Chapter Twenty-Three – Hayden
The phone call is from Pax. He’s not the big boss, but he’s my boss, and he finally has some information for me regarding Kayla, and unfortunately, it’s just as troubling as I knew it would be.
After excusing myself and stepping outside, I go to lean against the hood of my truck as I listen to Pax’s report. Heat creeps from the metal hood, the vehicle not yet cooled down after being used. I don’t say a word, not until he’s finished.
He has a lot to say.
“There are few records on Kayla Prim. From what we can tell, her parents died when she was young. Ever since, she’s been in the care of her older brother—Jeremy Prim, an alpha who by all accounts is not the kind of person our company likes dealing with.
He’s had multiple run-ins with the law, but somehow he always gets off. He’s lucky.”
Hmm. Jeremy. Her brother. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put it together. She’s an omega, and her brother’s an alpha. Starving herself, the bruises… it points back to the brother.
“She’s listed as a beta in the official records,” Pax goes on. “You’re saying she’s not? She’s been faking it this entire time?”
“She’s definitely not a beta. Trust me on this. All it would take is one look at her and you’d know—I can’t believe no one’s questioned it all this time.” I tap my fingers against the hood of my truck. “If you smelled her right now, you’d know. She’s starting to nest.”
The über alpha on the other line sighs. “You know, I put you on Bentley duty so you’d watch him, not his new assistant—”
I open my mouth to argue with him, “But—”
“But,” he talks over me, “from everything you’ve said, she’s in need of some major help.
My hands are tied right now, but I’ll talk to Darius and see about cutting through the red tape.
It won’t be easy to have her official designation switched.
It might help if she’s matched to a pack.
” He waits a moment before asking, “How’s Bentley taking all this?
I can’t imagine he’s too happy housing an omega.
You sure she’s safe there? I know you’re watching out for her, but Bentley’s an über like me. We both know what he’s capable of.”
We do know what Bradford is capable of, but there are a lot of things Pax doesn’t know, because I haven’t told him.
Pax will never, ever understand. How could he?
His omega was the one Bradford had kidnapped, along with his beta.
Something like that could never be forgiven.
I came to this house on a mission, but I don’t wear the rage-colored glasses my boss does.
I know Bradford takes some getting used to, but I really don’t think he’s that bad. I think he was an alpha driven to the brink by his father, and I think Bentley Sr. is the real one we should be watching.
“Kayla is safe here, way safer here than anywhere else in the city,” I tell him. “Trust me on this. If I thought she was in danger here, I wouldn’t let her stay. I know Bradford is an über, but… he hasn’t shown a single sign of using that dominance to make either of us do anything.”
“And as far as he knows, you’re a beta.”
“Right.” Although, now that Kayla highly suspects I’m not, it does make me wonder if Bradford has a feeling deep down, too.
Pax says, “Listen, do whatever you have to when it comes to Kayla. I’m going to trust your judgement. Keep the omega safe, but don’t forget the reason you’re there in the first place.”
How could I? If Bradford makes another move, I’m supposed to report immediately to Pax so he and Alabaster Security can thwart whatever ill-advised plan it is.
That said, I really don’t think we have to worry about him as much as Pax thinks.
The guy is kind of depressed. The kidnapping was probably a last-ditch effort to make some change, and when that failed…
everything blew up in his face, and now he’s faced with the consequences of his actions every damn day thanks to that ankle monitor.
“Thanks,” I say, and then I end the call. Pax’s eternal suspicion of Bradford isn’t surprising in the least, but the call did inform me of one crucial detail of Kayla’s life: she lives with her brother.
Jeremy.
Jeremy sounds like the kind of person who constantly finds themselves knee-deep in shit, and they blame everyone else around them except themselves—you know, the true culprit.
Everything bad that happens to them is because of someone else, while everything good is due to their hard work.
Selfish, smug, egotistical. He’s obviously the kind of person who doesn’t care about hurting people, as long as it serves something.
No wonder Kayla felt like she couldn’t go to someone for help. When it’s family, things are different. Murky. If you grew up knowing nothing else, how can you believe something good is actually out there, waiting for you? You probably have no hope for a better life, so there’s no point in trying.
Now that’s just downright sad. It pains me to think about that, and I sigh as I slip my phone into my pocket.
What a mess. This whole thing… I don’t know how this will end, but if I have my way, Kayla will never go back to her brother.
I take my time in returning to the house, and I find Bradford in the kitchen, unpacking the snacks I bought.
“I think I’m going to lay down for a bit,” he says without looking at me.
“You can go upstairs and get whatever streaming services you want loaded up with my card. You can start watching something.”
“You sure?”
With a nod, he says, “Yeah. I need… I need some time.” The moment his dark eyes meet my stare, I can tell something’s bothering him. “You’re probably better company than I am, anyway. If she is starting to nest… you could give her a lot more than I ever could.”
If I hadn’t just talked to Pax, if I hadn’t just learned about Kayla’s brother, I would have had enough wherewithal to say something to him after that, something comforting. You know, something other than, “Okay.”
I don’t take any of the snacks upstairs with me; it’s still pretty early. I find Kayla sitting in the middle of the floor, amongst a horde of blankets and pillows, and as I approach her, she tilts her head up at me and smiles softly. I sit down with her after grabbing the remote.
“Let’s get this TV loaded up with everything imaginable,” I say with a grin.
“I have a card with Bradford’s name burning a hole through my pocket.
” I pull out the card and turn the TV on, and together, we spend the next twenty or so minutes downloading every single streaming app and signing up for a monthly service using my email and Bradford’s card.
It’s only after everything is loaded up and I set my wallet and Bradford’s card aside that I turn toward her and study her.
She has the remote in her hand, scrolling through whichever streaming service we loaded up last. Her eyes are wide, wide as saucers, and it’s clear the overload of choice is not something she’s used to.
“How are you feeling?” I ask her, causing those big eyes to turn toward me. Their green hue is brighter now, their color clearer. Sitting there so close to her, it’d be so easy for me to get lost in them, in her.
And that says nothing about her scent. We’re side-by-side on the floor, and there’s nothing stopping that rose-tinted scent from filling my lungs.
“I’m… okay.” Just based on the way she says it, that big pause in the middle, I can tell something is bothering her. Is it the same something that was bothering Bradford? Why he’s keeping himself away from her right now?
Did something happen between them while I was gone?
Once that thought pops in my head, I can’t shake it, so I say, “Did Bradford do something while I was out? Did he try something with you?”
Her eyes widen, and she quickly looks away from me and shakes her head. She sets the remote down and goes to hug her legs to her chest, whispering a soft, “No.” She nibbles her bottom lip, and though she doesn’t look at me, I can see the heat creeping up her face.
“What happened?”
“It was me. I got too close to him. I…” With a shake of her head, she mutters, “I don’t even know why.” She might say that, but deep down, I think she knows. We both do. “I feel weird. I don’t like it.”
I need to approach this delicately. “Your hormones are out of whack. You’ve been suppressing them by starving yourself for so long, they’re hitting you full-force now. It’s not your fault.” A moment later, I can’t stop myself from asking, “When you got close to him, he didn’t try anything?”
“No. He smelled me, but that’s it.”
He smelled her, and that got them both this worked up?
I find that hard to believe, but I don’t think Kayla would lie to me.
“Wanting him to like your scent is natural. I’m not sure if this’ll make you feel better or not, but if I had to put money on it, I’d say he liked what he smelled.
I just don’t think he’s ready to admit it. ”
Instead of focusing on what I told her and being assured by me, she asks, “You’re not jealous?”
“I think we already know the jealous one out of the two of us is you,” I joke, but on a more serious note, I add, “but no, I’m not jealous. I’m a beta, remember? Why would a beta be jealous of an alpha?”
“Right, a beta.” The corners of her mouth curl upward into a slight smile, a coy expression that threatens to ignite something primal inside of me. “If you were an alpha, though…”
“If I was an alpha, I still wouldn’t be jealous.”
“Why not?”
“If I was an alpha, I wouldn’t be jealous because I’d already be confident you belong to me.” Hmm. Maybe that was a little too forward, too truthful, not to mention way too damn close to the truth.
Kayla sucks in a hard breath. “Hayden.”
I grin at her. “What?”