Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Easton
K eir never takes his shift, meaning I have no choice but to drive after Calder. I let Calder sleep for a few hours, then put him to work finding us furniture that can be delivered today or, worst-case scenario, tomorrow.
I have no idea the accommodations we’ll be walking into. The pregnant woman Arden and his team are romantically involved with rented the house we’ll be staying in, but she’s only spent one night in it. Mostly because they tricked her into moving in with them, but also because the heat in the house is malfunctioning.
I have yet to inform my travel companions of that.
Briar will be sleeping with me tonight. Possibly today after we arrive. What she won’t be doing is spending every moment sandwiched between Calder and Keir while I’m left on the outside.
I’ve already spent half the drive envisioning ways of slaughtering the two men I once considered my closest friends. Unless Briar would like to find herself responsible for their deaths, she should put some of her focus into me.
I’ve been patient—as understanding as my system will allow—but she’s pushing my kindness to its limits.
This little excursion is for her, after all. Once I have the records in hand, I’ll be able to use them to force Titus into a meeting. Then I’ll focus my negative energy there and remove his head to offer to Briar as a courting gift.
I just have to find a way to not snap before that happens.
“We have under two hours left, and you need to be in actual clothes when we arrive,” I tell Briar, dragging her toward the rest area bathroom.
“Why? Don’t want anyone to know you kidnapped me in the middle of the night?” she sasses, yanking her arm away.
“You were not kidnapped,” I grind out, shoving the outfit I picked for her under my arm. “You were invited on a business trip to check on our colleagues while the office is being remodeled. Keep up.” I don’t just mean physically, but I stride off toward the family restroom and tug on the door, holding it open for the stubborn omega.
She shuffles past me in the flats I placed her in when I wrestled her away from Keir—proverbially, of course. He will be taking the last two-hour driving shift, and I will be keeping Briar company. Whether she likes it or not.
Otherwise, I’m going to stab my bodyguard in the kidney and leave him on the side of the highway, so I’m no longer tormented by the sounds of them fucking.
I follow her inside and turn back, locking the door.
“What are you doing?” she asks with wide eyes. “I don’t need an audience to pee, or to change, for that matter.”
A slow smile crosses my face. “You may not want an audience, but you’ll have one. You’ll also be sitting with me for the last leg of our journey.”
“Joy,” she mutters, ripping off the jacket that Keir helped her into as she climbed from the vehicle. She balls it up and chucks it at me.
I catch it one-handed and wait to see what comes next.
She turns, shooing me away with her hands. “I’m not using the toilet with you in here.”
“Then I suppose you’ll hold it until we arrive.” I shrug. “We both know you’re dripping in Keir’s cum. I thought I was being generous by giving you a chance to clean up.”
Briar scoffs. “Boundaries, Easton. We need boundaries.”
“No.” I chuckle darkly.
She huffs, rolling her gorgeous bluish-gray eyes as she tugs off the T-shirt.
Her perfect tits bounce, and she moves to shove down the sweats.
Goddammit.
I’d like to move past this playful banter stage and get to the point where she accepts that she can’t live without me.
I text Arden a warning that Briar is still claiming I kidnapped her and to ensure he has time to make sure no one else is around.
We make it to the door, and Briar shoves her way inside, bolting to find a bathroom without waiting for our knock to be answered.
I’m half tempted to follow her to the toilet, but I have colleagues to greet while Keir and Calder unload the SUV.
I settle against the wall, keeping a close eye on the bathroom door my omega disappeared into, but I’m distracted by the heavily pregnant woman standing a few feet away.
That must be Chelsea, the omega who somehow won Arden’s, Kase’s, and Lincoln’s affection. My God, she has to be about to pop, as in, any day.
I’m also confused about how the scent of sex lingers everywhere.
Shouldn’t there be some cutoff or point in time when a very pregnant woman loses interest in sex? The stench alone says she hasn’t reached that threshold.
The hours I spent trapped in the vehicle smelling Briar and Keir no longer seems like the punishment I thought it was a few hours ago. If I have to scent omega sex, I’d prefer it to be related to my omega.
“Could you not contain yourselves long enough to return to your own home?” I ask, rolling my eyes as the unfamiliar woman studies me.
“Easton,” Arden growls, swiping a hand over his face. His dark hair falls over his forehead, and he shoves it back haphazardly.
Chelsea bristles. “This is technically my house, but I’m going back to my other house. Nice to meet you.” She waves and begins searching for something. “Thanks for coming to help out.”
I chuckle and glance down the hallway at the bathroom once more. Almost no one has the audacity to speak to me in such a way.
I’m strangely relieved to see my team found a woman who will be strong enough to stand up to their overbearing ways.
Calder and Keir make their way in with their arms loaded down with bags.
I look at Arden, to see if he has any suggestions on where they should put everything, but he’s preoccupied with his packmate Kase.
“Put them down in the living room, but from the smell of things, whoever sleeps on the sofa tonight will need to disinfect it.” I snort, wondering if Calder was able to secure same-day delivery, or if we’ll be waiting until tomorrow for new furniture.
Kase and the pregnant woman begin to collect the items they must be planning to bring next door.
From my understanding, Chelsea rented this home, met Arden, Kase, and Lincoln, and somehow charmed them to the point that she now lives with them. I care little, aside from the fact it’s convenient that she comes with a connection to the information I need on Titus’s business dealings.
Or that’s the hope.
While digging into her history, Calder found that Chelsea’s baby’s father worked for the Manzo family, and Calder believes the man may have made copies of the proof he had against Briar’s brother.
Keir and Calder come in with another load of things, dropping them in the living room and following Kase and the pregnant woman back out the door.
Arden catches my attention with how violently his teeth grind together. “Tell me you didn’t bring a kidnapping victim into my pregnant omega’s home.”
“Briar is my assistant.” I snort. “Did she particularly want to come on this assignment? Not really, but it’s not like she’s going to report me.”
I keep the information vague, not because I don’t trust Arden, but because it’s simpler. If Calder is wrong, and we don’t gain access to the leverage I’m hoping we will, I’d rather not needlessly share Briar’s true identity.
“You’re a fucking lunatic.” Arden sighs. “Be careful that it doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass.”
“You’re welcome for coming all this way to watch your back.” My eyes narrow at Arden as Briar finally exits the bathroom.
Yes, fine.
I’m not above a little manipulation, even of someone I consider a friend.
I may have purposely inflated the threat assessment when relaying the information to Arden and his pack, but if there is evidence of the Manzos’ wrongdoings and it is on its way here to Chelsea in a package sent by her dead ex…
Well, there is a slim possibility Titus may send some of his henchmen to retrieve it. I just intend to secure that package long before Manzo discovers its whereabouts.
The furniture will not arrive until tomorrow, which is a pity for Keir and Calder. Sweet Briar and I will be sharing the small bed in the downstairs bedroom. There are also no plates, silverware, or pots and pans. Hell, they may be around here somewhere still packed away, but that won’t do shit for us.
I direct Briar to the downstairs bedroom to check if the sheets have been changed, and while she’s preoccupied with that, I send her boyfriends away.
As much as I would love to do away with them indefinitely, I settle for instructing them to pick up groceries, paper plates, plastic cups, drinks, and takeout for dinner. We’ll have to tackle the rest tomorrow.
We also never ended up stopping at a pharmacy, so I recommend they also acquire a thermometer and necessities for her heat.
Once they’re out of the way, I search for Briar, but she walks right into my chest as I take the corner into the downstairs bedroom.
She grunts, shoving the sheets at my chest. “Ask them to get omega-safe laundry soap. They’re clean, but that woman’s scent is everywhere. ”
Shit.
It’s a stark realization… We’ve gotten to know Briar on suppressants, and an omega not on them will always have a more severe reaction to other omegas.
Not to mention, she stopped taking them abruptly. I did research while she and Keir were busy fucking the drive away. Her first heat is likely to be more severe due to stopping them in the middle of a pack. She could also face other side effects, but I know which ones to keep an eye out for.
“I will ask them to get laundry detergent and anything else they can find to help clear away lingering scents,” I assure her, stealing away the sheets and blankets she’s got ahold of. “There should be a black bag somewhere with my comforter and pillowcases. Why don’t you put that down on the mattress? Then we can grab the blanket you used in the car to cover up with.”
Her head tilts, and her adorable little nose wrinkles. “We?”
“Yes, my love, we can snuggle for a bit.”