Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Ronan
“What is this place?” Thea asked carefully as we climbed out of the SUV.
There were two vans behind us, all full of omegas and a random beta or two. The betas surprised me. I hadn’t expected to find more than omegas in a place like that. They were the ones who sold for top dollar.
I knew my father would want answers, but I was doing all I could to keep Nikolai from losing control as it was. His peppercorn scent was spicier than ever, drowning out any hints of the damp forest that usually rounded it out. Right now it was potent enough that it burned my nose.
“Let them settle. They’ve been through hell. You would want the same for her,” Luca said gently to Nikolai.
He looked at Luca, swallowed hard, but nodded. His face was pale, and he was eerily quiet.
“It’s one of our safe houses. One of the lesser-known ones,” I answered the omega. “Here is where we recover. I have doctors and fresh clothes coming. Only my trusted men are involved, so it’s completely safe.”
“We have no choice but to trust them,” Thea said to the others, her voice stronger than I expected after everything that had happened. I half expected her to lose it after she took Specre’s life.
Tires crunched on the gravel, everyone tensing until they saw the vans carrying their friends pulling up.
I stood by as my men hopped out and opened the doors, freeing the omegas waiting inside. They were barely clothed, dirty, and terrified out of their poor minds.
“Do you want us to stick around?” Talon asked. He was the head of my personal guards.
“No. I need you and your men to get enough food to last us at least a week or two. Maybe something quick for tonight. Pizza, maybe,” I said before turning to Ryan, my other trusted Crow. “Your team has to find clothes. Get an array of sizes, enough to fit all of these women.”
“On it, boss,” he said before climbing back into the van.
That left my pack to guide the girls inside. I headed for the door, punching in my code and waiting for the light to turn green before pushing the front door open.
“You’re not prisoners here. I’ll give you a code,” I said as I flicked on the hall light. “It’s been a minute. We may have to do a little cleanup, but it’s safe. Luca, boot up the security.”
“On it,” Luca said. He already had his laptop out and was typing away.
“Once we get this place secure, I need answers. Tell us what you know about Aries.” Nikolai’s voice was rough, but he looked right at Thea, who nodded and swallowed hard, stepping a little closer to me.
“He’s harmless, but his omega has been gone for a long time,” I said gently. “Her name was Aries.”
Understanding, then pity, dawned on her face. Something I hoped he didn’t notice. It just confirmed our worst fears. I swallowed hard and forged ahead.
“There are four bathrooms here. You’ll have to divvy up and take turns showering. You may want to wait for fresh clothes to come. They just went after them and it might take a bit. Food and all of that will be arriving soon.”
The omegas drifted ahead, their footsteps almost stumbling. They were so weak they didn’t explore. They simply found places to sit around the living room while they waited.
“I’ll guard the door,” Nikolai said, grabbing a chair and dragging it across the floor. The sound was grating but he didn’t even seem to notice.
I turned and walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge. At least the last Crows who used this place had cleaned it out. We had strict rules on our properties. We had standards in the Crows, and most of them knew better than to disobey that.
My father would never lower himself to have a dirty safe house.
I had far too much nervous energy to sit here and wait for the rest of my team to get back. I needed to know it was safe and, honestly, just needed a solid distraction.
Soft footsteps joined me, far too noisy to be my packmates.
I turned around to see Thea standing there.
“Tell me there’s something I can do. I’m going crazy just waiting. And your friend in there is just glaring at me like I hold all the answers to the universe for him.”
“You kind of do,” I admitted. “We’re trying to do right by you and wait until you have clean clothes and a meal before we interrogate you, but we’re going to need answers. And in return, we’ll give you whatever you need.”
“I just want to go to Widow’s Peak. I’m not sure they’d allow you in, though,” she admitted.
“I promise you, if Aries is there, there’s nothing that’s going to keep Nikolai out.”
She frowned. “That’s exactly the opposite of what this community stands for,” she argued, her anger flaring.
This omega definitely had fire.
“Look, I get it. They’ll let us in. We’re bringing you and the other omegas for safety. Without us, you don’t get there. They’re not going to stop us at the gates,” I promised.
She shrugged. “Well, it sounds like you’ve got it all planned out.”
There was a bit of sarcasm in her voice, like she didn’t quite believe it yet, but she clearly knew nothing of the Crows.
That would soon change.
She stalked off, half-annoyed, half-exhausted. I couldn’t help her yet, but that time would come soon enough.
Thankfully, my men knew to be swift. They were back before the omegas could get too restless.
The next hour was spent feeding and clothing the omegas and letting them shower.
Most of them drifted off to sleep, finally feeling safe for the first time in who knew how long. I knew this wouldn’t be a long process, but, thankfully, Thea stayed awake.
Nikolai was trying his best to keep calm. He made sure there was a warm cup of tea in Thea’s hands before he started pressing her for answers. She looked smaller now, almost fragile.
“I’ve been in a few places like this,” she said, staring into the steaming mug and not looking at us as she spoke. “I was sold into it.”
A small gasp escaped Nikolai’s mouth.
“That’s what happened to my girl, too,” he admitted softly.
Thea looked at him, getting a better picture of the suffering he had been through.
“The whispers started a couple years back. I wish I could remember how many, but I don’t. They started talking about a safe place for people like us, where the alphas who abused us couldn’t get to us. I wanted to believe it but I was always afraid to.”
She stopped to take a few sips of her tea before continuing.
“If you really do have connections, I want to believe you can find it. There’s safety there, and a home for people like me.
One with other omegas who would understand.
I started to lose hope, but your reaction to hearing her name told me that I was on the right track this time.
Honestly, just seeing you, I thought maybe you were the type of men who could help me get where I needed to go. ”
“We’re going to try,” Nikolai vowed.
She nodded. “All I know is that it’s in Colorado and hidden away. I doubt we’re going to find it on any map. As far as I know, it’s word of mouth.”
“If anyone can find the town, it’ll be us,” Luca promised with full confidence. His hands were already twitching, ready to race to find his answers. “We just may need a little time. Places like this are cagey.”
She looked uncomfortable with that thought, but nodded. “I understand.”
“We also have to get everyone else where they want to go. Many probably have family worried sick about them,” Nikolai said, glancing back at me.
“We’ll make sure everybody has a say in what happens to them,” I reassured them both. “If you’d like to help any that are afraid to open up to us, we’d appreciate it. That will only speed up this process.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay.”
I had a feeling she wasn’t going to be patient for long, and who could blame her? But these girls all deserved to go where they felt safe, and I was going to make sure we could at least provide that.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I bit back a groan, knowing it was time to answer my father.
I gave Luca a look before stepping outside and pulling out my phone.
My father’s name was on the screen just as I suspected. I answered quickly before he could get too much attitude for having to wait.
“Hello, sir,” I said, using the title I knew he preferred over father.
“Why are you not back yet?” he asked, his voice hard. “You know I don’t like being left in the dark.”
“I understand, sir, but like I said in my message, our traget is eliminated. Now we’re following a few leads here and getting the girls to safety.”
“Last time I checked, we aren’t here to play white knights. We are the Crows. We’re known for being ruthless and leaving trails of blood behind, not following the whims of some fucking omegas.”
“We’re keeping your reputation clean, sir,” I reminded him. “The Crows don’t trade in flesh.”
“No, but we’re also not there to pamper,” he argued. “I don’t care if some omega tail smells good. You’ve got bigger problems than that.”
“We do. Along with the fact that I don’t think he was working alone. That operation was way too clean,” I argued. “Something isn’t right, and we all know complacency could bite us in the ass.”
I could hear him shift on the phone, the sound muffled. That meant he was not pleased to hear this.
“Our lead was just too clean. They’re never clean. He was right where you said he would be, but it felt like he was waiting for someone. We got in way too fucking easy.”
“One week,” he grumbled. “You have one week to figure out what it is and report back to me. I don’t have time for you to go fucking around. Do you hear me, boy?”
I bit back my annoyance, but responded. “Yes, Father. I understand.”
“Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page. One week.”
The line went dead.
Nikolai was waiting for me when I walked back to the porch. He was leaning against the front door. I gave him a look that said everything I couldn’t say out loud in front of my men.
“How was dear old dad?” Nik asked.
“Same as ever,” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Infuriating, was the real answer. “He just gave us a week to wrap this up. I told him something seemed off, and I stand by that. It was a little too clean, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” Nikolai said, nodding his agreement.
“But that gives us time to figure this out first, first.”
He gestured inside with his head. “Luca’s taking notes now, getting phone numbers, finding contacts. About half of the girls want to go home to family. The other half don’t exactly have family to go home to.”
“Okay. That leaves half for us to take to this mysterious settlement.”
“Not exactly,” he admitted. “There’s a portion that wants to go straight to Omega Protective Services.”
They were a nonprofit organization intended to give omegas freedom and a place to call home. It was well known for helping those who didn’t want any kind of pack.
Sometimes they changed their minds, and sometimes they didn’t. Either way, I couldn’t fault them. Not after what we’d seen.
“Which leaves?” I prompted.
“Ten, including Thea.”
“We don’t have a lot to go on,” I said. “I want to believe this is real, but even she doesn’t know much.”
Not to mention it also felt a bit too easy after years of scouring every lead for our girl.
“I know,” he said, rubbing his temples. “But if she can lead me to Aries, I’m going to dig deep and use every resource we have.”
“I know, brother,” I said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Let’s go see if they remember anything else.”
“Ronan!”
Thea’s voice echoed out. She sounded desperate, which had a few of the girls looking up, startled.
“I’m right here.”
I hurried into the kitchen, where she was rushing through. I braced my hands out to catch her as she stumbled to a halt.
“One of the girls knew something,” she said, her words coming so fast she was almost stuttering. “She came from a small town out that way. She said the settlement was only an hour from her. I need a map.”
“Luca!” it was my turn to shout.
He was by my side in seconds, his laptop still in his hands, eyes wide. “What is it?”
“We’re narrowing our search,” I said quickly. “The omega knows something.”
“One step closer to Aries,” Nikolai breathed out.
For the first time since I’d known my brother, he looked truly alive.
I vowed right then that I would do everything I could to find the omega. Not just for my sake, but for his.
He was truly the only real family I had outside of Luca. Our pack was important to me, and watching my brother shut down had nearly killed me.
When we reached the omega, I sat down in front of her. Luca was right by my side, hands already hovering over the laptop.
“Tell me everything you know.”