Chapter 10 Angus
Chapter ten
Angus
Feeling damn good having my two mates with me again, I told them about our day at the Borders’ ranch.
“We took the horses since it was so close. I swear,” I said, shaking my head, “when we got back here, I thought I was going to crawl out of my skin trying to get them wiped down and settled in the barn. All I could think about was the two of you.” I smacked a kiss on Ben’s head first, and then Colt’s.
Colt gave me an irritated look that made me laugh.
“What was your first impression of the place?” he asked. “You haven’t seen it in a while, right?”
“It’d been years. It’s in even worse shape than I thought it was. We climbed up the dilapidated front porch and Laura knocked. A young beta guy opened the door.”
“What did he look like?” Ben wanted to know.
“Uh, I don’t know. Just a regular guy. Shorter than Colt, maybe your height, Ben. Dark hair.”
“What color were his eyes?” Ben asked, and I heard Colt snicker. He thought it was funny because he thought I wouldn’t be able to answer Ben’s questions. Bet he thought I didn’t notice details like that. Well, he was right. I didn’t. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
“They were brown. The color of that table over there. And he had a dent in his chin. What do you call it? A cleft. Anyway, we explained we were their closest neighbors and we’d brought a pie.
Meanwhile, we were doing our best not to step in a hole in the porch and break our necks.
He invited us in. Name was—” This I did remember.
“Eric. Nice fellow. He and his alpha mate and two kids had just moved in a day or so earlier. Let me tell you, the inside of the place was just as bad as the outside, and the electricity wasn’t on.
Remind me to make a call about that after I’m done talking, by the way. ”
“What were the names of Eric’s mate and kids?” Ben wanted to know.
“Uh…Nora? No, Nova. The woman was Nova, although she was out mending fences when we first got there. The little girl was with her. Her name was Kate. And the little boy was Jeremiah. And Borders is their last name.” I was pretty proud of myself for remembering all that, especially since Ben seemed so interested in all the details.
“Describe the inside, Angus,” Colt said, and I shot him a murderous look.
But Ben was looking at me all bright-eyed and expectant, so I did my best.
“It was dusty as all get-out, and full of old furniture that had to have come with the house. The couch sagged and the fabric was faded. The only chair in the room sank in the middle. In the kitchen, it was a little brighter due to the window, although it was dirty. A long table was set up in the middle of the room, and the boy sat in a high-chair eating bread. Cute kid, with a head full of blond curls.” Ben opened his mouth to ask something, and I interrupted, “Don’t ask what color his eyes are, because I didn’t notice. ”
“Be more observant next time,” Colt chided. “How old are the kids?”
I groaned, and from the doorway between the living room and kitchen, Laura laughed. I wondered how long she’d been standing there listening.
“Jeremiah’s three, and Kate is six. And Eric’s eyes are hazel.”
“Well, you certainly were paying attention,” I said. “I noticed you seemed awfully interested in them.”
Laura narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Anyway, as we stood in the kitchen talking, a sudden crash came from the front of the house, and we all ran to see what happened.”
“A crash?” Ben asked, eyes wide.
I nodded. “I heard Nova yell, ‘She fell through the damned porch!’”
“When we got out there, we saw it was true. Maddox pulled the little girl out, and she was okay, just kind of bruised up. Laura took care of her. We stayed for lunch and heard all about how they’d been duped by some real estate agent they can’t find hide nor hair of.”
“That’s awful,” Colt said, and Ben agreed.
“They’d come from Great Lakes region. Drove all the way in an old ranger,” I said.
“Describe Nova,” Ben requested.
I looked to Laura, eyebrow raised. “You want to take this one?”
Laura shot me the bird and went back in the kitchen.
“What was that about?” Colt asked, laughing.
I lowered my voice. “Nova was really checking Laura out while we were there. And I don’t think the good doctor minded it.”
“Really?” Ben’s eyes danced. “Is Nova pretty?”
“Handsome, more like. She’s nearly as tall as Maddox. Blond, green eyes.”
“Oh, so you remember the handsome lady’s eye color,” Colt said, poking me in the arm.
Ignoring him, I said to Ben, “I told her you and David would help with the mess of a garden she’s got behind the house. Hope you don’t mind.”
“I love working in the garden,” Ben said.
“Colt, I was going to call the Cheevers and see about all of us helping them out. I can’t believe they’re living there with kids. It’s a damn mess.”
“Of course,” Colt agreed.
“I told her Ben and David could go in the morning with you, Colt, while Maddox and I get some chores done, and then the two of us will come with the Cheevers.” I chuckled, remembering.
“Nova asked Laura to come back to check on the little girl, who was obviously fine. Surprised me that Laura said yes. I thought she had a flight back to New York in the morning.”
Maddox walked through from the kitchen still holding Ollie, and his cell phone in his free hand. He was headed for the front door. “Carter’s on the line. Would you hold Ollie for me?” He passed the baby to Colt when he stood up.
Colt settled on the couch with Oliver in his arms. Reaching up his tiny hand, Ollie grasped Colt’s nose.
Ben and I laughed.
“You ready for children of your own, Colt?” I asked.
“Yes. I think I’d like that a lot, actually.” Colt grinned at me and Ben.
“You’ve never thought about it before?” Ben inquired.
“I’ve never imagined being mated or married.”
“Even to Angus?”
Colt chuckled. “No. Angus softened when you came along.”
“Because you’re special,” I told Ben.
Ben shook his head.
“Yes, you are,” Colt said.
“No, I’m really not.”
“Why do you say that? Or is it something private?” I asked him.
Shaking his head, Ben said, “Only David and Jackson know about my past. The reason I know I’m not special is because I was abandoned when I was a baby.
I guess my parents freaked out when they realized I was showing signs of being an omega.
Honestly, I don’t know how they knew it that early.
Or maybe it wasn’t that at all. Maybe they just didn’t want me. ”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Colt said, squeezing Ben to his side with the arm that wasn’t holding Ollie. “Maybe they couldn’t afford a baby and hoped someone else would take care of you.”
Ben stared down at his hands.
“I was found in the dumpster,” he whispered.
Stunned, it was a moment before I could react, but when I did, it was to pull Ben into my arms for the hardest hug I could give him without crushing him.
Colt met my eyes over Ben’s head. “Oh, Ben. I’m so sorry,” he said sadly.
Released from my grip, Ben caressed Ollie’s cheek with his index finger, then looked up at Colt and then me.
“Now you know you’ve mated an abandoned omega nobody wanted.
Someone from the SOS found me and, eventually, they placed me with Gleesa, the beta woman who took care of me.
I met David, and Jackson there. I’d probably still be there if Gleesa’s abusive husband hadn’t unexpectedly come home after eleven years.
That’s why we all had to leave. I went from there to a halfway house for unregistered omegas.
Then, when Jackson rejected Neil Havers, the alpha his parents had picked for him, I asked to take his place.
I was tired of being a burden. Then Neil gave me up to the government. But you probably know all this.”
“I’ve only heard some of it. Keep going. What happened?” Colt asked, voice full of gentle compassion.
“Neil left me in a hotel with a beta woman. I didn’t know where he was going. I overheard her on the phone and got suspicious about something she said about me going with her. I managed to escape and find my way here. But that was after a long time wandering around.”
“You must have been so scared,” I said, wanting to go find that Neil fellow and beat his brains in.
Colt kissed Ben’s temple.
The front door opened, and Maddox stepped in.
“He’s sleeping,” I told Maddox when he walked over to get the baby from Colt.
“I’ll put him in his crib. Then I have something to share.”
While he took Oliver to his bed, I made a quick call to the electric company, wanting to catch them before the end of the business day. They promised to have the electricity at the old homestead turned on by the following morning.
I’d just disconnected when Maddox returned, calling Laura and David to join us.
“What’s going on?” I asked when everyone was seated.
“Carter told me a couple of things. The good news is that that he, Jackson, and the girls are coming to visit this weekend.”
“Really?” David asked excitedly.
“Awesome!” Ben said.
“And the bad news?” I asked Maddox.
“Remember how the FBI planned to investigate the ODA?”
Ben looked questioningly at David, who said, “They’re the guys who were looking for you and who keep coming here to bother us. The Omega Detection Agency.”
“The SOS wasn’t sure if they trusted the FBI agents involved,” Laura said. “After all, it’s just another government agency. They were going to keep an eye on what was going on.”
“Right,” Maddox said. “The FBI sent a beta to work in the office—ORCRO, I think it’s called. And an omega who was unregistered to be the target. Well, yesterday the beta reported that the omega has disappeared.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “I didn’t realize that’s what they meant when they said they were putting an omega in as a mole. They had to have known something like this could happen!”
“I didn’t either, but I should have. What else could they mean?”
“What they needed was someone already affiliated with the government who could spy for them,” Maddox said. “Not that that would be easy to get.”
“Where the hell did they find an omega to use?” I asked.
“Nobody in the SOS could get that information,” Maddox said.
“I’ll just bet,” I grumbled.
“Since Jackson’s been wanting to visit us, and Laura is already here, they thought they’d come out.” Maddox looked at Laura. “He said he texted you earlier about staying. I guess that’s why you cancelled your flight tomorrow?”
Laura nodded.
We headed to the kitchen to eat, discussing the situation through the meal.
Later, as Colt, Ben, and I got into bed, Ben said, “I have a question.”
“What about?” Colt asked, pulling the covers up over them and rolling to look at Ben, who was lying between us.
“Maddox said what the FBI needs is an omega to spy on the government. But we now see what a danger that is to the omega. So, what about an omega who isn’t in danger of being killed?”
“Who would that be?” I asked, frowning. “They seem to be killing them all off or at least sending them somewhere where they’re never seen again.”
“I was thinking of the one omega we know who has been exposed to the government and not been killed, threatened, or disappeared.”
Colt figured it out first.
“Trey,” he said.
“His dad’s a senator, and I’m pretty sure he’s in touch with his family. Maybe he can find something out.”
“You may be on to something,” I said. “We’ll see what the others have to say about your idea.”
We all traded kisses and settled down to sleep.