Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Lucas
“Sir, are you sure you didn’t hit your head?” Grant asks yet again. I think he was initially in shock, and he called me back again a half an hour later with guns blazing. “I don’t believe that you’ve been fucking an omega for the last three weeks.”
“I didn’t say I was fucking her,” I sigh, dropping my head back as I ignore Oliver and Alesso. It’s hard to do when they both growl at my words.
Holding my hand up, I continue.
“This isn’t a normal meet cute, Grant. She did kidnap me, but we worked it all out. Can you call off the police for me?”
“They’re going to want to speak to you…”
As Grant trails off, I make a face. I hate talking to the police. I always feel as if they’re trying to trick me into contradicting myself.
“No thank you,” I say politely. “Unless they’re willing to come out to the house in Bargersville.”
I have an apartment in Indianapolis for when I need to attend events that will result in overnights, but I prefer my smaller town to the city. There’s less cars, pollution, and the snow stays white in my yard instead of the gross color it is now as Oliver drives us out of the city.
“Sir,” Grant groans.
“I’ll pay you hazard pay for the white hair I’ve given you,” I promise him.
Oliver told me all about the way that my guard had been harassing the police department and the officers on my team.
“I’m not wearing enough clothing to swing by the police department right now, Grant, and I don’t even have shoes. ”
“I’m not fucking stupid, and I don’t want your money. You already overpay me,” he snarls. “I’ll tell the police that you’ve been found, but I plan to meet you at your home. Something stinks like shit. What do you mean you don’t have your clothes or shoes? Do you hear yourself?”
“I do, and that’s why I’m telling you that I can’t go to the police department,” I say primly. “It’s hard to explain because this isn’t really a normal situation. My scent match did kidnap me, but if I tell you why, you’ll never let me leave the house again. Oh, and I have a pack—”
“Lucas!” Grant yells, losing his patience as my lips twitch. It’s not funny, but I’m suddenly finding the urge to laugh with how insane this all is.
“Do you remember when I bought a place at an omega’s heat a few months ago?” I ask, talking over him.
“Yes, you were moody, your alpha instincts were making you a surly bastard, and I figured getting you laid would help. Am I right in suggesting that I may have been wrong?” he asks.
“I don’t know if you’re wrong,” I drawl. “However, two of the alphas that I was with that night are in the car with me right now. They are also scent matched to the omega who kidnapped me.”
“For the love of all the fluffy goddamned puppies,” he mutters.
Grant has a really funny way of cursing, and it never gets old to hear him melt down.
“Should I tell Rita to make sure your sheets are changed?” I tease him. He lives with me more often than not. I don’t know how or if that’ll change. I’m simply rolling with the punches for now.
“No, I’ll change my own fucking sheets, sir,” he growls, slamming his way into his car. “Tell Rita there will be an extra person for dinner though. I may as well eat while I chew you a new asshole for making me worry. Whose phone are you using, and why couldn’t you call sooner?”
“I was tied up,” I grunt, glancing at Alesso as he snickers. “It’s a long story. There was no way she was going to give me a phone.”
“This really doesn’t help my indigestion,” Grant complains. “I’ll see you in about an hour.”
It’s about a forty minute drive once you’re out of the city, but the traffic is a fucking beast.
“See you then,” I say, hanging up.
“You should pay him hazard pay with a story like that,” Alesso chuckles. “Fuck it, I’ll even contribute to the fund.”
“I have more than enough money to pay him,” I sigh. “Grant is on his way to my house in Bargersville, and he’s going to have a lot of questions. Think about how you want to answer them.”
“I have a feeling he doesn’t care much about being on the right side of the law if he knows about Slick Dreams,” Oliver says. “But just in case, I’ll tell him I’m a Penetration Tester.”
“A what?” I ask, wide eyed. “Is that some kind of term for a person who fucks people?”
Oliver begins to laugh, and I shake my head as I share a glance with Alesso.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand either,” Alesso says. “It’s rude to use terms that aren’t well known, Oliver.”
“I’m…sorry,” he wheezes. “A penetration tester is an ethical hacker. They simulate cyberattacks on computer systems. I thought you might know the term since you employ some, Lucas. That’s the only way that you’d be able to keep me out of your company’s computer networks.”
“Oh,” I mutter. “I’ve never heard it called that. You made my asshole tingle for no reason.”
Alesso snorts at my words while Oliver winks at me from the rear view mirror.
“Good to know that you’re interested in my cock that way, baby,” he grins. “How about you, Alesso?”
“Please go fuck yourself,” Alesso says, smirking. “If you want to stick your large dick anywhere near me, you need to earn it.”
“Best pack ever,” Oliver concludes.
Inhaling deeply, my eyes nearly cross at how amazing our combined scents are. Oranges, berries, and amaretto, along with the undertones of our scents. As complicated as we are, and just as delicious.
Calling my housekeeper next, I settle in for the ride, while Alesso continually sneaks glances at my very interested dick. Somehow, I doubt the excuse that “they get hard, don’t get too excited about it,” is going to go far for long.
There’s an awful lot of chemistry between us, and adding in our reluctant omega may be the lit match to make it all explode.
Isolde
It’s incredibly cheeky and arrogant of Oliver to believe that I wouldn’t find all ten of his cameras. They’re expensive, but I didn’t have any qualms about destroying them systematically before I packed up and left the warehouse and my makeshift apartment.
My email to the owner of the warehouse is scheduled to go out in two hours once I’m out of the city.
The more I erase my footprint as I drive with large sunglasses and my hair down in two long braids, the easier it is to admit to myself that I did want Oliver to find me.
That doesn’t mean that I’m not being careful now as I try to figure out what I want to do next.
I even checked my van for a tracking device. Damn hacker.
It wasn’t on my bingo card to find out that Alesso, Oliver, and Lucas are all my scent matches, and it reminds me of how freaked out I am about it.
Oliver finding me was meant to ensure that Lucas was telling me the truth.
I didn’t expect to be gazed at like I was a banana split with extra whipped cream.
It’s better that I passed out instead of climbing one of them like a tree.
I never act like this. I don’t remember what it was like to crush this hard on anyone before.
Swallowing hard as I remember how gorgeous they are, I force myself to think with my brain instead of my cunt.
My instincts tell me that they’re not bad people, especially the easy way that Lucas interacted with them.
Lucas believes in being held accountable for the people within his sphere of influence. I have a feeling that Oliver and Alesso might fit this description, despite his insistence that they aren’t a pack.
They may not have been an established pack before, but it appears to me that they’re on their way to be.
The three of them have a way of responding and tempering the other person’s words.
I noticed that Lucas was trying to get them not to push me too hard, and while I appreciate it, I can’t see myself moving in and playing house with them.
I don’t trust lightly, even though I know that Lucas won’t hurt me, and Alesso and Oliver will be pushed by their instincts to be good to me. What does that look like in real life though? I have no idea.
I haven’t spent very much time around omegas outside of the auction, my parents were both betas, and their idea of a healthy relationship was to kill each other with drugs.
I don’t know where to set the bar. Where do I start? Bonds are forever, after all. It scares the shit out of me.
And yet, my heart is racing at the knowledge that I’m not going to be in the same building as Lucas anymore. He’s not a pet, he’s an alpha, and leashing anyone is wrong.
I remember how awful it was for me at the Jefferson City Auction, and a whine slips out as I ask myself if I’m just as awful as Ophelia and her handlers.
I can’t be, right? I shudder as memories threaten to overwhelm me, the voices of my past whispering that I’m worthless and used up due to their treatment.
Taking a deep breath, I force myself to pay attention to the road as I struggle to break free of my thoughts.
My hand rubs against the leggings that I put on along with a long sleeved black sweater, a much more relaxed look than my usual.
I have a gray coat to put over it all when I get to my destination to keep me warm as well.
I’ll need to go shopping tomorrow to pick up some more clothing where I can hide my weapons and not gain unwanted attention.
I usually don’t care, but…
“I need to see them,” I whisper. “My life is real, I’m not with Ophelia anymore. I’m free, dammit. She’s still haunting me like the bitch she is. God, maybe it’s time to kill her and be done with it. The past can’t hurt me, but she can because her reach is long.”
There's nothing to keep Ophelia from deciding one day to come find me. Just because I’m stronger now than I was before doesn’t mean much if she decides to send hunters on my trail.
Running from her for the rest of my life will interrupt my ability to find my brand of justice while following my client’s instructions.