fingers on the counter.
My instincts scream at me as I rewatch the footage from the café.
I need to pay John Briggs a visit.