Chapter 31
Preston
For the love of all that’s holy, make it stop.
The sickness wasn't getting any better. I could hardly eat a meal without wanting to vomit, and my chest felt hollow all the time. It was my own damn fault, but that didn't mean I wasn't miserable.
The only thing pushing me through was knowing that at least Hailey was doing better than me, now that she had bonded with this stranger.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely despised the fact that my omega was bonded to someone I'd never even met, but it was an unfortunate, unavoidable situation.
One I was going to have to learn to live with, or risk losing Hailey forever.
Things had been changing in Camp Bower, and I'd been doing my best to keep up with it. Three more inmates had been sent back to prison. Coincidentally, they were also inmates that the warden heavily disliked all of a sudden.
After dinner, I was making my way back to my cabin, which I shared with several other inmates, when a large stranger grabbed me by the arm, guiding me to the side, out of the sight of anyone else.
“Preston?” the man said.
“Let go of me. Who the hell are you?” I shot back.
The guy was gigantic and fairly imposing. I glanced around the hallway, shocked that we were alone. Even the guards weren't close by.
Okay, that’s suspicious as hell.
“My name is Rune. I'm a firefighter at Station Sixteen, and my pack mate happens to be Walker, the captain. You look like shit.”
Shit.
“Gee, thanks. What are you doing here?” I asked in a low voice, my heart beating a million miles a minute.
The last thing I needed was the guards noticing him, and he wasn’t exactly hard to miss, given he was the size of a fucking house.
“Walker’s making the call to pull you out. Hailey went to him and told him everything. You’re really needed at home.”
“Fuck,” I hissed. “I can’t. I'm too close. Like really close. In fact, I'm so close…" I pulled the small plastic packet out of my back pocket and placed it in his hand.
“What the hell are these?” Rune asked, his brow creasing as we shielded ourselves in the shadows.
They were drugs, or least I assumed they were.
The pills that the warden had given me for my “stress” and to help me “relax” were suspect, to say the least. I didn't believe for a second that they were a legal substance, so I took the opportunity to hand them to Rune to get them tested.
“They are exactly what they look like, or at least I think they are. That's why I need you to give them to Walker to test them.”
Rune doubled down on that frown. “Who gave you these?”
“Your pack mate’s suspicions were correct.” I sagged, the adrenaline that’d kept me on edge already fading as my beleaguered body lost energy. “It's someone in a position of power.”
“Well, fuck,” Rune hissed.
“Which is why you can't stay here. They know who you are, and if they see you with me, they'll get wary. Give me two more weeks, and I'll have enough evidence to put the fucker away, then go home.”
Initially, Walker had been suspicious that it was an inmate at the camp, who was somehow managing to get their hands on illicit substances.
Sure, several of them were high as a kite on a regular basis, but given how hard it was to get contraband in here, I knew they were getting the drugs from someone higher up the chain.
I couldn't just leave now when I was this close to finally putting an end to it, especially if one of the staff here was abusing their position.
“You should go home now. Your omega needs you. Plus, have you seen yourself?” Rune said, and his words hit me like a physical blow to the gut.
The thought that Hailey needed me that badly and I wasn't there for her was gut-wrenching. Looking after an omega was one of the most basic instincts of being an alpha.
“And I want to, more than anything. But I'm also very aware that my omega is an EMT who works in this area. If there’s an influx of fentanyl around here, then it's going to affect her. I'm so close to getting enough evidence. I’m starting to gain trust. I think, pretty soon, I’ll be able to get him on record selling me stuff.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?” Rune regarded me, his jaw muscles tight as we both shot a wary glance down the hall.
I took a deep breath, running my hand through my hair. “Honestly, I don't see another choice. I've spent months in this place now, fighting fires, exhausted, trying to figure this out. I don't want to stop when we're so close to the end.”
“Which guard?” Rune asked.
I shook my head. “I'm not saying shit until I've got enough evidence. I'm pretty sure it's more than just selling. I think there's extortion and blackmail going on here as well.”
How could I explain that I was convinced the warden was not only giving drugs to the people he was meant to be looking after, but also blackmailing them after the fact?
It didn't seem like a coincidence that if anyone looked like they were going to talk about the drugs, all of a sudden, they were no longer in the camp, and we never saw them again.
Rune groaned, running a hand over his face. “I fucking hate this.”
He fucking hates this? How do you think I feel, buddy? I’m not exactly having a walk in the park.
“Is Hailey doing okay right now? Can she last another week or two?” Even though I really wanted to see this job through, the last thing I wanted was to cause Hailey more harm. If my pack mates were able to keep her healthy and at least semi-happy, then I would persevere.
“And if I tell you that she's not doing okay?” he asked pointedly.
“Then I'll say screw the job, and get me out of here. If she needs me by her side urgently and no one else can help, I’ll be there, drug-smuggling operations be damned.”
Rune nodded. “I respect that. Walker will talk to Hailey and see what she thinks, but she has been getting a lot better. Ever since she bonded with Merrick, her health has improved and her pregnancy is coming along better. She’s also been spending time with your pack mates.”
“I'm glad.” Despite everything, my curiosity was piqued. “I hear you’re friends with this Merrick guy.”
“He's one of the best. You're lucky. I think you two will get along fine. You're both stubborn-ass firefighters.”
I snorted. “Well, I don't think I've got much of a choice. Plus, I was only a firefighter for six months before I went on to my next job.”
“You’ll be fine. Once a firefighter, always a firefighter. You don't just forget that shit. Walker is going to come here in a few days and talk to you. It's not going to blow your cover.”
I grimaced. “I highly doubt that. There's been far too many people coming here. It's best he leaves me the hell alone until this is done with.”
Not that I blamed them, considering how monumentally I had fucked up by bonding Hailey.
Though I wasn't sure I could consider bonding such a stunning omega a screwup. The bond itself was better than my wildest dreams, and I was so fucking happy about it.
It was just the circumstances around it that were a bit shit.
And even if this guy seemed legit, I didn't want to voice out loud who I suspected of being the leader of the drug ring. It was too risky to leave this up to someone else.
Edward—the warden—was technically the captain of Camp Bower. He had a lot of power and could ruin lives very quickly. As far as ranks went, he was pretty close to Walker. If he wanted to cause problems, he could.
I was going to take the fucker down, but I had to ensure the case was solid.
“Walker is coming as part of routine training. It's been on the books for ages. It was meant to be in two weeks’ time, but Walker contacted the warden and asked to move it up because of the wildfires getting worse this time of year.”
That didn’t feel like a totally out of the ordinary request. Maybe it would be fine..
“You can talk to him then. In secret, of course. But he’ll have better information about how Hailey is doing. You can make your call with all the information.”
I nodded. “Fair enough. But nothing in the meantime. This is too risky. I need to keep my head down, or she’s going to be suddenly shy one of her alphas.”
Rune grimaced, but he gave a solid nod. We both knew the type of danger I was in with this. Especially since it was someone higher up the chain of the command. Those positions not only came with power and influence; they came with resources.
Resources I didn’t have.
“Well, good luck, then.” Stepping back, Rune shook my hand this time, turning to sneak off down the hallway. “Don’t get your ass killed.”
I sighed, bobbing my head. “I’m working on it.”