15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Pierce
“I'm going to need better descriptions than that, Beckett,” Dana demands.
She's been pacing the length of the room since Beckett gave his account of how he came to us covered in marks that other Alphas left on on his body. She's wearing Beckett's white dress shirt, at his request, and water is dripping down the front of it from her freshly washed hair. I'm as furious as she is, but the wetter the shirt gets, the more transparent it gets, and it's becoming a distraction. It doesn't matter that she's spent the past two days completely naked, breasts under a thin, white, wet shirt is a temptation anyone with common sense wouldn't be able to look away from.
“Just check with the heat service. Everyone, Omegas and Alphas, has to register with them. They keep records. You're an investigator, they'll give you any information you ask for.”
Dana stops pacing to raise her eyebrow at him. “They might, and they might not. There are privacy clauses and things like that. And you said they would have likely been barred from the service after the authorities reported the misconduct.”
“You can't be angry with him, Dana,” I gently remind her. “He used a service that is there for him to use.”
She rakes her fingers through her hair and blows out a breath. “I'm not angry with him.” She gives Beckett another hard look. “I'm not angry with you. I'm angry with the situation. And I'm angry that I'm angry. I don't get angry.”
“I'm sorry,” Beckett says. “I didn't mean for you to be angry.”
Dana closes her eyes and tilts her face toward the ceiling, blowing out another breath. “Don't apologize, Beckett. Just promise me that you'll say something if we see them again. They left marks all over you. They refused to leave. One of them was going to keep you, whether you wanted to be kept or not. They would have fought over you, and you could have been badly hurt. That's what I'm angry about. If they were going to keep you, they could still try to come back to your unit at the center.”
“They won't,” Beckett argues. “I don't think they will, anyway. And I promise, if I ever see them, I'll tell you. Okay?”
“Thank you,” Dana says, then changes topics abruptly. “Okay. We need to collect ourselves and get going. I'm on a timeline, and we need to get your things from the center and get you settled at my place.”
I interrupt. “I can send someone for his things, and yours.”
“Excuse me?”
I fight back my smile. She's going to make me work for everything, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. “He's yours, and you're mine. You will both be relocating to my home. Nothing else makes sense.”
Her mouth drops open, but she recovers quickly. “I have an office here, Pierce. It's only a few minutes away from my apartment. I have responsibilities here. And I don't know you.”
“Beckett doesn't know you, but you're planning to move him into your place. What's the difference?”
Beckett sits back on the chair and smiles, thoroughly enjoying that the hot seat is under someone else.
Dana's mouth opens again, but she isn't as quick to close it. Her brow furrows when she does, though. “I don't suppose there is a difference, but I still have an office and a job. What is the commute like? I have to stay overnight at the office sometimes. What then?”
“Not any more,” I inform her, and Beckett nods in agreement. “There's no reason for you to do that.”
“And you have an Omega to think of now,” Beckett smirks. “I'd be very upset if you would rather sleep in an office somewhere than with me.”
With us , I silently amend. Whether Beckett and I ever have a relationship of our own, one thing is very certain. Dana will be sleeping between the two of us every night, beginning with tonight. “How much do you have at the center?” I ask him instead of starting another argument.
“Not much.” He shrugs. “Mostly clothes and a few hobbies and books. No more than what would fit in your trunk.”
“Good, good.” I look at Dana and continue. “Would you like to keep your apartment? It might be good to have a place in the city.”
“Of course I'm keeping my apartment,” she says, incredulous.
I smile at her affront. “Alright. We'll go by your place and you can get what you need for now, then we'll go help Beckett with his things.”
“You can't just swoop in and take over my life, Pierce. I have a job. People are depending on me to do the things I said I would. It's important.”
My smile falters. Is that what I'm doing? It might be, but I don't know how else to function in the new world I've found myself in. “It isn't intentional. Just logical. Isn't it? Beckett will obviously need to stay with you, and you will absolutely be staying with me.”
She huffs and starts pulling trousers and other clothes from her suitcase. “I'm not giving up my job. I wouldn't expect Beckett to give up anything that was important to him.” She straightens suddenly. “Do you have any obligations? I mean it. I won't have you re-evaluating your entire life because of me. I can't ask you to do that.”
Beckett answers her earnestly, all joviality leaving his expression. “I would do it without being asked, Dana. I wanted this too much, for too long. I would rearrange my entire existence to be with you. It wouldn't matter. I just want to be wherever you are. I don't have a single obligation that matters.”
“Oh.” Dana licks her lips nervously. “Oh. Okay then.”
~
I told Dana to grab what she'd need for a few days and that's exactly what she packed. A few outfits, underclothes, a stack of notebooks, and a heating pad. Beckett wasn't much different. It only took a little longer to get his things loaded into the back of my car.
They're following behind us in Dana's car. It looks exactly what you would expect a private investigator to drive, generic and anonymous. Beckett seems excited about it. I can't blame him. Until I met her, the idea of a private detective mostly stayed in the realm of movies and spy novels for me.
She's going to make jokes about me employing a driver. She's already made a few comments about it. I think she's going to give me a hard time about everything. My parents weren't like that. My mother wasn't allowed to give my father a hard time, or make jokes about anything, or really have an opinion at all. I don't ever want Dana to be afraid to be herself in my presence. I want her to challenge me. I'm looking forward to that very much.
I want the full story of her past injuries, though. I want it as much as I want my next breath. Obviously, she's had more than one surgery. I won't be surprised to find out that she's had a few. What I want to know is why. She has scarring from more than stitches and sutures. There's a vicious one that runs the diagonal length of her hip. It's too jagged, too uneven, to be anything a surgeon would have left behind. It's just one out of a pile of mysteries about her that I can't wait to solve.
Dana doesn't say anything when we get out of our cars once we arrive at my home, but I can see the snarky remarks building behind her eyes. She's just waiting for the right time to unleash them. For now, she just glances at me with her eyebrows raised high after each new thing I show her and Beckett about my home. She can't hold it in anymore after we get to the kitchen, though.
“You don't really have a cook, Pierce. Not really. Please tell me you don't. That would be too much.”
I lean against the marbled counter. “I have two.”
She pinches the bridge of her nose. “Of course, you do. Where are Beckett and I supposed to sleep? I want to rest for a while before I have to start making phone calls.”
“In the master bedroom.”
“We can't take over your room, Pierce. Don't you have a second, or fourth, bedroom in this shack?”
“You won't be taking over my room,” I tell her. “I'll share it with you.”
“Don't be ridiculous. We've only just met.”
I raise my brows. “I know exactly what color your nipples are. We can share a room and a bed and anything else we need to share.”
Beckett laughs, but she blushes.
“You expect us to sleep together every night?” she asks.
“Every single night.” I glance at Beckett. “Do you have a problem with that? I don't know how else this arrangement is going to work.”
“As long as she's in the middle and you don't snore, I'll be fine.”
“There,” I say, giving her a satisfied smile. “Settled. I'll show you upstairs. How long would you like to rest? Do you have many calls to make?”
“You two are going to double-team me every chance you get, aren't you?”
“Probably,” I answer honestly. “Follow me up. I'll have your things brought up later.”
If she's awed by the decadence of my bedroom, she keeps it to herself. I've put effort into my space. I picked the color scheme myself. I chose the furniture. I designed this room not only for my comfort, but for the mate I would eventually have. I wanted rich textures. Deep colors. Things that would demonstrate my ability to provide comfort and safety.
It's a little offensive that she isn't calling attention to any of it.
I'd enjoy Beckett's visible appreciation of everything if Dana seemed even a little pleased.
“Is there anything you don't like?”
I watch her face as she wanders around my bedroom. She opens a dresser drawer and peers inside at the neat rows of black socks.
“We can change whatever you need to. All you have to do is give the word and I'll make it happen.”
She closes the drawer and looks at me. “ Do you snore? You barely had a nap at the hotel, so I couldn't tell.”
“Not to my knowledge.”
She pics up a trinket from the top of the dresser and looks back at me. “Oh, don't look so tense. You know very well that this room is beautiful. We're not changing a single thing about it, other than the bed.”
“The bed?”
She nods. “We need the next size up, if you and Beckett don't plan on cuddling. I'll be in the middle, but there's still only so much room to spread out on.”
An embarrassing amount of relief washes through me. “We can get whatever bed you want. And bedding to match.”
“How loaded are you?” She bluntly asks.
“Very,” I answer, just as bluntly. “Would you like to be tucked in before I go?”
Her mouth pulls to the side as she genuinely considers it. “You know what? I think I would. Let's try it. Beckett? Are you resting or wandering?”
“Definitely wandering,” he replies. “If that's alright with you?”
“I'm not going to dictate your life, Beckett. You're my Omega, that's true; but I'm not going to tell you what to do or when to do it. You're an entire person on your own and I won't change that.”
“Okay,” he says softly.
Dana toes off her shoes and unbuttons her trousers. “Two hours,” she says, and climbs into the bed.
I let her sleep for three before I send Beckett upstairs with a cup of coffee. She walks down the stairs shortly afterward with her shirt loose and her hair mussed from sleep. “I said two hours. Do you have milk?”
“And cream,” I tell her. “You needed the rest.”
“Don't do that.”
I've just learned two things. She doesn't like her coffee black, and she needs a warming up period before she's ready to cheerfully take on the day. I follow her into the kitchen and watch her pour cream into her cup and take a sip.
“Better.” She closes her eyes and takes another, longer sip, then opens them to look at me. “I said two hours for a reason. Now I'll have to rush. Where is Beckett?”
“He's plundering the library.”
“The library. I'm not even surprised.”
“I told you I have plenty of money.”
She nods. “You did. I just didn't expect a library. Or two cooks.”
“Do you want me to fire them?”
“God, no,” she laughs. “I can , cook, but I hate it. I do a lot of take-out.” She takes another drink. “Damn it. I forgot my bagels.”
“What kind of bagels do you like? I can do a grocery order.”
“Oh, um, the kind covered in poppy seeds, from the bakery. It's alright. I can get them the next time I'm in the city. I have a sack in the freezer.”
Freezer bagels. I think not. “Which bakery do you like?” There are only three in the city that are worth buying from.
“ The bakery. I go every Friday. They're the only ones in the city that I'll eat. If I don't go in, one of the Alphas who works there will notice. I'll go pick some up on Friday morning. I don't really want anyone to have a reason to notice anything. And I'll need to get the wharf boys lunch.”
I've just learned many things, including the fact that my ego knows no bounds. Knowing that Dana will only eat bagels from my bakery fills me with pride, even if it's a small thing. I love that she feeds the wharf boys. I've been feeding those brats donuts and cookies since they were born. They are one of my main sources of information about the city; and they are one of my favorite ways to distribute information. They send it in the right direction without even meaning to.
I've also learned that my sister-in-law is a stone cold liar. She gave the impression that she didn't know a thing about the detective who came into the bakery to ask about the Selection Omegas; but as it turns out, she's been keeping up with Dana's schedule.
“I'll have fresh bagels for you by morning.”
“You don't have to go to that trouble. I can just pick them up. I won't wither away without them.” She finishes her coffee and looks forlornly into the empty cup. “I don't suppose you have any more in the pot?”
“I'll make a fresh pot. Coffee and bagels.”
“You make bagels?” She scoffs as politely as possible.
“I make the bagels.”
She just looks at me.
And keeps looking.
I tilt my head and wait for her to come to terms with the information.
“Not really.”
“Really.”
She stares at me for another drawn out moment then sighs. “I shouldn't even be surprised. Now I have to question you.”
“Question him about what?” Beckett says, coming into the kitchen.
“My case,” she answers. “Pierce is making fresh coffee. Would you like some?”
Beckett wrinkles his nose. “Not this late. Why are you questioning him about your case? Does he have something to do with it?”
Dana narrows her eyes at me. “Probably.”
I don't respond. I get to work making the necessary fresh coffee.
“How involved are you in the Scarlet Selection?”
She's going to get right to it. Great. I can't wait to start our relationship with this information. I'm tempted to lie. I won't. I just think it might be a little easier if I did. “I've been involved with the Selections for years. I'm a heavy sponsor.”
Dana sits down at the table and laces her fingers together in front of her. “Why?”
“About which part? The involvement, or the sponsorship?”
“Both.”
I sigh and start measuring grounds. “It might be better to start with the CCOE. Is that alright?”
I don't look back to see her eyes light up, but I hear it in her voice when she answers. “Yes. Go on.”
I push the button to start the coffee and turn to lean against the counter. “I founded the center because of my mother.”
“Wait,” Beckett interrupts. “You started the center?”
I nod. “Yes. Because of my mother. You know we keep our Omegas out of society, to keep them safe. Well, my father took that to an extreme degree. She could hardly breathe under his rule. She lost who she was as a person. She became sad, then depressed, then despondent. And then she was just gone. She left my brother and I behind, and he was so young at the time. Our father didn't live long after she passed, and then we were really alone. I took my inheritance and grew it any way I could. Please don't ask me about that time in my life. I really don't want to think about it, much less talk about it.”
I wait for her to argue or insist that I tell her something, but she doesn't so I continue. Eventually, the bakery took off and my brother found his pack and life went on. But I wasn't satisfied, and I kept thinking about our society and how Omegas are kept apart and overly sheltered. I kept thinking about my mother.” I pause to take a breath and collect my thoughts before I get carried away with them.
“Anyway, I decided that our Omegas needed a place to be where they could be themselves and breathe out in the open. I did so much research before I drew up the plans for the CCOE. It was a massive success. The Omegas were happy and safe, and the Alphas were happy because the Omegas were happy. Everything was working out just fine until that bastard got involved.”
“What bastard?” Dana asks.
“The Doctor.” I still can't keep the snarl off of my face, even after all this time. “He bribed and blackmailed his way onto the board of supervisors for the center. He wanted to control and distribute the Omegas from the center to his friends, or to the highest bidders. I fought it for years, but the board became corrupt, as well as the staff. A few years ago, I was in a really dark place after a few incidents.”
“Incidents?” Beckett asks.
“Outbursts,” I clarify. “Violent outbursts that result in death and/or destruction. Valla call them incidents because it sounds nicer than 'I ripped some guy's face off and burned his business and house to the ground because he challenged me'. We say incident and we know it covers a wide variety of violence.”
Dana's expression doesn't change. “That makes sense. Why were you in a dark place?”
I sigh and pour her coffee. “I was lonely. I was jealous of my brother's happiness. But mostly, I was lonely. We can all do desperate things when we're desperately lonely, can't we.”
Both Dana and Beckett nod slowly.
“I couldn't fight the corruption at the center anymore. There was just too much of it. I did, and still do my best to keep it as safe as I can, but things happen sometimes and I can't stop them.”
“Do you have anything to do with the heat service?” Beckett asks.
I shake my head. “No, that was all the Doctor's doing. The board was more than happy to implement a program that would allow them to fuck unclaimed Omegas through the height of their heats, as long as they got to be part of the collection of Alphas who registered with the program. I understand how a program like that would be helpful for Omegas, but I always thought it was dangerous.”
“It can be,” Beckett says quietly, and Dana motions for him to come sit next to her. He takes the chair beside her and takes her clasped hands in his.
“Go on,” she urges.
“Time went on. Corruption got deeper. I got even more hopeless. Then one morning I woke up and kind of said, fuck it. I didn't want to hoard Omegas, but I thought if I could meet them before the Alphas at the Selections got to them, maybe I could find the one I needed; or at least keep some of them safe from the worst of the Alphas. All it ended up doing is making me even more lonely. Until I found you, Dana. So it wasn't for nothing. If I hadn't been meeting with Omegas before the Selection, I never would have discovered you. I can be grateful for that.”
The corner of her mouth turns up. “We'll find out how grateful you are once you get sick of me. I met with several Omegas before they joined the ball, but the girl I'm looking for wasn't among them. Do you think you'd recognize her if I show you a picture?”
I sit down in the chair on her other side, across from Beckett. “Probably. Do you have one here?”
She nods. “On my phone.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls it out. She taps the screen and then holds it up for me to see. “This is her. Have you seen her?”
I look at the picture for a full minute. I've met and seen so many Omegas. I don't want to be hasty. But I don't recognize her at all. “No. I'm sorry.”
“Don't be,” Dana says. “It was worth a shot.”
“Hang on,” Beckett says. “Can I see that?”
Dana slides the phone in front of him and he picks it up to see it closer. “I know her.”
I get to see Dana's eyes light up this time. “You know her?”
“Yes,” Beckett answers, nodding quickly. “I was supposed to mentor her friend. Is she in trouble?”
“No,” Dana answers. “Not yet. I just need to get her home to her family.”
“She's at the center,” Beckett offers.
“You're sure?” Dana asks, leaning forward in her seat.
Beckett nods. “Yeah. She's new, I think. Or else she's really great at keeping to herself.”
Dana looks at me.
I look back. “I'll call for the car.”