Chapter 41 Jo
forty-one
Jo
“You idiot!” Xavier cries, dropping to his knees, his gun clattering to the side. “You fool! Why…why did you kill yourself? For her?”
“You’re the one who put the bullet in him,” I snap, taking a step forward. “You have nobody to blame but yourself.”
Footsteps crunch on the gravel behind us, and I glance behind me to see Kole, West, and Sam slowing their jog as they get to us. There’s a sense of finality in the bond that somehow tells me they got the situation in the courtyard under control.
“He wasn’t supposed to die,” Xavier shakes his head, his voice trembling. “He was supposed to let the doctor fix him up and wait for me to get home. Then we could have proceeded with my plan together.”
A groan leaves Vander as he struggles to lift his head. “...Dad…”
“It’s over, Xavier.” As the words leave me, Vander coughs again. My shoulders relax slightly when I hear the humming of multiple vehicle engines coming over the hill. Five blacked-out SUVs tear around the corner, followed by three ambulances.
We were supposed to be long gone by the time the FBI got here, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. We’ll just have to improvise.
“No.” Xavier shakes his head, standing. “It’s not over. Not when she’s still alive. She’s the reason he’s dying!” He grabs his gun on the ground and raises it, aiming straight for Adela.
My heart stops.
A scream wrenches from my chest as I lunge forward, and on instinct, my guys try to dive for me. She can’t die. Not after all she’s been through. Not when she still has so much life left to live.
The FBI vehicles come to a screeching stop as his finger pulls the trigger.
But Vander still has some life left in him. With one last push of strength, his arms grip her shoulders, shoving her back, and the bullet hits him in the shoulder. His name rips out of her throat, before she covers his body with hers.
“No, no, no!” Her screams are ones of pure devastation, her tears falling on his face as she tries to keep him awake.
Xavier looks on with an ashen face before he’s tackled to the ground by the FBI agents. Even as his face is pushed into the gravel, his hands cuffed behind his back, his eyes never leave the body of his son.
Paramedics rush to Adela and Vander, and when they try to approach, she screams at them. “No! Stay back!”
“Addie.” My hand grabs her shoulder, and she whips her head around, her eyes wild, “you have to let them do their jobs.”
But even I can tell that he was too far gone, and that bullet sealed his fate.
Vander is gone.
The fight leaves her, and the light extinguishes from her eyes as she stands, her shoulders slumped. I glance behind me at the guys, who are now being approached by the other paramedics. “You’re probably going to want to call a few more ambulances,” Hayden grimaces. “We’re the healthy ones.”
The workers exchange a look before getting on their radios, calling for more units.
“Ma’am?” I turn my head, seeing a woman in a paramedic uniform assessing Adela. “She seems to be unable to answer my questions. Do you know how far along she is?”
Addie’s stare is blank, her gaze trained on the asphalt at her feet.
Shit.
“Um…” I try to do the math in my head. If she was about thirty-four weeks along the night we left Bowen’s estate, that would make her… “Somewhere around thirty-seven weeks, I think.”
She nods. “We’re going to have to take her in. Do you know who her next of kin is?”
Realization hits. I forgot about Roland. “Fuck!” I shout, making her jump before wincing. “Yes, sorry. Let me call her dad.”
The call takes me two minutes. Apparently, they’ve been driving around near the base of the mountain and will be up shortly.
Suddenly, there’s a tap on my shoulder. “Excuse me, miss?” I turn, and see a man in a suit standing in front of me with a pad of paper and a pen. “Would you mind joining me over here for a moment?” He gestures to a spot under a streetlight a few parking spots away.
“Not at all, is there somethin’ I can help you with?” I ask in my sweetest voice, following him away from the ambulance.
“Yes, I’m Special Agent Norman Roderick. We’re taking statements from everyone who was here tonight,” I glance over his shoulder and see the news anchors and cameramen coming out of the building to catch the action, “would you mind telling me, in your own words, the events that transpired?”
“Umm…” Shit. I can’t exactly tell him the truth. That I’m an escaped patient coming back to take the place down—
“Roderick!” Another man’s voice calls out, drawing his attention.
“Munoz?” The suit looks at the other man with confusion. “What are you doing here? I thought—”
“This one is one of mine,” Munoz says confidently, nodding at me. “And the two alphas and beta that were outside when you got here.”
Roderick’s brows furrow in confusion, and so do mine. One of his?
“One of…?” Roderick trails off before his eyes widen in realization, and then he nods vigorously. “Right. Got it.” He turns back to me, bowing his head slightly. “Apologies, ma’am. Thank you for your time.”
“Oh, that’s alright,” I wave him off. “Thank you kindly for your understandin’.”
Roderick’s eyes catch on my hair before going behind me. I glance over my shoulder and wince when I realize he’s looking at the sign that reads, “Thornfield Asylum for the Criminally Insane.”
“Anyone ever tell you that you look like…” he trails off, shaking his head. “Um, nevermind. Have a good night, ma’am.”
According to Paige, Josephine Harding is supposedly dead, so hopefully I won’t have to worry about him making any connections.
Maybe it’s time to finally make the name change.
Roderick excuses himself to interview someone else, and when he’s out of earshot, I arch a brow at the stranger. “One of yours?”
He smirks. “The livestream of the courtyard was a nice touch.”
Ah. This must be Declan’s guy. “I’m relieved that Aidan knew what I was sayin’.”
It was risky sending a text of one word—“courtyard”—but at least now everybody had heard the crimes directly confessed by both Whitmore and Xavier.
“You’ll also be relieved to know that Isaac Thornfield is in custody.
You guys managed to time the delivery of the files with the live stream of that meeting perfectly.
We were already on our way here when you started the stream from the courtyard.
” He nods to where Whitmore and Brooks are being taken out of Xavier’s car and into an FBI vehicle.
“You know, I’m a big fan of your work.” He grins, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
“There’s something strangely comforting about meeting the omega I’ve replaced fingerprints in the database for. ”
“Oh?” My tone is amused, and I prop my hand on my hip.
“Oh yeah,” he nods, leaning forward slightly. “There’s something very…sensual about the lines and…curves of a fingerprint.”
I bark a laugh. “I’m flattered, but—”
“The only curve you’re going to see is the arc of my foot as I shove it up your ass,” Hayden nearly snarls, coming up next to me and wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
That’s…surprising.
Less surprising is Kole coming on my other side. “He would not see it if you were behind him, Bratishka. Better make it the arc of your kick as you take out his family jewels.”
Sam comes next to Hayden. “Guys, don’t be ridiculous.” Finally the voice of reason. “All you have to do is jab someone once in the trachea, and they’ll collapse right in front of you.”
Of course.
“The whole point was there being a curve,” Hayden rolls his eyes.
West lets out a little laugh as he stands next to Kole. “I think what my packmates are trying to say is—”
Munoz lifts his hands with a chuckle. “No need, I got it after the first foot threat.” My guys watch him with narrowed eyes as he shoves his hands into his pockets. “I’m gonna head out. If anyone gives you any trouble, just tell them you’re a part of ‘Project Theta.’ They’ll back off.”
He turns around, heading to his car before stopping. “Oh, and Jo?” He looks over his shoulder. “Say hi to Declan for me.”
I give him a little wave, elbowing Kole when he growls. When the agent drives away, I turn on them, crossing my arms. “Is this gonna be a thing now? Growlin’ and threatenin’ men who get too close to me?”
Sam shrugs. “I mean, if we’re going out in public, yeah.”
Hayden smirks. “Don’t act like you won’t get all omega-growly at women who talk to us.”
I arch a brow, crossing my arms. “They wouldn’t dare.”
Turnip squeaks in agreement, popping her head out of my jacket pocket.
At that moment, one of Declan’s white vans comes through the gates, and my heart beats a little harder.
I watch as the car parks, and Roland sprints out of the back, making a beeline for Adela.
“Adela!” he shouts, and at the sound of her father’s voice, Addie seems to break out of her catatonic state.
She looks at him in disbelief, her eyes shining with tears. “D—Dad?”
When he reaches her, I watch with teary eyes as her daddy wraps his arms around her. “Oh, Addie, honey.”
She clutches the back of his shirt, pulling tight.
“I missed you,” she sobs. “I needed you, Dad.”
“I know, sweetie. I’m here now. I’m never leaving you alone again, okay?”
Hopefully once all the misunderstandings surrounding Adela’s original admission to the asylum are cleared up, they can mend their relationship.
Swallowing roughly, I turn to give them privacy.
Just in time too, to see Leslie reuniting with her nephew, and Ozzy clapping Sam on the shoulder.
I watch as multiple FBI agents interview patients and employees from the news station.
Some patients who have been malnourished are being carted away in ambulances.
Paige, Tilly, Lars, and the asshole whose name is apparently Peter Carson, and that alpha I still don’t know the name of are being cuffed and led away for questioning.
All thanks to my genius idea to live stream from the courtyard, everyone saw exactly what they did to incite the riot that nearly lost us Adela.
Thornfield Asylum for the Criminally Insane is officially done.
“Guys?” I lean my head back on Kole’s chest. “I think I’m ready to go home.”
Turnip chitters on my shoulder as if to say, “That is an excellent idea.”