Chapter 143
Chapter One Hundred-Forty-Three
Falcon
The long drive back to Cressidan City doesn’t feel so long with Robin in the car. She’s back with us, and she’s unharmed, and I couldn’t be any happier.
Finding her mother alive and well was a nice surprise.
I think Robin’s still kind of in shock about that.
The woman seems to be coping as well as anyone really could under those circumstances.
She’s been smiling since we left the basement, spending her time marvelling at all the little things everyone usually takes for granted.
Her baby is quiet and spends most of the car ride sleeping soundly, in her carrier, between Robin and her mom.
By the time we get back to the academy it’s a little after one a.m.
The guard on the gates lets us in without a second glance.
Owen called to let us know he’d make sure the guards let us in when we got back.
He was able to get home a little faster, given that he was in a cop car.
We talked to the detective about Robin’s mother briefly before we left.
She knows Barrister was making her have children and then taking those children away.
It’s the tip of an iceberg, and she knows it.
There’s no way the guy will walk.
Not after everything he’s done.
And if he does, well, there’s always the Alpha Alliance.
They’ve been doing a pretty good job at rescuing Omegas and having their traffickers locked up.
If some of those traffickers end up dead, it’s a win for humanity.
Robin was also able to tell Detective Waterman about a USB Warren Corvina took from Barrister. It was still in her pocket when she checked. I’m sure that has some interesting information on it since he went pretty far to get his hands on it.
Jay parks the S.U.V. in front of the academy, and we all get out.
Robin helps release the mechanism on the baby carrier and her mom lifts the baby out of the car in her carrier.
“You know, I thought I’d avoided the worst that was out there when I turned down an offer to be sent to an Omega Academy,” Scarlett says. “My mother used to tell me stories about these places. They were all awful.”
“Yeah, this place used to have that kind of reputation,” I admit. “Recently, though, some good people took over. It’s no longer controlled by elites.”
“You’ll like it here,” Robin adds. “Lana’s nice.”
“I’ll like it here, because it’s not that basement,” Scarlett says. “And I’ll like it because I’ve got you, and I’ve got my baby. Nothing else matters.”
She follows Jay as he moves toward the doors.
“Are you doing okay?” I ask Robin as I turn toward her.
She nods slowly. “She’s doing pretty well despite everything. I’m glad she’s alive. It’s still just so hard to believe. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.”
“It might take a while. You were lied to since you were a kid.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy. I keep wondering if I should have questioned what I was told, but I was too young to even think about it. Adults have all the power when you’re little.”
“They do, and that’s fine when they’re good people doing the best for their kids. It’s not okay when the adults are creeps and assholes.”
She sighs. “I wish there weren’t so many of those.”
“I do too.”
We move around to the trunk together and she helps me bundle up her mother’s things properly in the sheet before I lift it out to carry inside.
Jay and Scarlett are already inside by the time we join them in the reception area.
Lana and Pete are outside Lana’s office with Dr. Morgan, Damian, and Dr. Clarke.
“Welcome back,” Lana says, giving us a wry smile. “Jay just introduced us to Scarlett and her baby. I’m guessing you’d all like to rest now, especially given the time, but we do have a few things to sort out before we can let everyone go to their suites for the night.”
I should have seen this coming.