Chapter 29
“Where are you going?” Griff groaned. “I gave you directions.”
“Don’t get your alpha panties in a twist,” Bea huffed as she turned off the main road toward a neighborhood. “We have a seat left and I know just the old broad to fill it.”
“No,” I laughed.
“Oh, yes,” she countered with an unhinged laugh. “We need her.”
“Who?” Griff asked, confused. Ash, Jackson, and Cy were already minutes ahead of us at this point but I wasn’t going to argue. Bea had a point.
She’d clearly texted the old woman, because Dolly was waiting outside, an even bigger purse this time. She was casually picking up rocks and stuffing them inside.
When we pulled up, she climbed in, whistling happily as she settled in, giving me a wink.
“I hear we have a lesson to teach,” she hummed.
Before I could answer, Griff’s phone was ringing. He answered on a growl.
“Yeah?”
I’d call him out for being rude if he hadn’t put Mathias on speaker, the beta already filling us in.
“Look, we got a hit on her image. Valerie Lockhart. She’s Henry’s sister. They, in fact, share a residence at the moment. Omega. Money. Influencer. It’s going to be hard to pin this one on him.”
“Oh, no problem,” Griff said. Mathias went silent, likely confused why my alpha was just accepting that news.
It wasn’t a setback for us.
“We appreciate the info,” he said with a hasty goodbye tacked on the end. When he hung up, I snorted.
“He definitely knows something is up,” I pointed out. Griff shrugged, not bothered in the least.
“The less he knows, the better. We need the head start.”
“This is a different jurisdiction,” Bea said. “We might need to be careful.”
“It’s only going to get violent if he escalates it. I let him have the first punch and I’m golden,” Griff said. “Gorgeous, maybe you can man the camera for evidence.”
Part of me was shocked he even gave me a job so I just nodded my head in agreement, wondering just how this was about to go.
“If this doesn’t work, I am fully prepared to air out every bit of dirty laundry this asshole and his sister have.
Full blown factual campaign that shows the world how shitty they are.
Can’t sue me for defamation if it’s all factual.
We literally have evidence,” Bea said, laying out her plans.
I grinned, loving that these amazing psychos were all on my side.
From a girl with barely any family to this huge group of friends and mates that were willing to go to these lengths to protect me was huge.
Was it weird to get emotional over a confrontation? Maybe. But I didn’t give a single fuck.
Bea pulled up in front of a brownstone, right behind Ash’s car. They were already out, facing off with Henry and the girl we saw in the video.
Right next to each other, it was easy to see the resemblance. Her face was twisted in a scowl and her phone was out.
But so was mine. I hit record, making sure to get their faces in frame as well.
“What the fuck is this about? These douche bags won’t say a word,” Henry thundered at Griff, stepping forward until Griff’s dominance snapped out, stopping him in his tracks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an alpha use it like that, I hadn’t even realized just how strong Griff’s alpha was.
Fuck, it was hot.
He must have noticed my appreciation in the bond, throwing me a quick smirk over his shoulder.
“I suggest you step back. We are only here to have a simple conversation,” Griff said. His voice was that eerie calm again.
Henry noticed, too. His face was pale and he instinctively put himself in front of his sister. Weird, I didn’t think he cared about anyone but himself.
“I’ve had just about enough of this,” Cy said, his tone tired.
“We were kind to you, and you spent every day hating me because you, apparently, think my life is perfect. No one is fucking perfect, Henry. But I’m not going to tolerate this any longer.
We found the note your sister slipped in the book, the emails, I’m sure it’s all traced back to both of you.
I’ve got a team on it, including the sheriff who found her face in his system.
I guess that misdemeanor you tried to sweep under the rug didn’t work as well as you hoped. ”
She gasped, eyes darting to me in horror. She knew I was recording. I couldn’t help the grin I shot her over the phone.
“Wait, what?” Henry asked. The confusion was written all over his face.
He had no idea about the note.
“What emails?” he asked. “What note? I’ve been keeping my nose clean. The PR team insisted on it.”
His eyes darted to her and his sister stomped her foot like a little kid, letting out a whine. If she thought using her omega side to get out of this would help, she was wrong. Bea was itching to expose her or fight her. Honestly, my crazy bestie would take, either.
“I was just making sure your point got across. You were obsessed and I didn’t like that they were making us look crazy,” she complained. “The emails were harmless. So was the note and the paint. You deserved it.”
Her lips curled again as she sneered at me.
“None of it was harmless. It was harassment and you just admitted it,” I pointed out.
“I’m just backing up my brother. No one treats our family like this,” she growled, trying to look fierce but I just rolled my eyes.
Henry turned to her, shaking his head. “You made this so much worse. I told you to back off after I found the paint you tracked in.”
So he hadn’t been involved in that? What the hell was going on?!
“I was doing this for you!” she screeched, voice so high it turned raspy at the end. She was losing it. “I promised Mom I’d watch over you.”
“You can’t do that if we’re in jail, Valerie,” he hissed back, letting out a defeated sigh. “Look. I got the message last time. I’m stepping back. So is she.”
“Like hell I a-” He slammed a hand over her mouth, holding it there as she thrashed around. They were both fucking crazy.
“I’m sorry. She’ll stop,” he promised. “Please don’t press charges.”
“And what, we let it all go and live our lives?” Jackson asked, looking skeptical. “No chance.”
“You have the restraining order, her confession, all the evidence. I… I let it all get to be too much, focused on the wrong things. I’m sorry,” he tried again. “Life just… is hard sometimes and I looked at you with your perfect face and perfect personality, perfect pack… perfect omega.”
He cut off as my pack growled at him, holding his hands up and throwing me an apologetic look.
“Sorry. I just… let it go too far. I’m starting therapy and the team has me on probation and strict rules. I’m trying here.”
“And you?” I asked, turning to Valerie. He let his hand fall away and she huffed. “Do you have it together or do I need to share this video?”
Her face paled as reality sank in.
“Fine.” The word dripped with so much hate and frustration that I knew it was only from her brother’s pleas that she let it go.
“One point of contact. One note. A single fucking email, and it’s out there,” Bea warned. “My taste for vengeance is strong, don’t fucking test me, Barbie.”
Valerie snarled but Henry tried to shove her through the door.
“She won’t. I’ll talk her down,” he promised. “In fact, we’ll move on. A fresh start somewhere else. Okay?”
“What?!” she protested but he was still trying to push her inside and away from us.
I didn't trust this. He was too compliant right now. After going through all that effort? Something was off.
Jackson must have agreed. He stepped forward, facing off with Henry.
“Just like that you’ve changed?” he laughed in his face. “No hard feelings, huh?”
His fist flew out so fast the other alpha had no time to stop it. Jackson’s fist hit Henry square in the nose, a sickening crunch making my stomach churn.
“One wrong move, Henry. And I will bury you.”
“Understood,” Henry gasped, turning and rushing toward the door. Not before Dolly lunged. She’d been waiting, purse at the ready, and wasn’t missing the opportunity for violence.
She swung, the purse hitting him in the ass so hard a thud echoed out and he was pitching forward. He faceplanted, then scurried to his feet and inside like a scared little rabbit.
“Damn, didn’t know you had it in you, Jackson,” Bea cheered. “That was a solid hit. You get that on camera, Dani?! And that finale, Dolly?! Perfection.”
“Yeah, I did,” I grinned, ending the recording and shaking my head. It was the performance of a lifetime.
“He needed a last swift reminder,” Dolly said as she ambled back to the car.
We watched her go, and I glanced back at the door, letting out a sigh.
“You really think that’s it? It felt…”
“Too easy?” Griff finished, his frown deepening.
“I’ll put a tail on him,” Ash promised. “I have some contacts that can help.”
“Thank you,” Griff said. “For now, hopefully, we scared them a bit.”
“I’m sorry,” I started to say but Griff put a finger to my lips.
“Stop apologizing to us,” he said, voice firm and eyes blazing. “WE did this. Us. Not intentionally, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. It is our job as your alphas to keep you safe and we intend to do just that.”
“For now, it’s over,” Jackson said. “We keep watch but I think our message was made.”
“And how are those knuckles?” I asked.
He snorted and held up his hand. The skin was split open but he was grinning, not bothered in the least.
“Let’s get you back and ice that,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Coach is going to kick our ass, let’s get back to Willow Lake,” Cy said, looking far too cheerful. He must have enjoyed that hit as much as I did.
As we all piled into the cars and started the journey back, I couldn't stop the unsettling feeling from growing.
Something was off. There was no way it could be that easy.