Chapter 38
thirty-eight
Jo
“Adela?” I can’t believe my eyes. “What are you doin’ here?”
“I live in this neighborhood with Vander and his family! What are you doing here? How are you here?” Her eyes dart to Hayden and Kole, and widen comically when they land on Sam and West. “Them too?”
“Scent matches, all of ‘em.” I give a sheepish grin. “As for how we’re here…”
She doesn’t miss the look I exchange with the guys, but she shakes her head. “Nevermind, I don’t want to know. Get in.”
My brows shoot up. “What?”
“I said, get in. The Bowens are powerful people. Whatever’s happened, they can help you.”
Sirens from fire trucks sound in the distance. Her eyes shoot to the area above the house behind us, clearly noticing the smoke for the first time. “Oh my gods, what happened here?”
“Pretty sure you don’t want to know that either,” I mutter, and turn to the guys. “Well?”
“It’s not like we have much of a choice.” West looks over his shoulder, clearly concerned with the sirens growing louder.
“Let’s go.” Sam steps forward and swings the door open.
We pile into the car, me ending up on Sam’s lap and West in the front seat.
“Do you want me to drive?” West’s brows furrow in concern as he eyes Adela’s pregnant belly. Now that she’s not in ill-fitting scrubs, and instead dressed in adorable maternity clothes, it’s clear just how close she is to popping. She has to be nearing thirty-four weeks now.
“Please, West.” Adela rolls her eyes and puts the car in drive. “I’m pregnant, not helpless.”
My brows shoot up. This…this is different from the Adela I’m used to.
I look to Hayden to see if he’s thinking the same thing, but his expression is blank, his gaze fixed on his hands. I’m thrown to the side suddenly as Adela starts driving.
She handles the car like a damn NASCAR driver, going way over the speed limit, and taking turns so fast I have to brace against Sam.
“Kole, I’m so glad you’re okay. If I knew what they were going to do, I never would have…
” She shakes her head, her shoulder-length brown hair swaying slightly as she cuts herself off.
“You have no idea how worried I’ve been about you, Jo,” Adela scolds me.
“One minute, Leslie is leading you away, then the guys told me you weren’t feeling well, and then Brooks is coming to me, saying you’re in the Cathedral, on death's doorstep. I didn’t want to leave before I knew you were okay, but Sam and West insisted I let Vander take me home when the time came.
” She meets my eyes in the rearview mirror, guilt swirling in their depths.
“I have to tell you Jo, about Kole, I was just trying to help—”
“I know, Addie.” I lean forward and squeeze her shoulder. “I never thought for a second you knew what was really goin’ on.”
She sniffs, and looks at Kole in the mirror. “And Kole, I’m so sorry. I should have known better.”
“It is no worry, little beta.” Kole nods once. “You were trying to protect my mate, and that, I cannot fault you for.”
She sighs. “Well, hopefully I’m about to make up for it.”
We turn onto a smaller road that leads to a guard house next to a gate. She glances at us. “Just go with whatever I say, okay?” My friend doesn’t wait for our answer before she’s rolling down the window, and a kind-faced security guard regards her.
“Ms. Olivier, how was your appointment—” His eyes immediately go to West and then to us in the backseat. I give a little wave, which the guard returns, a dumbfounded expression on his face. “I thought you were at a prenatal appointment, Ms. Olivier. Who are these people?”
Adela pastes on a blinding smile, leaning forward like she has a juicy bit of gossip.
“You wouldn’t believe it, Bertrand! My cousin from back home surprised me!
She brought her pack with her, isn’t that nice?
She was gonna stay at some ratty hotel, but I thought, Vander told me to treat this as my home, and how would it look on my fiance’s family if my relatives were caught staying at a two-star inn! ?”
The guard nods dumbly, his expression staying confused as he takes us all in. “Will…will they be staying in the guest house?”
Adela gives an enthusiastic nod. “That is an excellent idea. Any word on when Vander and his father will be home? I can’t wait for them to meet my family.”
“Ah, yes. Master Vander called while you were out. He sends his apologies, but Master Xavier has extended their business another two days.”
Adela’s shoulders deflate. “Oh. Okay. Thank you, Bertrand.”
She goes to roll up her window, but then Bertrand is speaking again. “Shall I send someone to help with your guests' bags?”
My eyes widen in panic. We don’t have bags. A dead giveaway to the fact her story is completely fabricated.
“Wouldn’t you know it, the airline lost their luggage!” She shakes her head like she can’t believe what the world is coming to. “Can you have Ellen meet me at the guest house so we can get some clothes and toiletries ordered for them?”
Bertrand gives a sympathetic smile. “Noted. I’ll have her meet you over there. Please enjoy your stay.”
Adela rolls up the window, her shoulders slumping in relief. “Holy shit, I can’t believe that worked.”
“Cousin, eh?” I grin leaning forward, making Sam’s grip on my waist tighten. “Which side? Just so we have our stories straight.”
“I actually do have a red-headed cousin on my mom’s side—her brother’s daughter. So let’s stick with that.” She pulls into a garage, and when we get out of the car, I realize I didn’t even pay attention to our surroundings.
I step out of the garage, and see that the house we’ve been brought to is more of an estate.
“This way.” Adela waddles around the side of the car, and I loop my arm through hers out of habit.
She freezes, her bottom lip wobbling slightly before she throws her arms around me, pulling me as close as she can with her protruding belly between us.
“Oh, Jo, I thought…I was so worried about you!”
“I’m okay, Addie.” I hold her tight, patting her back. “Really, I—woah!” Something pushes against my stomach, and I release Adela, looking down at her belly. “I think it just kicked me!”
“He,” she gives a smile, rubbing her belly, “don’t you dare kick Auntie Jo, young man.”
I find myself smiling, my hand pressing against the firmness of her bump. Something presses against me, and my brows shoot up, a squeal leaving me. “Oh my gods! I felt it!”
I turn to the guys, my cheeks hurting from my smile. My joy morphs into something more needy when I see the way they’re looking at me. “What?” I ask with a nervous laugh.
Hayden snaps out of it first. “Just their primal lizard brains imagining you pregnant.” He shakes his head, throwing an arm over my shoulder. He seems off, and I can’t really blame him, considering we just killed his dad. “Lead the way, Adela.”
Adela nods once, and starts the trek around the side of the garage and into the back yard.
Or…the grounds? There’s too much space to simply call it a back garden.
Not to mention a swimming pool the size of a house and a set of tennis courts.
Where we’re going is easy to spot though.
It’s the only small building in the area, a yellow cottage looking house with potted plants hanging from the porch.
It’s oddly adorable, given the aesthetic of the rest of the property.
“Alright,” Adela nods to us as we approach the little house, “the code to get in is 59301. I’m going to let you guys get settled, okay? Oh! Here’s Ellen.”
A tall, thin, severe-looking woman in a pencil skirt and button-down blouse approaches, a tablet in her hand. “Ms. Olivier. I was told there are…” her eyes look us over as she clearly holds back a sneer, “guests?”
“Yes, my cousin and her pack. The airline lost their luggage, so they’ll need some clothes and toiletries.”
Ellen nods once, observing us each closely and making notes. My omega bristles at the scrutiny in which she observes my men, but when she rattles off pants and shirt sizes for each of us, I realize she must just have some really good clothing-size voodoo going on.
When we confirm, she sniffs and turns on her heel, heading back to the main house, which is a damn sprawling mansion.
“Adela, do you have a phone we can use?” I bite my lip nervously. “One that…can’t be tracked?”
She doesn’t even blink. She reaches into her purse, shifting her hand around until I hear a zipper. She places the flip phone in my hand. “Keep it. It’s a burner.” I frown, looking up at her, but her expression is a mask of stone.
“I’ll check on you guys in a few hours. I have something to take care of.” With that, Addie turns and walks towards the house, her shoulders straight and her head high.
“Does anyone else think something fishy is going on?” Hayden asks, his voice quiet. “It’s not that I don’t think Adela is trying to help us, but—”
“She’s not even phased,” West finishes for him.
“Let’s worry about it in a minute,” I tap my foot. “I need to call my brother—he must be goin’ outta his mind with worry.”
Sam inputs the keycode to the door, and when we enter, it’s like I can breathe. The space is open and airy. A small living room with couches, a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a bedroom with a king-sized bed. A luxury for a couple…but there’s five of us. There’s no way we’re all fitting on that.
“I really wish we had Turnip,” I mutter, and not just because she’d be able to sniff for bugs.
“Call Declan,” Hayden squeezes my shoulder. “I’m sure he’s found her.”
Swallowing roughly, I nod as I flip open the phone and dial the number I’ve memorized. It rings twice. “Hello?” The voice is rough and panicked, and I blink away tears before I try to get my words out.
“Dec?”
“Oh, thank fuck. Jo.” Declan breathes a sigh of relief. “Where are you? What happened? You didn’t call me back, and so I checked the GPS and saw Turnip’s signal in the woods. When we got there, we saw the car and I imagined the worst.”
“Do you have her?” I choke out, hoping to hell nothing happened to her.
“I do,” he confirms. “She was buried in one of your sweaters in the wrecked car, but she’s fine. Now…where are you?”
“We got caught by some of the bounty hunters Pierce sent out, and they took us back to one of his vacation homes. The one that was set on fire—”
“You’re in the Emerald Lake Estates?”
I glance at Hayden, who nods in confirmation. “Yeah. Why do you know that?”
“I’ve done my research, Jo. Now tell me, where are you now? Please don’t say you’re using his phone.”
I scoff. “Please. I know better than that. We killed him and set fire to the house.” Well, now that I say it out loud, it does seem a tad more reckless than calling him from the residence. “We hopped the property fence, and my friend Adela happened to be drivin’ by—”
“Adela Olivier?”
My brows shoot up. “Holy shit, Dec, how much stalkin’ have you been doin’?” Declan only grunts. “Anyway, she got us outta there, and set us up nice and fancy in her baby daddy’s guest house. We’ll regroup here for a day and then head out tomorrow.”
“What’s the name of the father of the baby?” Declan asks, sounding suspicious.
“Ummm…Vander?”
“Vander what?”
So much has happened in the last twenty-four hours, my brain struggles to remember exactly what Adela said. “Bowen, I think.”
“The guys and I are still driving back from Maine, and we were in such a rush to get here, Aidan forgot to bring his fucking laptop.”
“Aw, Aidan, you do care.” I grin.
I hear Aidan grunt in the background, making me snort.
Declan sighs. “My point is, I’m going to have him look into this ‘Vander Bowen’ as soon as we get home. Until then…stay aware, yeah?”
I look over at Sam and Kole, who are busy scanning the entire house for bugs and cameras. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem. How’s Mabel doing?”
“...Better, though she might be panicking if she’s tried to call you in the last twelve hours, since I found your phone destroyed in the SUV.”
“Can you find a way to let her know I’m okay? Maybe give her this number?” I feel horrible that Mabel is probably thinking the worst has happened.
“Got it. The number you’re calling from… is it secure?”
“It’s a burner that Adela gave me.”
“Good. I’ll call you in a few hours and we’ll come up with a game plan, okay?”
“Sounds good, Dec.”
We hang up, and my shoulders slump. Fuck. It’s been a week. “Kole? Should you call your brothers?”
He straightens from where he was bending down, running his fingers under the ledge of the kitchen counter, and nods. “Yes, that would be wise.” He takes the phone from me and dials his own number, and I head for the bathroom, ready to shower and get all the grime off me.