Chapter 22 – Lacey
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lacey
I’m hot, achy, and irritated.
The only bright side is that Grim wasn’t upset to learn Callum and I bonded. At least, not based on what he’s been sending through the link. I really needed that reassurance, and it helped settle my nerves. I just really want to get back to Wilder’s house.
The primary bedroom has a nest, and that’s the one thing my system is obsessed with more than anything. I need to burrow in fuzzy blankets, set the space up, and make sure everything smells right.
I bet the three of them wouldn’t mind if I stole their sheets and dirty laundry. Only, we aren’t there yet, and this store is starting to stress me out.
Callum forced me into my clothing, and I have to fight the urge to peel myself back out of my dress. My skin is itchy, and I’m hot and uncomfortable.
There’s no way I could walk out of here naked without being arrested, but I hate the confined feeling of the dress and coat. The only upside is he let me skip putting my leggings back on.
Cal is lucky we bonded. I’m annoyed, and the only thing saving him from listening to a very pouty omega complain is that bond and feeling how excited he is to be linked to me permanently.
Although, he’s on thin ice as he makes me wait while he grabs a bunch of dresses and clothing items in my size. He cuts the tags off, leaving them on the counter, then shoves the stuff in bags without even bothering to take it off the hangers.
“Now we’re robbing the place on top of defiling it?” I ask, my annoyance at everything spilling through my tone.
“Best defiling of my life.” He chuckles, and my face heats, but my insides light up in agreement.
“This is technically closer to burglary than robbery, but I think it’s adorable that you don’t know the difference.
Listen, the favor the Walters owed me is not the kind that can be paid back by closing the store for an hour or two.
At the very least, there has to be something that stings.
” He smirks and shrugs, and my silly heart races.
“Every marker comes with a price. When someone takes one of my deals, they know it’s going to hurt to have to pay it back. ”
Okay.
Wilder wasn’t exaggerating.
Callum apparently does have a network of people who all owe him favors.
Thinking back on how we met and got to know each other…
I get the feeling he’s a lot more calculated than I gave him credit for, and a whole lot more dangerous too.
“Nuh-uh,” Callum says, pulling me around him to walk on the inside of the sidewalk. “You’re always on the side farthest from the street.”
“Sorry,” I mutter because I don’t know what else to say. Whatever he’s thinking about in the bond spills over to me, and it makes me mildly uncomfortable. The hair on my arms stands up, and I watch Cal as his head swivels like he’s searching for something. “Is something wrong?”
“Not a bit,” he lies quite unconvincingly as he tosses his free arm around my shoulder. His other hand is full of the bags of clothes that he helped himself to. I mean, if we were going to rob the place, at least he picked cute stuff I’ll actually wear.
Callum guides us back down the sidewalk that leads to the parking lot, but he glances over his shoulder regularly and walks weirdly kinda behind me. While it’s hard to explain, it feels like he’s blocking my body with his, and I don’t like it.
I finally feel like I can breathe when we’re both sitting in Wilder’s car. He shoves the bags into the back seat, grabs his phone, unlocks it, and types away. Once he’s done, he tosses it into the cupholder and pulls his hands in front of the vents, checking to see if it’s warming up.
I want to call him out for lying to me and to ask him who he texted, but I think that will be best done when we’re somewhere safe. It seems dangerous to have him splitting his attention when he needs to be focused.
I’m chilly, but it’s not unbearable, even if the heat hasn’t quite caught up yet.
Callum reaches over, patting my thigh. “All right, we’re out of here.”
He puts the car in reverse, exits the parking lot, and pulls onto the small side street he used to get back here. Once we’re on the main road, his tension doesn’t subside.
I’m not the best with directions, but the second time he does a weird square around the front of the building, it’s obvious something is up. He doesn’t actually drive back down the road immediately in front of the store, but every time we pass by it, his head swivels like he’s checking something.
I’m just working up the nerve to ask him what’s happening when he turns onto the street in front of the store. The very one he’s avoided twice before.
Wilder’s car hums as Callum ups the speed way past what the speed limit is in this part of town.
My mouth falls open as he reaches over, working his hand between my back and the seat.
“Sorry about this, baby girl. I need you to stay as flat as possible.” He unceremoniously gives me a shove, forcing me to bend in half. My face ends up near my knees, and I twist my head to look over at Cal.
He slams the button to roll down my window while his other hand reaches toward the floorboard, collecting something from his boot.
It’s a good thing that I can sense his emotions in the bond. It helps me understand how serious he was about not moving, and I gasp as he slows the vehicle, tosses a knife over my back and out the open window, and immediately moves to shift gears as he speeds away.
Holy fucking shit.
What the hell have I gotten myself into with these guys?
On the plus side, my body seems to settle down with the heat symptoms right about the time I go into shock for the second time in two days.
On the downside, we are not heading toward Wilder’s house.
I don’t realize it until Callum pulls into an area I’ve never been before.
It’s close to the water and has a rundown vibe that doesn’t match the security guarding the gate we pull up to.
Cal rolls down the window, and one of the men waves him through.
We weave through unfamiliar warehouses, and he pulls into a small covered-parking area.
It has a covered walkway that leads to one of the buildings.
He shuts the car off and turns to me.
“I wanted to go home to nest,” I say, and I have no idea why those are the words that come out of my mouth. I mean, they’re true, but also, there are clearly more important things going on and better questions I could have asked. “What happened outside the store?”
“I’m sure you would be more comfortable at home, snuggled up in your nest. I promise I’ll get you there as quickly as I can.
” Callum twists to face me as much as he can in the compact seat.
“I need you to think back to those men last night. Did they have any patches or insignias on any of their clothing? Maybe a ring? Did any of them mention a club name or affiliation?”
“Why are you asking me this?” I ask as my mind races a mile a minute. “No. I don’t remember anything that stands out.”
“It’s okay,” he says soothingly. “We have their wallets. Nothing they were wearing stood out to me either, but it’s always best to ask everyone involved so you don’t miss something obvious.”
“The only things they said to me were about what they were going to do to me.”
“Fuck, Lace.” Callum pulls my hair out of the way and runs his thumb just under his new bondmark. It’s sore and a little tender, but the warmth of his skin offsets the minor discomfort. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Grim was.” I wrap my hand around his wrist, giving him a reassuring squeeze.
The black hoops in his lower lip flex as his jaw tightens, and I ache to find a way to help him relax.
It’s an omega’s purpose in life, after all.
We’re meant to comfort and soothe alphas.
“I’m not sorry they’re dead. They deserved it.
I’m actually grateful they won’t have the chance to do that to some other unsuspecting woman.
I don’t believe that was a onetime thing. ”
“I’m sure you’re right,” he agrees, brushing his thumb over my jaw. “If they were still alive, I’d make them wish they weren’t. They got off easy. I’d have made it hurt.”
I tilt my head as I try to determine exactly what he means. Is he saying he would have tortured them? Because, if so, I kinda agree that’s the least they deserved.
“Anyway, come on, I need to get you inside,” he says.
“What are we doing here?”
“Wilder is going to keep an eye on you while Grim and I do some hunting,” he says so nonchalantly that it makes it hard to understand how I ended up here. “That blacked-out SUV gave me bad vibes, and I always trust my gut.”
“And you think it might have something to do with the men last night?”
He shrugs. “Can’t rule it out. At least, not until we do a little investigating. I popped their tire, so they’re stuck there until they can swap it out or get a new vehicle brought in.”
My chest gets tight.
Holy shit.
Charlotte and Lucky!
I’m not sure how I didn’t immediately think to check on them, but she wasn’t at the clinic when I packed up my locker.
I guess I thought the problem was handled last night, so there was no point in worrying her by telling her the few details that I could without incriminating Grim.
“I don’t know how long Grim was watching me, so I’m not sure if he even knows this part, but the entire reason those guys were after me is because I ran into them earlier in the night.
Well, I didn’t. My friend’s son did…” I go on to explain the details of how Lucky spilled his cocoa when he ran into the guy who seemed to be in charge.
“If they have friends who want revenge, Charlotte and Lucky could be in danger.”
“Everything in me says that even if you ended up on their radar because of the kid, the reason they focused on you has to do with you being an unbonded omega.” His lips tip up. “Or you were yesterday.”
Jesus.
Thinking about how quickly everything has changed is enough to fry my brain, but then again…
“Charlotte is too. She works at the pheromone clinic. Please, Callum. I need to make sure they’re okay.”
He nods. “I’ll talk to Wilder and Grim. If we can’t figure something out, I’ll call in a marker.”
“Thank you, Cal,” I whisper, trying not to burst into tears. These hormones are out of control, but I’m so appreciative that he’s taking my concerns seriously, even if I dislike the idea of him needing to use a second favor for me.
“Don’t stress. I’m always going to have your back.” He winks and turns to open the car door.
Will he always make my insides melty? I really hope so.