Chapter 23
River
Torin stays with me long after Holden and his pack leave.
The contract was accepted, and work expected to begin within the next week.
Due to only Holden and Nash being approved along with Roman to do the work, their hours would vary.
They promised to give Tav an estimated work schedule by noon tomorrow.
My heart soared with happiness. I’d get to see them in person again.
Even if it would be through a window. Or an even better idea hit me, one I hadn’t thought about before.
I could hack into the security system. This way, I could see and hear them.
My very own movie. A way to get to know all three of them better.
I’m not sure why it mattered so much to me, but I yearned for it.
I’ve cleaned my little apartment twice, even though it didn’t need it. I’ve rearranged my nest, more than once, changing out the stuffies only to put the original ones back. There’s a reason I had my favorite alligator there. It's because out of all of them, it makes me the happiest.
Looking around, I can’t find anything else to do. My homework is done. I’ve done all the required reading. The only thing I’m waiting on is the specifics of the English assignment. The instructor informed us by email that we would have it on Monday.
I walk over to my desk, letting my fingers dance along the keyboard.
Time to work. Find some bad guys and make them pay.
Sitting down, I turn on my laptop and go to the case I’ve been working on.
An omega, missing for five months, and oddly enough she’s from here.
She was even a student at Cortland Preparatory College.
If I actually attended classes on the campus, we could’ve been friends. Maybe?
I’d come up empty. There’s a clue there, my mind is just not focused enough to see it. No one disappears without a trace. There's a trail somewhere just waiting for me to stumble onto it.
Clicking on the file, I open it up and begin to scour through the information.
Her cell phone records, messages and even her spending habits.
Everything was normal until about a month before she disappeared.
There’s one number that keeps coming up, and I quickly run a scan, finding that it comes back to a burner phone.
I’ve tried calling it, and it's not turned on.
I traced the number to find what store it was activated in so that I could hopefully find a credit card number attached to the sale.
But it shows the service was initiated online, at an IP address that sends me overseas. That's a dead end.
Her messages are vague, clear that most of the conversations she had with this unknown person took place via phone calls.
The last message has her meeting with him at a local out of the way diner.
I check the records for the diner, hoping like hell they’d have security cameras and that access to any footage is still available.
Unfortunately, that ends with another bust. I lean back in my chair, and groan in frustration.
What is going on? I’ve always been able to find that missing little diamond in the rough of information to lead me to where I need to send the right people. But not this time.
I’ve been avoiding opening the messenger chat for school.
Not that I don’t want to talk to Holden, but because I’m afraid of getting closer to him.
Of falling for him. Crazy thoughts for someone who was just thinking about stalking them through the house security system.
I’m a fucking mess with all these hormones coursing through me.
Desire wins out, and I open it, smiling brightly when I see he’s messaged me.
To River: This morning has been busy. We had to meet a client to give an estimate on a deck and some other things. How has your morning been? What have you been up to?
I sit and think for a minute. Should I be honest? Fudge the truth a little? Or, just outright lie? Whoever said having friends was easy was wrong. It’s not always easy. Sometimes it’s tricky and hard.
I decide to fudge.
To Holden: Not bad. Had some company this morning. Then I did some cleaning around my place. I was doing some research on an assignment but needed to take a break, and now here I am with you.
To River: Sounds like you’ve been having a productive morning.
To Holden: I have. Did you get the job?
I know the answer already, but it seems like something a friend would ask. Especially one who doesn’t want her real identity known.
To River: We did. We’ll be doing it in our off time. Some of the work Roman will start on his own, then when Nash and I are free we’ll be helping him. Not sure why, but the clients are really into their security, and only the 3 of us were allowed to be on the property to do the work.
What can I say to that? I know that Tav and the guys are being over the top about it, especially with me not being on suppressants now.
Neither is Torin, but he just had his heat and he decided to take suppressants so that he is here for me during my true first heat.
He didn’t want Tav, Callux and Josh to be pulled in two different directions.
To Holden: Weird. What else do you have planned for the weekend?
To River: Nothing much. Roman got a call that the guy he beat the other night wants a rematch. Claims that Roman cheated in some way. We all know that’s bullshit, but Roman is seriously debating taking him up on it.
A shiver runs down my back. Something doesn’t seem right. Why even consider the rematch if you know you didn’t cheat? Why would this other man even want to lose another battle? I need to know more.
To Holden: So who is he, maybe, potentially fighting?
To River: Some alpha named Hancock Matthews. He wanted to be part of our pack, but we turned him away. He’s not someone we want associated with us.
To Holden: What club does Roman fight at?
I hope he doesn’t think I’m being too nosy.
To River: Harlequin. Are you planning to sneak in and watch him fight? If you want to go I’ll gladly take you. It could be a date.
My heart races. A date. He said a date, and asked if I wanted to go.
Was he just saying it to be nice or was he being for real.
My nerves start to rise and my breathing quickens as my scent pours off me in waves.
How can he want to date me and he hasn't even seen me.
For all he knows I could be catfishing him.
To Holden: Wish I could. Sadly I’m not able to.
To River: Hey GTG, we’re heading out to dinner. Can I message you when I get back?
To Holden: Of course.
I sit there, gazing at our messages. Reading them over repeatedly, trying to decipher if he meant exactly what he wrote or if he was just being nice.
But my eyes keep stopping on the part about the fight his brother Roman might get in to and I decide to start doing some digging especially since I’ve drawn a blank on the other case I’m working on.
I scour the internet for hours even diving into the dark web to get any information I can.
Checking everything there is to know about this Hancock Matthews.
From the way he spends money, the people he associates with, to how many times he goes to the bathroom.
If there was something to find out about him, then I did.
Just when I think I’m hitting another dead end, something catches my attention.
“Okay Hancock, why are you looking at chloroform?”
It was easy to break into his personal computer.
He had no firewall protection. It’s as if he didn't care who could sneak in under the radar and take a look at his browsing history. Now that I have a lead, I feel that giddiness in me that I always get when I’m close to breaking something and finding the truth.
The deeper I dig, the more my stomach churns. His search into the drug started after his failed fight with Roman. And according to the cryptic message he received late last night, he’s found a way to obtain it.
Roman needs to know before he decides to do this rematch in that cage. Hell, before he heads to that fucking club for the fight. Does the owner know? The organizer of the fights? Did Hancock pay them off in some way to ensure that this rematch is beneficial for him?
So many questions. But very few answers.
I need to warn Roman, but I need to be careful about it.
There’s no way I want Holden to put two and two together and figure out that I may be involved.
Now isn’t the time to drop the information.
I’ll wait for the perfect moment and then send him a message on my burner phone.
The one I use to speak to the people I help.
In a sense that’s what I’m doing. Just not my normal way of helping.
It’ll be the first time I’m actually helping an alpha to save himself.
There’s a knock on my door, and I turn around just as Tav, Callux, Josh and Torin step inside my apartment. I close my laptop not wanting them to see what I’m looking into.
“Oh shit. I must be in trouble with all of you here at the same time.”
“Never. Have you done something you need a spanking for, Brat?” Callux jokes as he heads straight to the fridge and pulls out some lunchmeat and begins making himself a sandwich.
“Make yourself at home,” I say sarcastically, pretending to be upset.
“Oh, don’t worry, I will.” He smiles brightly, his eyes twinkling as he does. I love that he’s the jokester in the bunch. No one knows that behind that silly exterior he puts on that he could kill a man at the drop of a dime, and not have an iota of remorse about it.
“Cut it out,” Tav barks, causing everyone to laugh.
“Are we going somewhere for dinner?” I ask, curious as to why they are all here.
“We can. But that's not why we’re here.” He moves over to the couch and sits down, while Josh heads over to the little kitchen table I have and pulls out a seat.
“Make me one too, while you’re at it,” Josh calls to Callux, who nods in response.
Torin starts to head over to Tav, but changes his mind and heads to Josh, sitting down in his lap as he wraps his arms around him, kissing him lightly on the lips. I love seeing them being so affectionate.
“Then why are you here?” I tilt my head to the side, confused.
“We’re having the crew who was here earlier build the deck. We’ve limited the workers to three men, brothers. But we need you to continue to stay here, in the apartment, while they’re here. They’re unmated, and I don’t want to risk your safety, especially with a heat looming in the near future.”
“Got it. Hide in the rafters like Quasimodo.”
Tav rolls his eyes at me, shaking his head. “No, you’re nothing like him. Come on, River, humor us. Just stay in the apartment, doors and windows shut.”
“Okay.” They don’t need to know I plan to watch them through the security system. “What else is there? You said first.”
“We’ve been talking with Heatwave and they have sent over their best candidates to help you with the heat. They suggest having a backup option in case of emergencies. Do you want to help pick the pack?”
I just sit there. Stunned. Speechless. I knew this moment was coming, but now it’s real. If coming off the suppressants wasn’t enough to tell me, choosing a pack to help me through my heat is.
“No. Just pick whomever you think is good. I don’t want to know anything about them or their names. That hasn’t changed. Also, make sure they don’t call me any pet names. Omega is fine.” I don’t want to talk anymore about it, and none of the guys try to pressure me to.
“So what’s for dinner?” Callux asks as he takes a large bite of the very bountiful sandwich in his hands.