Chapter 42
CHAPTER
FORTY-TWO
EASTON
Deep, soulless helplessness is one of the hardest things to go through when you’re used to having the answers. It doesn’t matter if I have to blackmail, hack, or kill in order to get them.
I’ll do it.
However, none of those things are options right now. I don’t need others to watch as I waffle through all of the things I don’t know, because they could fill an ocean when it comes to Avery.
I love our friends, but I can’t be around them right now. We’re working the angles we can. It’s just taking more time than I’d like.
“What are we looking at?” I ask, laying down the city map on the wood floor.
I keep paper maps because sometimes it helps me see what’s in the area without physically having to go there.
I know there are digital maps, but that’s just not the same.
Maybe my need to hold the physical data is a bit old fashioned, despite my prowess in technology.
I’m a self taught hacker, and will happily bow to someone else’s ability if it’ll get us results faster.
Savannah has so many layers to its infrastructure.
My years as a police officer have ingrained working through a scene from beginning to end, and getting down to brass tacks with a paper map feels a bit like that.
I’m ready to take a stab at whatever Silas has for me to see if we can think through things differently.
“I want to investigate the tunnels and alleys below the city,” Silas says.
As things were built up, you can see the many stairways and alleys that will take you to some of the original areas of Savannah.
Some of them have been closed off, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t people who still use them.
“The warehouses don’t work for Avery because we’ve brought too much heat to them over the last year, especially after Rosalia’s kidnapping.
There’s still a police detail where she was found patrolling, which is why we chose to move to a more remote area when we bought our new building.
“We also have people from Cassidy’s crew walking the streets to help detour Avery from kidnapping people as they go about their day. While this has been helping to keep crime against our citizens down, the bitch has clearly pivoted and expanded her reach.”
We have been taking steps to improve the safety of our city. The Five Packs see the issues and are responding. It’s simply bad luck that Avery is targeting us through her business contacts. The threads that connect people are more complex than a serial killer’s map of his life and kills.
Nico Domino says that Savannah’s intricate web of how people know each other is incestuous, and he’s not wrong. Many of the older families in this city have been here for several generations.
“I got a call from Donna Illaria about an issue she’s having with her son’s business in Factor’s Walk.
He sells stolen artwork, rare alcohol, and illegal goods.
Basically, he fences items for money. The man is very efficient and I’ve never had any issues with him.
He has a specific clientele and makes bank.
However, his mother says there’s been some riff raff down there she wants me to take care of,” Silas sighs.
“I would usually ignore her, but right after this, Carla called me on my way home. Her connections are moving further away from their usual haunts in an attempt to claim the reward I’m offering. ”
“Are they corroborating with what Donna Ilaria is calling about?” Alisa asks, her fingers digging into her thighs.
We’ve left our omega for too long while problem solving through Troy’s kidnapping, and her nerves are riding her hard. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I drag her closer to me as we lean over the map together.
“Yes.” Silas glances up as Lyle comes over to sit on the floor with us, his eyebrows drawn together. “Is that handled, Lyle?”
“Not even a little bit, but there is such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen,” he grunts. “We’re going to need to have the Five Packs and our allies over once we have Troy home. I’m tired of being the peacekeepers. I want some peace for myself.”
“Amen,” Alisa sighs. “What I’m hearing is that it’s possible Avery is hiding where others won’t go. What type of riff raff activities is Donna Ilaria concerned with?”
“I have a feeling she would love you,” Silas breathes before rolling his neck forward and back to release some of the tension he’s feeling.
“She says there are men dragging unconscious women and men through the alleyways and she’s concerned it’ll bring the police in.
Donna Ilaria demands that I fix it. However, as annoying as I find her, she may be a key player in helping us find Troy. ”
“Send her a gift basket,” Lyle says absently. “Let’s section the area out and go down there. I’m fidgety. I need to fucking do something.”
“Can I please come?” Alisa asks.
The back door opens and closes and I raise my brow. Lyle mouths Doc’s name while I nod glumly. He’s not taking our depression and anger well either. I’m sure we’re frustrating the fuck out of him, but there’s not much we can do on that front.
“As if we’d leave you anywhere,” I snort. “I will ask that you change into something other than leggings. Yes, I know you’ll hate that, but those are the rules.”
“Done,” she says eagerly.
“I’m not asking for permission,” Doc grunts, leaning against the doorway. “I assume there’s a plan?”
It’s not perfect in any way, but it’s more than we had before. Come on, Troy. Wait for us. Don’t fucking give up.
TROY
My head lolls forward as Tina and Avery fight. An IV drip here and there is all I’ve had as far as sustenance, and I’m running on fumes after three days of this.
Is it possible for your dick to chafe? Avery slicks and she’s come on my knot endless times while she’s fucked me. It doesn’t matter what she and Tina do, I haven’t been able to come, nor do I want to. At this point, I’m convinced I’m broken.
She’s slapped me in anger, electrocuted me with a cattle prod, and shown me the cruelty others have suffered at her hands. The woman is fucking derranged.
“Tina, he’s defective,” Avery groans.
“Then we’ll try another one, Miss,” she says. Now that Avery is angry, Tina steps back into her subservient role. “Let’s at least make some money on this. I’ll—”
“No,” Avery pouts, picking up a knife angrily. “I don’t want anyone else to play with my toy.”
“Then kill him,” Tina shrugs. “We need to change locations anyway. No one has put in a police report for him, but that doesn’t mean much.”
“I know, I know. I need a spa weekend, Tina.” Avery complains about how hard it is to run a business when they have to remain on the move, punctuating every word by stabbing the air with her knife.
“That’s the life of an evil mastermind,” Tina says, amusement in her voice. “Let’s get out of town and head to Atlanta. We’ll relax and then I’ll pick up some inventory at the clubs.”
“Money, money, money.” Avery sings terribly off-key as usual, and has ruined at least four nursery rhymes for me over the past few days.
She dances toward me with the knife in her hand and straddles me fully clothed as she sinks it into my side.
“I’m sorry you were such a disappointment, Troy.
Maybe your sperm donation will live on inside of me. Only time will tell.”
“He certainly had enough precum pushing out of his slit,” Tina grumbles.
At one point, she sucked my cock as well, not at all disgusted by Avery’s slick on it. Nothing worked, and now they’re done with me. Some sick, petty part of me feels vindicated because I didn’t give them what they wanted.
“Uck yew oo,” I spit out around the gag.
“Awww. Tina, he said he loves me! Isn’t that sweet?” Avery coos, twisting the knife inside of me before yanking it out as I gasp in pain. “Pack it up, boys. We’re out of here.”
She stands as she talks, and there’s a flurry of activity as people do as they’re told.
“I doubt anyone will find him,” Tina says, unconcerned as she puts her things away.
Tina had me dragged into another section of the building we’re in when the torture began, and I found we’re in some kind of basement.
There are few places in Savannah this could be, but as my blood drips to the floor, I can’t think of any.
My head pounds from dehydration and hunger, leaving me to glare as my captors leave.
“It’s been real, Mr. Sperm Donor,” Avery calls over her shoulder.
My eyes slowly shut as I listen to heavy doors clang shut behind me. I wait a few minutes before I pull in a sharp, pain-filled breath and begin to scream for help. I know it hasn’t done anything in the past, but I may as well die being a loud mouthed asshole.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and someone will get curious. Either way, I won’t fucking go quietly.
ALISA
Carla gave Silas a section on Factors Walk to work with when she called him earlier, and I’m walking a portion of it with Easton.
The sun has set, leaving the alleys filled with shadows.
I’m carrying a heavy duty flashlight to light our way, wincing as we accidentally disturb people settling in to sleep.
I wasn’t brave enough to come down here while I lived on the streets, and my heart is thumping with fear, despite knowing I’m safe with my alpha.
I meld into the shadows in my all black clothing, with my hair pulled into a tight braid. My hair has been used against me in the past, and the last thing I want is to have to be rescued.
Easton and I are doing a little breaking and entering as we stop in front of each building in the lower levels of Savannah. It’s hard to imagine that everything has been built over this and then in many ways, forgotten.
The cobwebs are heavy in this basement as Easton and I look for Troy. While there’s evidence of squatters having been here at one time and drug paraphernalia, our alpha is not.
“Focus on clearing the buildings, baby. Otherwise, you’ll make yourself sick.”
I nod even as a wave of dizziness crashes over me. My anxiety hasn’t been helping my appetite, and I push it all away as we leave the building and continue. We’re deep inside the dreariness of this underground world, and it’s easy to imagine that we’re the only ones here.
A muffled scream rips through the silence and I flinch as my head whips toward it.
“East, please tell me I’m not imagining things…”
“Only one way to find out, because I heard it too.”
I begin running further down the alley with Easton beside me, and hear other footsteps as well.
“Not a ghost,” he murmurs, his lock pick set already in his hand.
I pull my gun from my thigh holster, refusing to wait for him to elegantly unlock the door. Instead, I shoot the fucking thing, shrugging as he glances at me.
“You’re right,” he mutters. “Fuck being polite.”
Easton kicks the door open, and Silas and Lyle join us.
“Did you hear it?” I ask, walking into a now silent space.
“I felt it,” Lyle growls. “He’s here.”
Thank god.
Swallowing hard, I begin to look through the various rooms. We all split up without thinking, though it’ll be faster to find Troy. It’s when I walk through a hallway that opens into a dark, wide room that I see a large, slumped form.
“Troy?” I whisper, running toward him. I slip in the blood and fall on my ass, and start yelling for help.
I grab the chair and force myself onto my knees, using the flashlight to find where he’s bleeding from. I barely have time to think before I rip off my shirt and press the material to his side. Fuck, he’s so damn pale.
“Alisa. It’s okay, breathe.” Doc is at my side while Easton and Silas begin cutting Troy free as I nod shakily.
“I slipped,” I rasp. “There’s so much blood.”
“You were worse when they found you. Keep up your pressure. I’m going to put a tarp on the ground and I’m going to examine him. Can you hold the light for me?”
He’s giving me a job. I suck in a breath as I force all my panic away. I need something to concentrate on so I won’t think about the blood. It’s already cooling, and…
Stop. I can’t think about it. I stand once Doc is ready, keeping pressure on Troy’s side as my alphas move him. No one talks, though the sound of Troy wheezing as he breathes sounds exceptionally louder because of it.
I refuse to pay too much attention to my alpha’s nakedness. There are too many dark places for my mind to go, and I have to keep the light where Doc needs it. I search his face for any hint that Troy may not make it, but it’s clear of anything other than determination.
“I’m going to make sure he’s stable and then we’re going to the hospital,” he grunts. “I’m concerned he might have a puncture to his lung.”
My heart stutters in fear, and I search through the bond for signs of my alpha. I hate that I can’t feel anything, and know it’s my fault. Lyle’s hand sits on my lower back, his body rigid as he watches Doc’s every move. I can feel his concern and overwhelming surge of love for Troy.
I’m a broken omega who needs a completed bond in order for it to work correctly.
As my body trembles with fear and loathing, I keep my hand steady and my face clear of my thoughts. I can cry when my alpha opens his eyes. I won’t accept anything other than his full recovery.
I’ll will him to be alright, because I refuse for Avery to take anything more from me.