Chapter 39
Wren
Istare at the phone in my hand. The screen is lit up with the phone number, all I have to do is press call.
“Baby Girl, I can do it—” Maverick starts, but cuts off with a shake of my head.
“It has to be me.” My voice is surprisingly strong as I stare at the phone. “I’m done letting my parents rule my life.”
I just have to press “call”.
I’ve already put it off as long as possible, insisting Ethan teach me how to make French toast for breakfast so I could cook for everyone.
Then I insisted on unpacking all my painting stuff.
I showed the guys the one house I can’t stop going back to.
And then I needed to fix my nest.
I’ve changed shirts twice thanks to all the nervous sweating I’ve been doing.
I can’t put it off anymore.
We sit at the kitchen table, ready to make the phone call that will set us all free.
So why do I feel so scared?
“You’ve got this Dove.” Teddy squeezes my knee. “Give it to ‘em good.”
“We’re right here.” Brennan reminds me.
“And remember, even if they had the best people, nobody can trace my phones,” Ethan adds, nodding. “They can’t find you.”
Right. They don’t know where I am. They never will. We’ll just deliver our threat, and then hope they listen to it.
Sighing, I nod once. “I’ve got this,” I repeat, more to myself than to anyone else.
My heartrate doubles when I press call.
The phone rings.
And rings.
And rings…
I swear to fuck, if he doesn’t even answer after all he’s put me through—
“Hello?” The brisk voice fills the kitchen, and I freeze.
Father.
The last words he spoke in my presence, “Get her out of my sight”, ring in my head.
“Hello?” Father’s impatient tone rings out, making me curl in on myself.
I can’t bear the way my guys look at me. Like I’m broken. Maverick shakes his head, reaching for the phone, and finally, finally, my voice decides to work. “Father?”
A beat of silence. “Wren?” He doesn’t sound happy. He doesn’t even sound relieved. “Wren, where the fuck are you?”
I can feel the guys stiffen at his tone, but they keep quiet.
“I’m not telling you that.” My voice shakes slightly, but gets more steady with every word.
“What do you mean you won’t tell me that?” I can hear the venom in his voice. “I am your father, and you will do as I tell you!”
Not even a full minute on the phone and he’s already back to his old ways, making demands and trying to verbally beat me into submission.
Usually, if his voice got this angry, it would be followed by a punishment of some sort. But…nothing happens. His hand doesn’t fly out of the phone to strike me, he doesn’t burst into the kitchen to make me pay for my insolence. He can’t touch me.
And if he tried, my men would kill him.
“I mean exactly what I said, Father.” My voice is much more composed than his, and Maverick’s hand tightens on my knee. “I’m calling to make a deal.”
He scoffs. “A deal? You are in no position to offer me a deal. You’re probably broken down on the side of the road somewhere, calling me from a payphone. You have nothing. You’ll be lucky if your mother and I take you back. We don’t need you for Nest Luxe.”
I ignore the comment about Nest Luxe, because if it were true, he’d have already written me off. They would have held a funeral for me, just so they could lay the whole issue of their “missing daughter” to rest.
They need me for something.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I say, my voice not wavering in the slightest. “I wasn’t kidnapped from Pack Caruso, Father. I was rescued. By my true scent matches.”
The anger is evident in his tone. “Wren Sofia Messina, you will not—”
Every instance of holding my tongue, every time I looked down in submission flashes before my eyes, and this time, when the urge to bite back hits me…I give in. “Not Messina,” I snap, getting to my feet. “You made damn sure of that.”
There’s a beat of silence, like he can’t believe how I just spoke to him. My heart rams against my chest, the adrenaline of finally speaking up to my father giving me the courage to keep going.
When he speaks, his voice is outraged. “How dare you—”
“Here’s the thing, Father, and you’re going to want to listen to me very, very, carefully.
” Newfound confidence fills me, my demeanor calm as I speak.
“Remember the shipment of winter coats that was intercepted by the feds? That was me. I have a witness on stand-by willing to testify that you sold me to Pack Caruso. I also have an alpha who could hack into the government in his sleep if he wanted to, and he’s been combing through every single email you’ve sent since you took power of the Messina family.
I’ve already used the resources at my disposal to make sure that Pack Caruso goes away for a very, very long time.
So I repeat, Father, I want to make a deal. ”
Silence, except for his heavy, enraged breathing.
“What…what kind of deal?” His voice is tight, evidence that I’ve backed him into a corner. The feeling is intoxicating.
“All I want is for you to stop looking for me,” I say simply, emboldened by his lack of comeback. “I want you to announce to the world that I’ve been found alive and well, and to call off the search party. If you do that for me, none of this evidence will ever see the light of day.”
“I don’t believe you,” Father spits. “There’s no way you could have all this proof—”
“Tell me, Father, has Freida shown up for work today?” I ask, knowing he probably has no idea. But he will. “How are the Bianchi and Rossi families doing? Have they realized you’ve been overcharging them yet?”
Silence. Then a curse. “You bitch—”
Four sets of protective growls ring out. I would have cowered at such language from him before, but now, all I feel is empowered as his words cut off.
“You will watch how you speak to our omega,” Maverick growls again.
Father ignores him.
“I don’t make deals over the phone.” His tone has turned dismissive. “How am I supposed to take your claim seriously if I don’t have proof?”
I grit my teeth. “I could just turn everything over to the FBI, you know.”
“If you were going to, you would have already,” Father drawls. “Clearly you have an interest in keeping your mother and I out of prison—whatever that may be. All I want is to verify the credibility of your threat for myself.”
I exchange a look with my guys. We were worried this might happen.
Time for plan b.
“Set the time,” my voice rings with foreign authority, “my alpha will have the file ready to send out if he’s not home by midnight to cancel the transmission.
Any funny business, any attempt to take me from them will result in every single shred of proof finding its way to the people who will make sure you will rot in jail for the rest of your miserable life. ”
I can hear father seething. “Tomorrow night. Dinner. Let’s try to act civilized, shall we?”
Maverick squeezes my hand in reassurance.
“Tomorrow.” I echo. “Get a private room at Toscano’s.”
“Come at six.”
“Father?”
“What?” His tone is so irritated, I’m surprised at how much joy I take in my next sentence.
“No guards. Or the file goes out.”
I can hear him grit his teeth.
“Three guards. You can’t expect me to be defenseless, especially if you’re bringing a pack.”
Maverick nods, and I take a deep breath. “Deal.”
And then the call disconnects.
My legs buckle underneath me, my ass crashing into my chair. “Holy shit,” I breathe, my heart racing with adrenaline. “Did you hear me?”
Maverick gives me a dazzling smile. “I sure did, Baby Girl. I’m so proud of you.”
“Damn right,” Teddy adds, chuckling. “Fuck, ‘e sounded like a miserable old twat, di’n’t he?”
A shaky laugh leaves me. I can’t believe I just did that.
“That’s my girl,” Ethan grins, reaching over and taking my hand.
Brennan’s gaze is full of pride. “You were amazing.”
But…tomorrow.
I bite my lip. “Are we ready…for what tomorrow means?”
Maverick nods. “I’ll call in some old buddies of mine to set up a loose perimeter just in case they try anything.”
I sigh, leaning back slightly as my heart rate starts to slow. “Right. I don’t think we’ll have anything to worry about regarding the restaurant. Toscano’s is considered neutral territory, and is very discreet.”
Ethan taps his fingers on the table. “Once they see what we have on them, they won’t dare try to cross you.”
As the guys start to make plans for dinner tomorrow, my mind wanders to what it’ll be like to reunite with my parents. It hasn’t been more than about two weeks, but it feels like a lifetime ago that I saw them last.
I’ve changed so much since they sold me to Pack Caruso.
And they’re going to regret trying to make me feel ashamed of who I am.
“Hey Mav?” I turn to my alpha, and he tilts his head at me. “Is there a place I can paint where I won’t be in the way?”
He shrugs. “Anywhere. The dining room table, the fucking kitchen sink. Nowhere you exist could ever be ‘in the way’.”
Warmth fills my chest as I look at him. I shake my head as I carefully re-word my request. “I mean…is there a place I could paint where I wouldn’t be too…distracted by everyone?”
His face lights up. “I have a den downstairs—you can shut the door if you don’t want to be disturbed.”
“Wot are you thinkin’, Dove?” Teddy asks with a twinkle in his eye.
I grin. “I’m thinking…my parents are going to receive a parting gift from Sylvia Bloom.”