Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
This is all your fault.
Roman
Irritation prickles under my skin as I pull up to the house.
I should have been home hours ago, but as head Alpha of our pack, it was my job to try and fix the mess we’ve found ourselves in.
The worst part was I had to inform my father that we fucked up something as simple as babysitting.
To say that he was pissed was an understatement.
After a lecture of a lifetime over the phone, I’m finally home with a new job.
Figure out what the hell happened to Miguel and deliver that person to his father.
It should be easy enough.
Pulling up to the house, I throw my car into park, taking a moment to just breathe before I have to go in there and do my job.
The sigh that escapes me is heavy and deep.
Being the head Alpha of our pack was a given, but the position weighs heavy sometimes.
Knowing I’ve wasted enough time just sitting here, I finally shut off the engine and make my way inside.
The moment to myself didn’t help much to calm me, so as I go to close the front door behind me, it slams closed instead. Oops.
I expect Theo or Harrison to immediately pop their heads out of their office, but as I make my way to the back of the house, I don’t see or hear either.
Making my way to the hall of offices, I pop my head into Harrison's, but he’s not there.
Frowning at my move to his desk, waking up his computer setup as I do.
As the screens light up, I quickly scan the information Harrison was looking at.
Security cameras, police reports, and images of carved-up skin.
That handy work I recognize. My father and his associates have been trying to hunt the ‘Karma Killer’ for months.
He’s been taking down quite a few of Wesley Shaw’s customers.
But why would Harris be looking at those?
The answer is clear when I spot a picture of a dead Miguel lying in an alley with the start of a K-A dug into his chest. Fuck. Wesley and Auturo are going to be pissed. I start reading through all the forms H has up on his screens when I finally hear footsteps coming down the stairs.
They must have been up there with that witness they found beside Miguel.
Quickly I scan the monitors but don’t see anything about our new mystery girl.
Weird since Harrison has a knack for finding out who people really are.
Maybe he already got her info and has it saved somewhere.
I’m reading through another report about the Karma Killer when the guys find me.
I don’t bother with niceties, giving them a nod in greeting and finally sitting back in Harrison’s seat.
Fuck, this seat is comfy.
Another second of staring at the screen, and I finally look up at my pack brothers. Rage is once again riding my spine like a live wire. "Harrison, Theo.” My voice comes out low. Dangerous. “Start talking.”
They exchange a look. Not just a glance. No, one of those silent, loaded ones. The kind that says, "You tell him." No, you tell him. My jaw tightens. “Spit it out before I lose my patience.”
Harrison exhales first, running a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. “I’ve been combing through every security feed within a six-block radius. Traffic cams. Storefronts. ATM footage. Everything.”
“And?” I snap.
“There isn’t much. The club camera shows Miguel going up to Ka—Harrison pauses, side-eyes O, then clears his throat and continues.
“It shows him going up to the girl on the dance floor. They dance for a bit, and then he takes her to the back. The club removed the cameras out back months ago when they started using that spot to do exchanges. All the other cameras I’ve combed through don’t show much of anything. ”
I stare at him in confusion. “No one?” I look between him and O. “And you didn’t get anyone's scents when you got out there?” Both of my brothers shake their heads.
“You know the back alley is filled with trash and shit. It would be impossible to narrow down anything solid.” Theo reminds me.
“What about this girl you found? Who is she? Has she said anything yet? Did she see who attacked Miguel? Anything?” I ask, feeling a bit desperate inside.
I know this was a huge fuck-up under Wesley Shaw’s eyes.
I have no doubt he will punish us in some way if we don’t track down the asshole who might have set us back months, if not years, of progress getting further involved in my father's under dealings.
Both guys share another glance, and I get the feeling they aren’t telling me something.
My jaw flexes as I stand from the desk, tired of whatever little secret they are sharing and ready to use my Alpha tone when something shifts in the air.
A low growl vibrates in my chest as I take a deep inhale, scenting the room.
My scent, of leather and pepper. Theo’s sandalwood and earthy scent. Harrison’s cinnamon and spice.
Then something unique. Different. Something I feel like I’ve smelled before but can’t place where. Another inhale, this one deeper. There it is again.
Soft. Sweet. Feminine. It threads through the air like silky smoke, curling around my senses. My head turns slightly, nostrils flaring before I can stop myself.
“What is that?” I mutter.
Harrison frowns. “What?”
“That scent?” I ask knowing it can only be our new guest upstairs.
Honeysuckle and wild roses… but with something darker underneath. Something warm. Addictive. It brushes against my instincts, making everything in me tense.
It’s faint but now seems to be the only thing I can focus on. I straighten slowly, my pulse beginning to pound for a completely different reason. Theo’s eyes sharpen. He notices my reaction and smirks.
My throat tightens. And yet that sweetness lingers at the edge of my mind, tugging at something primal.
Something territorial. Something that makes me question everything right now.
As if on autopilot, I move towards the door.
With every step I take on the stairs, the scent grows.
Harrison calls out behind me with something that sounds like "Wait, Rome. We need to explain something first. But I don’t wait. I need answers, and I need them now.
Heavy footsteps follow behind me, no doubt Theo’s.
I’m sure Harris will follow as well. I reach the top of the stairs in no time and make a beeline to the guest room where the scent is the strongest but now seems off.
It's stronger here, yes, but before I could have sworn I was scenting Omega; now all I can smell is Beta with a sweeter scent. The entire scent feels wrong. Off. And it’s confusing as hell to my instincts right now.
Theo steps forward. “It has been confusing us as well.” Then he gently knocks on the door before unlocking it and swinging open the door.
Stepping forward, the scent hits me like a brick wall.
It takes no time for me to spot the small figure curled into a ball against the wall.
The moment my feet cross the doorway, her entire body tenses before a pair of big green eyes snap up to meet mine.
There’s a look of shock in their eyes before fading to sadness and then ending on rage.
She is looking at me with so much hatred in her eyes that it almost shocks me.
Uncurling her body, she stands. Her long fiery hair flows down her back. Her expression lights up, with sharp cheekbones, a clenched jaw, and eyes burning with a hatred so pure it almost steals the air from my lungs.
God.
She’s stunning.
And it appears she is nothing like the guys told me.
The girl they described was scared shitless, not this one.
No, this one has already decided she doesn’t like me.
Her bare feet hit the floor with purpose as she stalks toward us.
Toward me. Every step is measured and coiled, like a predator closing in instead of prey walking towards a den of wolves.
Theo shifts beside me. I hear the faint brush of his jacket as he leans closer. “Careful Rome,” he murmurs under his breath. “This one bites," he chuckles. But I barely hear him.
Because I’m too busy watching this woman.
There’s something about her.
Not just the temper rolling off her in waves. That’s clear as day. Not just the way her scent, sweet yet wild and deadly, wraps around my senses and makes every Alpha instinct I have go on alert.
It’s more familiarity. A ghost of something I should know.
Her eyes.
Those eyes.
They lock onto mine with lethal intent, and something deep inside my chest tightens painfully. I’ve seen that shade before.
But where?
I drag my gaze over her face, cataloging every detail.
The faint scar sits below her left eye, high on her cheek.
That in itself should be rememberable unless she didn’t have it before.
There’s a stubborn tilt of her chin while her fingers curl like she’s physically restraining herself from lunging towards me.
Why does she feel like a memory I can’t quite reach?
Her scent hits me again. Sweet… but edged with tartness now. Bitter like hate.
I know that scent.
Don’t I?
But why can’t I figure out from where?
She stops a few feet away. Close enough that I can see the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Close enough that if I reached out, I could touch her. She tilts her head slightly, studying me the way I’m studying her.
And then she smiles.
Not sweet.
Not kind.
Feral.
“I’ve waited a long time to see you again, Roman Shaw," she says. Her voice is calm and controlled, unlike the tension I can see in her shoulders.
My spine straightens hearing her voice. It too is familiar. This is driving me insane. This woman clearly knows me, but why don’t I remember her? I feel like I wouldn’t forget a face like hers, yet here I am drawing a blank. Not giving anything away, I try to relax my own posture.
“Have you?” I ask evenly, though something about this feels dangerously off balance.
Her eyes flash with a crazy sort of mischief behind them. “You don’t recognize me.” It’s not a question. It’s an accusation.
I search her face again, harder now. Digging through memories. Through the years, this time. Through faces and scents and moments that blur together.
I should know her. I feel that in my bones. But I can’t place her. And that… that unsettles me more than her anger.
She steps closer.
Too close.
Theo tenses.
Harrison shifts.
I don’t move. I want to understand. Her gaze drops briefly to my mouth, then back to my eyes, and for half a second something flickers there—hurt? Betrayal? But before I can guess why, the fury slams back into place.
“This is all your fault," she whispers.
And then she moves. Faster than I expected. Her fist swings toward my jaw, but it’s a feint. Instead, her knee drives up toward my ribs at the same time her hand snakes toward my throat.
Impact.
Pain explodes through my center as she connects. I stagger back a step, more from shock than damage.
Theo chuckles out a "told you so" as Harrison lunges forward with a curse. At least one of my brothers is sane right now. But she’s relentless. She pivots, using my momentary imbalance, and slams her shoulder into my chest, driving me backward before a sharp pain slices over my chest.
“I hate you!” the woman screams as the room erupts into chaos.
Theo is now finally moving to help detain the feral little thing.
Glancing down I see a smear of red through my dress shirt, making me frown.
Narrowing my eyes on the woman, I see her holding a small, thin-looking blade, the tip now painted red.
Where the fuck did she get that?
Through the adrenaline and the sting, I see Harrison whip out her gun and knock her over the head. The woman’s eyes roll back in her head as her body goes limp in Theo’s arms.
“Damn it, Harris. She is going to be pissed at you for doing that again,” Theo calls to Harris as he lifts the woman and carries her to the bed.
But all I can think is I have to know this woman; I just can’t remember from where.
And she has made it clear she remembers me.
Turning to Harris, who is frowning at the gun in his hand and Theo’s back, I snap at him. “You never answered me. Did you get any information on who this woman is?” A sheepish look crosses his face as Theo approaches us again.
"Well, that was an interesting meeting, but I suppose we should have told you before you marched up here.” Theo is speaking to us, but his eyes are pinned to the now unconscious woman.
Irrationality begins to build again. “Why don’t you tell me now?”
This time he turns to me with a shit-eating grin on his face. “You just met the Karma Killer.”