Chapter 30 #2
Sitting on the edge of the passenger seat in my 4x4, she looks so small, a shiver skittering through her body.
I reach into the back seat, grabbing someone’s Nexus hoodie.
Her eyes go wide as she watches me pull it over her head.
It drowns her, covering way past her knees.
Her hair bunches around her in a self-made bob of pink, eyes locked on me again, and if this were a different day, a different moment, I’d lean over and kiss her.
Instead, I tuck some hair behind her ear, ease her legs into the footwell, and reach over to push in her seat belt.
Shutting her door, I rush to the other side, finding her curled up, knees under the hoodie and against her chest, fingers toying with the cuffed sleeves.
“I’m going to take us somewhere safe,” I repeat, trying to soothe her.
She doesn’t respond, just stares straight ahead.
I reach into my pocket and send the guys a quick update.
“I’m going to send my pack to your room. They’ll pick up anything I missed. Okay?”
Again, no response. She just stares.
My alpha rumbles his concern. “Are you hurt, darlin’?”
“No… I’m okay.”
Finally.
A soft purr trickles out of me, even louder than the engine when I start the car. As I pull out of the car park, her body starts to relax, and I decide I’ll never stop purring.
***
A part of me hoped Revea would fall asleep during the journey, but she doesn’t. Her eyes remain fixed on the road.
From the airport, our home is thirty minutes away. I make it there in twenty.
The guys will no doubt be at the hotel by now, seeing what I saw, wondering what the fuck is going on. That gives me some time alone with Revea to figure out exactly that. Because she’s terrified. And fear makes people do two things.
Right now, I’ve got an omega ready to flee at the drop of a pin.
My purr fades out when I pull up to the first security check. It scans our car’s registration before the wide iron gates creak open.
At the next gate, I enter a code from my phone. I catch Revea’s gaze on me but pretend I don’t.
At the third, I lean out the window to press my thumb against a scanner and say my name.
She’s turned to look at me. “What is this place…?” she murmurs. But now, she doesn’t sound scared.
“My pack house.”
She frowns but doesn’t say anything else, just settles back into her seat as I drive into the courtyard.
We’ve never brought any women here. We’ve never gotten that far. Even when Luc had a girlfriend for a while last year, he didn’t even ask to bring her over, like a part of him knew it wouldn’t work.
And now, Revea is here, leaning forward in her seat to stare at the house before her.
“It’s… big,” she says, gaze darting over the steps leading to the front door, a shelter above held by columns.
“We’re big,” I say, and I swear her mouth twitches.
“You see the forest?” I point it out, and she follows, studying the sides of the house.
“That covers it from cameras and satellites, but if that didn’t, Sylvan also has an electrical force field around the house.
It blocks any electronics except authorised ones on our network.
” I lower my voice to a soft murmur as I put the car into park.
“Whatever you’re hiding from, Revea, you’ll be safe here. ”
Her teeth scrape against her lower lip, eyes studying the exterior.
“Ready to go inside?” I ask.
I wait, worried she’ll say no, or worse… that she’ll ask me to take her elsewhere. Another hotel, her brothers, anywhere that isn’t here with us.
But then she nods.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t let me carry her this time.
While I grab her bag, she’s gotten out of the car and is moving up the steps to the front door.
I follow, inhaling slivers of her scent from the breeze. It’s still bitter, the tang of fear turning it sour. But fuck, it’s still addictive.
She waits as I place my thumb onto the sensor. I barely feel the prick of the needle anymore, and soon, the door opens. Finally inside, I put down Revea’s suitcase by the entrance and watch as she takes it all in.
The dimmed lights slowly flicker to life, filling the room with a soft, orange hue as the fire in the living room ignites. She flinches a little when that happens but keeps walking.
The first floor is mainly open space, containing a wide living room that blends into a large kitchen. That’s where she goes, leaning against the black granite island with stools too high for her to reach.
Not perching on the giant U-shaped sofa we spend most of our evenings on, not the soft egg chairs with throws, she goes for the cold kitchen and leans against the hard counter.
Her head tilts back, staring up at the tall ceiling that’s cut off by the second floor, then her gaze lands back on me.
“Your home is beautiful,” she says softly. Her lips tug, like she’s trying to smile, but then she looks down. “Could you get me my laptop, please?”
I don’t think Revea quite understands how deep my need to please her goes. I’d do anything she asks right now.
I bring her entire suitcase, place it on the counter, and unzip it. Her laptop is on top of her clothes, but before I can pass it to her, she reaches for it quickly, snatching it from my fingers.
Clutching it to her chest, her eyes locked with mine, shining with unshed tears.
She stares at me for a long time, then takes a deep breath. “I’m going to prison, Kaiden.”
My first thought is, No, she’s fucking not, closely followed by, Where’s the body so I can hide it?
I go with the first.
“No, you’re not.”
She pulls in her lower lip, a tear slipping out. “I am. Most likely… I…” She pauses, then holds out her laptop. “Open it. Go to my emails. You’ll see.”
There’s a tremor in her hand as I take it.
I thought she was shaking from shock, but now I’m worried it’s something else.
I’m so desperate to wrap her up in me again, soothe her with promises she’s not quite ready to believe, because one thing I know, without even needing to see whatever she wants to show me, is that Revea is good.
I’m already on her side. Already planning how soon I can get her a new passport and out of the country if necessary.
But she’s closed off to me now.
Her arms fold tightly over her chest as she leans further back against the counter, away from me. And her gaze stays locked on the laptop the entire time.
I need to get this over with so I can reassure her.
I place it on the counter and open it.
There are over a dozen tabs running. I minimise them all and head to her emails, scrolling until I find one marked as read with the subject line:
Look at me.
My stomach churns as I click it open.
Before I even read the text, the images hit me first. I scroll and scroll… and scroll, my chest tightening with each new picture.
There are hundreds. Hundreds. And they’re all of Revea.
Caught off guard, never looking at the camera, clearly taken at a distance. At her salon, walking down the street, getting into her car.
Inside her flat.
…Asleep in her bed.
I bite my tongue, use the sharp sting to keep my hands from snapping the laptop in half. I inhale. Close my eyes. Force my breathing steady before I look again, scrolling back to the top.
￡500,000. Tomorrow night.
Beneath it sits a purple hyperlink. When I click, CCTV footage fills the screen. One I’ve already seen.
Revea punching that alpha, pushing him down, pressing her shears to his throat. But then it cuts abruptly. This version is much shorter than the one Rue showed us weeks ago. Skilfully edited.
Below it, more text:
You run a very public business, Miss Monroe. Imagine how your clients might react when they see this. Imagine how the police will react when the public starts asking why the chief’s sister gets to assault an alpha with a weapon and walk away.
Trials are messy things. Especially when the public decides someone needs to be made an example of.
And you would make the perfect one.
A violent omega threatening an alpha with a blade.
Omegas like you are starting to forget your place in this world. Perhaps a very public trial will remind everyone exactly where they belong.
Pay the money, and the footage stays private. Refuse, and tomorrow night, this goes everywhere.
News outlets. Social media. The police.
We will be watching. If you tell anyone, the deal is off.
Money or ruin.
Your choice.
“Revea,” I murmur, trying to keep my voice calm. “Please tell me you haven’t sent any money.”
She shakes her head. “I know the basics—never negotiate with terrorists.” She smiles sadly. “Which means soon, this will be everywhere. I’ll most likely be arrested tomorrow.”
I leave the laptop on the side as I close the distance between us, looking down at her.
“You’re not going to prison.” I can’t hold back my growl.
“It’s assault, what I did to him.” She nods to her laptop. “Excessive force. I broke his nose, threatened him, held shears to his throat.” She closes her eyes, trying to fight back tears that fall anyway. “I’ve been researching since my flight, then all day. Every answer says the same thing—”
“Do you know how easy it is to find what you want online? You can trick yourself into believing anything if you search hard enough—”
“That’s not this, Kaiden. You can see the evidence.”
“Revea, it was self-defence.”
“Was it?” She looks at me again, her tone drenched in bitterness. “I could have barked first, but I didn’t. I hit him. I didn’t need to touch him.”
“You think a bark would’ve stopped him?” I fire back, making her frown.
“He was too far gone—his alpha was in control. It wouldn’t.
” I step closer. “What that footage doesn’t show is him assaulting your staff.
The omega he’s grabbing isn’t there. They’ve edited it out.
Revea, remember what actually happened. He forced himself inside your business—”