Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
August
“What the hell is going on with you three?” Coach was livid and I couldn’t blame him. We’d lost the last two games, and every bit of it rested on our shoulders.
Between the things Dhara had found and our lawyer insisting we wait, we’d been a mess. One practice was cancelled for a false heat, but the next two days weren’t. Meaning we’d been here fighting for our lives against our instincts.
“This is about Gavin and his sister, isn’t it?” he asked. I glanced at Conrad and Lachlan, silently asking for permission. The only thing running through my head was that Coach had known Gavin long enough to make a good witness if we needed one.
The moment they agreed, I told him everything, including the things that were hard to hear. Coach didn’t interrupt once. He simply listened while concern settled deeper into the lines on his face.
When I finished explaining that our lawyer had asked for extra time, he leaned back in his chair and stared us down. We didn’t fill the silence as he processed everything.
At this point, we just needed someone else on our side. Someone to let us know we weren’t fighting this battle alone.
“That explains how you boys have been playing.” He grabbed the stress ball off his desk and squeezed it hard a few times. “This has been going on the whole time they’ve been around?”
“Since we were kids,” I answered flatly. “Her mom’s always been a piece of work. She used some connection she had to get my dad transferred across the country. Forced us to move away right as we were coming into our scents and realizing we were matches.”
“What the actual fuck?” Coach looked genuinely horrified. “I don’t know that I’m the most qualified witness to a custody war. I wasn’t exactly close to the kid. But, I can absolutely document the changes I’ve seen in him and how hard his sister worked to give him a future.”
“One his mother ripped away,” Conrad muttered.
Coach nodded once. “His spot on this team isn’t going anywhere. He’ll have somewhere to come back to once you get this sorted.”
Coach fell silent again. He rubbed a hand across the stubble on his jaw while he thought.
“When does the lawyer’s deadline run out?”
“We’re meeting him at five,” I answered. “We should know more then.”
He let out a slow breath. I’d never considered the coach fatherly but right now his protective alpha side was right under the surface.
“Keep me updated as things progress. I was planning to send out a memo tomorrow, but the game slotted for seven is cancelled. The other team’s dealing with double heats.
You’ve got a little breathing room but I’ll expect you at practice in a few days. ”
Relief slammed into me so hard I almost slid out of my chair. For once the universe was finally throwing us a bone.
“Thank you, Coach,” Lachlan said quietly.
Coach glanced toward the clock. “You boys better move if you plan on making that meeting.”
I checked my watch and cursed. “Let’s go.”
We sprinted through the halls toward the parking lot before piling into Conrad’s SUV, leaving our bags behind.
He’d been driving the SUV he’d given Dhara just in case the lawyer called and said to go get them.
“Something feels wrong,” Lachlan said quietly as we climbed in. He looked pale enough that I knew it wasn’t just anxiety.
“It’s just nerves,” I lied despite my own gut telling me he was right. It was a sad attempt at reassurance.
I was so damn tired of feeling out of control.
Chris Laurant was already waiting when we arrived. The sign out front said he was closed but we pushed through the door.
The moment we stepped inside, I knew something had changed. Chris was waiting, expression grim.
That sinking feeling in my gut only grew stronger.
“This goes a lot deeper than I expected,” he admitted. “I think we have the potential to put her away for a very long time.”
“Really? Then why do you look so worried? This should be good news,” I said, staring him down.
“Because I found a connection I don’t like.” He slid several photographs onto the desk. “Our police chief has been meeting with her mother for years.”
Silence settled over the room as we studied the pictures. “These were damning on their own, but I don’t think this is just about drugs anymore.”
“What do you mean?” Conrad asked carefully as he sat down.
Chris folded his hands together. “I don’t have enough evidence to tell you exactly what’s happening.
I do have enough to say her mother appears connected to people with significant influence.
People with money and power. The kind of men who get away with awful things.
There’s at least one public official involved in all this. ”
He reached into another folder before pulling out a glossy photograph and sliding it over to us.
I stared down at the picture trying to make sense of what he was showing us.
The woman smiling back at us looked nothing like the one who terrorized Dhara.
Her hair was professionally styled, makeup airbrushed to perfection.
She even wore an elegant gown that made her look like she had serious money.
She looked like she belonged at some exclusive gala, not in the rundown little house controlling every dollar her daughter earned.
“Then why the hell is she taking every cent Dhara makes?” Lachlan growled as he tossed it Conrad’s way.
“Control,” I answered quietly, equally as disgusted.
“Does this help us?” Conrad leaned forward, practically daring Chris to give us something. “Can we finally call the police?”
“I think you missed the part where he said the police chief may be involved,” Lachlan snapped, standing up and gripping his hair. “How the fuck are we supposed to compete with that?”
“That’s exactly why I’m being careful,” Chris reminded us. He was still every bit the calm and cool alpha. “You’re here because of a custody case. I didn’t expect to uncover something this large.”
“So, what happens now?” I asked.
“We keep following the evidence.”
His answer wasn’t what I wanted. I nearly flew out of my chair and raged, my delta pushing against the rut blockers and ready to lose our collective mind.
“I’m not risking the custody case by making accusations we can’t prove,” he said, a bit more gentle this time. His phone rang and he glanced at the screen before standing abruptly. “I need to take this. Everything I’ve gathered is in those folders. Look through it.”
He stepped into the hallway before any of us could stop him. I pulled the nearest folder closer. He hadn’t been exaggerating. This thing went deep.
Photographs, financial records, names, dates, ledgers, connections. It was a web of chaos we never expected.
More pictures revealed Dhara’s mother at the heart of it all. Posing with senators and high-profile businessmen. She had two separate lives and they couldn’t be more different.
Whatever she’d gotten herself involved in, it was far bigger than any of us had imagined.
“Why keep us?” I finally asked, throwing a hand toward the scattered photographs. “She has all this money and influence, yet she’s living in the heart of South Lake instead of a penthouse apartment in the city.”
“An alibi,” Lachlan mused as he tapped the closest photograph. “She has built in witnesses. People see her around town and know her name. She’s the struggling single mother who’s a hot mess but pretends she’s trying her best. No one would give her a second look for any of this.”
He was right. It was the perfect cover. She’d planted herself in this town just enough that everyone thought they knew her. They gossiped and judged, but most importantly they underestimated her.
“Fuck.” I scrubbed a hand down my face as I let the reality of it all settle.
“She’s a narcissist,” Lachlan muttered. “A cruel one who made the right connections.”
“So, what the fuck do we do now?” Conrad demanded. “We can’t leave them there. Waiting for her to screw up isn’t enough anymore.”
“They’ve already got enough,” Lachlan argued. “The drugs alone should be enough. Even if they bury her to save their own asses.”
“They are,” I agreed. “The bigger problem now is the police chief. If he’s protecting her, he’ll control the search. Evidence might disappear and you know he’ll assign loyal officers to help him cover their tracks. Then we’re right back where we started.”
I hated to admit it out loud, but we all knew I was right. We’d uncovered more corruption than our small town could handle. But, I was going to make damn sure it was ripped out by the roots.
Chris could take my entire yearly earnings if it meant putting these assholes away. I’d happily fund every lawsuit if it meant cleaning this town up.
Fuck, I just wanted my omega. I was done standing outside her bedroom window and hoping we’d have her soon. If her mother found us… let her.
I just wanted to hold my omega. It had been too long without her already.
My phone rang before I could say ‘fuck it’ and leave. The ringtone I’d assigned specifically to Gavin.
I froze.
“Answer it!” Conrad barked. Lachlan was already reaching for it. “Put him on speaker.”
“Gavin?” he asked immediately. “Is everything okay?”
A sob cracked through the speaker that had ice running through my veins.
“You have to come...” His voice broke. “She’s—”
A scream echoed through the phone. Then another. Followed by the unmistakable sound of fists striking flesh.
Everything inside me went cold.
“We’re coming!” I shouted.
Lachlan kept talking into the phone as we bolted.
“Gavin, listen to me. Go lock yourself somewhere. Stay hidden. Don’t come out until you hear us.”
“We’re almost there,” Conrad promised, voice hard and strong. His alpha was out in full force.
“Chris!” I bellowed as we tore from the room. “Get the police to that house. She finally crossed the line.”
“I’ll meet you there!” his voice followed us out.
I don’t remember breathing normally during the drive. My entire world was locked onto the sounds coming through the phone. They were haunting, even when muffled, and Dhara’s screams were cutting straight through my soul.
The sirens reached us first as we pulled onto her street. Police cruisers were pulling onto the street as we skidded to a stop. An officer shouted for us to stay back but we didn’t bother to listen. If someone wanted to try to bury this they were insane. There were going to be witnesses.
Dhara was finally getting justice.
The front door was locked as I tugged on it but Conrad didn’t hesitate. He stepped back before driving his boot just under the lock. The door splintered inward with a boom and he flung what was left aside.
We rushed inside but the house was silent.
Too silent.
The metallic scent of blood filled the air. My delta shoved me forward as my pulse thundered in my ears.
Without saying a word, we split up.
“Master bedroom clear!” Conrad yelled back in seconds.
“Dhara’s room is clear!” I answered as I scanned the space. It was too clean for anything to have happened in here, either.
Lachlan walked out of the bathroom. “Everything up here is—”A muffled cry interrupted him.
He spun toward the kitchen.
“Basement!” I yelled. “Where’s the basement door?”
“By the back door!” Gavin shouted from behind his locked bedroom door.
We nearly collided racing toward the kitchen. Conrad reached the basement first. He yanked the door open so hard it slammed against the wall and shattered. Our footsteps thundered as we charged down the stairs.
The basement was unfinished. Concrete floors and exposed beams were coated in a film of dust. A washer and dryer sat against one corner and a few boxes were strewn around.
Right in the middle of the open space was our omega.
Blood stained the concrete around her. She’d curled into herself, barely moving. Her mother stood over her wild-eyed and breathing hard.
Time slowed and instinct took over. I pulled my phone from my pocket and hit record. Every second of this needed to be documented. Conrad was already moving to our omega and I was going to let him.
Before he could reach her the monster let out a feral scream and drew her foot back, kicking Dhara one last time.
Dhara didn’t even cry out. That broke something inside Conrad. His feral roar was followed by a bark.
“Get back and sit your ass down before I kill you for this!” he thundered. She didn’t follow the alpha’s orders, instead launching herself at him. Sharp claws raked down his arms, drawing thin rivers of blood.
He barely noticed. The alpha slammed his arm into her, sending her sprawling across the concrete floor with a sickening thud. He didn’t hesitate to scoop Dhara into his arms.
Nothing else existed to us now. Only getting our omega out of this hell.
I kept the camera trained on her mother. “I’d like to see your connections fix this, bitch.”
Her head snapped toward me. Pure hatred burned in her eyes that were shockingly similar to Dhara’s. Only they lacked a single ounce of humanity.
She opened her mouth and screamed. The sound was so animalistic it barely sounded human. Heavy footsteps thundered down the stairs as the officers finally flooded into the basement.
One moved straight toward her and she jerked away violently. “Don’t touch me! Do you know who I am?”
The officer met her glare without flinching. “We do.” He pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “And you’re under arrest.”
As he began reading her rights, she continued screaming.
But for the first time in Dhara’s life, no one was listening.