Chapter 48
FORTY-EIGHT
“Are you comfortable?” I ask Atlas. He narrows his eyes at me.
“I mean, as I can be. I’m trying not to think about how many people have fucked on this bed, honestly.”
The dark-haired Beta started working for Pack Lupine a few months ago. I was vaguely aware of his relationship with Tyler, the bartender always assigned to Crystal, but I didn’t realize he had assisted Crystal through her heats.
It makes me dislike the guy, even though it’s unfair. It’s not like she had very many options.
Like he can sense where my head is, Atlas huffs. “You’re still pissed that I’ve been with Crystal?” He rolls his eyes as he stretches out on the bed in the girlfriend experience room I brought Crystal to while she was on fizz. “I get it, but it wasn’t emotional or anything. Tyler and I were together, and she needed Alpha assistance. I was just along for the very fun ride.”
“Don’t talk about her that way,” I growl. “You’re lucky I don’t rip your hands off for touching her.”
“Ooh, big scary Alpha,” he rolls his eyes. “Seriously, Puck, you’ve gotta get that posturing shit under control. Crystal won’t stand for it.”
I groan, throwing my head back against the wall. “I know, man, but fuck. My Alpha instincts are riding me hard. Even with the meds in my system. I feel like I’m going to burn through them any minute.”
“Well, at least you’re just being suppressed into a Beta. This Omega shit is no fun. Why do I need to be all crampy and horny to smell like an Omega?” He huffs. “I am not a fan.”
“Who knows? It’s probably just a side effect of the meds. Rebecca did tell me they are very untested.”
“Well, it’ll all be worth it when we blow this place up and let the Hawks come in and overhaul it.” He rests back on the heels of his hands. “You truly have no idea who’s been running and selling the Omegas?”
I grunt and lean against the door. “I mean, I have a couple of ideas, but nothing concrete. Whoever it is is a ghost. I wonder just how much control Kieran has over them.” I scrub my hands on my head. It’s a little stubbly. I haven’t shaved it in a while. “He’s feeling pressure from somewhere. I know we’ve lost some manufacturing lately, but…”
“We?” Atlas asks with a raised brow.
“Force of habit.” I wonder how long it’ll take to break myself out of the enforcer mindset. I’ve been doing it for so long that it feels like a part of me. “Anyways, Kieran overextended himself trying to push into the Asian, Russian, and South American markets simultaneously. He can’t deliver the way things are right now. It makes him sloppy and dangerous.”
Atlas chews on his lower lip. “I’m glad we’re getting the Hawks in here before one of those guys comes in and tries to take it over. I have a feeling they’d be much harder to stop than Kieran Cobb.”
The Hawks do questionably legal things regularly, including drug running, but at least they are passionate about protecting Omegas and fighting trafficking. They’ll take over the Conglomerate, turn Prism into a nightclub that happens to have easy access to drugs, and hopefully destroy the trafficking ring.
If we can figure out who’s over it.
We have to hope we have enough time for all the pieces to fall into place and that we can get them here soon.
“Harvey said the Hawks are getting everything in place. They worry that some of the grunts from the drug side of things will fight them when they try to take control, and that the street-level guys will take off with the product. I didn’t ask how they plan to stop that. Doesn’t matter. I want this over for Queenie.”
“Agreed,” the Beta replies. “So what can I do?”
“You can keep your ears open for mumblings of who is handling these Omegas, and be ready to get these women out of here when you get my signal. Sebastian is supposed to be in the alley to get y’all out.” I push off the door as my phone rings. “Keep your phone on you. I’ll send you the signal when it’s time.”
I step out of the door and answer Kieran’s call.
“Yeah, boss?”
“I need you to go collect someone. Gage Matthews. I’ll text you his address.”
My mouth dries out. Fuck fuck fuck. How does Kieran know that name? “Sure thing,” I say thickly. “What am I to do with him?”
“Bring him to the interrogation room. I’ll meet you there.”
The click of Kieran hanging up happens two seconds after Crystal’s heart-wrenching sob comes through the tinny speaker.
Well, fuck.
* * *
I pull up outside Maverick’s house twenty minutes later. He meets me at the door.
“What’s going on? Why do you need Gage?” His pupils are dilated, and his hands are trembling. I can practically see the anxiety coating his skin like lotion. I don’t know the other Alpha well, but I hate that he’s struggling so much.
I’m anxious, too, but at least I’m close to Crystal. He’s kept across town, probably worrying himself sick.
“Let’s get inside.” I push past him, barely registering what his place looks like. I don’t have a lot of time, and I know the three of them will have a ton of questions.
Emmanuel and Gage are sitting at the kitchen island. The Alpha is clutching a mug of tea that smells strongly of peppermint. Gage is staring blankly ahead, his eyes unseeing.
“This is bad, isn’t it?” he says softly.
“It isn’t good,” I answer honestly. “I have to assume he knows you were in the house. I will be with you the entire time. No matter what he says, I won’t leave you alone with him.”
“You’d blow your cover,” he remarks slowly. There is a resignation in his voice that I am not a fan of. “Crystal takes precedence. If you have to leave me alone to keep her safe, I need your word that you’ll do it.”
“It won’t come to that,” Maverick interrupts with a rough bark. “It won’t, right, Puck?”
Of course, I want to tell him that it won’t.
But that would be a bald-faced lie.
“I’ll do my best.”
“That’s not good enough!” the usually easy-going DJ roars. “Both of them have to be safe!”
Emmanuel rubs his temples as his gaze bounces back between us. “Mav, this isn’t helpful. I know you’re struggling, but let’s take a breath and focus on what we can control, okay? Breathe with me, now,” the Alpha says softly. Maverick closes his eyes, breathes, and counts along with Manny. “In for two, hold it, out for two.”
It takes a few moments, but eventually Mav opens his eyes and nods at the other Alpha in thanks. Manny continues his original thought.
“None of this is ideal, but I trust Puck to do what’s best to keep our pack safe.” His dark eyes lock on mine. They look tired, and his age shows in the crow’s feet in the corners. “Because you’re pack, right, Puck? And a pack takes care of one another.”
The suppressant meds are still in my system, but I can feel the draw to the others. It’s a thin tether, constantly yanking me towards them.
My chest tightens, and I nod solemnly. “We’re a pack. We’re going to figure this out.”
Nerves bubble up in my chest, and before I can second-guess myself, I rip my shirt off.
“Woah, Puck, not that kind of party,” Maverick says tensely. But then he gets a look at me. “Is that the shirt I made you?”
I grab the back of the neck and pull it over my head, holding it out to him. “Been wearing it for a few days and sleeping in it. I’m hoping my pheromones are soaked in, even with the blockers. I figured you could hang onto it for me?”
Maverick takes the shirt from me, holding it loosely in his hands. “I’m glad you got it and wore it, but I do not enjoy that you’re handing it to me now, man.”
The feeling behind his words isn’t lost on me, but I can’t address it right now. I know what is at stake for all of us now.
The future of our pack is balancing on a tightrope, and none of us went to circus school.
Actually, I would bet money that Maverick probably did go to circus school.
I look at Gage, his freckled hands clutched in fists on the bar top. He’s so young to get messed up in all of this stuff. Younger than Crystal, even.
“Why did you join this pack, Gage?” I ask before I can think better of it. “You didn’t have to get tied up in this.”
His glare is almost physical, like a bolt of lightning between us. “How could you ask that? You’ve been around her since before you knew she was your scent match and selfishly kept her with you. Crystal makes the world brighter. She makes hard days easier and good days great ones. Asking me why I stuck around is like asking a fish why it swims.” He pushes back from the bar, walking slowly but purposefully towards the door. He stops with his hand on the knob and looks back at me.
“Mav, take care of Burger for me, okay?”
Maverick sucks in a sharp breath and rushes the Beta, grabbing him roughly by the shoulders. “Hey, that’s a fucking goodbye, and I don’t do goodbyes because we still got a lot of shit to work out, okay? So yes, I will hang out with Burger, but I will not take care of him because that makes it sound like you’re not coming back, and if you don’t come back, I’m going to be so fucking pissed. You’re coming back, and you’re gonna give me another tattoo, and we’re gonna make out a lot.”
Huh. I don’t know if I saw that coming.
Gage chuckles and grabs Maverick by the face. “Okay, Mav. I’ll see ya later, then.”
Maverick crashes their lips together and then takes several steps back. “Later, yeah. Do you want pasta for dinner? I’m gonna make pasta for dinner.”
“Pasta sounds good,” Gage responds thickly.
Then he opens the door and walks to his doom.