Chapter 35
Nash
When we arrive at the address Henry gave us, the massive gate isn’t what I expected.
Who the hell is River and what is she doing here?
There’s so many questions I have for her, most importantly why all the cloak and dagger with her designation.
I glance up seeing Holden in the rear view mirror and I see the same questions written on his face.
But first we need to make sure she is okay.
That’s what’s important.
“Tell me you remember the code?” I ask, as Roman stops beside the keypad.
“Let’s hope it still works,” Holden mumbles, a hitch in his voice.
“I remember it. Good thing seeing how neither of you thought to write it down.” I can hear the tinge of annoyance in Roman’s voice. He reaches his arm out the window, keying in the sequence of numbers. A sigh of relief hits me as the gate opens and we pull through.
“We don’t know what we’re walking into, so both of you need to be prepared to fight. To do whatever it takes to save this girl.” Roman’s voice turns serious.
“She’s not just some girl. She has a name. River. I don’t know why she’s pretending to be something she’s not or if that’s even true, and Henry wasn't talking out his ass. But she needs us to help her.” Holden is quick to reply as he glances over his shoulder, and I nod in agreement.
We get out of the Hummer, and Roman steps around to the back of the vehicle, opening the hatch. “Okay, be careful with these. Only use them if you need to.” He hands each of us a gun, and I go ahead and remove the safety. I don’t want there to be any delay if I need to use it. “Let’s go.”
The three of us move as a cohesive unit onto the porch. I try the door, but it’s locked. Not good.
“Shit, what now?” Holden asks.
“Check the windows and see if any of them are open,” Roman barks, and we move, each of us checking. One by one we go around the house, checking each and every window, even the back door, but come up empty handed.
“We need to get in there. I need to know she’s okay.” Holden’s frantic voice rises. “We’re wasting time here.”
“Can you pick the lock, Roman? Use some of your teenage bad boy skills?” I ask.
“Already tried,” he says solemnly.
“Then we break the windows,” I offer.
“They could be wired with an alarm. We risk giving away that we’re here. Or that it goes straight to the police,” Roman explains.
“I wouldn’t do that,” a deep voice says from behind us.
We turn around, guns aimed at us from three men before us.
My jaw drops at who it is.
We know them.
What the hell is going on here?
“What the fuck are the three of you doing here and how did you get in the gate?” Tav Ashbourne growls, each of them holding a gun much larger than what we have, aimed directly at our heads.
“We can ask the same about you.” Roman steps forward, asserting his dominance. “Didn’t see you as someone to kidnap omegas.”
“I don’t answer to anyone. Now I’d start talking before I fucking blow your head off.
I don’t care who you are. You could be the President for all I care.
” He steps forward, standing firm against Roman.
He doesn’t take his eyes off of us as he speaks again.
“Josh, we've had the assholes on our property. I thought they were vetted and came back clear.”
“They did.”
“We don’t have time to play who has the biggest knot. River is in trouble, and we need to help her. Shoot me or not, but I’m getting in that house.” Holden’s voice rises, filled with anger and pain.
“How do you know River?” Tav questions.
“She’s my project partner. We’ve been talking online and getting to know each other. We had a schoolmate who showed up at our house, beaten. He told us the pack he’d been trying to join was coming to get her, something about finally finding her and that she belonged to them.”
“Screw this, ya’ll have this out, I’m getting inside.” The one we’ve never met before growls as he pushes past us as if we are nothing, opening the door, disappearing into the house.
“Callux is right, Tav, we need to get in there,” Josh says calmly.
“I don’t know how much the three of you are involved in this. Have you seen anyone else?”
“No, and we’re not involved. Just trying to help,” Roman snaps. “which we can’t do out here.”
“I've got a gut feeling we can trust them. At least for now.” Josh steps closer to Tav, brushing against his shoulder as they both keep their stone cold gazes locked on us.
***
Callux
Tav can handle them. I need to find Torin and River. If one hair has been hurt on either of their bodies I swear to God I’m going on a murder spree, beyond the likes of any serial killer known to history.
My eyes drop to the floor, to the blood splattered on it. Now that I’m actually here, I can see things better than we could with the camera. There’s a trail of blood leading to the closet.
I rush to the door, taking hold of the knob and yank it open. It’s empty, but at the bottom lies a rope. One that doesn’t belong here. Torin was here. I can smell his chocolate scent filling the small space. It’s not as rich as it normally is, more dulled, like when he’s worried or upset.
The nest. It has to be where they are. The car we saw on the camera is still here.
My eyes drift to the hallway and kitchen, seeing bloody shoe prints moving in both directions. They’re large, a man’s.
Could they be Torin’s, or do they belong to whoever else is here?
Moving down the hallway, I step cautiously, quietly, not wanting to give anything away. As I reach the door, I hear sobbing. A deep rumbling sound that is all too familiar.
Torin.
I burst open the door, but the sight before me was nothing I could’ve ever imagined.
The room is in disarray, as if a tornado had ripped through the place. On the nest is a dead body, lying in a pool of blood. On the floor is another one.
My eyes keep moving and then I see him. My omega, bloody, wound on his head, in tears as he holds a very limp River in his arms. Torin is carefully brushing her hair out of her face as he cradles her close to his body.
“Torin,” I whisper, not wanting to cause him to panic. “Are you okay? Is River okay?”
I take slow steps over to him, kneeling down in front of him, I push his hair out of his face.
He doesn’t answer, just keeps staring at her.
“Torin, is she okay?”
He shakes his head. “We failed her. I failed her. I promised her she’d be okay. That this would be different. But it wasn’t. And now…”
Heavy footsteps echo down the hall before storming into the room, coming to a sudden halt. There are gasps behind me, but I can’t look away from the two broken omegas before me.