I allowed myself a small smile, just a slight curve at the corner of my mouth. Control was reasserting itself. The plan was solid. This would work.
It had to.
The penthouse differed from my office. It was less sterile, more of a sanctuary. I'd surprised my interior designer by requesting warm amber lighting, plush leather seating in deep cognac, and bookshelves of rich walnut that softened the floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides. A handwoven Persian rug in burgundy and gold anchored the space, its intricate patterns drawing the eye downward from the suspended glass view of the city. The room breathed comfort into every corner, a deliberate contradiction to my public persona, and exactly what I'd insisted on when I explained I needed a place where I could exhale.
I paced from the window to my bed and back again, a circuit I'd completed at least thirty times in the last hour. I should sleep, resting until I knew more about our Omega. But I couldn’t, not when I knew she was out there, alone and cold. I needed to know she was safe.
My phone sat on the nightstand, silent. Theo hadn't reported yet, and it was already past six in the morning. I checked it anyway, confirming what I already knew: nothing. I set it back down harder than necessary, the sound too loud in the quiet space.
The waiting was intolerable.
I moved to the bed, laid down, and turned to watch the sun rise over the city streets. My eyelids were heavy. Too heavy to keep open, despite the obvious strain I was putting on them. I watched the orange bleed into amber, the crimson into deep blue, as the darkness of the night disappeared and was replaced by the brightness of hope for a new day.
My phone buzzed, waking me from my slumber. I grabbed it before the sound had finished, and saw Theo's name on the screen, my heart leaping in my chest with hope.
“Tell me,” I said, while looking at the clock. It was half past ten in the morning. I’d had a few hours of sleep. It should be enough.
“I’ve found her. She's in the east-side encampment, Zone Seven. Tent city, with about two hundred residents, mostly Omegas. She's sharing space with an older Beta woman.” His voice was neutral, professional, but I heard the subtext. Zone Seven was rough, dangerous, exactly the kind of place that made my protective instincts scream. “I paid one of the residents for information. She told me she was in her tent, sleeping.”
“Right, anything else?”
“Yeah, she said her ankle injury is worse than she lets on. She'll need medical attention soon, or it'll cause permanent damage.”
My hand clenched around the phone. “Security situation?”
“Minimal. A few guards at the main entrance, but they're not exactly vigilant. Mostly, they're there to keep outsiders from causing trouble, not to protect the residents. It's a fire hazard waiting to happen. One spark and the whole place would go up.”
I closed my eyes, fighting down the urge to send a team there immediately, to extract her now, whether or not she wanted it. “Anything else?”
“Apparently, she sings for the camp sometimes. The other residents seem to respect her, or at least leave her alone. Noobvious threats, but that place—” he paused, “It's not safe, Kade. You know that.”
“Did you get close enough to scent her?” I asked, wondering if these feelings were all in my head.
“No. I didn’t want to scare her away.”
I took a deep breath, sitting upright. “Okay. I’ll get changed and meet you down there.”
“Right boss,” he said sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes. “Idiot.”
He laughed and hung up.
I stood there holding the phone, processing the information, feeling my resolve harden into something unbreakable. She was living in the homeless district. A fire hazard with minimal security, injured and vulnerable, in exactly the kind of situation that could go catastrophically wrong in a hundred different ways.
I made another call, this time to my building manager.
“The guest bedroom—is it ready?”
“Yes, sir. It’s been cleaned and stocked as requested. I've assigned it a private access code as you instructed.”
“Good. And the car?”
“Standing by.”
“Have it ready in thirty minutes. I’ll be down then.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, and I could almost see him saluting me, taking the piss. I shook my head and hung up. What is it with everyone in this place? I swear they’re all out to get me.
