Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Alesso
It’s been twenty-four hours since Isolde was taken, and I’m not doing well. I don’t believe that any of us are. Leila is cranky, crying more than usual, and wants to be held by someone at all times.
She’s also hating the carrier and just squirms in Lucas or Grant’s arms.
“Allore, bambina,” I finally sigh, standing up to take Leila from Grant. “We’re going for a walk.”
“It’s freezing outside,” Lucas says, rubbing his eyes.
No one is sleeping well, not even Leila.
“Then we’ll have to make sure we’re very bundled up,” I shrug. “Shh, come, bambina.”
“I can try if your walk doesn’t work. I need a break from the screen time,” Oli yawns. “No one has any goddamned information. Jefferson City Auction doesn’t seem to have any upcoming auctions either.”
“They’re going to need to,” I grunt, rubbing Leila’s back. “Ophelia doesn’t have any money anymore. I drained the company accounts as well as hers.”
“I love when you’re evil,” Lucas says. “I hate waiting, and it’s worse now that Leila is teething.”
“Isn’t it a little early for that?” I ask, jaw dropping as I look down at her.
“Not really. We don’t have an exact age for her. She’s drooling more and gnawing on her little fists. Isolde brought her home almost a month ago. She could be between four and five months old for all we know and just small. We’re flying blind,” Lucas says.
“You sound more knowledgeable than you think,” Oli admits. “Fuck it, I’ll go with you, Alesso. My eyes are crossing. Sometimes if you walk away from the computer, shit will go down.”
“Is this a watched pot situation?” Grant asks.
“Pretty much,” Oli mutters, closing out of everything and shutting the laptop.
Getting up, he walks with me to change Leila’s diaper, and we all put on warmer clothing. Wrapping her in a blanket for extra warmth, we head outside.
“What can’t you tell me in front of the others?” I ask immediately, my boots crunching along the snow covered ground.
“Damn, am I that transparent?” he asks. “Maybe I just wanted to take a walk.”
“Doubtful,” I murmur.
Leila looks around as I support her head and back, quiet as we continue across the backyard.
“I’m going to need to dig deeper than before. There are head hunters on the dark web that deal in procuring and selling omegas,” he says. “It doesn’t matter to them if they’re in an auction house or not. They’ll find those omegas on the street and kidnap them for the ability to fulfill the order.”
“Disgusting,” I say. Oli cringes and I shake my head. “Just because this type of behavior exists, doesn’t mean you can’t use it for your own benefit to find Isolde. Don’t have a crisis of conscience.”
“You’re right,” he says, taking a deep breath.
“I’m going to throw offers on the table to find her down that avenue.
It feels as if Ophelia is lying low. The flight plan says that the plane landed in Lake Elmo, which is outside of Minneapolis.
My research says that the Jefferson City Auction is an hour north of that. ”
“Are there any cameras near the auction house?” I ask, the cold air helping me to think better.
“I couldn’t find anything, but fuck, I could try using satellites,” Oli says, eyes widening. “You’re a genius.”
“I did nothing,” I deny. “Walk with me and get your brain to wake up. You’re right, you’ve been sitting for too long. Panic makes the mind sluggish.”
“I keep thinking about what could be happening to her, and it’s like my brain short circuits,” he admits.
“We do what we can,” I remind him and myself. “Keep working, something will pan out.”
“Yes,” he murmurs. “I’ll check the satellites to see what kind of activity there is, and I’m going to call Duncan to see if he has any leads. Knowing that the plane landed in Minnesota, I am going to suggest that we also leave so we’re closer when we need to make our move.”
I hide a smile as Oli shakes off the paralysis that he’s had. The February air is still crisp and I can smell impending snow. We should get on a plane before we’re all snowed in. I’ll back Oli when he suggests this to our pack.
“And then?” I ask.
“You’re a brat,” he grunts. “I’m also going to check the cameras at Reid Pharmaceuticals. Grant had a camera installed through a private company today under the guise that he was checking the current ones. No one has access to them but us. If someone is fucking Lucas over, we’ll find out.”
“No one else knows about this?” I ask.
“Nope. Not even Lucas’ assistant. She checked in on him, acting as if she was concerned. I think she thought he was just going to be able to jump back into work without an issue,” Oli says. “I don’t like her.”
“I hope there’s something in her office then,” I say.
“The cameras have full sound capabilities and Grant also had the security office on the main floor bugged. He then asked that the floor where Lucas typically works be bugged, along with all of the offices, meeting rooms, bathrooms, and storage closets,” Oli says smugly.
“Holy fu…fudge nuggets,” I amend.
“Gesundheit?” Oli asks.
“I’m trying not to curse as much in front of Leila,” I explain. “At this rate, her first word will be four letters long.”
“Her fathers regularly break the law, I doubt a little language will be the worst thing she learns,” Oli shrugs. “Oh, I also embedded a command to filter the video feeds at Reid Pharmaceuticals so that it’ll alert me if certain words are spoken.”
“Like what?” I ask.
“Any derogatory words that are used for a woman, omega, Isolde, Ophelia, auction, Lucas, and a variety of other words,” he says. “I really don’t like that we have a traitor in his building. Someone let the fox into Lucas’ house, essentially. Isolde should have been safe there.”
“I hate that there wasn’t a camera where she was taken,” I grumble.
“There are now, as well as on the stairwells on both sides. The cameras are completely hidden,” Oli says. “We‘ll find our girl somehow. I’m exploring every angle.”
Leila lays her head on my chest, her lids getting heavy.
“There we go, sweet girl,” Oli whispers. “Sleep sucks for all of us right now.”
“We need Isolde back. Nothing will be normal without her,” I agree.
Leila falls asleep as we continue to brainstorm for a few minutes before going back inside. She’s snuggled and warm within her layers of clothing, making me smile as I brush her forehead with my lips.
“Can I help you?” Lucas asks, his voice cold and lifeless.
Exchanging a glance with Oli, we move closer to the front door. Oli maneuvers our bodies so whoever Lucas is speaking to can’t see us.
If Lucas is using that tone, it can’t be good. How the hell did they get past the gate?
“As I said at the gate, I believe that you have my child, Charlotte,” a woman says in a whiny voice. “I’ve been looking for her everywhere. I had to do some really shady things to get your address, Mr. Reid.”
“That’s not a great way to start a conversation with an alpha so paranoid he has a gate and guards around his property,” Lucas snarls.
“No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it,” she says. “Her father wasn’t a good man, but insisted on visitation with her several times a week. I couldn’t stop him because I can’t afford to go to court. Toby was also a biker with a bad reputation and scared me when he was angry.”
Listening to her, my lips purse. This all seems very shady. The people that Isolde did that job for should have been gagged from giving any kind of information. Fear and gratitude apparently aren’t the motivating factors that they once were.
Isolde isn’t going to be happy when we find her. This club is putting our daughter in danger if they told this woman where to find us.
“Please stay here,” Oli murmurs, pulling off his coat and boots. A couple of steps later, he also strips off his shirt.
What the fuck is he doing?
“Lucas?” he asks almost sleepily, walking over to him. “Who is this?”
Oli throws his arm around Lucas and our alpha simply leans against him without question. It’s a testament to how much he’s grown to trust us.
“Some woman who says that she’s looking for her daughter,” Lucas shrugs. He’s laying on the heartless, indifferent shtick on thick.
We care, but we aren’t giving Leila up.
Moving slightly so I can see past them and still remain hidden, I see a woman with blonde hair and grown out black roots standing at the door.
Her hair also seems fried from here, and her lips are severely chapped.
This woman looks like she’s had a rough life, and her sweater is too thin for this weather as well.
Ask her name, I implore Oli through the bond.
I continue to watch the woman as she begins to get agitated, and she also keeps scratching her arm. Something tells me that she may be a drug user, and her dark pants are not her size either. This isn’t someone who should be in charge of a child’s wellbeing.
Certainly not ours.
And yet, Isolde said that her diaper bag was immaculate so this doesn’t make sense to me.
“You seem to know my name, but I don’t know yours. I’m at a disadvantage,” Lucas says archly.
He sounds like a blue blooded, rich asshole. Appearances are deceiving though because this is what he sounds like when he’s keeping his emotions locked down tightly.
“Stefanie Mitchell,” she says tightly. “They said you had her!”
“I’m unsure who they are,” Oli says easily. “Care to share?”
“I hired private investigators, and they said that the fire where her father lived was set. It wasn’t an accident!
I’ve been waiting for them to pull a baby’s body from the building, but it never happened,” she says, shaking.
“Charlotte can’t be dead. The investigators are low lives, but one of them showed me the police reports.
There were so many people in that fire. It’s so messed up. ”
“Fires happen every day, especially in older buildings. I have no idea where this happened, but you should have considered the stability of where you were allowing your child,” Lucas says. “This is a very sad story. I’m sorry for your loss.”