Chapter Thirty-Nine – Gideon
Coming home, I’m torn between telling Raeka and the others about my new idea for Chase Jewels and keeping it to myself until I have its first item in my hands.
A part of me wants to talk about it, tell Raeka that she inspired me, but the other part of me wants it to be a surprise when I have the actual item in-hand, ready to give to her.
Maybe I’ll talk to Pax about it.
That thought, however, is cut short as I drive down the driveway to see the front door to the house wide open.
I hit the brake and put the car in park, hurrying to get out and race inside the house.
The faint scent of unfamiliar alphas fills my nose the moment I step inside, and an uneasy feeling rises in my gut—the only time I’ve ever felt this way was when I found out my sister and her husband were dead…
and when I found Colter bleeding out. It’s not something I ever wanted to feel again.
“Raeka!” I call out for her, racing through the house. “Colter!” Again and again I call out their names, checking the entire house, but I get no response… because they aren’t here.
As I race down the steps, I pull out my phone and dial Pax’s number, and thankfully the alpha answers on the second ring: “Gideon. I’m on my way home now—”
“Raeka and Colter are gone.”
Whatever he was saying, he stops, and it must take a moment for my words to register in his head, because it’s a little bit before he asks, “What do you mean, they’re gone?”
“When I got home, the front door was open. They’re not here. They’re gone, Pax. The air smells like other alphas.” I get riled up just thinking about it; I’m practically seeing red, which isn’t normal for me. Now that the shock has worn off, I’m pissed.
Who would dare take my omega and my nephew?
“Fuck. Do you have any idea who would do this? Who would take them?”
Once I reach the first floor of the house, I pace the main hall. “No, no, I—” And then I stop, both in pacing and in my denial. An idea pops into my head, but it can’t be right, could it? Bradford Bentley was a lot of things; he’s been insistent for a while, but he can’t be behind this, can he?
“What are you thinking?”
“There’s an alpha, Bradford Bentley, the one who—”
“Wants to buy you out of Chase Jewels, I remember. You think he’s behind this?”
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly, rubbing my forehead. “I don’t know who else could be.”
“I’m turning around and heading back to Alabaster Security. Meet me there. Keep your phone on you.” A moment passes before he adds in a growl, “We’ll get them back, Gideon, I promise. I’ll call the team up and tell them to do some research on this Bradford guy.”
I want to believe him. Hell, if he tells me that in person, I will, but over the phone, something gets lost in translation, and I can’t stop myself from worrying about both the fate of our omega and my nephew.
We only just found each other. I can’t lose her so soon. And my nephew… Colter has seen so much already. This might just be the final nail in the coffin.