Chapter 58
FIFTY-EIGHT
LAUREL
I walked up the path to my villa, my body on autopilot as I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
I was brought out of it when the door closed, shutting out any light.
The curtains were all drawn, and I peered into the gloom, wondering if Kaos was awake.
There was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen, but I couldn’t see anything.
I peered up at the ceiling, flicking on and off the lights, but nothing happened.
Was the lightbulb missing…?
I jumped as a hand brushed my side, and something settled around my wrist with a click. When I tried to pull away, I realized what it was. A manacle.
This motherfucker had handcuffed me.
My eyes adjusted to the dark to see Kaos wearing a happy smile and holding up a steaming cup. “Noodles?”
“What is this?” I demanded.
“Shin ramyun?” he clarified, moving the cup closer.
“Not that.” I yanked at where we were cuffed together. “This.”
“Handcuffs,” he said with a shit-eating grin.
I huffed in annoyance, and he moved us over to the couch. He pressed the cup into my free hand and picked up his own from the table.
“This is ridiculous. And completely unnecessary,” I told him, but he just hummed. He was happier than I’d ever felt before.
I cautiously took a sip of the noodle broth.
Holy fucking spiceballs—I choked, managing to swallow it down, but it burned the whole way. My eyes were watering and my nose started to run.
Kaos wordlessly passed me a cup of milk, a smug expression on his face, and I gulped it down. Once I’d recovered, I eyed the cup again and fished out some noodles. It did taste really good, despite the pain.
My phone buzzed, and I put the cup down to answer it. It was a video call from Finch.
I answered and propped it up on the table, our faces looking eeriee in the light from the screen.
He glanced at me and then turned to Kaos. “Report.”
Kaos scratched the back of his neck. “Still keeping my mind healthy and happy,” he said, tugging on the handcuffs.
Finch shared an exasperated look with me. The moment felt too familiar, and I looked away uncomfortably. Finch cleared his throat, the same sound he’d made after he’d taken the leaves out of my hair. “The other part, Kaos. You checked out the information Laurel got from Prince? And from Thaddeus?”
Kaos gave me a lazy grin, raising an eyebrow. “Okay, I’ll admit that was pretty hot, what you managed to do.”
I felt my cheeks go a bit warm.
He jabbed a finger at me. “Don’t steal my shit again, though. I’ve combed Prince’s messages. He’s smart enough—actually, I take that back, his pack is smart enough—to use code. Even with that, his phone has given me a few interesting themes so far.”
He paused, shoving more noodles into his mouth while we waited for him.
“First, ‘rager’ is code for rofetamine—very original, Princess, thank you. Lots of messages about that. But nothing incriminating. Sounds like Dax handles the official parts of it.”
He held up three fingers, then frowned and, with difficulty, lowered one.
“Second—it’s clear they’ve been gunning for Daddy Thaddy’s throne for a little while.”
My mouth dropped open in horror.
Daddy Thaddy!?
Kaos continued as if he hadn’t come up with the most horrific nickname ever. He tried to raise his third finger again but gave up with a shrug and put up all five.
“Third is this secret weapon they brought with them from Boston. It’s code-named ‘Gem.’ All I know for certain is that they went to a lot of trouble to make sure it was secured here at the casino—without ol’ Thaddy knowing about it.
They talk about it like it’s the key to their power grab here, and even bringing Thaddeus down if they need to. ”
There was a beat as we digested this.
I frowned. Something they’d brought with them and hidden here?
“Any ideas, Laurel?” Finch pressed.
I shook my head. “The only thing I can think is that maybe it’s some kind of evidence. For extortion.”
Finch nodded thoughtfully. “Connect with Kaos after and list any place you can think of that they might hide something like that here. You may be right, and that means we should try and get our hands on this ‘Gem.’ Good job, both of you. Anything else?”
“Nah. Prince is totally obsessed with Laurel, though. Almost stalker-level. But yeah, he’s not the top dog in that pack. If we want better intel, we want Dax’s phone. And ideally a live bug, not just a data puller.”
I chewed on my lip. A live bug would require a lot more time than a minute or two to install.
“No go?” Kaos said, patting my hand.
“I can do it,” I said insistently. “I just need to figure out a good time. I’d have to get it off him, in a situation where he won’t notice it’s gone. Also, it’d be better if I could have a safe place nearby to monitor while it installs. Then I’d have to return it to him.”
I paused, thinking.
“Our best bet is the engagement party next week. He’ll be wearing an evening suit, which is easier to steal from. I can slip away to the bathroom or a side lounge, and he’ll most likely be talking to people the whole time, so he wouldn’t miss it.”
I waited for either of them to shut it down, but instead, they appeared to be listening to me for once.
“I’ll work on a plan, then. I can decide on a place to meet and the ideal time if you get me the engagement party’s itinerary,” Finch said. I nodded. After a pause, he asked, “What about Thaddeus’s computer?”
“Yeah,” Kaos said, tugging our cuffed hands up so he could chew on his nail. His voice was slightly muffled as he spoke through his fingers. “Sorry, but that was a bust. Only the going prices for ‘alpha sculptures.’ Nothing else useful on it, I’m afraid.”
“Nothing?” I asked, trying to hide my disappointment.
Kaos side-eyed me and shook his head. “No, not unless you’re interested in the kind of por—”
“That’s enough!” I said quickly, cutting him off. That was already far too much information. Thankfully, Finch changed the topic.
“How is Ocean after his fight?” he asked.
Right. How to say this?
“I have good news and bad news,” I started.
“Start with the bad,” Finch said, folding his arms, and Kaos stiffened at my side.
I chewed on my lip, glancing between them. “Hugo is training him, but he can’t do anything to stop Ocean from going feral. He told me today he thinks it’ll happen within the next week. So unless we can get him out before then, you’re going to have to figure out how to treat a feral alpha.”
There was silence, and I could feel the tension radiating from Kaos down the bond.
“So soon?” Finch said eventually.
“But, the good news is, if he does go feral, I might have a lead on how to help him.”
“Finch,” Kaos said, his voice shaking, “we need to switch plans. We can’t risk Ocean like that.”
“It’s not a deal-breaker,” Finch replied, his voice firm. “We don’t have enough information to make that call. Hugo could be wrong. Right now, Ocean is still with us, right?” I nodded. “And he doesn’t actually know when Ocean will…turn?”
I shifted in my seat. “He seemed pretty sure,” I said, glancing between him and Kaos again.
“Well,” Finch said. “Like Laurel says, she may know how to treat him—”
“That’s a pretty big if,” Kaos snarled. “We can’t risk—”
“Enough, Kaos!” Finch barked.
Kaos’s mouth snapped shut, his eyes widening in shock as Finch’s command took hold.
“Ocean made his choice,” Finch snapped, his anger spilling down the bond.
Kaos seemed to shrink next to me and tried to shut down his bond, but not before we felt his pain.
“He was very clear that this was a risk he was willing to take,” Finch continued. “So unless his life is in imminent danger, we will carry on with our current plan.”
I studied Finch through the bond, my omega senses tingling. He felt…off. I’d felt him angry before, but this seemed less… reasonable.
“Finch,” I said, shifting again. “Are you…getting close to a rut?”
“No,” he snapped in a harsh tone.
There was an awkward pause.
“Because I can help—”
“I’m not going into a rut,” he growled.
“Okay,” I said, raising my eyebrows and shrugging.
I didn’t believe Finch, but if he wanted to be a stubborn ass, that wasn’t my problem.
I found I’d somehow moved closer to Kaos; I was half on his lap. He hadn’t pushed me away, and I followed my instincts and laced our fingers together, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. I knew I was supposed to be keeping them at arm’s length, but Kaos seemed to have forgotten that.
“What if there’s a better way to buy him more time?” Kaos said, Finch’s bark having worn off. He sounded extra tense.
“What do you mean?” I asked, surprised.
He looked up at me with his dark eyes. “You just have to swap his rut rage out for a placebo.”
My whole body froze. “No.” I pulled my hand from his.
Finch was nodding. “That’s a good plan. You can tell him. He’ll pretend to go into a rut in the fights. But he won’t get any more of the drug.”
“You don’t understand,” I insisted. “Visiting him and managing him is one thing. Messing with the fights is something else entirely. If I’m caught—”
“Then don’t get caught,” Kaos interjected.
I glared at him. Finch’s lashing out wasn’t my fault, and it wasn’t fair for him to take it out on me.
“You think they’re not going to notice that it’s been swapped out? That he’s faking?” I asked.
“That’s a risk we’re going to have to take.” Finch’s voice was firm. He’d made up his mind.
“Please,” I said desperately, squeezing my eyes shut. “Don’t make me do this. Wait for me to find our lead. It’s too risky.”
“That’s not your call to make,” Finch said. “I’m pack lead. This is the plan. You’ll execute it. End of discussion. Understood?”
“Yes,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Good.” Finch flipped a page in his notebook. “I’m making progress with the Lucas pack, and from your dad’s records, we know how much to offer for Ocean. Laurel, you must have enough money to cover that.”
“Sure,” I muttered, too pissed off to really care. “Anything else?”
“No. Kaos?”
“No.”
Finch hung up without even saying goodbye.
“He’s such an asshole.” I muttered.
“Yeah,” Kaos agreed, making me snort.
I grabbed my ramyun cup and awkwardly used the chopsticks to get some more of the noodles. “Come on,” I said with a sigh, standing and pulling Kaos to the kitchen by our handcuffs. “Let’s make this a proper dinner.”