39. Seraphina
39
SERAPHINA
T hat pageant smile was nowhere to be found now. “Who the hell are you?” she snapped, her glare pure poison. “And what the hell do you think you’re doing in my office?”
I gestured to one of the chairs that were positioned in front of the desk. “Why don’t you have a seat? We can chat, girl to girl.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits, but she acquiesced, stalking forward and slowly lowering herself into the chair, an explosion of chiffon poofing around her. “If you think you’re going to bribe me or threaten me to cut the line for a baby somehow?—”
I held up a hand. “Fuck no. I’m not here to participate in your kidnapping and abuse of omega women. Or are they little girls, Candi? How many of your captives are underage?”
She stared at me. I watched the debate rage across her face—the first inclination to feign shock and gasp her way through a denial before she appeared to settle on cutting to the chase. “So this is blackmail, then.” She sat back in her chair and crossed one spray-tanned leg over the other, then she smiled casually, like we were besties catching up over brunch. “What do you want? First pick? We only have one viable pregnancy so far but are optimistic about another?—”
“What did I just say, Candi?” I asked, my voice sharp as a whip. “I’m not here for that. I’m here to tear apart this little project of yours before you hurt any more innocent omegas.”
“ Shit, the guard at the stairs is on the move ,” Daisy said.
“ I’m on it ,” Cam replied. “ Taking him down now .”
I ignored them. Couldn’t let Candi see me sweat.
“I don’t know who you think you are,” Candi said, still maintaining that saccharine smile, “but you should think twice before insulting what we’ve built here. We are going to change lives for beta women like you and me. Why should we have to suffer while omegas pop out litters of children for their adoring mates? We’re only balancing the scales.”
“First of all,” I said acidly, “omega women suffer plenty in this fucked-up world. You should know, being a perpetrator of such abuse against these girls you’ve forced into heat for breeding against their will.”
Her lip curled. “You forget that for an omega slut in heat, nothing is against her will.”
It took everything I had not to leap over the desk and wrap my hands around her throat. “So, there they are, then. Your true colors.” I leaned forward, placing my palms on the desk. “Tell me, Candi, why would you create your entire public image around idealizing omegahood for all women when you apparently hold them in such contempt?”
She scoffed. “You’re so young. So naive, you and whichever besotted little man put that ring on your finger. Let me tell you a story.” She stood up and crossed the room to the bookshelf. She plucked a framed photo from a far corner, then she returned to place it on the desk in front of me. “This is my wedding day,” she told me as she sat down again. “I was twenty-two and so in love with my beta husband.”
I examined the photo. This younger version of Candi, who was clutching the arm of the most blandly handsome man ever, did appear genuinely happy—not the fake bubbly bullshit she peddled nowadays.
“We were married for eight years,” she went on. “Eight years of trying, and only one pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. And do you know where my husband is now?”
I did, but I’d let her have her dramatic finish. “Where?”
“Married to an omega. His best friend from college is an Alpha, so my husband left me, joined his friend’s pack, and married their omega. They now have five children.”
“And you’re taking out your anger at your misfortune on innocent omegas because of it.”
“No.” She leaned forward and gave me a pitying stare. “Don’t you see? I did everything right. I stayed home, kept house, cooked meals, kept myself skinny and pretty. But I still wasn’t enough because I couldn’t give him a baby. I couldn’t fulfill my true purpose as a woman, and I paid dearly.”
“A heart-wrenching story,” I said. “Truly. So you decided that forcing a few omegas to spread the fertility wealth was worth the sacrifice of their bodily autonomy, lives, and freedom so that no other beta woman would have to be scorned by a shitbag husband?”
“You make it sound so terrible,” she spat. “It is a noble cause. Building families. We should all be able to participate in it, not just the pheromone-riddled whores who won the genetic lottery. I’m helping betas like us return to the purest form of womanhood as God intended.”
“She says from inside the ten-million-dollar mansion she purchased with her own personal wealth made from her cosmetics company and monetizing her social media.” I arched a brow at her. “You’re ready to give it all up for this notion that women shouldn’t have value beyond the home? Aren’t you worried someone will actually take you at your word?”
She lifted her chin. “I have made sacrifices for the good of the cause.”
I snorted. “Sure you have.”
“ Cam, we have two more guards headed for the stairs ,” Daisy said. “ I caught a straggler and managed to choke him out and drag him into a closet, but the others got away .”
“ I’m dealing with another one outside ,” Cam replied, sounding tense. “ Henri, clear the party. We’re about to need to get out the big guns .”
“ Lamb .” Loki’s voice shook. “ Get out of there .”
I stood up. “Well, as fun as this has been, I’m off. Consider this your notice that you’re being shut down, you reprehensible bitch.” I yanked the high collar of my dress down, revealing my bonding scars. “As I told your prick of a cousin before your own hired help put a bullet in his head—this shit ends now. My team will be getting my fellow omegas out of your house of horrors in short order.”
Her eyes went comically wide, and she gasped as she jumped to her feet. “Guards!” she screamed.
The sound of heavy boots pounding down the hall sent me sprinting to the office’s large window. I unlocked it and shoved the heavy pane upwards. A quick dip back into my bra to grab my switchblade, and I slashed a cut through the screen.
“Get her!” Candi shouted as the door burst open.
“ We’re moving in ,” Loki barked.
“ Sera, baby ,” Blaze said, sounding anguished. “ Please tell us you’re okay .”
I climbed through the window and dropped to hang below it, clinging to the windowsill as I dangled two stories up. “I’m okay,” I said through clenched teeth. “Meet you out front in sixty seconds.”
I dropped into the boxy hedges below.
Branches tore at my dress, but I was able to roll out of the pruned monstrosity with only a few scrapes and bruises. I’d done some recon on alternate exits from Candi’s office and was glad this one held up, even if Loki had judged the jump down from the window to be riskier than he’d liked.
I kicked my shoes off and pulled my small handgun from the sheath hidden at my thigh. I sprinted through the side yard and around to the front of the house.
Chaos greeted me.
Party guests were streaming out the front door. They jostled each other, the looks on their faces ranging from mild annoyance to near panic. They scurried across the front lawn, headed for the street where cars lined the curb.
“Henri, what did you do?” I asked.
“ I got on the mic and calmly announced that the carbon monoxide detectors were showing dangerous levels in the house . I suggested an orderly exit, but some of them got away from me a bit. ”
“Ah.”
Ussuri guards ran out of the house behind the guests, weapons raised, one of them shouting orders in Russian.
I ducked behind a bush and counted them. Five. Not ideal, but could be worse.
Three hulking figures in black tactical gear appeared from the shrubbery that lined the estate’s front fence, their weapons also at the ready.
My pack, moving in to close the deal.
Loki fired three tight shots at the Ussuri guard at the head of their group. He dropped, and the others returned fire immediately. My heart jumped into my throat as my mates took cover behind the tall trees that created a small forest on Candi’s front lawn.
Blaze buzzed in my ear, breathing hard. “ Princesa, check in. ”
They exchanged gunfire again. Another guard fell.
“I’m good, traveling across the front of the house through the landscaping,” I reported. “Hawk, are we squared away?”
“ We sure are .”
Relief hit me, and my body was immediately lighter. It was a weird feeling to have in the middle of a shootout, but at least this whole night hadn’t been in vain.
The sound of a car starting across the driveway yanked my attention from my mates. Next to the house was a detached four-car garage, and inside was a large pink Cadillac SUV. Its taillights ignited as the driver began a harried reverse from the garage.
“That bitch is getting away!” I hissed. I picked up the hem of my dress and darted through the bushes, keeping low as I snaked my way toward the garage.
I needn’t have bothered. As soon as the car rolled out of the garage, tires squealing on the pavement, a slim figure dropped from the garage roof and landed on top of the car.
Daisy crouched low and brought what looked like a hammer down on the glass of the car’s sunroof with three vicious strikes. The glass shattered, and the car screeched to a halt a few feet from the garage.
I moved faster, clutching my weapon.
Daisy dropped through the car’s roof. A high-pitched shriek sounded, and Candi tumbled from the driver’s side door, eyes wild and hair disheveled. She took one look at where my pack and the remains of her hired security were still engaged in a shooting match, then she turned and fled toward the fence lining the west side of the property.
Daisy leapt out after her and gave chase.
Another guard scurried out of the house, late to the party. My insides seized as he managed to get a shot off at Hawk, who popped back behind the tree he’d been using for cover in the nick of time.
Before the guard could make it down the stairs to join the two left standing against my pack, Cam sprang from the shadows and tackled him to the ground. The guard’s gun clattered to the floor as he hit the unforgiving flagstone with an alarmed shout. He rolled, trying to buck Cam off his back until Cam smashed the butt of his own gun into the guard’s temple. The guard stilled, and Cam cuffed his hands behind his back with nylon zip ties he produced from his coat pocket.
He stood up, looking supremely unruffled as he smoothed his suit, and then he sprinted off in the direction Daisy had chased Candi.
“ We’re down to one guard ,” Loki announced. “ Move in .”
My Alphas appeared from behind the stately trees, three dark specters converging on the lone surviving Ussuri mercenary.
“ I’ve secured Candi ,” Daisy added. “ Cam and I are bringing her back that way .”
The guard dropped his weapon and took off. Hawk sprinted after him. Blaze fired two quick shots at the guard’s feet as he fled, and the guard stumbled, allowing Hawk to catch up. Hawk easily took the guard to the ground, and he silenced the resulting cursing and struggling with one brutal punch to the man’s face.
Shrill yelling announced Candi’s arrival back on the scene. Daisy and Cam frog-marched her out of the trees and onto the mansion’s sprawling circular driveway, her hands cuffed behind her back.
I’d just managed to take a single calming breath and was about to emerge from the bushes and join my victorious team when the mansion’s door banged open once more.
“Drop your weapons!” a voice bellowed in heavily accented English.
I froze.
Loki, Blaze, and Hawk holstered their guns and slowly lifted their hands.
Candi’s Russian boy toy staggered down the stairs, holding a very pissed-off Henri in front of him, a handgun pressed to his blond head. He stopped in the middle of the driveway, keeping his distance from the guys.
“You will release Candi and hand over whatever you’ve stolen from the house,” Glebov said, his hand trembling where he held the gun. “Or I’ll blow this one’s head off.”
“He’s bluffing,” Henri said, sounding indignant. “I don’t think he even knows how to use that gun.”
I did not know where he got this bravado, now of all times, while I could only crouch in my bush, terrified for him.
“Shut up,” Glebov snapped, and then he glared at my mates. “Do what I said. Now.”
“We could do that,” Loki said, his voice eerily calm. “We could release Candi, but we don’t have anything to return to you. We got what we came for, and it’s too late for you to save this disgusting operation.”
“They’re lying, Aleks!” Candi shouted. “They couldn’t have found anything important in my office.”
“My omega found enough,” Loki replied, and my heart swelled at the pride in his voice. “And as we speak, the entirety of Sentinel’s tactical teams are clearing out your lab and liberating the omegas you’ve done unspeakable harm to.”
“Lies,” Candi hissed.
“The lab is in an old rural hospital off Route 32,” Hawk said.
Candi let out a rage-filled scream and thrashed in Cam’s and Daisy’s hold.
“Release Candi and get on the ground!” Glebov bellowed, pressing the gun harder into Henri’s temple. I couldn’t see Henri’s face, but his body tensed, and my blood boiled. “All of you! Do it now!”
Loki’s ethereal gaze flashed over Glebov’s shoulder to where I was lying in wait, refusing to move a muscle. Unwavering confidence flooded our bond, and it was echoed in my connections to Hawk and Blaze.
Slowly, taking care not to make a single sound, I climbed from my hiding place. Cam and Daisy shifted Candi so that I wasn’t in her field of vision. My mates held steady, their open palms still in front of them, their focus never straying from Glebov.
I raised my gun and went to my quiet place. I didn’t have my trusty rifle, and I wasn’t lying in a hidden spot high above my target. My target wasn’t obliviously going about his shady business. Instead, he was holding my best friend hostage while my bonded Alphas stood by, unable to do anything but maintain calm.
Still, I would do this right.
I had to. One wrong move, one stray twitch, and I could hit Henri.
I judged the distance at about forty yards. Right at the outer limit of my accuracy with a pistol.
I willed my heartbeat to slow and focused only on steadying my hand. With one last deep breath, I took aim.
Loki dipped his chin in the barest nod.
I squeezed the trigger.
Glebov’s head exploded in spectacular fashion.
Candi’s scream split the air, as jarring as my gunshot.
Henri dove away, not quite escaping the spray of gore. “Ew! Damn it, Seraphina, this was my best suit!”
I trotted out to him and gave him a hand up. “I’m sorry. But I really didn’t like him holding a gun to your head.”
He rolled his shoulders, huffing. “It’s my own fault. I thought the house was finally clear after I chased the catering staff out the back. I wasn’t on my guard, and he snuck up on me.”
I rubbed his back lovingly. “It happens to the best of us. Austin once got stuck hanging from a ledge five stories in the air because he thought he’d cleared the floor and some mercs got the jump on him.”
He cracked a smile. “Andrew still gives him shit about that.”
“Lamb.”
Loki strode toward me like a man on a mission. Blaze hurdled a body while jogging to catch up to him. Hawk was on his phone, and he hung up the second my eyes met his.
I ran for them.
Blaze sprinted ahead of Loki, so his were the first arms I leapt into. Loki smashed up against my side, and Hawk was pressed against my other side a second later.
“You did it, querida,” Blaze said, wrapping me up tight in his arms and pressing his cheek to mine. “Your incredible aim saved Henri, and your quick thinking saved the omegas.”
I glowed from the inside out. “Your team really found the lab and got them all out?”
“They did, Little Flame,” Hawk replied, nuzzling my hair. “They moved on the target as soon as we confirmed the address you found.”
“Are the girls okay?”
“We have doctors with them now,” Hawk replied. “We pulled ten omegas from the lab. The preliminary report is that only one of them is pregnant.”
I sagged in their arms with a defeated sigh. “That’s one too many.”
“I know, Lamb,” Loki said, running his hand gently down my back. “We’ll get them taken care of. Our team will get the girls who want to go home back to their families, and we were hoping you and Daisy could help us get the others to the women’s center in New Mexico?”
I perked up, resolve invigorating me. “Absolutely.”
Headlights flashed in the distance. I tensed, and my hand went instinctively to my leg where my little gun was back in its holster. The guys’ heads snapped almost in unison to face the estate’s front gate. Loki’s eyes narrowed slightly, but they remained calm.
“It’s the FBI.”
I startled. Jere had just appeared from who knew where, and he was standing a few feet away from us, wearing ratty jeans and a T-shirt and casually surveying the dead Ussuri mercenaries.
“What?” I said.
“As soon as the Sentinel team confirmed the true nature of the crimes committed by Ms. Jenkins and her sham company, Marius called in the feds,” Jere replied. “They’re here to collect her.”
The nondescript black Suburban rolled to a stop on the driveway in front of the house. We stood quietly, watching with grim satisfaction as Cam and Daisy dragged Candi to meet the agents as they exited the car. Candi was a total mess now with her tangled hair and torn dress, and there was only fury on her tomato-red face.
She didn’t seem to be mourning her boyfriend. I almost felt sorry for the guy, but I didn’t because he was dead.
“Wait,” I said suddenly, back to squinting suspiciously at Jere. “What are you even doing here?”
He gave me a pointed look. “You know I like to be nearby when you're on a job.”
I sighed, though I couldn’t find it in me to be annoyed, even a little bit. “Right.”
Loki dropped a kiss on the top of my head while Blaze and Hawk each stole one of my hands.
“You did so fucking good, Lamb,” Loki said. “Ready to go home?”
The pride and love radiating from all three of my bonds brought a serene smile to my face. “With my Alphas? Always.”