Chapter 29 Jo
twenty-nine
Jo
Ilook at the shocked faces around me. “Listen, I know that it sounds crazy, but Declan—”
“The one you said is the Irish Mafia boss?” Christopher asks in disbelief. “You want to bring the Mafia into this—”
“They’re already in it,” I snap. “My brother was behind the revelation that Senator Richard Pierce was involved in the omega trade. We can get that same reporter into the asylum and let the world see what really goes on. We can time it with Declan releasin’ all of the files he has to his contact in the FBI, and then there won’t be a Thornfield for Adela to go back to. ”
“That…might work,” Roland says thoughtfully.
“Might?” Sam snorts. “It’s the only thing that will work.”
“But, surely Vander wouldn’t let his father send Adela back there.” Roland frowns. “Before she left, they were at the house constantly. He adores her.”
“Vander…is complicated.” I sigh, running a hand through my hair before remembering I have it in some complicated updo.
Wincing, I try to detangle my fingers from the strands without ruining the whole thing.
“I think he really does love her…but I don’t believe for one second he’ll choose her over his father. ”
“Maybe he’ll surprise us,” West says hopefully. “She hasn’t been in real danger until now.”
“You don’t think she was in danger the first time she went to Thornfield?” Sam scoffs.
“No, but he probably thinks Roland is the one who sent her there, just like she does.” West crosses his arms. “We shouldn’t dismiss him so easily.”
“We also can’t count on him either,” I point out, matching his stance.
“So, what do we do?” Roland frowns, looking around the room. “I’ll bring the whole damn Mafia into my business if it keeps Adela safe.”
“For now, you should probably come back to the Gallagher Family compound.” I rub my temples, the stress from the day getting to me. “We have a house of omegas you can stay with if you’d like. That way you can be in the know about what’s goin’ on.”
Roland swallows. “These omegas…”
“They’re the same ones we rescued from Thornfield,” I confirm. “They should be comfortable around you, considerin’ your designation.”
He looks around the room, his eyes lingering in the corner where his nest is. “I’ll come. I need to get my daughter back, and this is…not the place for her or a baby.”
“Peachy,” I grin, clapping my hands together, “now, who’s ridin’ with who?”
It’s nearly nine when my phone rings as we pass the small pond that signals the start of Gallagher property. Sighing, I pick up the phone. “What, Declan?”
“Why the fuck are West’s parents and a pickup truck following you onto the family compound?” Declan sounds pissed, and rightfully so. I wince, thinking I really should have called to update him before hauling everyone back here.
“Would ‘it’s a long story’ keep you from yellin’ at me?” I ask hopefully.
“Not even close.”
“Okay,” I take a deep breath, determined to get out all the information before we pull up to the houses, “it turns out Roland isn’t the one who sent Adela to Thornfield in the first place, it was Xavier the whole time as a way to control Vander.
Roland is actually an omega who was pretendin’ to be a beta, and Adela’s mom is an alpha.
He’s gonna stay at the omega house until we get Adela back.
West’s parents are comin’ because they want to meet the rest of the pack, and as far as we can tell, they were unaware that they were aidin’ and abettin’ a psychotic cult leader.
” I glance at Sam and West. “Did I miss anythin’? ”
They shake their heads, and then I hear Hayden’s voice in the background. “Shit! We’re meeting Doctor Mom and Dad? I’m not even wearing pants!”
“Then put some fucking pants on, you absolute psycho!” Declan calls out before sighing. “Fine. But that’s it, Jo. No more strays.”
I bristle. “I know you did not just refer to my sister, in-laws, and a bunch of stolen omegas as ‘strays’.”
Dec sighs. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just…it’s getting crowded, Jo. And Mabel runs the other direction every time she sees me…You know what? Fuck it. I’m sorry. Bring as many people onto the compound as you want.”
My brows shoot up. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Thank fuck.” He laughs, but it sounds more tired than I’m used to hearing from him. I don’t get a chance to ask him about it though, because then we’re pulling up to the houses. I hang up the phone when I see him on my front porch, phone held to his ear.
Guess that explains why Hayden wasn't wearing pants—though I can't help but wonder why he's at my house and not his own.
When we get out of the car, I look behind us to see Roland’s crappy pickup, closely followed by West’s parents’ Rolls Royce.
Eyes wide, Roland gets out of the truck. “This is where you live?”
“We’re just there,” I point to the house that my pack and I have claimed, then move down the line, “that’s guard housin’, Declan’s pack house, and then that’s the house where the omegas we rescued, along with Maeve and Helaena, are stayin’.”
“That’s where I’ll be?” Roland frowns, glancing at the pile of trash bags in the bed of his truck where he stashed all of his nest items.
“Don’t worry,” I give him a gentle smile. “There’s plenty of room, you’ll have your own space.”
Swallowing, he nods right as Christopher and Whitney exit their vehicle.
“Well, isn’t that something,” Whitney gasps as she takes in the area and walks to my side. “You’re all so close together, don’t you need…” she lowers her voice before leaning down, “privacy?”
“Mom,” West groans, running a hand over his face.
“What?” She raises her hands. “I’m not oblivious to how packs work, and it’s bound to get…loud.”
Her brazen honesty shocks a laugh out of me, but I can appreciate the fact that she’s not trying to pretend like we’re no different than a beta couple.
“I soundproofed everything,” Declan says, walking down the steps of his house. “Comes with the territory of having your little sister move in next door with her pack. I’d rather my ears didn’t bleed every night.”
“You two…are siblings?” Christopher looks between Declan and me.
“He’s my older brother,” I nod, “he’s around West’s age.”
“So…how come you have a Southern accent and he doesn’t?” Whitney tilts her head in question.
“Oh, we didn’t grow up together.” I shift from foot to foot. “We only share a daddy. My mama was his stepmama for a few years, but left when she realized she was pregnant with me. We only…reconnected around five years ago.”
“Reconnected” isn’t really the right word for him finding me after I called him because the man I grew up believing was my daddy sold my sister, resulting in me killing him, but we don’t need to go into all those details right now.
“Jo grew up in Georgia,” Declan adds, crossing his arms, “and I grew up in New York with…our dad.” He turns to the male omega, seemingly desperate to remove himself from this interview. “Roland, Can I show you where you’ll be staying?”
Roland nods in agreement, and the two of them walk over to the house where the omegas are housed. Curious eyes peek out of the windows, looking to see who their new roommate will be.
“Fireball!” I’m nearly knocked off my feet by a whirlwind of smoky pepper enveloping me.
Hayden’s arms wrap around me tight, and he presses a fierce kiss to my head.
“I did not like being left behind. Next time, Kole and I are coming in the pizza van. And don’t think I don’t know how you let Kole claim you before you left because let me tell you, the nest smells fucking—”
“Ah, Darlin’?” I let out a breathy laugh, looking up at him. “Have you met Christopher and Whitney? West’s parents?”
He doesn’t even act embarrassed. Keeping one arm around my shoulders, he turns to the pair of them, a charming smile on his face. “Doctor Mom, Doctor Dad. It’s so nice to meet you, I’m Hayden Pierce.” I glance down, and yep, he’s wearing pants now.
They barely have a chance to register his name before Kole’s hulking presence presses behind me. “I am Kole Vasiliev. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Their eyes widen comically. “Oh! You must be the son—”
“Bastard son,” Kole corrects, then laughs at their reddening faces. “It is not embarrassing. I would rather it be known that my mother was a wonderful woman—not the shrew that birthed my brothers. Though now I am the bastard brother of the leaders of the Russian Mafia, not son. My father is dead.”
Christopher swallows roughly. “It is…nice to meet you too. I admit,” he lets out a nervous laugh, “this is all rather…a lot. You’re very large. And we weren’t expecting to meet…well…”
“My pack?” West ventures, joining us.
“Oh!” Whitney shocks me, her finger pointing in Hayden’s direction. “Hayden Pierce! Your father—”
“Don’t hold it against me,” he winces, “I was not his favorite son, and he wasn’t my favorite dad.”
I frown at him. “You were his only son. And you only had one dad.”
He nods. “Which tells you just how much we hated each other.”
“Is it true?” Whitney asks, eyes wide. “That he was involved with…trafficking omegas?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Then I can see why you didn’t lead with that.” Whitney gives him a motherly smile. “It’s nice to meet you too, Hayden.” She turns her attention to Kole. “And you as well, Kole.”
Christopher stares at his wife like she just grew a second head, and West isn’t that far behind him.
“You’re taking this whole thing rather well,” West notes suspiciously.
Whitney shrugs. “Why shouldn’t I? This morning I woke up, thinking that my only son would die alone and miserable. Now, I find out that he has a beautiful, loving mate, and three alpha pack members to help keep him safe throughout all this? I’m on cloud nine, dear.”
Hayden sheepishly raises his hand. “To be fair, I’m not really an alpha alpha. And West could kick my ass if he wanted to.”
Kole places a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Hush, Bratishka. Your control over your alpha nature is not a measure of your worth. We all help in different ways.”
“Like whenever we need an unhinged pyro to light shit on fire or worship the ground Jo walks on, we call you.” Sam smirks, and Hayden smiles, shaking his head.
“It’s sweet, how well you know me.”
My in-laws watch the interaction with barely disguised fascination.
I pull them from their observations with a tentative hand on Whitney’s arm. “Would…would you like to stay for a late dinner? I can’t cook, but Sammy makes a mean grilled cheese.”
Whitney and Christopher exchange a look, before they take hold of each other’s hands and turn back to face us. Whitney smiles. “I think we would like that very much.”