I dig my heels in and push him, protesting with fierce snarls. I must see Cal-ee. He’ll explain this situation to me, and he’ll tell me if my pack mates are okay.
The guard leans back, reaching for his belt. “Fuck this. Clear.”
From the corner of my eye, I register his hand connecting with a black object and arcing toward me. It touches my skin, and sparkling white sugar blazes through my vision. A shocking energy takes me captive, short-circuiting my nerves. I jolt, saliva spilling through my frozen lips as I shake from the force. For a few moments, nothing exists except the tremendous energyburning me to a crisp, lighting pain in every part of my body. And then it stops.
Just like the time I touched that burning fence.
I gasp for breath, gurgling through the foam in my throat as the familiar alpha snarls and loads me over his shoulder.
“Geez. Settle your britches, McKenna,” the other guard hisses, the words filtering slowly through my sputtering mind.
“I’ll settle when we’re gone,” he snaps back. “This alpha’s going back to prison, no matter what, and I won’t let some hotshot lawyer stop me this time.”
I reach instinctively toward the distant, garbled sound of the lawyer who could save me. Metal links dangle from my hand again, but I can’t remember what they mean. A door swings shut behind me with a thump, and then McKenna throws me into the back of a car with a metal mesh between the seats. He looks down at me, far too many teeth showing in his grin, before slamming the door.
Chapter three
Callisto
“Where is he?” I demand, bracing my hands on the front counter in the local police station. “Where’s my client?” My scent slips along with my control, but I’m too pissed to care.
The beta woman behind the desk bristles. “You can’t come in here making demands, sir. We process all offenders the same, so you’ll just have to wait until we’re ready.”
Instinct tells me it’ll be too late by then. I lean forward and snarl. “Get your sheriff out here immediately. Zack Jones is under court protection.”
I swear she rolls her eyes, so I switch tactics, stepping over to the security door and slapping my palms against it. “Get out here! I need to see my client immediately. He’s in danger!” Well, more likely it’s the police officers who are in danger, but I can’t announce that here.
“Ease up,” Pierce tells me, resting a hand on my shoulder. “We don’t want you getting locked up too.”
I glare at him, cogs turning.
The OCB agent swears under his breath. “Don’t you dare think about it, Callisto.”
Would it be worth a small infraction to earn myself a ticket through that door? Perhaps disturbing the peace or verbal assault of a law enforcement agent? What could I do without losing my barrister’s license?
Pierce shakes his head, and his grip tightens. “Who can get him out if you’re detained?”
I hiss under my breath and jerk away. Fuck him for being right.
For all I know, Zack has his teeth in someone’s throat right this second. By most appearances, Zack’s tame these days, but I know it’s only a pretense. If he thinks his omega’s threatened, he’ll go supernova. As an alpha who’s experienced a fraction of his displeasure, I’ve witnessed his simmering fragility. He’s like an iceberg, and we’ve only seen the tip.
Fear trickles down my spine.
Damn. I can argue for a legal slap on the hand for Zack for tossing a few journalists around, but murdering a police officer? That would come with maximum penalties. And if it’s not me fighting for him, Zack might never see daylight again.
Our omega’s heart would break.
I nod mutely and suck in a deep breath.
A giant man stalks behind the counter. “What’s all this noise about?”
A glance at his badge tells me he’s the sheriff. I open my mouth to demand admittance, but Pierce pulls out his OCB badge. “We need to see Zackary Jones right away. He’s a special case involved in an omega situation we’re working on.” Suddenly he twitches my way, eyes wide.
Realization hits me at the same moment. Red’s trafficking case is closed, so my deal with these two OCB agents is done. Pierce shouldn’t even be here in an official capacity.
“Your report hasn’t been filed, right?” I mutter under my breath.
Pierce relaxes and nods. “And the attack happened before sign-off. Should be fine.”
