46. Cade
Chapter 46
Cade
I keep a hand on the small of Grace’s back as we exit the Sheriff’s office.
We haven’t let her out of our sight since the fire. It might be overprotective, sure, but I don’t give a shit. I’d rather we be overprotective than give the McAllisters a chance to strike again.
Jesse feels the only reason they didn’t do anything to hurt Grace is they had no idea she was there. They thought the ranch would be empty, and it should have been since the plan was to have Grace come with us and people knew that. If Travis and Kyle didn’t see Grace with us at the auction they must’ve assumed we hid her in the motel room after learning about the trouble they’d been stirring. After all, if we hadn’t had our friend Grady calling us, we would’ve had no idea that the McAllisters were trying to sabotage us until we got there.
We don’t trust that the McAllisters won’t try to hurt her if they think she’s alone. And we want to keep an eye on her in case there are any lingering issues. There shouldn’t be but between the smoke inhalation and nearly getting pneumonia, we’d rather be safe than sorry.
Grace is independent, but I think she can tell how worried we were, how scared we felt. She can literally feel our emotions, after all. So she doesn’t complain.
I’m grateful for it. I feel a tightness in my chest whenever Grace is out of my sight. I know it’s silly. She doesn’t need me hovering while she brushes her teeth, for crying out loud. But the fear that gripped me when we felt her screaming for help—the weakness of her voice—the way we then couldn’t feel her at all—and how it was to run all over the ranch trying to find her—
I’ve never been so scared in my life. I hope I’m never that fucking scared ever again.
Now, though, I’m not afraid. I’m satisfied.
It’s a grim satisfaction, but I’ll take it. I had no idea when I’d done what I did all those weeks ago that it would pan out like this, but it turns out my paranoia was justified.
We all get into the car, and I glance at my pack mates, knowing they all feel the same way. Anger continues to simmer at how we were fucked with and especially at how Grace was hurt, but the revenge—the justice —will be sweet.
As we get into the car, I see the Sheriff and a few deputies exiting the building and heading for their cars. I can’t stop a savage grin from spreading across my face.
They were just given evidence that the McAllisters tried to sabotage our ranch and caused bodily harm, and now, they’re going in for the arrest.
“What do you think?” Jesse asks the rest of us. “You want to go watch?”
Hell yes I want to follow and watch. I look over at Grace.
Grace smirks and nods, her eyes sparking. She’s feeling the same righteous anger that we are, I can feel it across our bond. I love so many things about her, but that’s definitely one of them—that she’s soft and sweet, but that’s not all that she is. She’s damn fierce too.
I start the car and wait until the Sheriff and his deputies pull out, then follow them at a polite distance. Nobody can say that we interfered. The last thing I want is for us to get in the way of the Sheriff taking care of these assholes. I don’t want to be the reason something goes wrong in the arrest.
We follow the cars down Main Street and through the town out onto the dirt roads until they get to the McAllister ranch. I’m sure the Sheriff knows that we’re following him. You can’t really miss us when we’re the only other car around on a one-lane road. But if he has a problem with it, he doesn’t say anything, doesn’t give us a call and tell us to knock it off.
I stop the car at the end of the driveway, and we all get out so we can stand around and watch. Like our ranch, the McAllister ranch has a long driveway with the house at the end of it, so we’re not right up in front of the ranch house but we still have a good view.
The Sheriff and his deputies pull their cars right up on either side of the front porch steps and get out, the deputies standing behind the Sheriff as he knocks on the door.
With Alphas like the McAllisters, you never know what you need to be prepared for.
“When did you put up that security system?” Easton asks as we relax to watch the show. I wish we had some beers and popcorn to really enjoy this.
The McAllisters open the door, Leon and Kyle bunching up behind Travis as usual. The Sheriff says something—we can’t hear from this distance—but it makes Travis look furious.
“When Grace first came to the ranch,” I reply. “I wanted her to be safe.”
I never said anything about it. I was worried I’d sound paranoid. I worry about that a lot. I know that I’m more concerned about something happening to my loved ones than most are, scared that I’ll end up like my father. I hadn’t wanted to open myself up to ribbing. Especially when I hadn’t thought it was a good idea to bring Grace around in the first place.
That’s how we got our proof. I drove into the city and picked up some security equipment once Grace agreed to accept our bid at her presentation. I didn’t mention it to the others, but I went to a local tech store that also had security systems, since I wanted something proper and sturdy. The place offered to send someone out to set it all up for me, but I’m a fan of doing things myself, so I just said I’d follow the instructions and do well on my own.
The man behind the counter gave me a dubious look, like he thought I was going to call him in a tizzy a couple days later begging for help with the damn cameras, but I just ignored him.
I set it all up one morning when I was out milking the cows. Nobody else was up at that hour of the morning. They all let me have my alone time, so it was the perfect cover.
Having the cameras and all be so hidden wasn’t because I thought we’d get some cattle rustlers or anyone else actually on the property. I’d told myself at the time that I was being paranoid. The last thing I’d wanted was my pack mates finding the cameras and teasing me. That was why they’d been so well hidden.
“Well, they sure came in handy,” Hendrix says.
The McAllisters are putting up a hell of a fuss, pointing and yelling. They remind me of cranky toddlers, actually. It’s kind of hilarious. It’s also kind of pathetic, and kind of annoying.
“They don’t look like real threats, do they?” Grace notes, watching as the Sheriff and his deputies take the McAllisters down and handcuff them. “They seem just… ridiculous.” Her nose wrinkles. “In an annoying way.”
“That’s the thing about bullies,” Jesse says. “They’re pathetic and small, beneath. Doesn’t make them any less of a threat, though.”
The McAllisters definitely aren’t a threat anymore. All three of them are shoved into the back of the Sheriff’s car.
My cameras were well-hidden enough that Leon had no idea they were there when he showed up to destroy our barn. And because nobody but me knew about them, and I’d bought them on my own in the city where nobody knew me, there wasn’t a chance for the news about it to slip out.
They do say the only way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself.
Even though some cameras were damaged by the fire, the footage was still saved to my computer. Leon had no idea that we’d installed anything, so he made no effort to hide as he rolled up in a car, walked up to the barn, poured gasoline everywhere on the hay in the loft and set it on fire.
When we showed it to the Sheriff, he said it was the most open and shut case he’d seen in years.
Hendrix gives a little wave as the Sheriff drives past us with the fuming McAllisters in the back of his car. The deputies follow.
“Do you think it’ll really stick?” Grace asks, a bit nervous.
“Between this footage and the accounts of Grady and the others at the auction?” Jesse smirks. “Yeah, there’s no way they’ll get away with it.”
“The arson charge will stick for Leon for sure,” Hendrix says.
“I don’t know if the other two will go to jail. It all depends. But they’ll be run out of town, that’s for sure.”
“Endangering an Omega like that? Open sabotage?” Easton snorts. “Yeah, there’s no way they’ll survive with their reputations intact even if they manage to stay out of jail. Everyone hates them. I’m sure a lot of folks have been looking for an excuse for years to stop talking to them.”
“They’re bullies,” Jesse says shortly. “They’ve made enemies of just about everyone. Even people they haven’t deliberately crossed—people wonder if they’ll be targeted next.”
“Or they just don’t want people like that around,” Grace adds, her tone brimming with anger. “If I heard they did this to one of my neighbors I wouldn’t want to invite them to my next barbecue, that’s for sure.”
I grin at her. She’s so fired up, it’s absolutely adorable. I’m glad that she didn’t run into Leon. He’s sadistic, in my humble fucking opinion, and I don’t want him anywhere near Grace.
But I get the feeling she would’ve loved to tackle him and beat the shit out of him. That’s our Grace.
And she really is our Grace now. No more pretending. No more hiding our hearts. She’s ours, just like we’re hers, the way we really always have been.
“They’re going to be gone,” Jesse says. “One way or another.”
Grace lets out a little sigh of relief, and I can’t help it—I pull her in and kiss her.
An alarm goes off and Grace pulls away, pulling her phone out. “I think we need to get going, or we’ll be late. My mom will scold all of us.”
I’ve heard a lot of Mrs. Whitmore’s playful scoldings over the years. She’s never actually upset, but she will let us know if we’re late for dinner or forgot to wash our hands or something.
“Oh no,” Hendrix teases, voicing my thoughts. “We’d better get moving, then.”
We pile into the car, leaving the remnants of the McAllister’s ranch behind us once and for all. I’m excited to never see it again. I don’t know what’ll happen to the land if the McAllisters all go to prison, or even if only Leon goes, or if they’re able to weasel out of it—but we all know they can’t hang around this town anymore.
Good riddance to all of it, I say.
We get to the Whitmore house, where we don’t even make it inside before the front door is opening and Mrs. Whitmore hurries out. It’s clear she was waiting for us to arrive, and I can see a beaming smile on her face and tears standing in her eyes as Grace gets out and her mother sweeps her into a hug.
“Oh my baby girl!” Mrs. Whitmore hugs her tightly. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”
News travels fast in this small town. Dr. Hazlett assured us that Grace wasn’t in any danger, but news about our leaving the auction suddenly to take care of our mate, and the fact the doctor was called out to our ranch, meant people would know something had happened.
While Grace slept, we obviously had to call her family and let them know what was up. We didn’t want them hearing third-hand gossip from someone else and fearing the worst. Grace called her parents on the way to the station and let them know she was awake and all right, and that we were going to speak with the Sheriff.
The Whitmores insisted on making us dinner and having us come over. And as much as I love Grace’s cooking and the meals my pack mates prepare, Mr. Whitmore really is a first-class chef.
Grace and her mom hug for a long moment, and I can tell her mom is holding her tight in a way she doesn’t usually. It makes my chest feel soft and open.
I’ve wondered about my ability to be a good partner, and a good father, given what happened in my childhood. My father loved me but you can’t say he exactly gave a healthy example of how to be a partner or a parent.
But Grace has amazing parents who showed her the kind of love toward each other, and toward a child, that parents should have. And it makes me wonder for the first time if I could actually be a father someday. With Grace as the mother, I’m sure that I could actually do a good job.
Mrs. Whitmore finally lets Grace go and moves to each of us, hugging us fiercely. “Thank you so much,” she whispers when she hugs me, and I’m sure that I’m not the only one she said that to. “Thank you for taking such good care of my baby.”
“Of course,” I tell her. I don’t have the words for the rest.
To me, taking care of Grace is instinct. Of course I’m going to look after her. But I understand that it’s not something Mrs. Whitmore wants to take for granted and she still wants to thank us, so I just hug her back.
“Hey now,” Mr. Whitmore calls from the doorway. “Who’s hungry?”
I grin. This is going to be a lovely evening.