Chapter 38 Calliope
It had taken three days for Cain to let me go long enough for me to do some recon. I managed to slip out of the nest and was nearly out of the house when Dax came downstairs. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I need to do something.” I grabbed my backpack on the way out.
I didn’t even make it to the car before Dax was there with me. He pulled open the passenger door and I slid in. I knew better than to argue with him at this point. The car came to life, and he pulled it out of the driveway. Turning the car towards the city, he hit the highway and just drove for a while. I didn’t even know where he was taking me, but I trusted him.
As if reading my mind, he turned asking, “you don’t want to know where I’m taking you?”
“Not really.”
“Come now, love, I know you’re curious.”
“Tell me if you want.” I was pouting and he knew it.
We rode in silence for a while before he spoke again. “I know where Jeremy is right this moment.” That made me snap my head to him. “I have your attention now don’t I, love?”
“Tell me everything.”
It was a demand that made him laugh. “There are few good things that came out of being a senator’s son. More money than what I knew what to do with. A team of professional fixers at my fingertips. And most importantly knowing how a well-placed word can open so many doors.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
He turned the corner and pulled into a parking lot. Parking in a spot next to a white work van, he got out and came around. Opening my door, he offered me his hand. I took it and allowed him to pull me from the car. He went to the side panel of the van and tapped on the window. It slid open and I was shocked at the technology inside. It was a mobile surveillance vehicle. One that was eerily familiar.
I stepped inside, relief flooding me when I saw the alpha that was sitting there. “Richie, it’s been too long.”
“Calliope.” His smile was warm as he came at me for a hug, Dax’s growl stilled him. “This must be the alpha that threatened my pack.”
“Yesterday, I was your best friend. Today, I’m just another alpha,” Dax said, seeming a little insulted.
“That was before I found out who the omega you were helping was.”
“It was your files that provided my identity when your pack scanned us that day.”
“I’ll have to adjust my cameras if you spotted them.” I was staring between them in shock. Dax was so relaxed I was sure he was having a stroke. It was completely out of character. Richie was acting like he had known my alpha all his life, which admittedly was possible considering they were both over forty.
“I didn’t spot them; just knew I was being watched.”
“Quit flicking your head around like that. You’re going to give yourself whiplash.”
“Why are you here?” It was all too weird. I needed to focus on anything but what was happening.
Dax chose that moment to come up behind me, leaning forward and growling into my ear. “It sure doesn’t look like he can satisfy you like I can.”
I blushed; I couldn’t help the memory of being filled by him while he laid his claim on me. “Whatever that is about, you two can take out of my van. Dante will kill me if I come home smelling like another omega, especially since he’s in heat right now.”
“She told me that if I couldn’t do the job, she would call her brother and see if one of his alphas could handle it.”
Richie burst out laughing at that. “She was trying to get a rise out of you.”
“Explain.” Dax’s order was just short of a bark.
It made me tense in his arms, Richie’s growl warmed my heart. I forced myself to relax in Dax’s arms before nodding to Richie. He gave me a smile that told me we would be speaking later and addressed Dax. “Most of my pack grew up with Calliope and Dante. And Xavier’s sister, Amani—but she’s a beta. There was another omega…”
“Penelope,” I supplied. It was then that a thought hit me. “Does Dante still hate her?”
“He never did.” Richie’s words were too soft, so I knew there was a history there.
“Never mind. It’s too complicated.”
“It’s always complicated. Just talk to me.”
I sighed. “My pack is going to have to flee the country soon.”
It was Richie’s turn to flick his eyes between me and Dax. “Does it have to do with your work?”
“We know everything important about each other.”
“And Ayden trusts him alone with you and Cain?”
Dax spoke for himself. “The only time I am a danger to anyone who is important to her is if she is dead. So, try very hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“So, about Penelope,” Richie pressed.
“First you need to tell me why she said no to you.”
“It’s personal.”
“I need to know,” I insisted.
“Because I only want her. It’s always been her. Even when I couldn’t do anything for her all these years.” He was desperate.
“You’ve been stalking her.” Dax’s voice was certain. “That’s what you were doing when I caught you in the yard.”
That made me turn and stare at Dax. “Excuse the fuck out of me?”
He just shrugged and I turned back to Richie. “And you. How do any of the omegas you help trust you when you’re a creepy fuck with Penelope?”
Dax turned me in his arms, so I was facing him. “I know how he feels.”
“That’s different, you stalk to learn about your victims. He is just creepy.”
“Do you know what I was doing before Cain brought me home?”
I stared up at him trying to imagine what he had been doing. “I was just a victim to you, wasn’t I?”
“I can answer that,” Richie said. “He has had me help him find people before, but the way he talked about this person was different. Almost hopeful, not that a psychopath like Dax could feel hope.”
“You know I don’t like when you call me that,” Dax snapped.
“I call it like it is.” Richie shrugged. “Tell me about Penelope.”
“You know the house is in Dante and Penelope’s name,” I started, turning back to Richie. “I did that for a reason. When we leave, I expect Penelope to be able to stay in the basement apartment as long as she wishes.”
“That’s a given.”
“Now, why are we here?”
Richie moved to the side, revealing a view of a monitor, split into six squares. Each one showed a different part of a building. My gaze was drawn to the upper right corner, it was the view of a large room. A basement maybe? Packed along the floor were people hog tied as far as I could see. My hand tightened into a ball, rage running through me. I hated every second of this. Anger that any people were being treated this way.
“Why have we not gotten them out yet?” I growled.
“That’s what we’re here for,” Dax assured me. “I have two presents for you tonight, love. First is that man sitting right there.” He reached up and tapped the screen, I studied the man in the mask, struggling to figure out who he was talking about. “That’s Jeremy. The second is those omegas in the basement.”
Acting on instinct, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I dialed the burner phone I had given Penelope and prayed she answered. It took five rings, but she answered groggily. “Hello?”
“I woke you up, didn’t I?
“Calliope? Yeah, but I’m always happy to talk to you.”
I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment before I finally asked her, “How are you feeling?”
“Useless.” She released a self-deprecating laugh. “I just want to do something.”
“Want to help a group of omegas?”
“Were they…?”
“Sold.”
“I’m in.”
I sighed before responding. “Dante and one of his alphas can come get you, or I can call Cain and he can bring you.”
“I can handle Dante.” She was sure of herself.