Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Oliver
Gazing at the covered up hole that is filled by a deeply flawed woman, I shake my head as I sink my shovel into the earth to rest.
“I think Alesso is right,” Grant says, gazing at the ground as well.
It was harder than you’d imagine to dig a grave in the middle of winter. We had to help the guards once we walked through the woods to where her grave would be, and then sent them on their way while we fill it up.
“Leila doesn’t need to know,” Lucas agrees. “She’s our daughter. Genetics don’t fucking matter to me.”
“Same,” I sigh, glancing up. “This was not on my bingo card as a father.”
“Me either. Now that this is done, what were you and Alesso talking about earlier?” Lucas asks, lifting his shovel and carrying it to begin walking toward the house.
Following his lead, Grant and I fall into step on either side of him.
“I think we should leave tonight for Minneapolis,” I say.
“The flight plan has the plane landing outside of there. While we’re in the air, I’ll put out feelers for anyone willing to procure an omega with Isolde’s features.
I have some photos of her alone. If I offer enough money, people will begin looking for her. ”
Lucas growls under his breath and I shrug because I know how gross that sounds.
“It’s something that I’ve done in the past for clients looking for lost people,” I explain.
“I’ve been connecting people to their lost sisters, brothers, cousins, and mates for a long damn time.
I pretend to play the long game so I don’t appear to care much.
It’s why I piss off the online community on the dark web and I stay hidden. However—”
“It does get results,” Grant finishes. “I think that’s a good direction to run in. We can’t always play on the right side of the law in order to get results. If you had to guess Lucas, how long do you think the forced heat suppressant will last?”
“It hasn’t had time to build up in her blood stream, but it’s meant to begin working immediately,” Lucas muses.
“I gave her a double dose but didn’t tell anyone, which breached her trust. I don’t think she’ll hold it against me…
Fuck, okay I’m rambling. Two weeks. I think that at the shortest amount, it’ll last for two weeks. ”
“And the longest?” I ask.
“A month.”
“Alright then,” I grunt. I can’t imagine her being away from us for so long. “Fuck, what if she goes into heat naturally?”
“I don’t think she will,” Lucas says. “I never got the chance to get her to go to the doctor to test her bloodwork. There was always something else going on.”
“It’s okay,” Grant says. “Something tells me that her body won’t let her go into heat while under duress. Isolde only went into heat when she did because she was surrounded by her mates. This is a very different situation.”
Without words, the three of us begin jogging for the house. Urgency is clawing at me. I have a lot of regrets right now, but I can’t focus on those. I will claim Isolde when I get her back.
I don’t know why I didn’t during her heat, outside of this belated sense that we had more time. I wanted it to be her and I when she wasn’t in the middle of her heat.
We haven’t had enough time.
Alesso meets us at the back door, his eyes on me as we walk in.
I’m fine, I bite out through the bond.
You’re not. I’ll let you lie a little longer though.
“We’re going to head out in a few hours,” Lucas tells Alesso. “Grant brought something up the other day that I want to run by everyone.”
“Yeah?” Alesso asks.
“Where’s Leila?” I ask, noting that his hands are empty.
“Finally let me put her in the rocker,” he says, taking a step back to look into the living room. “She’s kicking and her arms are waving. She’s doing a little better now.”
“Good,” I say, nodding as I move to look in on her.
I’m not the only one as the four of us huddle together to gaze at her.
“She’s got you all wrapped around her little finger,” Rita murmurs behind us.
Sheepishly, I glance at her with a shrug.
“I’ll sit with her while you take a shower if you’re alright with it,” she says. “Post a few guards around the room if it’ll make you feel better.”
Lucas snorts to my surprise, moving to allow her to pass through.
“We all know that you’re a sharper shooter than you let on,” he says.
“You’re carrying, aren’t you?” Grant asks.
Blinking as I ask myself what alternate universe I’m in that the housekeeper is well equipped to deal with any intruders, I watch as she lifts her shirt a little to show her holster.
I’d never guess. Rita has gray hair, reminds me of a grandmother, and is wearing a long sleeved black shirt and slacks with very sensible shoes I might add.
“Of course I am,” she says. “God forbid some psychopath come for our baby.”
My lips twitch as I think about how loved Leila is.
“We’re going to go upstairs, shower, and pack, Rita,” Lucas says. “We’re taking the private plane to Minnesota. We’ll have more resources there to help us find Isolde. Can you please pack a bag for Leila?”
“I can,” she says, checking her watch. “It’s almost five. Should I give her a quick bath or just warm wash cloth to wipe her down?”
“She gets weirded out about water in her eyes,” I admit, wincing.
“That’s why she was screaming bloody murder the other day. Anyone else would have thought she was being tortured,” Rita smirks. “I’ll run a damp wash cloth over her and call it a day while I’m changing her clothes.”
“Thank you,” Lucas says. “We won’t be long.”
Rita walks over and unstraps Leila, talking to her the entire time as she follows us upstairs. Lucas fixed a room for Leila that she doesn’t sleep in, but it has her clothes and necessities.
Lucas gestures that we follow him to his room, and I close the door behind us as I wait to hear what he wants to tell us.
“Grant mentioned the other day that he wished that we could talk through a bond. I know it’s a very personal decision, but I’d like to bite each of you so if we’re in a position where we can’t talk, we can still communicate,” he says almost without taking a breath.
“I didn’t think you could talk that fast,” Alesso says, wide eyed.
“Hush. It feels odd to have this conversation right now,” Lucas says.
“Alesso and I exchanged bites recently, and I’m certainly not opposed,” I say. “I like to know how he’s feeling and vice versa. Even if I don’t necessarily want to talk about what’s going on in my head.”
Alesso rolls his eyes and doesn’t reply, but I can feel smugness coming from him. Ugh.
“I’m down,” Grant says. “Bonds are very complicated things. For some reason, I thought it would be able to tell me where Isolde was if she was hurt. She was feet away from me, and I couldn’t tell.”
“It’s still new,” Alesso says. “I also think that when she realized that she was projecting, Isolde began trying to lock us out. If she thought that she’d hurt you with her pain, she’d try to pull up her walls.”
“That’s what it felt like,” Lucas breathes. “But the pain was too much, and it felt as if I was being electrocuted. Now, I can barely feel her at all.”
“It may be due to the distance,” I say. “We’re still in the beginning stages of building our relationships with Isolde. I’m not bonded to her at all. We have to work together to find her.”
Lucas gives me a sympathetic look and nods.
“Let’s do this and get on the road. I’ll call the pilot to let him know to get ready,” he says.
Grant takes a breath and steps forward, holding out his hand awkwardly. Lucas rolls his eyes with a smirk and bites down on the fleshy part of his hand, between his thumb and index finger.
“Fuck,” Grant growls. “Maybe I should have given you my non-dominant hand, asshole.”
“Fuck off, you know you can shoot with both,” Lucas says, lifting his head with a chuckle.
Grant shakes his head and leaves the room to shower, and I take his place. I threw a sweatshirt on before going outside, and Lucas pulls it off me as he gazes at my skin as if it’s a canvas meant just for him. It’s an oddly intimate moment, and goosebumps pebble my skin.
Lucas’ thumb grazes Alesso’s healing bite with a wry grin, before moving up to my throat.
“Competitive shit,” Alesso chuckles.
“Can you blame me?” Lucas asks, leaning in and biting me.
Groaning, it takes everything in me not to throw him onto the bed and fuck his ass. There’s no time, it’s inappropriate, and—
You like pain, baby. No shame in that, Lucas growls through the bond, releasing me. Damn that was fast.
“I’m not fighting the bond,” Lucas explains.
“I think our girl is wrestling with it in a way though. Isolde has been alone for a long damn time. I don’t know if she thinks she’s a burden in some way, but I would rather know if she’s struggling with something.
I think my staff were terrible to her, and not once did she say a word against them. ”
“She’s too good for the world,” Alesso mutters. “Isolde sees all the parts that are broken inside of her, but I see the people that she fights for. If she’s not willing to fight for herself at times, I’m more than willing to tell them to go fuck themselves.”
“Oh I did,” Lucas says. “I fired two of my staff for being cunts to her. Isolde never would have been out on that parapet if they hadn’t been gossiping about her.”
I shift out of the way to allow Alesso to move closer, knowing he probably has a lot of thoughts about this.
“Feel free to drop me their addresses so I can scare the shit out of them once our girl is safe with us again,” Alesso says.
“I’m not someone who skirts away from violence, but Stefanie’s presence earlier today shook me.
Mothers should want to burn the world down for their children.
I can handle two bitches who disrespected my girl. ”
“You’re their boss,” I add. “You did what you could within the frame of your position. I’m with Alesso. Now hurry up so we can get our asses moving.”
“Ugh, I hate when you all are so logical. Let’s see that gorgeous skin, Alesso. I’m a picky fucker,” Lucas mutters.
Alesso pulls off his shirt, and it’s hard not to react. My mouth waters as I gaze at his muscled chest, and Lucas grabs him behind his neck and kisses him stupid. Alesso’s dazed and adorable when they come up for air, and Lucas takes full advantage, biting down on his upper chest.
Alesso’s groan of pain and pleasure has me biting my fist, and I leave the room as I adjust my pants.
Dicks get hard, but I don’t have to do anything about it. I have a flight to catch, after all.
Lucas
Do breathing exercises work? I don’t think they do.
Grant is pushing calm through the bond, and I find out that I can channel that to the other alphas while locking down my anxiety.
Fuck, I even try to push it at Isolde, hoping that whatever she’s going through, I can help her.
The more I practice, the easier it becomes.
Leila sleeps next to me in her car seat, thanks to one of my flight attendants. She suggested that I feed her a little of her bottle to help Leila’s ears acclimate as we ascended into the air, which was a life saver.
Our baby is going to be having a lot of firsts this trip. I don’t know what she’s lived through before this, but I’m going to count all of her experiences as her firsts with us.
Oliver is working on his computer while we fly, his brow furrowed as he types. The satellites he pulled up are showing that the auction is on a skeleton crew, and I wish that there was a way to access any past recorded data.
It’s not perfect, but it’s something. There’s no signs of Ophelia, no one is going in or out, and it feels odd.
“Son of a bitch,” Oliver breathes.
He looks up as he realizes he has our attention and sighs.
“I got someone to talk,” he says. “Ophelia’s benefactor was Rock Dresmond. His sons apparently killed him a few months ago, and she’s been struggling with the power imbalance. She’s held her auction house this long because she’s smart and also knows how to provide drugs for the right price.”
“Did she move locations?” I ask.
Oliver winces as he turns the computer around and we see that the auction house and the buildings surrounding it are on fire.
“Isolde isn’t there,” he says, but I feel as if I can’t breathe as it explodes.
“What…the fuck?” I rasp, shaking.
“There would have been more people on property,” Oliver says vehemently, turning the computer back around and typing.
“This contact says that Ophelia has been acting dodgy and suspicious since November. All those that run auctions have been discussing whether they should cut and run because they’re being targeted.
Ophelia is reacting late since she thought her status even without a benefactor was solid. ”
“But it’s not,” Grant growls.
“Not according to what I’m seeing. Unless, this is a chance to claim insurance money…”
“What?” Alesso asks when Oliver is quiet for too long. It could be seconds, but none of us can practice the virtue of patience at the moment.
Oliver has his phone in his hand and he’s reading a text message on his phone. There’s WiFi on the flight, as well as the ability to take phone calls. If I need to be in the air, I want to also be able to connect to the world instead of being at the mercy of waiting until I’m on the ground.
The world moves too quickly for that shit.
“Duncan texted me. He says Kane Dresmond blew up the buildings after confirming that Ophelia and Isolde weren’t there. Apparently, all the omegas have been moved that were being housed at Jefferson City Auction house,” Oliver says. “Oh fuck. Now I know where I know those names.”
“As long as the crazy fuckers are on our side,” I say, heart pounding. “That’s one question answered. Ophelia is going to be pissed and extra desperate now.”
“I know, but at least we won’t be fixating on the wrong place,” Oliver says. “Time to find everything that she may have rented or bought. If we have to kick in doors to find her, then we will.”
My hand fists as I struggle not to spiral. There are too many things that could be happening to Isolde that I can’t control.
“No,” Grant says, snapping his fingers in my face.
My lips snarl as I’m tempted to snap my teeth at him. I’m not a goddamned animal.
“Now that I have your attention, get it together. You’re our leader. Fucking act like it.”
Taking a breath so deep that it leaves me lightheaded, I blow it out.
“Get me a list, please,” I say to Oliver. “If Ophelia is running scared, then that’ll mean she’ll get sloppy at some point. We’ll get her then.”
Wherever you are, darlin’…we’ll find you. Hold on.