Chapter 32 #2
Silently, everyone leaves the room to escape the stench, while all I can do is shudder and scream in pain.
This may not kill me, but I’ll want it to.
Grant
“Where else can we look?” I ask, staring at the last empty building in Ophelia’s name or her corporation’s. We’ve searched it, killed those that couldn’t help us, and now it’s time to destroy it.
My pack, Pack Kelly, and Pack Dresmond have hit fourteen different locations in the last few days. We’ve divided, killed everyone there after some exploratory torture, and then lit the buildings on fire.
I’m standing next to Kane who is playing with a lighter as he flips it over and over in his hand.
“We expand our search,” he grunts, pulling out his phone. Choosing a contact, he puts it on speaker as he reaches into his bag and pulls out a handful of explosive charges. “Let’s walk the perimeter and get these set up to blow. I don’t want Ophelia to have anything to come back to.”
The last place we looked before this had a ton of guards. We chose the one who seemed to be in charge and interrogated him with extensive and gross prejudice. When Kane let his freak flag fly and started to skin the man, I shrugged and started asking the questions.
I like an alpha who knows how to get shit done.
“Why not,” I mutter. “At least we know she’s not keeping anyone hostage here.”
“Don’t be salty,” Kane says. “I hate that the cunt sold all of her omegas.”
“God save them,” I say under my breath.
The guard told us that Ophelia held a secret auction and sold off all of her inventory before going dark. His instructions were to keep watch over the property and kill anyone who approached.
He died screaming with the taste of defeat on his lips.
“I don’t believe in God,” Kane says as someone finally picks up.
“Find anything?” Quinn asks. She’s hanging out with Leila, Linus, and Adira at home. Apparently, both omegas are pregnant. I wasn’t expecting that for the girl that Lucas still talks about occasionally.
I’m happy that she’s found a pack and seems happy, and I appreciate that she fought to help us.
“It’s a bust,” Kane says. “This was the last place on the list and I just got an odd feeling. No, it’s not gas.”
My lips twitch in amusement. Kane is unhinged and has his own sense of right and wrong, just like Isolde does. He’s also very intelligent.
When he talks, I listen.
“What is this feeling?” Quinn asks, a tiny bit of humor in her voice. “Tell me and I’ll hunt it down, Kane.”
“Pregnancy is making you bloodthirsty,” he says.
As he walks with me, I notice that the baby sling on his back is black to match his outfit and not stick out. A baby doll’s head is tucked against his back, a reminder of how good of a dad he’ll be to Adira’s child.
“You’re not wrong. I feel as if I can’t breathe any time I think about Isolde with that woman,” she confesses. “Spill and give me something to work on, please.”
“Ophelia and my dad were really tight,” Kane says.
“I think free pussy was part of the reason, but it could be something else as well. We’ve been trying to pin down all of Dad’s properties.
Could you please see if there are any near here?
He could have hidden it from us. I’d like to expand the search there to find Isolde. ”
“Yes. I’ll find them,” Quinn promises. “Are you coming back here after you’re done at the Thresher property?”
“Yeah. Unless you find something near us, I think we’re gonna pack it in,” Kane says. Glancing at me as I stick charges along the wall when it strikes me so they’ll go off evenly, Kane adds, “How is Leila doing?”
I nod at him in thanks. She’s on my mind now that we might be done for the day. I want a shower and to cuddle with my baby, in that order, while I tell her how incredible her mom is.
We’re staying at Pack Kelly’s home so we can lie low, and the place has great security. Nothing like a bunch of paranoid fuckers to fortify their home.
“Her gums are swollen,” Quinn says. “I think she may be older than Pack Reid thinks.”
This definitely solidifies something I’ve been chewing over.
If Stefanie’s body was malnourished when she got pregnant, this would have affected Leila.
A visit to the doctor to see if we can get an accurate age might help us, but really I just want to know that she’s healthy despite all the shit her biological mother put into her system.
Thank goodness Leila didn’t have any issue with drug withdrawals.
“Grant is here,” Kane admits. “I figured he may want an update on the baby.”
“She’s a little cranky, but we’re all fine. Watch yourselves.”
Quinn hangs up while Kane watches my six as I continue to place charges where they need to go. I’ve learned that he enjoyed pushing the button to make everything explode at the end. He couldn’t care less about the actual process.
There are few stragglers as we stalk the property, and Kane shoots them down like dogs.
Once we’re done, we climb back into the vehicle, and the redheaded alpha grins as he guns the engine.
“This is my favorite part,” he says, hitting the button to ignite the charges as he races away from the property.
I wince because he’s cutting it a little close, but my blood thrums with adrenaline as I glance back. The building is there one moment, and gone the next as the charges go off. The air is cloudy and full of dust as the concrete is reduced to dust.
Nothing survives a well placed explosive.
We’re forty minutes from Pack Kelly’s home, which is a lot of time to think. Pack Dresmond is staying there as well while we all work, and I find that they’re all very close.
I don’t know the history, but I bet there’s some trauma that drew them together.
The vehicles are all in the driveway by the time we arrive, and I get out and stride to the front door.
The baby is fine, Lucas says through the bond. She’s napping in my arms.
Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see her.
I’m a delight to be around lately. Every nerve is drawn tight, and I’m begging the universe for one fucking break. We need something so that we can chase Isolde down.
Come on, baby. You’re our glue.
I’m covered in blood, ash, and the scent of fire as I stride through the house and poke my head into the giant living room. Everyone is clean, but not relaxed as they watch Callum, Morris, Oliver, and Quinn work.
“Go shower, Grant. We haven’t found anything yet,” Lucas says softly.
“Okay,” I sigh, feeling a little defeated as I jog upstairs to clean off the day.
I want to move my pack, omega, and baby to an island when this is over for an extended vacation.
My phone buzzes in my pocket as I walk. Sighing, I wonder what could be happening now. As I open the notification, I realize that Oliver set the video cameras to open on my screen when any of the buzz words he set it to were spoken.
My feet stutter to a stop as I see Paula James is in a closet speaking on the phone. I’m so glad Oliver and I decided to wire as much of the building as possible for video and sound.
Turning up the volume, my brow furrows as I listen to her one sided conversation.
“You said this would be easy,” she hisses. “The boss won’t come into work. I thought he’d forget all about the cunt and it would be business as usual, Ophelia.”
Wheezing, my chest hurts as I begin to realize who fucked us over. Paula went through an intense background check, and I do one every fucking quarter on her due to her proximity to Lucas. She doesn’t have much debt to speak of and keeps her nose clean.
She doesn’t see her father often, and work is her life. This shouldn’t be happening. What did I miss?
“No, you owe me money and compensation,” Paula growls. “This could cost me everything. Lucas isn’t just a businessman. Do you hear me?”
My lips purse and I turn and jog back down the stairs to make sure Lucas sees this.
I don’t believe that he’d offer any information about his dirty dealings.
The people he’s murdered have always been for special reasons.
He’s very private about this, and if Paula did find out about how dangerous Lucas is, then she’s going to be a problem.
I’ll snap her neck and drop her body into several barrels of bleach without a second thought. But if she’s more complicit in this kidnapping? She’ll wish she never came to work for Lucas Reid.
“Oli, the Reid Pharmaceutical cameras got a hit,” I grunt, moving the phone so Lucas can hear and see what’s happening.
“I knew there was something wrong with her,” Oliver growls, listening.
“No, I want cash for opening the door to your people,” Paula whines. Lucas’ jaw drops as she so easily proves that he shouldn’t have trusted her. “I ran circles around everyone that day to prove that I was loyal, and I thought for sure I was going to get caught. Ophelia—”
She’s silent for several moments as I fill in the blanks for those in the room.
“Paula is Lucas’ assistant,” I explain. “It appears that she was involved in Isolde’s kidnapping.”
“I would say so,” Adira says, eyes wide. “Bitch chose the wrong girl to fuck with. She should jump off the nearest bridge now.”
“That’s too easy,” Morris grunts, never looking up. “I vote death by torture.”
“It’s a good way to practice peeling the skin off her bones,” Kane shrugs.
“I definitely think that’s on the table,” I admit. “She’s been with the company for a long time. We trusted her as much as we trust anyone.”
“Her empathy has sucked,” Lucas mutters. “I’m not going back to work until Isolde is safe. Paula can get fucked.”
“Vaginal grenades are a good option too,” Damon shrugs.
Goddamn, who are these people?
“Table the torture talk,” Jed rumbles as Paula gives a strangled scream.
“You’re broke?! What the fuck,” she gasps. “You have a perfectly good omega that I helped you find. I answered the dark web ad. You owe me everything. Just fucking sell her so I can get my cut.”
Paula is quiet as she listens to Ophelia speak, her lips parting as she begins to tremble. Whatever she’s being told, isn’t good.
Hanging up, she collapses against the wall and slides down as she begins to cry.
“You don’t get to do that,” Lucas rasps. “Crying doesn’t get my girl back.”
“We have to pretend there’s nothing wrong, but I’m having her picked up today by an officer.
They owe us for losing Isolde,” I say. “Paula can cool her heels in jail without bail until we get back into town. I’ll make sure that they release her into my custody with the understanding that they won’t ask questions when she disappears. ”
“You have that kind of pull?” Duncan asks.
“I do. The police commissioner asked me to pick his daughter up when she relapsed,” I explain. “I found her in a flop house high on heroin, needle in her arm. The police commissioner wanted it kept quiet.”
I didn’t know that, Lucas hisses in my mind and I shrug.
I have my secrets too, but they never come back to hurt you. In this case, it’ll make things easier.
Lucas is sensitive because of what we just found out and I don’t blame him. I keep shit from him like this so I can cash in my favors as needed, and it’s always been to protect him. This is no different.
Paula stands up once she’s composed herself and checks her makeup before she leaves the closet to go back to work.
“I really want to know what Ophelia told her,” I mutter.
“I really want to know why Paula was on the dark web,” Oliver growls. “It’s a huge landscape, even when I filter through listings. Ophelia must have posted a job I didn’t see.”
“Or she posted under another name,” I say, remembering what Kane suggested. “Are there any jobs under Rock Dresmond?”
Kane looks at me sharply before nodding.
“Fuck, he’s right. Ophelia may be hiding behind a dead man,” he agrees. “I think it’s a good idea to check it.”
Oliver nods, typing as he begins to search the dark web for any jobs posted by Rock Dresmond. It would be the perfect cover.
“We cleaned up our father’s businesses, removed the bad eggs with force, but we didn’t really spread the news of his death,” Jed muses. “We worked so hard to get accepted in Minneapolis, we were happy to move on.”
“The bastard lives on,” Adira mutters. “I was hoping he’d be getting railed in the ass repeatedly by hot pokers in hell.”
“My father would enjoy that entirely too much,” Damon sighs. “That mental image was very vivid, baby.”
“Sorry. I really fucking hate him.”
Damon rubs her stomach slowly next to her, and she begins to relax. It’s pretty obvious that this is a touchy subject.
“Found it,” Oliver breathes. “Goddamn it.”
“We didn’t know,” Lucas says, swallowing hard. “Tell us what you found.”
“Two weeks ago, Rock Dresmond asked for someone to allow them entrance into Reid Pharmaceuticals. Such a simple fucking request, but so damning,” Oliver says, his hand scrubbing the stubble on his face.
None of us have spent much time on shaving or grooming, so we’re all looking a little rough.
“Doesn’t money exchange hands before the job is completed for things like this?” Lucas asks.
“You’d think so, but Ophelia must have had a reason not to,” Oliver explains. “Otherwise, Paula was paid and she wants more. Alesso?”
“You keep working, I’ll look at her bank records and drain her funds as well so she can’t run,” Alesso says.
“Give me a couple of minutes to get her picked up,” I suggest, closing out the browser and calling the police commissioner. “Hi, Robbie? I need to call in a favor.”
Waving at the room, I head back upstairs to finish my call and shower. Things are moving too damn slowly, but a win is a win.