Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Easton
“ I ’m fucking beat,” Keir grumbles, walking in the back door as we finally make it home. It’s the middle of the night, but we have to get everything packed to leave for Virginia.
“I am as well. Let’s hope Calder got some sleep, so he can take the first driving shift,” I say, heading toward the backstairs. “Pack your shit. We’re leaving in an hour.”
“I have to pack Briar’s bags too,” Keir says from behind me.
“I’ll get Briar in the vehicle.” I snort, swiping my hand over my face. I’m obviously exhausted from the longest day I’ve had in a long fucking time.
“Don’t forget Calder,” he calls after me.
Yeah, we all have to get the fuck out of here quickly to ensure that, if someone notices Jameson went missing, it’s clear we weren’t even in the state when that occurred.
I contemplated sending him on an out-of-country mission where he would have met his demise, but that would look strange the day after he ended up in the ER with a broken arm. No, it was much better to plant a false trail of Jameson being in deep with some bad folks.
If one of the half-rate criminals Calder spent the afternoon linking him to goes down for the crime…
Well, that really just counts as a two-birds-one-stone situation, and I won’t miss a wink of sleep.
We did a full strip in the warehouse to ensure any remaining DNA would be destroyed with our clothing. Calder and Briar missed out on that lovely experience since they didn’t physically touch Jameson. I had a quick sanitation shower there, but I peel out of the generic clothes I changed into at the warehouse and enjoy a full shower with actual decent-smelling bodywash.
Once I’m done, I pack my bags and tote them down to the SUV. After that, I go searching for Briar. She didn’t seem afraid of me when she sat with me in my office, but it’s also possible she was in shock.
Only, the little omega is not in her room. Nor is she in Keir’s. He spots me with my chest heaving in his doorway and takes off after me as I aim for Calder’s room.
I swear to fuck…
She better not have disappeared on his watch, or I will eviscerate him. My forearm slams against his door with so much force that it bounces against the wall.
Calder’s shirtless form pushes up using his forearms, and he twists, grabbing for the gun in the nightstand drawer.
“Where the fuck is she?” I hiss, jabbing a finger at his chest.
His posture goes from rigid to relaxed to rigid again.
“Sleeping,” he says in barely more than a whisper.
I check again, but there’s no one lying next to him on the pillows. Although, there is a weird bulge under the blanket.
I stride across the room, slapping Keir’s hands away as he finally catches up. Snatching the comforter back, I tilt my head.
First of all, I found Briar.
Second of all, I don’t know what to make of the scene I come across.
Keir comes to a stop at my side and softly chuckles. She is in his shirt, after all, but she’s also got Calder’s dick in her mouth. I had plans to give her sleepy kisses as I woke her up to inform her we’re going on an adventure to Virginia to pick up dirt on her corrupt-as-fuck brother.
I figured if I spun us leaving town just right, she might not even stress about the implications of Jameson’s death.
“I’ve heard omegas are fond of cock warming,” Keir says, like the know-it-all he always pretends to be. “Both oral and vaginal. I’ve often wondered if knotting qualifies, especially after you’ve come and you’re just lying there locked together. Not that I’ve experienced it, but cock warming is something I’ve always wanted to try.”
Calder runs his fingers through Briar’s hair, and a low growl rattles around the room.
“Don’t be a dick. She looks so peaceful.” Keir elbows me in the kidney, and I determine that growling was me.
“Get back to packing,” I command. “Calder, I hope you packed your shit, or you’ll have to buy as we go.”
I climb onto the bed, gently wrap my arms under Briar, and lift her and the blanket in one graceless move.
My blood pressure must be high, because I can feel my pulse in my temples.
I wanted sleepy kisses, goddammit .
“Easton?” Briar mumbles sleepily as I lay her down on the edge of my bed.
“Yeah, love.” I grab the sweats I snagged on the way in and uncover her legs to help her into them. “No, don’t fight me. It’s cold. You’ll want to be bundled up. We’re going for a drive.”
Her big bluish-gray eyes pop open fully, and a look of terror crosses her face. “Are the cops coming? Oh my god. Are you going to murder me and dump me somewhere because I know you killed Jameson?”
I snort, pull my sweats up to her waist, and slap her pussy. “I’m going to let that slide, because you were asleep a minute ago, but let’s not get in the habit of talking like that or speaking of Jameson in past tense. He’s missing until the police deem otherwise. We’ve had a full office restoration planned for weeks. Remember, Briar?” I tuck her wild waves behind her ears and run my fingers over her cheeks. “This has been on the books for ages, so there’s no need for us to stick around town. We’re heading to Virginia to back up a team that needs a little extra support.”
She squints, her expression dubious.
To be fair, this is the first she’s hearing about any of this.
“You guys go,” she says. “I’ll stay here. I don’t feel great, and traveling sounds like a nightmare.”
“You’re cute, but that’s not going to happen.” I kiss her forehead, debating whether I should share the news regarding her brother and the information we will possibly be able to use against him.
If we procure it, I intend to use that knowledge to leverage Briar’s permanent freedom from her family. If we don’t, I’ll find another way to bring her brother to his knees, but I don’t want to get her hopes up until I’m sure.
“I said I’ll pass,” she grumbles, trying to tug the blanket tighter around her. Unfortunately for her, she’s lying on it, and it doesn’t do much more than make her luscious tits jiggle under the T-shirt.
I laugh, scooping her and the blanket up as she flails. “I’m afraid this isn’t the kind of trip you get to say no to, love.”
“I was comfortable with Calder. You can’t just kidnap me from his bed in the middle of the night.”
I smile like a fucking maniac. “As it turns out, I absolutely can.”
“Something bad happened, didn’t it?” Briar asks, but the question isn’t directed at me. We’ve sat in silence for the last five minutes as Calder and Keir finished packing the SUV, but I have been consistently watching her in the rearview mirror.
Keir frowns, taking the seat in the middle row next to the little omega. “What do you mean, sweet girl?” The smooth motherfucker stretches his arm over the back of the seat, and she immediately scoots closer.
“Someone knows.” She shrugs. “Or maybe Steffanie talked. The cops are going to arrest us all. Why else would we be fleeing in the middle of the night?”
Calder climbs in, and the entire vehicle jostles. He’s lucky I’m allowing him to come along at all, considering his questionable behavior earlier, but I’m learning I’ll have to pick my battles if I’d like to keep my future wife content.
“Didn’t Easton tell you?” Keir asks, wrapping the blanket around her back and ass as she leans into his side. “Everything is fine.”
“Then, why are we running?” she asks, and I can’t help myself—I roll my eyes. I’ve already told her all she needs to know, but for some reason, she trusts Keir more than me.
The twinge in my gut is unfamiliar, but I believe she might have just hurt my feelings for the second time. The first was her poor decision-making abilities when she chose Jameson over me. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen a third time, or I might snap and toss her over my knee.
“We aren’t running,” Calder says, backing the vehicle out of the garage. “We’re setting our alibi in motion.”
“Okay, but I should stay here.” Briar meets my eyes in the rearview mirror. “I left my suppressants in the bathroom at Jameson’s, and I had a heat spike earlier. Without them…”
“Christ,” Keir whispers.
“I’m on it. Anything else you might have forgotten?” I ask, pulling my phone from its holder in the middle console.
“Some clothes, my toothbrush, my suppressants in the bathroom, and the extra pack in the bedside table. The doctor I saw when I was in custody with the DEA and FBI gave me an entire year of refills.”
I’ve already got a team over there, wiping it of all traces of her existence. I’d like to believe they’d be thorough enough to check the medicine cabinets, but I text them the information just to be safe.
My head tilts as I stare down at my phone.
There’s no need for them to return her pills. I let them know to dispose of them, along with any of her belongings she left behind.
“My vibrator,” she says softly. “Also in the bedside table. It’s been washed, but yeah, there’s probably some DNA left on it.”
Calder hits the brakes extra hard as he shifts into first gear to head down the driveway.
“Noted,” I say drolly.
“Okay, but are we going to stop and get my suppressants?” Briar asks, sounding truly panicked for the first time.
“It’s not worth the risk. We can’t be seen anywhere near Jameson’s building,” Keir says. “We’ll find you a doctor once we’re in Virginia.”
I barely manage to bite my lip to keep from growling absolutely not. Briar may build her pack as she sees fit—from the three individuals in this vehicle and as long as I’m included—but she has no further need for suppressants.