Chapter 29 Slinging Pies
Slinging Pies
Oscar
Ididn’t get much sleep because Kol kept trying to spoon me all night.
I’m not one for having sleepovers. I’ve slept in a bed by myself since I was a child.
I’m not used to their heat, sounds, or movement.
I got a few hours of sleep, and when I woke up, for good.
Kol was snuggling with my arm. He growled as I removed it from him.
I’ve been thinking for two days about what I’ll do with the beta on my day. I don’t like going in blind to any situation. So I spent my time researching Mads.
He had a roommate named Arnold Bererra, Arnold Meier now—he’s been bonded into a high-profile pack here in Cash City. But while they were roommates, they had a lot of fish tanks. They are in the background of every photo.
Arnold posts now from a large house out in the plains. No fish tanks. I’ve made the assumption they were Mads’s fish before his accident, and Arnold decided to care for them.
On this wild assumption, I’ve scheduled an early morning, private opening of the aquarium.
I drive to his place and knock on his door.
His mother opens the door.
“Hello, I’m here for Mads,” I say. I’m wearing sunglasses, since I’ve already got a headache from my lack of sleep.
She looks exactly like Mads, but 30 years older and a woman. But if he were to grow his hair out and don a dress, then they could be sisters.
She scrutinizes me, head to toe. I come out wanting, it seems, as she doesn’t say a word.
“Which one are you?” she finally asks.
“I’m Dr. Oscar Soto.”
One of her eyebrows kicks up.
“I’m Mads’s mother, Tilde. He told me that you dyed his hair.”
I shake my head. “No, that was another pack member of mine. His name is Locke.”
She makes a “hm” sound.
Finally, Mads comes to the door. He smiles at his stern-faced mother, kisses her on the cheek, and says goodbye.
I stay at his side as we make our way to the car.
“My mother doesn’t like alphas. And she doesn’t quite understand why a group of three men are taking me on dates. And you are a lot older than me.”
I nod in agreement. I can see how that would bode well for me.
“I think I just look a lot older. Seven years is not much. I greyed early.”
He laughs, but I don’t know where the joke was.
We stop at the car. He looks like he wants to say something. His eyes dart to the wrapping around my forearm, but he doesn’t look at it again.
“Did Kol tell you about last night? With Cadi.”
“He said you two had sex with her.”
His face goes pink, all the way to his ears.
Yeah, he does not want to talk about it. I clasp my hand on his shoulder and give it a squeeze. His head hangs low.
“Mads, my focus right now is bonding you. It’s the only next step. I’m warning you that keeping your girlfriend will pose problems, but if you want to face those problems, I’ll let you.”
He lifts his eyes to me. So that’s it then. He’s going to keep her. For now. I’d fight this harder, but the way Kol talked about her last night made me second guess this tactic. Let them keep their omega for now. There’s no contract. Or courting intention. Mads is simply dating her. As betas do.
We get into the car, and as Mads is falling in, he grabs the handle on the glove box to steady himself, and it flies open. My holstered SIG P220 falls into his lap. It's not a delicate gun, and his eyes prove he sees that.
“Fucking hell,” Mads says at the pistol. “What the fuck is this?”
“It’s for protection.”
“So you can lay a man down with 20 bullet holes in his chest?” Not everyone has a firearm for protection, so I don’t judge him too harshly for his reaction. I take it from him and put it back into the glove box.
“It only has 8-rounds. So, eight holes.”
He sits in silence as I get the car started and check the map.
Finally, he asks, “Are you a gangster? I know that Locke is involved in something…”
“I’ve tried to distance myself from that life.
But my upbringing was very similar to Locke’s.
I was a child in a pack of gunrunners and drug dealers.
I was slinging product at a very young age.
I came to the US to study medicine and to remove myself from that lifestyle. But it never really escapes you.”
I turn onto the road when I find myself telling him more.
“I was in residency when I met Kol. He was running a scheme to get hormones. He was a realtor selling houses to folks, and then claiming the new owners were omegas, using their information and address, to request hormones from my clinic. It was pretty sophisticated. Like now, he was having issues with rutting. If he went to the clinic himself they would have put him on a government list and forced him into programs he didn’t want to be a part of.
They often detain rutting alphas in Salt Port.
I confronted him one day, out of curiosity mostly, not to expose his scheme.
We knew immediately we were pack. I helped him get his hormones and then clean up his rap sheet.
He had customers relying on him. Big clients. Like Legs O’Bannon.
“Being a supply source for Legs O’Bannon put him in a really bad spot.
I was able to buy him out, but he had to give the details of his scheme to Legs.
We spent a lot of time with his people during the negotiations.
Kol had a fascination with Locke. I would have separated them, but I had the same one.
We’d finished negotiations, and Kol was out.
But then Kol bit Locke, even though he knew he was Legs’s favorite plaything.
It was a blowout. As pack lead, I am to protect my own. So, you can see why I have the gun.”
Mads is quiet. I pull into the parking lot of the aquarium and shut off the car.
“Do you regret bonding with Kol? Knowing it led to all this trouble?”
“No. Not for a second. Kol is mine. His trouble is my trouble. And while I would have liked to have had a plan to take Locke from O’Bannon first, I’d never shame Kol for his impulses.”
I sigh and rest my head.
I tell him more. “When it’s just the three of us, I feel powerful. I feel calm and confident. They both satisfy so many of my needs. They are good alphas. It’s my life’s joy to care for them, lead them, and protect them. I would never regret them. I wouldn’t even know how.”
“You feel the same way about me?” he asks slowly. Choosing each word with care.
“In time. For now, I know that I want you. It’s very clear you will work well with my pack mates.
Kol has always tried to get Locke to work with him.
But it’s never been Locke’s thing. Kol is very excited about the prospect of having a work partner.
Locke is a lot like me. He likes to take care of people.
And things. He’s salivating at the mouth to be able to care for you.
I like how analytical you are. It appeals to me.
Both Kol and Locke make decisions based on their feelings.
Sometimes it feels like I’m the only one thinking things through. ”
His breathing has sped up. I’m overwhelming him.
“Come on,” I say, and unbuckle my seat belt.
He follows me out. I don’t think he realized we were even at the aquarium until a worker met us at the door.
“Alpha Soto. Nice to meet you. I’ll be your guide today. The entire place is open for you to explore for the next hour. Did you have questions?”
I smile and shake their hand. “No questions. We will just wander if that’s alright.”
He leaves us to it.
“What are we doing here?” Mads finally asks.
“Do you like fish?” I ask.
He nods slowly.
“I used to have some fish,” he confirms, and the alpha in me purrs. I knew. I fucking knew it.
We spend the next hour observing the glowing jellyfish, watching the penguins get put out, waiting for the sharks to swim over us in the tube, and just being together.
He reads the placards along with me. He tells me the facts he already knows. We both opt out of touching the stingrays. He gets slower and slower, but I swear he’s not as bad as he’s been in the past. Yesterday, he went to the spa room with Kol. I think it did a lot of good.
We are still enjoying everything when the aquarium officially opens, and school buses full of children come swarming in along with moms with carriages. We decide it’s over for us and leave to get something to eat.
“I really enjoyed that. Thank you. I can’t remember the last time I just went to the aquarium. Or a museum. Or a garden. It’s been a tough year.”
I tell him it’s not a problem.
There’s a café inside a nice grocery store nearby, so we stop in for sandwiches. Also so Mads can take some pills.
“I didn’t used to be this grumpy. Or combative,” Mads says after he necks a handful of pills.
“I used to be silly, actually. Always had a smile. My goal was to make everyone around me laugh or feel good. I don’t even know how to reconcile that person with who I am today.
I feel like I got the rug pulled out from underneath me.
Everything that used to be important to me is gone.
I feel like I lost Mads somewhere. Or got abducted by aliens.
And there is just this shell now, with all my insides missing. ”
I set my espresso down and give him all my attention.
He looks at me with earnest. “What if it happens again? What if you bring me into your pack, and I change again, suddenly? Become unrecognizable. If it happened once, it can happen again.”
That was not what I thought he’d say, so I am silent as I consider his question. It’s easy for me to tell him that it wouldn’t happen. Or that I’d be there for him. As I look into his watery eyes, I wonder what kind of response he’s looking for.
“What kind of person do you want to be?”
His mouth parts. He’s a bit shocked. “I don’t know. Not this. I hate this.”
“Well, if you decide to change into someone different, maybe someone you don’t hate, I’ll be glad to witness it. But I don’t want any other Mads than this one. I like you. Just as you are.”
His face breaks, but he catches it. Then wipes his hand down his mouth.
“You’re kind of hard to resist, Oscar,” he laughs. “Fuck it. I’m in. Let’s do this. I have no idea if I’ll regret it.”
A weight lifts off my chest. I can breathe for the first time in months. My appointment at the Institute is Wednesday. It’s Monday, and I’ll have Mads bonded tonight.
“Thank you. Thank you. I will take good care of you.” I pull out my phone and start drafting a text to my pack about the details. We will need to gather tonight at the apartment. I’ll have Kol get our paperwork started in order to add Mads to all our accounts.
“Yeah, my only hesitation is still with Locke and that weird Mickey guy.” He stops short. His teeth click shut. I stop typing.
“What? How do you know about Mickey?” I wonder why Locke would tell Mads about Mickey. Seems kind of odd. Mads holds his hands under the table.
“Oh, nothing. Just Mickey was at my place.”
“Why?”
“He was upset at Locke. They got in a fight.”
I’m torn between being shocked and angry—one emotion wants to win out. I didn’t know anything about this fight.
“Mickey told me he was spending the weekend in Salt Port. He wasn’t in town this weekend. When was he at your place?”
Thankfully, Mads answers quickly.
“Saturday evening.”
“What did they fight about?” I don’t hide my alpha voice from him. “Do not lie to me.”
Mads grits his teeth before saying, “Locke told me not to tell you. I’ll be betraying his trust.”
“Betray it. Now.”
I know I’m scaring him, but he needs to tell me what he knows.
Between his heavy breathing, he answers:
“I didn’t hear the whole fight. Mickey was upset about me.
I think he’d followed us. I heard Locke yelling that if he wanted to court a beta, he would.
I thought they might be in a lovers’ fight.
The way they yelled. Mickey asked if he was in love with me.
That’s why I thought that. Later, Locke admitted that whatever is going on with Mickey and him is because he’s protecting you guys.
They have an agreement. Mickey promised to keep things from his boss in exchange for… I don’t know.”
In exchange for sex.
I know exactly what the arrangement is.
Locke has been fucking Mickey to protect us. They have him collared again. Absolutely the fuck not. Locke will not sacrifice himself like that. Not again. I leave the café and storm to the car.
Mads tries to keep up, but he can’t.
I check Locke’s location, and it’s off.
Fuck!
How long has it been turned off? I get into the car, and then I pull up Locke’s credit card transactions. I never, ever look at this shit. But he’s in trouble.
There are several charges to the hotel.
Mads is in the passenger seat before I can stop him.
“I’ll take you home, Mads,” I say tightly.
“And then where are you going?”
I pop open the glove box and take out my P75. I toss off the holster. I check the magazine by slightly pulling the slide back to see the round in the chamber. Clear.
“Oh, I see.” Mads realizes I’m going to go shoot Mickey in the side of his head. Well, he might not know where I’m planning on putting this bullet, but he knows it’s going into Mickey. “I’m coming with you.”
I stop.
Mads can’t see me like this. He can’t know who I’m capable of being.
But.
If he is going to bond, he will need to know.
“Tell me when it’s too much. I’ll point you to the nearest bus stop.”
I turn over the engine and drive with purpose to the hotel. Once I’m parked on the street out front, I call Locke.
It goes to voicemail.
I call again.
And again.
And again.
Finally, he answers.
“Oscar?”
“Where are you? Your location is off.”
I hear a door shut.
“What’s going on?”
“I need you to meet me. Where are you?”
“Anchorage and Lake Ave.” A block away from the hotel.
He’s lying to me.
He’s fucking lying to me.
“Five minutes,” I tell him, and then hang up the phone. I check the gun again. I went to the shooting range just a few weeks ago. It’s been cleaned. It’s ready. I wish I had a jacket to hide it under, but it’s too hot for that. I’m in linen pants and a short sleeve button up shirt.
I make sure my sunglasses are clean before putting them back on.
Mads is silent in the passenger seat next to me.
No one turns Locke back into a whore. I never wanted it to happen again. We got him out of Legs’s house of horrors. I made a promise he’d never have to do that again. It’s only been months. Months!
It makes me think that I failed to take him away in the first place. Like he never truly left.
In two minutes, Locke comes out of the building heading towards the cross street. A few minutes later, Mickey comes out and heads in the opposite direction. I slide out of the car and follow him, twenty steps behind.