58. Red
Chapter fifty-eight
Red
I stare at the OCB agent and draw a deep breath. This is going to work. It has to. I turn, and the uniform-clad reflection swivels away from the mirror. I barely recognize myself in the trim blue uniform and sensible black boots with my red hair done up in a stern bun. I’ve also slathered myself in enough scent neutralizer to sink a boat. As long as I don’t get too excited, I should get mistaken for a beta today.
I stayed up half the night coloring the costume uniform’s white seams with a blue permanent marker, and digging into records about OCB hierarchy, as well as watching Alpha Lodgings documentaries. Plus, I’ve spent years watching spy movies, so I know I can channel the role. It’s a bit of a hollow plan, really, but I need to get inside the prison no matter what.
And I need to get out again.
I pick up the business card on the side table and grab my phone. The log shows three missed calls from Rickon and two from Callisto, but I can’t afford any distractions right now. They’ll ask me where I went and what I’m doing, and I have no way of explaining it all. I dial the number on the contact card.
The line clicks on. “Hello, Wired Logistics.”
I tap the corner of the card against my lips. “I call and you haul, right?”
“That’s right, ma’am. How can we help?”
“I need to speak with Lionel.”
She puts me through, and a familiar voice responds. “Hello?”
My ears tingle. No turning back now. “Lionel, this is Red, from the airplane. Is that offer to help still on the table?”
An hour later, Lionel picks me up in his truck. He looks me up and down with a whistle. “I had no idea you were an agent. I was surprised you’d never flown before.”
I smile and hoist myself up the side of the big truck. “True. I avoided it for as long as possible.” I rest my fake badge against my knee for a moment, to solidify my story, before tucking it in a legal case. Operation Alpha Search is underway.
“You’ll be fine if this ends up as a cross-country haul?” I ask. “Might turn into a special case.”
He nods. “Yeah, since it’s official business, guys are covering my other runs. It’s fine.” He steals a glance at me before pulling out into traffic, curiosity practically vibrating off him.
I swallow down a lump of guilt. The only thing official about this is me officially finding an alpha, so I guess that means I’m dragging this kind man into my crime. But at the very least, Lionel should be able to deny knowing anything.
It’s a longer drive than I anticipated, and every mile notches up my nervousness. I chew on my fingernail. How many prisons will I need to search? And what if my missing alpha is still mired in the underground world? I’ll have to search everywhere.
Fuck, what if he’s not even in this damn country?
My stomach sloshes with nausea and I screw my eyes shut. Sinking deep, I gather the resolve of the woman who can survive anything. It’s time for Red Hawk to shine.
“We’re here.”
I jolt into alertness. “Right.”
Alpha Lodgings looms ahead, big stone walls capped with rolls of vicious barbed wire. Tall towers on the corners survey the grounds inside, reminding me this is a place for dangerous alphas. Rose’s ferals protected her, but who knows if the same will be true for me.
As Lionel slows the truck and rolls to a stop in front of the huge, barbed-wired-capped gates, a security guard packing a real weapon steps out of the gatehouse and jumps up onto the side of the cab. “State your business.”
“Supervisory Special Agent Red Jones, from the Laversham branch.” I flash him my badge. “I’m here about the overflow problem with the ferals.”
He checks my badge but thankfully doesn’t take it. “I didn’t hear about any scheduled visits.”
I groan. “Don’t tell me he didn’t put the damn paperwork through, and I flew all the way up here for nothing? These fighting alphas are clogging the system everywhere, you know? Laversham, Darinian. We’re stretched so thin, and I bet it’s even worse for you here where the ring was busted.” I click my tongue in annoyance.
“You got that right,” he grumbles. “Those wild fuckers are causing trouble everywhere.”
I tuck the badge away since he hasn’t asked for it. “Well, we’ve got an opening in our rehab program, so I’m here to look for a candidate.”
He nods thoughtfully. “I’m sure the warden won’t mind the interruption, then. Let me call and see.”
“Sure, take your time.” For good effect, I mutter just loud enough for him to hear, “I’ve only got a twenty-four-hour drive ahead.”
I sit on my hands to hide my crossed fingers while he makes the call, and a thrilling shock of electricity zips through me when he comes back with good news. Looks like they really are trying to offload problem alphas. Guards give the truck a thorough once-over, which includes using a mirror on a long handle to look underneath, before waving us through.
“I heard about that on the news,” Lionel remarks as he cranks the big engine into gear to roll forward. “Fancy the fuckers doing all that right below our feet.” He tuts as he manhandles the big steering wheel.
“Yeah, the depravity of greedy men,” I say. If only he knew the truth. I dig into my leather document wallet and pull out a sheet of anti-nausea medication, and swallow down a couple of omega hormone blockers for good measure. Dipping my nose into the Omega Center’s book of horror, plus running into trouble in busy places, taught me not to walk into any crowd without being prepared, let alone a building full of alphas.
And this will be a hundred times worse, because from what Rose said, these fellows don’t learn even the basics of scent control, which most alphas pick up during high school when their designation first presents.
For the full package, I turn on the scent-neutralizing band around my wrist, which releases tiny puffs of misted air up my arm every thirty seconds. Puking my guts out in the Alpha Lodgings hallways will really mess up my cover story. Today, I’m Red Hawk again, going undercover.
I duck my face away from the cameras as we enter the building, although with so much security it’s unavoidable. This could end real badly. Stench aside, I can’t say I like being closed in on all four sides in a compound full of alphas, either. Sex-starved men like those in here would tear an omega to pieces.
The burly alpha warden accepts my story, well embellished with details about a trial program modeled on the success of Agent Colt Nesters and his work in rehabilitation, but he does take a closer look at my badge. My heart leaps into my mouth as he runs his thumb across the back where I shaved off the prop use only , filled it with glue, and repainted it.
“Seen a few hard cases,” I offer with a shrug. “I believe you’re in the same position.” Alpha Spy movies taught me most people have a difficult time focusing and talking at the same time.
He snorts. “Seems like our job continually get harder. And I keep losing men to medical leave thanks to those violent animals. I’ll have a mutiny on my hands soon enough.”
I shrug, clamping down on a heady rush of emotion. “Well, maybe I can help a little today.”
The warden grunts and pushes away from his desk. “Come on, then. Anything to reduce the crowding in here.”
My knees feel like they’ll give out, but I keep my back ramrod straight as I follow him into the prison proper. The controlled doors and bars everywhere give me the heebie-jeebies.
“There a problem?” the warden asks when I twitch after one of the doors slides shut, locking us in with the combined scents of hundreds of alphas. Even with all my precautions, it’s overwhelming.
“Bit of indigestion,” I reply, tapping my fist to my sternum and waiting for a puff of neutral air from my chunky bracelet. Indigestion is putting the mess of my nerves lightly. But right now, I’m Red Hawk, and I’m undercover, which means I can achieve anything.
He cocks his head. “Are you looking for something specific?”
“We have a complex set of requirements, but if we can start with least settled ones, that should work well. Anyone who’s making a lot of noise.” After all, the mystery alpha in my head’s growling up a storm.
“All right.”
If I thought the scent match book was bad, this is a hundred times worse, to the point of paralyzing my entire nervous system. We pass hallway after hallway of inmates in cells, all alphas with strong musk. It’s like walking in a vat of vomit.
The warden thumps his fist against a series of numbers painted on the wall. “This is the wing for the unhinged. We have one more vault underground for the serial killers, but I doubt you want to go down there.”
“Not if I can avoid it,” I say.
We stroll down a concrete hallway with cells on both sides. These alphas behave more like Rose’s ferals. They growl, and a couple even roar at me. One paces madly in his few feet of floor space. My heart aches as I take in their pitiful state.
In some ways they’re kindred spirits, and it’s as if their animal senses are stronger too, because as I walk past, most of them grow still. Can they catch the omega scent buried under my neutralizers?
Chills run up my arms as we reach the end of the row. “These are all of the ones who came from the kennels?” A thought strikes me so hard it knocks the wind from my lungs. I wheeze for a moment. “What about the ones slated for euthanasia?”
Please, don’t let me be too late. Let me find him. Or maybe the one I’m looking for is down in that vault. I really don’t want to be locked below ground again.
“Oh, right, the guards moved a couple since we have a reduction scheduled for today. We can go watch, if you like. The poor guy needs to find some peace.”
Reduction . Such a throwaway word. All the death sanitized out of it.
“Yes.” I choke up and the word comes out cracked.
The tap of my faux-Bureau boots on the floor seems to count down like a timer as he leads me to another wing.
“This one on the schedule is completely out of control. He got loose in the exercise yard and nearly killed a couple of our regular prisoners. Broke his arm in the process and he hasn’t been right since. Been beating his head against the wall and everything. The psychs say he’ll never heal.”
I’ve heard that before. I pick up my pace.
I smell the alpha before I see him: a complex scent that combines the sweetness of maple syrup with tones of a specialty bread bakery. Barely, perhaps. But right now, it’s burning, thick with dark, angry smoke. Thick enough I feel like I should be seeing it in the air. My scent-blocking provisions all prove useless against this powerful aroma—but this one I want to breathe deeply.
The alpha thrashes, and his incessant growl vibrates right through the floor.
I stumble to a halt as the noise in the room locks into place with the pounding in my head, and then goes silent.
“Designation Zazu. Came from the Grom kennels in the last big fighting ring bust.” The warden leans one fist on his hip. “The brute knows nothing but killing.”
Zazu.
My breath catches. I found my alpha. Heat flushes through me, melting my heart into a gooey mess before burning a path through my core to my pussy. Shit, I’m about to leave a trail of slick through the whole building.
The alpha in the cell stiffens as we come into view. His head thrusts up, revealing a heavy, square jaw and a nose that might’ve been broken a few times. His eyes, blue or gray—it’s hard to see in the shadows—pierce right through me. He scans me with one swift look and then shivers, head to toe. His hands rise to the bars, revealing a dirty white cast on one arm.
Then he turns that piercing gaze on the warden and howls. It’s a bone-chilling sound full of aggression for the alpha who dares to walk beside the prisoner’s mate.
I close my eyes for a moment, letting the sound fill me. Feral, dominating. No holds barred. It’s an animalistic language, but I understand his meaning. Mine.
The burn of desire roars through my core and I gasp softly. Zazu throws himself against the bars, trying to break them.
“Yeah, maniac all right.” The warden scoffs. “Don’t worry, pal. You’ll be out of your misery real soon.” He chucks his head at me. “Let’s go—”
“I’ll take this one.” I only have one chance to save his life. To save my own life.
“Are you fucking crazy?” the officer hisses, and then winces. “All due respect, ma’am, just let him go in peace. You’ll never be able to tame him, and don’t you think he’s suffered enough?”
He has. More than any man should have to endure. That feral roar says it all.
I grit my teeth. “All the more reason to give him a chance.” I draw a shaky breath, pulling myself together. My alpha needs me. I rest my hand on the warden’s shoulder, ignoring how it sends my alpha into a frothing craze. “It’ll prove if the program really works or if it’s a waste of budget. And you’ll be touted as the wise visionary who sent him to us.”
His overgrown brows rise as he considers my words. He glances back at the howling alpha thrusting his chest against the bars. “Well, if you’re sure you want him.”
“I am.” More than anything.
The warden frowns. “But you’ll need to sign off on it. We already have the sleep juice here, so who’s going to pay for that?”
I squeeze his shoulder once then let go. The moment I release him, my alpha stops snarling and settles to a discontented rumble. He’s as wild and jealous as I am. Yeah, we’re going to get along just fine. “How about I make a personal donation to the Lodgings, since a purchase order would take too damn long?”
He swivels to stare at me, eyes narrowing with suspicion.
I shrug in response. “It’s my name on the line with this rehab project. I really want it to work.”
He scoffs. “Then you should’ve picked an easy one, but it’s too late for takebacks.” He laughs like I’m the sucker as he grabs his radio out of the pocket on his belt. “I heard you brought a truck with you?”
“I did. Waste not and all that.”
He nods and calls for the guards. “Let’s get him signed off, then. They’ll show your driver where to park so we can load him.”
My heart leaps. Almost there.
The warden talks endlessly while I sign papers. I have no idea what they say so I just nod as I scribble my name in a barely legible way, wishing he’d hurry up. Callisto Wren’s not here to explain each and every clause for me this time.
The prison manager wants to tell me everything about his career, probably for the press release I’m “planning” to make when the program turns into a great success. Sucker doesn’t know what’s going to hit him. I just hope no one’s doing proper background checks on my fake OCB ID while we dither.
Finally, I swipe Callisto’s credit card at the front office and the warden leads me outside. It’s easy to tell Zazu’s been loaded, ’cause he bangs on the side of the truck, like some mythical monster from a sci-fi movie.
“Hope you don’t mind some percussion,” I mumble as I climb into the cab with Lionel.
He chuckles. “Sounds like it’s for a good cause.”
I flash him a grateful smile. “The best.”
“Wait!” the warden calls before I pull the door shut. Adrenaline shoots through me. If I must, I’ll toss Lionel out of his seat and drive the truck myself. But there’s no guarantee I’ll make it through those solid-looking security gates.
“Yes?” I turn, half in and half out of the truck.
The warden looks me up and down. “You do have a team to unload him at the other end, don’t you? No offense, but I’m sure you know not to let him loose under any circumstances?”
“Of course, Warden. Not my first rodeo.” Lies are so easy when you’re an undercover operative.
The man purses his lips and steps back. “Well, okay, then. Good luck to you both.”
I slam the door, putting one more barrier between me and the stinking viper nest of alphas. “Please drive,” I murmur to Lionel, before waving calmly to the officers.
The moment we’re clear of the gates, I breathe a sigh of relief and slump in the leather seat.
Lionel glances at me a few times before working up the courage to ask his question. “You know, I’m surprised an omega works for the OCB. I would have thought it’s kind of rough work.”
Shit! Between slicking at the sight of my alpha and sweating in fright, my omega scent’s filling the cab. I race to roll down the window. “Sorry about that. Lot of alphas back there.”
He throws me a kind look. “Nothing to apologize for. I was just curious.”
“It’s a long, complicated story,” I mutter guardedly. One I can’t tell him because he’ll turn this truck right around and then my last alpha will die.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Rickon is trying to reach me. How on earth am I going to explain this? I wait until the buzzing dies away in my pocket.
“How will we do this drive?”
Lionel hums. “It’s seven hundred miles to Etelis. We can rest at a good motel I often use there.” He slides a glance across the cab at me. “I can’t handle that alpha. He’ll have to stay in the back.”
I nod.
“Then another nine hundred miles or so to Laversham. Should get there early evening the day after, if we don’t hit any roadworks or jams.”
I chew on my lip and turn to watch the city whizz by. Hold on back there, my alpha. My Zazu. You’ve endured everything so far, so just hang on a little longer. As I drop my head back against the seat, a smile forms slowly on my lips. The wild roaring in my head has subsided.