Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
TALLY
T he O'Connors' love for Noinin is in everything they do. In the little time I’ve spent with them, it’s clear as day how invested they are in keeping her alive. It’s honestly a beautiful thing to see, especially since my family's experience with child abduction is the complete opposite.
Our grief tore our family apart. During those dark days, I made a promise to Mom that I’d never stop looking until I knew who took my cousin Liam. Then I’d make them pay.
Daisy nearly becoming another statistic cemented that the path I was on was the right one.
Someone here is into the skin trade, and potentially, they’ve been doing it for a long time.
Even though last night was obviously a Kelly event, I still find it hard to believe the O’Connors aren’t aware, considering the power Paddy O’Connor supposedly wields.
Which makes me wonder if the O’Connors are covering for one of their own or someone else.
It’s a nauseating thought, but it reinforces the reason I’m here.
Initially, I thought my in might come from Walsh, but the O’Connors may provide an even better entrance into this world.
The other upside is, my husbands are absolutely stunning and hit all the markers for my Omega.
It's not going to be hard to spend time with them. Hopefully I can keep a handle on what’s real and what’s not, because it would be very easy falling for this pack of perfectly scent-matched, gorgeous bad boys, but it would be devastating to do that then find out they were involved in any way.
Sadly, I know the statistics of family members being complicit in crimes, and it happens a lot more than it should.
Getting involved with a pack was not part of my plan, but if becoming their “wife” gives me the edge I need to stop kids from being taken, then I’ll do it. And everyone knows you attract more bees with honey.
Any Omega will tell you we feel things differently, so while I want to bust whoever is responsible and solve Liam’s case, I also know already how played my husbands are going to feel when they discover the truth.
And it pains me. As much as I don’t want it to be true—and I wouldn’t admit it to them—Ronin, Keegan, Tynan, and Rafferty are my dream everything.
Because of that, I also know discovering they’re involved would destroy me and rip my heart to pieces.
Sentimentality strikes suddenly like lightning as I slide the wedding band onto my finger.
Memories of Mom, Liam, and Noinin rush my thoughts like a warm breeze in spring, adding a sweet romantic flavoring to my whispered words.
“Please don’t let my husbands have anything to do with this.
And if anyone is listening, I have another wish.
At the end of this, I want them. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I woke up greedy, and I’m not even sorry about it. ”
Although I should probably feel weird about talking to myself, I don’t and never have. If anything, saying it out loud lessens the burden of what I’m about to do.
Now I need to set some ground rules with my husbands, like, don’t fucking drug me again. Period.
Pulling up my sleeves, I open my door and walk straight into a cloud of Keegan’s cinnamon and sugar sweetness, made so much better by the hint of lemon verbena mixed within.
Their combined presence nearly derails my plans.
I close my eyes and breathe in their perfume, finding clarity and strength in it.
Walking out, I stop where Keegan and Tynan can both see me and hold their gazes before speaking.
“If you ever drug me again, this will not work.” I hold up my finger and point to the wedding ring.
“And you’re lucky I woke up in a good mood, or I would have used the guns to emphasize the importance of that message. ”
Neither of them appear contrite. And they spend a lot of time staring at me, dragging their eyes over every inch of my body, so they have lots of opportunities to apologize, which they don’t.
Keegan stands up, coming closer, and I back up against the kitchen counter.
He cages me there, making me feel small but seen, then lifts his hands to brush my hair off my face before sliding them down my face to rest like a soft collar around my throat.
“You look better, wife. I’d feel even better if you didn’t look so guilty. ”
He stares deeply into my eyes, searching for something, and I turn from his attention. His grip around my throat tightens ever so slightly as he waits for me to tell him. Honestly, he’ll probably have to wait forever because I come alive instead of cowering.
I lean into his grip, booping his nose, probably confusing him like he does me. I stick to the same strategy I used on Ronin—sex—to have him eating out of my hand. “That’s not your intimidation game, is it, Keegan? God, please tell me it’s not, because the only thing you did was make me wet.”
“Wench.” He chuckles, catching on quickly before getting all serious again, tilting me toward the light to check the bruise on my cheek. “Do you have a headache?”
“Nope.”
His hand glides down my chest before cupping my waist, and I’m already pulling my top up so he can check the stitches. My side hurts as much as you’d expect, but the injury won’t slow me down.
I hear a rumbling noise like a dog growl, and I twist around to see what the problem is. Honestly, the man has a different mood for every minute.
Keegan’s lips are pulled back and his eyes are stormy. “You had a shower with it uncovered? You’re asking for an infection.”
“Are you growling at me?” I ask, my mouth falling wide open, winding him up a little more when I start laughing.
He ignores my teasing, getting more pissed by the second. “The bandage was meant to stay on for a week.”
“A week? You’re kidding, right? Besides, there’s no issue. It’s not exposed now, and it wasn’t in the shower, either.” I stare him down before I smirk at him. “Ronin’s hand was over it at all times while I was in the shower.”
“The doctor knows better than you. Do you want a scar?” His scowl deepens.
I roll my eyes at his dramatics but pinch him to get his full attention. “Get this, Keegan. I’m actually a big girl and have survived up to now without your meddling. Stop treating me like I'm incapable.”
His eyes flare, and shock echoes over his face, making his sweetness fade. “When did I treat you like you weren’t capable?”
I spin away from him, needing the distance. His touch and attention do strange things to my independence. It irks me how easily it happens. Standing on the opposite side of the island gives me the space I need to think clearer. “You purposely drugged me.”
He pulls a face. “Not just me. We all did.”
“Kind of a moot point, wouldn’t you say? Anyway, let’s move on. We’ve got lots to talk about. Where are the others?” I swing open the fridge as a way to deal with him.
I remember Keegan being intense in Genoa, but I must have been drunker than I remember because he’s all over the place with his shitty attitude one second, his over-the-top personality making me swoon the next. I shouldn’t respond to him, but I do.
“Tynan,” I call over my shoulder, and he’s up on his feet in an instant. “Tell me the truth—is any of this food drugged?”
“You didn’t want to ask me?” Keegan asks, his voice edged with anger and dipped with dangerous suggestions. Making a point only I get.
“Nope,” I answer Keegan while not looking away from Tynan.
He doesn’t see the humor in my question; at the same time, I wasn’t trying to be funny. Nor does he get antsy at getting called out, like Keegan did. He’s just his usual levelheaded, calm self. “No, I made it.”
I actually figured that out for myself, given the plates are an example of perfect portioning with maximum nutritional loading. You could seriously post a picture of the fridge and put it on the gym's socials, and it wouldn’t look out of place.
Tynan purposely moves himself into the space between Keegan and me, and his presence acts like a screen.
Almost instantly, Keegan’s domineering is easier to manage, like someone has dimmed his switch.
I hide my surprise by moving fast and stretching more than I should, barely hiding the groan when my side reminds me of my injury.
Wordlessly, Tynan’s there. He grabs the plate for me while also steering me out of the kitchen. “I’ll do that for you. Go sit.”
His scent is so faint compared to the way Keegan’s basically slaps you, I’m sure some people would miss it, but I don’t. Like a steadying hand or a shoulder to lean on, his lemon verbena scent settles me more and more with each second that passes. At the gym we were like this. Kind of.
“Why were you weird at the gym that day?” I swing around. My voice isn’t like a shrill or a sass like it is when I speak with Keegan. It’s softer, more balanced and less hyper.
He doesn’t answer, instead heating up food, gathering a tray, and setting it all up like room service.
When he looks up at me, there’s a hint of impatience that has me rushing to sit down like he told me to.
From the kitchen, his focus is split on making sure everything is happening on time and to making sure I’m doing what he said.
He eventually carries it over, and I get the response I was waiting for.
“Lots of reasons. You being hurt and upset was a big one.” He places the tray on my lap, then settles a pillow behind my back, and turns on the lamp next to me.
Then he sits back in the chair he was in when I walked out.
“But bigger was the fact I couldn’t believe you didn’t recognize me.
Or you weren’t saying you did, because you were looking at me like we knew each other. ”
Tynan’s focus goes to the food on my lap, and he refuses to glance away from my plate or talk again until I’ve started eating.
The message is clear—eat first, talk next.
Keegan’s mobile rings, and he starts pacing up and down the hallway, winding my anxiety back up.
Tynan gets up and sits on the edge of the table, blocking Keegan, tempering my moods and emotions to something calmer like he did before.
I’ve worked with Betas, but my time with them has been limited, so I don’t know if I’m responding to Tynan’s designation or to him being a scent match.
It’s intriguing, not confusing, and I’m in no rush to figure everything out if it means I get to simply spend time with him.
After a few more bites, I lay my knife and fork down.
“At the gym, I was pissed off two mutty girls served me a reminder I’d been sitting on my laurels too long. My ego was bruised as much as my face was. Throw in the fact I thought you were someone else, and things got pretty loud inside my head very quickly.”
“You thought I was Rafferty,” he clarifies, his demeanor calm and mellow. Buffering me from Keegan, who’s getting louder and walking faster behind him.
Tynan taps his fingers on his thigh, giving me a focus again.
“Yeah. Did he tell you what happened between us?”
“He’s my twin. There’s not a lot we don’t share.”
My eyes flare, and a blush pinks my cheeks. It’s not embarrassment or shame. I’m not sure what it is, actually, but it’s not an awful feeling.
“He’s an Omega, and let’s just say, there’s part of his designation Rafferty loves. His sexuality included.”
I don’t miss the suggestion Rafferty doesn’t like everything to do with being an Omega, but I leave it, already knowing it’s not up to Tynan to explain.
“Keep eating.”
I do as he says, and I let his very nature wash over me while I eat. His nature and subtle scent are an added and necessary boost to my energy.