Chapter 16 - Kady
SIXTEEN
Kady
“Okay.” I pace back-and-forth, my mind a frantic blur. “I need to think. I need to—”
“You need to sit down.” Hale steers me back to their comfy sofa. “You’ve just had a heat spike. You need to rest.”
I push him away. “There’s no time to sit down!”
Especially when the couch smells so unashamedly of them—Ezra’s earthy blend that promises wild adventures, Hale’s wooden freshness that makes me feel safe, Riven’s clean and quiet thoughtfulness, and Calder who smells like a holiday you can’t stop thinking about.
No, sitting down is the last thing I need.
My imagination is running wild, picturing my father going crazy, sending out Warren to hunt me down like a bloodhound. After this, Dad will definitely want me to leave SVU.
“Do you hear helicopters?” Riven peers through the curtains. “I can get my telescope?”
I groan. Yep, that’ll be Dad, sending out his fleet to scour the streets.
That, or he’ll have paid the cops to look for me.
I’ve only been “missing” a few hours, yet he’ll be using every bit of his influence to track me down.
Worse still, I’m worried about the Stellas.
Poor Delilah. After my call, she must be terrified.
Faye’s nerves will have her chewing her nails and blaming herself for Damon losing his job, which is bound to have happened after he left me.
Sabs will be trying to hold everything together, joking about how I’ve hopefully been kidnapped by some hot masked stalker, but she’ll be anxious too.
Ezra clicks his tongue. “I told you not to ride in the bed of the truck.”
“Is that all you have to say right now?” I roll my eyes. “This is serious.”
“Maybe we should all lighten up?” Ezra laughs nervously, but he isn’t fooling anyone. “Having a stowaway in our house is a little funny.”
Riven rubs his chin. “It’s so statistically improbable that I can see the potential for humor.”
“Nothing about this is funny.” Calder swats at invisible flies. “She is a Sinclair!”
I plant my hands on my hips. “She has a name.”
“We could go to jail.” He ignores me, pointing at Ezra. “And you, you’ll be in the most trouble. You’re a professor, remember?”
“I don’t think you’d do well in jail, Ezra.” Riven frowns in earnest. “You hate being stuck inside.”
Ezra’s forehead wrinkles in concern. The thought of being away from his plants seems to bring the severity of the situation home. His plants are his babies.
My stomach lurches at the sight of Tyler Blandon on-screen. “As if this can’t get any worse.”
“We’re devastated.” Tyler’s nasally drawl makes my skin crawl. Kyro and Shea stand behind him, flexing their muscles like they’re advertising the hideous matching shirts they’re wearing. “All we want is our Kady-kins brought home. She’ll be missing us. We’ve hardly gone a day apart since we met.”
Hale’s fists curl as Tyler talks.
“Why did you pick them?” Calder’s forearms are corded with tension. “A beautiful omega like you could have picked any alphas to be your fake pack.”
He thinks I’m beautiful? I pull at the edges of Hale’s T-shirt. It sits just above my knees, but now that I’m surrounded by four hot alphas, I feel like I have way too much skin on show.
“Fake packs aren’t exactly easy to find, especially on short notice,” I retort. “How often have you had to find one?”
“Well…” Calder flounders.
“Exactly!” I make my point with a flourish. “I did the best I could. I never expected any of this to happen.”
“It’ll be okay.” Hale’s comforting scent sends a wave of calmness through me. “We’ll think of a way out of this.”
The reassuring safety I felt with our limbs tangled together in his bedroom feels like a lifetime away, his double-knot now a distant memory. It doesn’t matter how good it felt to be in his arms, we’ve got a situation to deal with.
Riven cranes his neck to get a better look out the window. “They’re getting closer.”
Calder’s borderline hysterical, tugging on his wavy hair. “No one cares about the helicopters!”
“Dude, you really need to chill.” Ezra puts a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t I make you something to help? I have a tincture and some calming balm that’ll take the edge off.”
“Keep your herbal mumbo-jumbo away from me.” Calder shoots him a look of disgust. “Don’t you have some carrots to pull up or something?” Next, he sets his sights on Riven. “Can you stop looking at the sky, and get your head back inside the building for one minute so we can talk?”
“But—” Riven tries to object.
“Don’t take it out on him, Calder.” Hale steps in between the two of them. “This isn’t his fault. Let’s all take a breath, okay?”
Only we have no time to take a moment or think of a plan before a loud pounding comes from downstairs.
We all freeze, looking around as the bashing continues, then the yelling starts.
“Kady!” Warren’s gruff roar booms up the stairs. How did he manage to find me here? “Are you in there?”
My heart drops into my stomach. “That’s my dad’s bodyguard.
” Panic sweeps through me. “Shit, he can’t see me like this!
” I throw off Hale’s T-shirt, not having time to dwell on the fact that I’m now standing in my underwear in front of the guys before sprinting back to Ezra’s room where I put my clothes on in record speed.
Thumping continues to reverberate from the floor below. It sounds like they’re trying to ram the door down. The guys seem frozen in a state of shock when I return.
Hale’s the only one who seems capable of talking. “Are you okay?”
“Warren can’t see me in another alpha’s clothes,” I reply, quickly buttoning my blazer.
“Yes, of course,” Calder nods briskly, his eyes flickering everywhere but on me. “Good idea.”
I march toward the exit. “I should go before they tear down your wall.”
“Wait.” Hale grabs my arm. “You don’t have to leave. We should talk. All of us. There’s something I need to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” I shut him down. “I’m sorry for causing so much trouble. I know you were only trying to help me. You won’t have to see me again after all of this.”
I wince as a loud bang comes from downstairs, presumably a door being knocked off its hinges. Footsteps grow closer, thundering up each step like a tribe of rhinos. Before I know it, the apartment door flies open, and a group of men in SWAT-type gear descend on the apartment.
Calder springs into action like he’s been dropped in a boxing ring. He’s surprisingly lithe on his feet, dancing around and ducking to avoid getting hit by an officer drawing his fist back.
“Calder!” Hale uses his alpha bark, compelling him to stop fighting before it’s too late. “Stop! You’ll only make matters worse.” Hale turns to the officer, holding up his hands. “We’re happy to compl—”
Before Hale finishes his sentence, another officer tackles him to the floor. They’re breaking at least three laws with the unnecessary, excessive show of force.
A low, menacing growl tears from Ezra, making him an easy next target for another officer to launch himself at. He’s on the ground in seconds, arms forced behind his back.
Riven puts his wrists together, offering them to the nearest officer to avoid being manhandled.
“Can you loosen them a bit?” Riven asks as he’s put into cuffs. “The metal’s kinda cold.”
“Sorry to disappoint, sunshine.” The officer looks at him like he’s mad. “We don’t offer heated handcuffs.”
“Maybe you should,” Riven suggests. “They’d be more comfortable.”
“Kady!” Warren’s dry hands lock around my wrist, holding me in a vice-like grip. “Are you okay?” He peers at me in the same way a doctor would inspect a particularly unpleasant wart. “Are you hurt? What did they do?”
I shrug him off. “I’m fine, Warren.”
Although the same can’t be said for Hale’s pack, who are all restrained in some shape or form.
Calder’s fuming glare finds me from his spot on the floor. “Does every meeting with you have to end with me being pinned down?”
If it wasn’t for the Taser pointed at his neck, it’d be funny.
“Quit it, smart ass,” the officer hisses from on top of him. “You’re in trouble here.”
As much as I’d like to revel in Calder’s misfortune a little longer, I step in. “They did nothing wrong. I came here of my own free will. They were helping me.”
No one listens to what I’m saying, looking straight through me to Warren for directions.
“Hello!” I talk into the void. “Didn’t you hear me? I told you, I’m fine.”
“Take the Valen Pack to the station for questioning,” Warren orders the officers.
“They don’t need questioning!” My anger boils over. “I’m absolutely fine. This is a breach of their human rights. I major in law!” Some of the officers hesitate. “You can’t do this. I’ll sue!”
Warren nods with an air of finality. “Take them away.”
The guys are wrenched to their feet.
Hale looks back at me over his shoulder. “Kady, we—”
“No talking!” Warren roars. “You’re coming with me, Kady.”
“I’m not a child anymore, Warren. I don’t have to do what you say. I’m going back to Stella House, and you can’t stop me.”
Warren yanks my arm back to stop me from leaving.
“Don’t touch her.” Hale’s expression darkens, showing a fiercely protective side of him as he struggles to free himself from the officers’ arms. “Let her go.”
“As admirable as your chivalry is, I don’t need your help, Hale.” I step into lawyer mode. “And please stop struggling so you aren’t charged for assaulting an officer, okay?”
He stops resisting but his reluctance is evident, his eyes burning into Warren as he’s carted out before I get a chance to apologize for causing all this trouble.
“Kady.” Warren adopts his patronizing voice, but he does drop his hold on me, which is something. “Your father thinks it’s best if you return to New York. Your pack is also in agreement. They’ll even accompany you. I have accommodations arranged.”
“My pack?”
I halt for a second, remembering that he’s talking about the Blandon Pack.
My stomach curdles at the thought of spending any alone time with them.
This has gone too far. As much as I wanted to keep up the ruse, it’s not worth it if it means getting innocent men into trouble.
I never meant for anyone else to get embroiled in my web of lies.
Steeling myself, I strap on my big girl panties and get ready to tell the truth.
“They aren’t my pack, Warren. I asked the Blandon Pack to pretend to court me so I didn’t have to marry Timothy Oakwood.” I cross my arms, channeling Sabs’s fierce energy. “And I’m not going back to New York. I’m staying at SVU.”
“This is worse than I thought.” Warren shakes his head. “You’re not thinking clearly. We need to get you checked out at a hospital for head injuries.” Scrutinizing me, brackets form at the corners of his eyes. “They could have drugged you.”
“Drugged?” Last to be led out, Riven’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets. “I only made her hot cocoa.”
“Grab the cup.” Warren points at my half-full drink that’s now going cold. What a waste. “We can test it.”
“This is ridiculous, Warren. I’m absolutely fine, and for the record, I’m thinking more clearly than I have in years. You can tell my father that I’m done following his orders.”
“Maybe you’ll feel differently after the drugs have worn off.” Warren motions to the door. “A car is waiting outside.”
A heat spike ending in a police raid is not how I saw today ending, and I still have my father’s wrath to face. How could today have gone so wrong?