25. Justice
Justice
Oren
Watching Emilia in public was amazing. Her last pack had made it seem like she was shy or embarrassed, but she didn't seem remotely unhappy.
Instead, she practically skipped through the stores, pulling out items to hold up to herself, asking me what I thought, and then piling the things she wanted into Jude's arms. Her happiness echoed down through my bonds with Grayson and Santi, making me smile.
After two hours of shopping, we were all getting pretty hungry. It was a tossup between Chinese and tacos, but Grayson made the decision for us.
"We'll have Chinese tonight. Let's do tacos for now."
Halfway through out meal, Santi's phone rang. He jumped up and walked away to answer it.
"What's that about?" Emilia wondered aloud. "He's blocking his emotions."
"He'll tell us," Grayson assured her. "Eat your taco."
She nibbled at the food, but it was obvious she was too worked up now. I patted her leg. "It's okay. Santi won't leave you in the dark."
Finally, our lead alpha came striding back and gave Emilia an easy smile.
"I have good news and bad news."
"Okay." She grabbed my hand and waited.
"Good news is that we have a court date for Rory."
"We do?" I broke into a grin. "When?"
"November 12. But the bad news is that he made bail, so he's not currently in jail."
Emelia frowned. "Do you think he'd come after us?"
"Doubtful. He's in more than enough trouble already. And we're not exactly in a place that's easy to find," Santi assured me. "You're safe."
"I don't think I'll be safe until they actually lock him up," she muttered, poking at the leftover taco. "I don't feel safe."
"We'll always be with you," Grayson promised. "At least one of us will be by your side."
After we finished eating, we went to the nesting store so Emilia and I could pick out items for the new house.
It was fun to shop with another omega. We both agreed that our new joint nest should be black and navy with silver accents, similar to my previous nest. We tagged everything we liked with a special scanner to add to our wishlists.
"Okay, I was wrong, we do need to worry about money at this rate," Grayson groaned when he saw us testing sofas and recliners. "We don't have ten living rooms, you two!"
I flopped back in a recliner, sighing with happiness. "They're so soft, though!"
Grayson shook his head. "Santi, what were we thinking with two omegas?"
"You bond it, you bought it," I said, then burst out laughing. "Get it?"
"We get it, Santi said dryly.
Jude was the one to eventually herd us out of the store, though we came away with pillows and blankets that filled up the back of the car. Emilia settled between Jude and me, leaning against Jude's shoulder.
The drive back was quieter than our trip into town. Emilia was still smiling. I was glad we'd taken her out. Not only had it given her a chance to do some shopping, she'd seen that we really didn't mind being seen in public with her.
From time to time, I saw her glancing behind us, as if she expected Rory to show up.
I squeezed her hand. "No one followed us."
"I know." She gave me an embarrassed smile. "I know that logically, but part of me is still scared. And he is still out there."
"Well, we're here with you and we're not going to let anything happen to you," I promised, wrapping an arm around her. I breathed in her sweet fig and ginger scent. It was back in full force now, after the descenting spray.
When we reached the Airbnb, Gertie nearly knocked Emilia over in her excitement. She'd apparently decided Emilia had been gone for years, instead of hours.
"Traitor," Jude muttered. "She never greets me like that."
"Because you don't deserve it." I punched him lightly in the shoulder.
Jude rolled his eyes at me, but he knew I was right. Emilia deserved all the things.
While Santi and Grayson carried the bags in, Jude took Gertie into the backyard and Emilia helped me carry the nesting items upstairs. She stopped in the middle of the bedroom, clutching a silver pillow to her chest.
"Can we put these out now?"
"Of course, why not?"
"Well, we're leaving soon, right?"
"So?" I pulled a navy blanket out of the bag and tossed it onto the bed. "A nest is wherever the omega decides it is and we decide it's here for now."
Her eyes filled with tear and I quickly moved to gather her into my arms.
"What did I say?"
"It's not what you said. I just can't believe that I can be this happy again after everything. I really thought my life was going to be depressing forever."
"Not with us around," I told her, kissing her soundly. "Get used to being happy, we're going to make sure it happens a lot more."
Jude appeared in the doorway. "I found a place to deliver Chinese food."
"We literally ate an hour ago," I said.
"That was tacos. This is Chinese."
Emilia brightened. "Do they have sweet and sour chicken?"
"It's Chinese, of course they do."
While Emilia and Jude argued over which dishes to get, I set about clearing the messy blankets from the bed and spreading out new ones.
Within half an hour, the bed was covered with our new blankets and pillows.
Emilia and Jude sat on the steps, arguing about how many appetizers were reasonable for five people.
"We need extra," Emilia said. "We can eat the leftovers tomorrow."
I stared at her.
"What?"
"Nothing. I just like hearing you plan for tomorrow. With us." I sat down behind the two. "Order as many appetizers as you like. We all have big appetites and I know an excellent way to burn off the calories."
"Good point," she turned to Jude. "See?"
"Fine, order your fifteen starters," he muttered. "I can see this is going to be hard on me. Two alphas and two omegas… and only one of me. I'll never win an argument again."
"Sorry, hon." I leaned in and kissed his cheek. "But you have to admit, there are some serious perks, too."
Later, we sat around the dining room table, eating Chinese food by candleligth. Emilia claimed it made the food more romantic looking. It really just made it harder to see if you were eating pork or chicken, but none of us complained. We never would.
"Tomorrow, we go see the house," Santi said, pushing his plate away and patting his belly. He'd changed into sweatpants and T-shirt. He looked less like our responsible pack leader and more like someone ready to collapse into bed.
"I'm still worried about Rory," Emilia admitted. "What if he finds out where we're moving to?"
"My contact at OPA told me that Rory isn't allowed contact with you. He's also prohibited from being within five hundred feet of you until the trial. Same goes for Jake."
"What about Candace and Daryl?"
"They're not supposed to contact you either, but they're both cooperating with the investigation. Right now, Candace is considered a victim, as well."
"She was horrible to me!" Emilia frowned.
"I know," Santi said gently. "None of this erases what she did."
"Daryl was kind, but he didn't stop the rape." She rested her head on her hand. "I just wish I'd found you guys first."
"Same," I admitted. "If I could go back and spare you all that pain, I would."
"I guess I appreciate you more though, since I've seen the other side." She reached out and picked up a fortune cookie, cracking it open. "You will soon return to the past. Do not go easily."
"Well, that's weird," Jude laughed. "Mine says, 'You will soon come into money.'"
"You already have. Maybe you get a new gig," Emilia suggested.
After laughing over our fortunes, we watched a movie before heading to bed. I lingered a few minutes in the kitchen to put everything away and clean up a little. We'd only been here a short time, but the place was a mess.
As I snuggled next to Grayson, I heard Emilia sigh softly. "I'm just glad I'm here at last."