Chapter 49
FORTY-NINE
The ride to Prism is exhausting. It’s like I ran there instead of riding in silence next to a massive, stoic Alpha.
When Puck knocks on a side door with no lever, I startle.
“Calm down,” he mutters. “You need to appear unbothered.”
Unbothered. Easy for him to say.
I’m the one being chauffeured to my doom.
The door swings open to a Beta in a denim jacket with beady eyes. “Puck, man, sup?”
“Trey, if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment.”
Puck shoulders past the other Beta. “Interrogation?”
My shoulders tighten, but there’s nothing I can do.
My fate is sealed.
“Yeah, Trey. Interrogation. Let Kieran know we’re going to room two.”
“He’s already in one. He said not to call Walter, though…” Trey trails off, scratching his head. Crystal mentioned Walter Talbot, the doctor she works for, is the one who fixes up people Kieran tortures.
I don’t think it bodes well for me that he said not to call Walter.
“Call him anyway,” Puck grunts as he grabs me by the elbow, pulling me down the hallway and a set of stairs before the other Beta can reply. “Keep your mouth shut. Let him do the talking. We’re going to figure this out, okay?”
I have put on a brave face, but I legitimately think I may shit myself with fear.
“You don’t know me,” Puck growls under his breath before throwing open a solid wood door and grabbing my collar. He tosses me into the room, and I stumble to stay upright.
I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of police procedurals, but I’ve watched enough to recognize what this room is.
It’s empty, concrete, and, based on the number of stairs we went down, underground. A chair is bolted to the floor in the middle of the room under a hanging lamp.
And a tall man, an Alpha, is leaning against the wall, halfway in shadow. I can tell he’s dressed in a suit, and his posture is surprisingly relaxed, but I can’t get a good look at his face, so I have no idea how old he is.
“Gage Matthews,” he says in a smooth voice. “Take a seat.”
The request is so reasonable, in such an even tone, that it’s almost possible to forget why I’m here. I lower myself into the chair, and Puck is beside me, tying me to it. The ropes are surprisingly loose, and I hope I can get out of them if necessary.
“Do you know why you’re here?”
Puck shakes his head minutely.
“No,” I answer, looking around. “Why am I?”
He steps out of the shadow, and my eyes narrow on his face. He looks familiar. Like I’ve run into him a few times before. But I know I’d remember meeting this guy. His presence is massive.
A crooked smile stretches across his face. “Several reasons, actually.” I wait in silence for him to continue, and he scoffs. “Ah, come on, have a guess,” he goads. “I’d love to know what you think.”
I suck on my teeth, trying to give off an air of nonchalance even though I am very much chalanced. “This is a nightclub, right? Did I skip out on my tab or something?”
His hand grips my knee in a brutally firm vice. “Are you trying to be funny?”
I gulp. “No.”
A broad smile stretches his face, and again, my brain pings with familiarity. “Good. Well then, Gage, let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” He takes a few steps back, steepling his fingers in front of his body. “You saw me while you were hiding in Crystal Manson’s home. Previously, I wasn’t going to make myself known to you, but now that you’ve gained some intimate knowledge about my business, I had to bring you in.” He runs his fingers through his hair, letting it fall into his eyes when he drops it. “My name is Kieran Cobb, I’m sure you know.”
I nod tightly, but don’t open my mouth. Puck said to let him do the talking, and I’m going to listen to him.
“Right, of course you know. When you first started hanging around Crystal, I had to do my research. I needed to know if you were a threat. It wouldn’t do if you were from a competing organization, you understand?” He barrels through the rhetorical question. “When I was younger, still trying to figure out my place in this world and get the Conglomerate on its feet, I was a little less discerning with my affections. I’m sure you know how it is,” he says conspiratorially. “I bet you have your choice of women.”
This question feels like a trick, so I wait him out. Eventually, he continues talking, as if I’m not here. “There was a Beta woman who caught my attention. But, unfortunately, she had a drug problem. Now, I had plenty of drugs, so for a while we were a great pair. But then she tried to fucking trap me. She got pregnant.” His voice is dripping in venom, and unease prickles in the back of my mind. “Of course, I couldn’t let that happen. I gave her cash and told her to take care of the problem and that I never wanted to see her again.”
He spins to look at me, eyes wild. “She did it on purpose, of course. Why wouldn’t she? I could’ve given her a perfect life. But why would I saddle myself with a drug addict that already had a kid from some other asshole? I didn’t want anything to do with her.” Kieran shakes his head and crosses his arms over his chest, composure regained. “Of course, my team threatened her whenever she tried to come near me again, and eventually she stopped. I heard she overdosed several years later from one of my dealers. A terribly tragic story.”
My rational mind knows this story. Knows how this conversation is going to end.
But my rational mind took a fucking backseat and I am letting denial captain this ship.
“Imagine my surprise to find out she never went through with the abortion, and the drugs she used didn’t kill the baby in the womb. Imagine my surprise when I find out I have a son.”
A son.
A son.
A son.
Denial is not just a river, it’s rapids, trying to wipe this conversation from my mind.
“And then to find out I have a son because he is involved with my Omega, my Queen?” He clicks his tongue and squats in front of me. I try to avoid his gaze, but he grabs my chin and wrenches it forward.
This close, I can see the resemblance. The bump on my nose came from him. Our cheekbones are a matched set. Even the shape of my lips. His teeth aren’t crowded like mine, but he probably had a family that got him braces while I was dealing with a drug addicted mom and foster care.
“I wish we could have had a father-son relationship, Gage. I do. But I was never meant to be a father. However,” he drops my face and stands up. “Since you are my child, I’ll make sure Puck goes easy on you.”
“Easy on me?” The words slip out before I can think to stop them.
“You must understand why I can’t let you leave this room,” he says gently. “Even though you’re my son, you touched what belongs to me.”
Throughout my life, I have wondered who my father is.
I knew the chances were slim, but a few times I had fantasies about him being a successful businessman who didn’t know I existed and would come and rescue me, taking me under his wing and giving me a better life.
But no, my father is a mob kingpin. A successful businessman who didn’t know I existed.
The worst of both worlds.
“You’re a fucking coward,” I sneer. “I grew up alone, with a mom who was broken because of you. Because you abandoned her and left her alone, and now you can’t even get rid of me yourself?” I laugh, but it’s hollow. “You like to pretend it’s because you’re benevolent, taking it easy on me, but you’re just chickenshit.”
Puck glares at me, but I can’t stop. All of the pain and anger I’ve stored up for my absent father come tumbling out.
“She was high my whole childhood, and when she wasn’t, she was out of her mind. When she died, I was bounced from foster home to foster home. I made something of myself out of nothing. I was a fucking street urchin, and I made a life for myself. And you want to take it away because I found someone to spend it with?” I laugh, and it’s breathy and wild, mirroring the wild thumping of my heart. “You know she would never choose you in a million years, so you’re taking away her options, right?”
He takes a few slow steps towards me, fists clenching. The fact that I’m getting to him emboldens me.
“You’re pathetic. A pathetic coward.” I can’t say anything else because his fist connects with my nose, and it cracks loudly. Blood pours out of me. Despite the pain, I laugh. When I lock eyes with my father, he looks unhinged. I’m seeing the monster behind the indifferent mask now.
“I can’t believe you’re my father. I’m fucking glad you never found me.”
Another blow, this time to my jaw, busting my lip, lands, and I’m starting to regret mouthing off to this asshole.
He inhales deeply, slicking his hair back, unconcerned about my blood on his white dress shirt. In fact, he rubs his knuckles against his shirt, further smearing the red liquid across his stomach. “Puck, take out the fucking trash.”
And he walks out of the door, and hopefully, my life.
“Are you a fucking moron?” Puck snarls, crowding me. “I told you to stay quiet.”
“I was supposed to not react to the revelation that he’s my fucking father ?” I roll my eyes. “Not likely. Did you know?” It hurts to talk. A bruise is already forming on my jaw, and my blood is dripping down my face from my nose at a maddening pace. “Did you know?”
“I didn’t,” Puck answers, and I actually believe him. “But knowing that means he’s probably going to be a lot more thorough in making sure I get rid of you. I don’t know what we’re going to fucking do. You may have to stay here until I take care of Kieran.”
“Well, when is that happening? And can you untie me, please?”
He works at the ropes behind me. “Well, it was supposed to be tomorrow.”
“You can’t keep me here for a whole day.”
“You’re right, I can’t.”
The Alpha’s posture is tense, and I don’t envy him. This plan has so many moving pieces that it makes my head spin.
He pulls out his phone and punches the screen aggressively.
“What, Puck?” The voice on the other end snaps. His voice is raspy, as if he gargles gravel. “Little busy here, dude.”
“Harvey, we’ve got a problem. Crystal’s Beta is Kieran’s son.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? What kind of mess did you bring my family into?”
I wince. Of course, it would be me making things more difficult. Puck grumbles and rubs his head.
“Neither of us knew until just now. Kieran ordered me to kill him. I would love to avoid doing that, but how the fuck am I supposed to get him out of here alive without Kieran knowing? It’d be one thing if he were just a random Beta. He’s going to follow up about his son.”
The other end of the line is silent. “I don’t know Puck. All I know is we’re not ready for any extraction yet, so you better figure out where to hide him.”
Puck swears and ends the call. He begins to pace the small room in a way that is unlike the normally self-assured man.
“What do you need me to do?” I ask, pushing myself out of the chair. I try to clean up my face with my shirt, but it’s just smearing the blood around. “Can you just lock the door and leave me in here?”
“Trey is going to expect a body.”
The words sober me.
“Have you… How many…” I can’t get the words out.
Puck won’t make eye contact with me. “Enough. But they weren’t good people, Gage.”
“No, I don’t imagine they were.”
We stand there in silence, and neither of us knows where to go from here. The only sound in the room is the drip of blood from my nose, but even that stops eventually.
It’s probably been twenty minutes of silence when the door starts rattling with furious knocks.
“Puck!” The voice is unfamiliar. “You have to get to Kieran’s office. I heard screaming, yelling, and a fight… You should definitely check it out, man. It doesn’t sound good.”
Our eyes lock. “Queenie,” he whispers, all the color draining from his face, leaving his dark skin pale. “Crystal was in there.” He rips open the door, and a handsome, blonde Alpha stands there. Puck comes up short.
“Tyler, what are you doing down here?”
“I was stocking my bar for my shift tonight,” he says breathlessly. “I heard the screaming, and Trey pointed me down here to you. It sounded like Crystal, man, and I got worried. What’s she doing up there, anyway? Why would Kieran hurt her?”
Puck shoulders past the rambling Alpha, uncaring if he sees me bloody and bruised in the interrogation room.
I’m right behind him.