But this takeover will root out Ray’s illegal activities once and for all. We’ll turn his wealth tap off one pipeline at a time, and this is the biggest one.
I grab my laptop and log into my bank’s trading platform. I haven’t used this in years, having sold the shares Aunt Lexi gave me to stay afloat when I was first building my career. But Lector taught me how to navigate the platform, and thankfully I used a PIN I know well.
“As I thought,” I mutter, checking the stock price on Alpha Cash. It’s down three percent today from the takeover news. I eye my bank balance, now much greener thanks to a share of Red’s contract advance. Couldn’t hurt to dip my toe in the market, and it’d make me feel like I owned a piece of revenge.
After placing my order for two grand’s worth of Alpha Cash stocks, I send Lector a good-luck text message with an excited fingers-crossed GIF. He shoots back a wink emoji almost immediately. I pack up my laptop and call Callisto, getting my earbuds in as the phone dials.
“Hi, Ricky,” he answers on the second ring.
“Hey! I just saw the news.”
“Exciting, isn’t it? I mean, that battle won’t be easy and could take a few months, but I’m hopeful.”
“If anyone can do it, it’s Lector,” I tell him, throwing open a side door and striding toward the second studio shed. “I’m on my way to tell Red right now.”
“How is she?” he asks.
I smile at the eagerness in his voice. “Good, I think.” A golf cart zips around the corner of the studio, and my feet slow. Fuck, I’m so stressed out now I’m seeing my mother everywhere I go. “Hey. You got that restraining order filed, right?”
“Of course.” His tone tightens, alpha dominance giving it a sharp edge. Callisto’s always cared, but this sounds far more possessive. “Pretty sure I saw an email saying the temporary order was granted. It should’ve been served yesterday or the day before.”
I nod and rock forward with a relieved exhale. My nerves are all over the place, with us sleeping in a tent and Zack not in our midst. It reminds me of how I used to live before meeting Red: locked in a permanent state of weary fear. But that went away after Zack joined us. A pack really changes things.
“Did—” A muffled background voice interrupts Callisto. “Oh, hold on a second, someone’s asking for me.”
I slip inside the giant studio building. The red light outside the studio door flashes, warning me the cameras are running, so I lean against the wall in the corridor outside to wait.
“Well, would you look at that,” Callisto crows down the line.
“What?”
“Hang on. I’ll switch to video call.”
The request flashes up, and I hit the accept option. My screen blurs as Calli turns his phone over to reveal a big blue envelope resting on his palm, one corner touching his watch. The Omega Center’s nest logo practically glows in silver embossing, smack in the middle.
“This is their support for the appeal,” Callisto says, turning the phone back to show his grin. His gaze tracks up, polishedhallway with old-style grandeur bouncing in the background as he power-walks. “Just in time before they close.”
“You’re going to submit it right now?” I ask.
“Yep. Hang on a second.” He brushes through a doorway and rings a service bell. His voice muffles as he sets the phone down on a high countertop and opens the envelope in front of the administration officer. “I’d like to submit this as an addendum for a current appeal.”
A man responds by saying he’ll take care of it, but Callisto doesn’t move. From the low angle I can see, he stays rooted in place, an expectant look on his face.
Calli picks up the phone. “Sorry, sir,” he says as if I’m his boss. “Yes, I just delivered the Omega Center’s recommendation, but I’m waiting for the clerk to date-stamp it.” His belligerent expression makes me want to burst out laughing.
I decide to play along, adopting a deeper voice. “Well, do they plan to take all day? Time is money, and I need you back in the conference room, now!”
Callisto lifts his brows and stares down at the clerk, and the click of the stamp rings out.
“I’m on my way,” he announces to me, his fake boss, before thanking the clerk. He winks down at me but stays quiet until he pushes back out through the door. After he checks over his shoulder, he chuckles darkly. “Nice one, Ricky. That should get things moving. I daresay we’ll have an appeal date in less than a week.”
“The Omega Center has that much say?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah, once they get involved, it’s like lighting a fire under the judges’ tails. But if someone in the clerk’s office was the one burying my case, now they can’t.”
Clever. I swear I feel like an amoeba some days around my super smart friend.
“Any word from the prison?” I ask, leaning my head back against the cool wall.
