Chapter 7 Vera
Vera
“I still think it’s unfair to split us up so late in the planning.” I lean against Luca’s shoulder as Miles drives us to a meeting.
Luca chuckles and pets my head. “Derrick’s reasoning makes sense. He could have also put you with someone from his teams. You’re with Riley. Why’s that bad?”
“It’s not. I just wish that if he’d swapped us, he’d team me up with Mathew instead. I’d love to see him in action.” I turn to Luca, trying my best pout, but he simply shakes his head, his eyes sparkling.
“I’m pretty sure that’s the exact reason Derrick didn’t want to do it. You two would have been way too busy with each other instead of work.”
“We wouldn’t get distracted with sex or anything like that...” I’m not that desperate and I know when and where stuff like that is appropriate.
Luca laughs, such a sweet sound, as his pheromones fill with amusement. “I don’t think that was what he was worried about.” Then he glances at me, his fingers playing over my arm, his amusement turning seductive. “But now I am.”
I lean up, almost kissing him, but with his mask in the way, it’s a no-go. I pull back and kiss his fingers instead while keeping his gaze. He swallows hard as his pheromones flare.
“We’re almost there. Only a few minutes left.” Miles sounds like he’s about to laugh and I shoot him a glare. He grins back at me in the rear-view mirror.
“I wasn’t going to do anything.” Not with an audience, anyway.
“I know. But having him walk around with a hard-on would be uncomfortable for him and probably not a good idea for a serious talk.” Miles focuses back on the road, looking way too smug.
Ugh, that guy!
Luca simply scoots me closer, his arm around my shoulders, his caramel pheromones flowing around us. “We’ve also got to focus. It’s not long until the raid, and we can’t have a lot of in-person meetings right now.”
“I know.” I didn’t want to have this meeting over a video call. Partially because of what we’ll be talking about, but also partially because I’ve not been out of the house for days and I hate being stuck inside.
Miles stops in front of the pretty unassuming restaurant.
We chose this one specifically because Mathew and Jorge hadn’t been here before and neither have we, so hopefully we won’t be recognised here too easily. With our pictures all over the place, it seemed better to meet up in places where people don’t think to look for us.
Miles waits until the car with the rest of the security team has parked behind us and the team has taken up their places around the car. Then he gets out and lets us out on the curb side. This is way more security than we would normally travel with, but right now, we don’t want to take any risks.
I take a few steps away from Luca as he swaps to a clean mask. I really wish that it was no longer needed, but that’s not something we’ve got control over.
One of Erika’s Alphas, Sam, said that we shouldn’t try to push it, but that things should get easier for Luca over time. It’s simply a case of waiting for his symptoms to get better, no matter how long it takes.
Well, I’m already glad that he can be near me and touch and hug me, without his mind all freezing up. That’s a massive improvement from the first days. So, I might be impatient, but I’m also happy with how far he’s come already.
“Vera!” Someone greets me from the door and when I turn around, I see it’s Xavier, the Omega whose pack we’re here to meet up with.
He’s got white-blond shoulder length hair, pulled back in a loose ponytail, light blue eyes and always a quick smile.
He’s just a little shorter than Luca, and seems to like to wear jeans and a t-shirt, as that all I’ve ever seen him in.
Today, he’s wearing faded blue jeans and a t-shirt with a robot that looks like it’s from an anime.
No idea which anime, as I don’t keep up with them.
“Hey.” I take a couple of steps to him, but he quickly comes over, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry. I’ve got to go. Got called into work, emergency.” His face is flushed. “The rest are inside. I’m sorry I can’t be here.”
“It’s okay.”
Xavier is a veterinarian, so if he’s got to go in on his day off, it must be urgent.
“Will you be okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He gives a quick wave to Luca, before looking back at me. “A pregnant dog just came into the clinic. She’s in labour right now and things are looking complicated. I’m going in case they need my help.”
“Of course. Poor creature. How are you getting there? Will you be on time?”
Xavier nods to the side. “There’s a bus stop on the next street over. I only need to change once. I should be there in twenty minutes or so.”
What?!
We’ve talked about his work before, so I know where the clinic is. And twenty minutes sounds way longer than it should take to get there from here, especially in an emergency.
I wave Miles over. “Miles can drive you.”
“Vera...” Miles gives me a level look. “I’m here for your security. I don’t run a driver service.”
“We’ve got the rest of the team here for our security. Xavier needs to get to the vet clinic quickly, driving him is faster and easier.”
“He’s right. It’s not that—” Xavier puts his hand on my arm, but I glare at him.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but they’d only call you in today if they had no other option, right?”
“Yes?”
“Then having to depend on public transport is not a good idea. Miles will drive you.” I turn to Miles. “It’s not far. You’ll be back well before the meeting is over.”
Xavier turns to Miles. “Thanks. I’m sorry.”
Miles shows him a slight smile. “If it’s an emergency, it can’t be helped.” Then he gives me a stern look, copying Derrick. “Go inside. Stay inside. Don’t cause any trouble.”
“Yes, yes.” I wave for the two to leave already, before I look around for Luca. The Beta is still waiting with the rest of the security team, looking at the exchange with what seems like amusement in his gaze.
I go over to them and take his hand as Miles drives off.
“You’ve gotten used to bossing people around.” Luca laughs as I pull him towards the restaurant, the security team flanking us.
“Well, it’s not like I had much of a choice. I didn’t want Xavier to get there too late and it’s not like it’s very dangerous here.”
I don’t want to imagine what might happen to the dog or the puppies if he arrives too late because of traffic or a poorly connecting second bus. Sometimes, you’ve just got to use the tools you’ve got, and if we can be sure that Xavier gets there on time this way, then that’s what you’ve got to do.
As soon as we step inside, one of Xavier’s Alphas, Henry, stands up from their table at the back and waves us over. He’s like a younger version of Caleb, very tall and broad, but he’s not covered in scars and he’s still got all his fingers.
“Did you see Xav on your way out?” Henry sits back down as we come close.
“Yes. We ran into him. I got Miles to drive him to the clinic.” I sit opposite Henry as Luca sits next to me, and the security team take their places at two tables nearby, spreading out so they’ve got the best view of us and our surroundings.
“He must have put up a fight.” Even the way Henry laughs reminds me of Caleb, that rumbling sound.
“He did, at first. But people tend to listen when I tell them to do things.” I grin, which gets laughs from Henry and the rest of their pack. Asher and Tom are much quieter than Xavier and Henry, both Alphas, both part of Henry’s security company.
“I got that impression before, yes.” Henry nods, his smile fading as he looks to me. “We saw the articles. You’ve got quite a lot on your plate right now. I didn’t think you’d have time to meet.”
“The articles haven’t really changed anything. The plans are the same as before. We’re adapting a few things, but we’re not planning to call it off.” Putting things off would only give the Hearts more time to make things harder for us, so we’ve got to keep moving.
“Any trouble with any of the other people?” Asher, the guy in the middle, takes a sip of his coffee, his eyes constantly going around the place, like he’s trying to see if anyone is watching us. Well, anyone outside of our team.
“Some people have been getting nervous, but they also know that an opportunity like this isn’t going to come around often.
We haven’t had any other trouble.” I’d expected some people to maybe pull out when they saw the articles, especially because our faces were so visible, but the people who are helping us know that we need to take this chance while we can and that seems to be much more important.
“Good.” Asher nods, his eyes settling on Luca for a few moments. “You still good with all of this?”
Luca looks tense, but then he nods. “Yeah. I need to do this. For the kids I couldn’t help before. For the kids caught up in things that they really shouldn’t be around.” He slides his fingers along my arm and takes my hand, weaving our fingers together, his grip tight.
It can’t be easy for him to go back to the brothel. He’s not even supposed to go inside, but I’m sure that even seeing the building from the outside, being in the neighbourhood, will be very stressful for him.
“We’ll be with you and one of your Alphas? That’s still the plan?” Henry looks from Luca to me and back.
Since Luca doesn’t seem to be up to answering him right now, I nod. “You’ll be outside, in plain clothes, and you’ll be protecting the kids until they reach safety. We’ll get you further details on the day itself.”
While Mathew’s organisation will take care of things inside the building, we’re working with Erika’s pack, some of Erika’s connections and Xavier’s pack to get the kids out of the area and to safety.
Jorge has worked with Henry and the other two Alphas before and he trusts them, which is why they’re part of the plan. They shouldn’t be in much danger. Plus, Henry and the other two don’t look as intimidating as most of Mathew’s organisation, so that’s part of the reason too.
And, the Hearts probably already know what most of Mathew’s team looks like, but they shouldn’t know what Henry and the others look like, so that should help with the safety element too.
There are so many people and organisations involved with the raid and I really hope everything is going to work out, for all our sakes.