“And those names would be?” Kole’s voice lacks patience, and I elbow him in theside.
“Well, first, and this might be our largest problem—Senator Richard Pierce.” My eyes shoot to Hayden. His expression is pained, and I reach over to grab his hand. Regret pulses through the bond, and I hate that he has to go through this.
“We had a feelin’ about that already,” I admit, letting out a sigh.
“We don’t know if he knows that Hayden is out yet, considering it appears that Isaac Thornfield is on his payroll, and I’m assuming he’s going to do everything possible to ensure he keeps his funding. He’ll want to keep this situation under wraps for as long as he can.” There’s typing in the background as Declan speaks. “The other name he brought up was Senator George Kinsley, which confirms what you overheard Brooks and Whitmore talking about, and lastly, the name Prometheus.”
“Prometheus? Like the champion of humanity in Greek mythology?” West scoffs. “How typical. Elevating himself using a pseudonym that implies his actions are for the benefit of the people he’s deceiving. Let me guess—he’s in charge?”
Declan sighs. “He’s the head of the operation. They call themselves the ‘Beta Liberation Union’. In short, they want to ‘liberate’ the betas from the oppression of alphas and omegas. They want to introduce the drug they’ve been developing to the public as a way to keep instincts in check, but in reality it will completely obliterate designations altogether. At least, that’s the plan. They haven’t been able to get the formula quite right yet.”
“Shit.” West mutters, rubbing his eyes. “We need to make sure that does not happen. Are my parents involved at all? My dad is…verygood friends with Isaac Thornfield.”
“Christopher and Whitney Monroe, right?” Dec grunts, still typing. “They use their residence as a meeting location once a month.That’s about the extent of their involvement, so I don’t know if they’re being coerced by Thornfield, or if theywantto be involved.”
“Dammit,” West mutters.
“As far as your father, Vasiliev, he’s only in the skin trade, selling the omegas. He’s not an actual part of the Liberation Union.”
“I do not know if I am supposed to find comfort in that,” Kole huffs. “How did you find out? Surely Brooks has never met my father.”
“No, that’s information that Aidan dug up.” Declan keeps typing. “He’s the deep-diver when it comes to hacking—I’m more on the surface-level shit.”
“Wonderful,” I sigh. “So how long do you think we’ll have to live like this?”
“At least until I can get a full list of any sympathizers and members of this Union. Then we need to cross reference that list with members of higher ranking government and the FBI. Once I can assure the information won’t get buried, we’ll make our move.”
“We could just hunt down this ‘Prometheus’ ourselves,” Kole growls. “What good is a snake if we cut off its head?”
Sam shakes his head. “As much as I hate to say it, that won’t do anything. If we simply kill Prometheus after finding out who it really is, then every little minion in his ranks will run and hide, and then they’ll re-emerge with a new leader.”
“On top of that,” West cuts in, looking between all of us, “if you just run in and kill him, it will only feed their cause, given that you’re alphas. They’ll spin the narrative to make it look like you really are a danger to everyone around us because of your instincts. No, the best way to do this is to expose them to the public. They’ve kidnapped omegas. Performed illegal experiments that fuck with biology itself. They’re mad scientists.”
“You guys are right.” Dec sighs, and the typing in the background stops briefly. “I’m sorry, Jo. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground, and it doesn’t seem like anyone has any clue about where you are. Maybe you can relax a little. Go to the beach or something. Just don’t draw attention to yourself.”
“Can we?” I look to Sam for his reaction. I might go stir crazy if they don’t let me out soon. At least when I was locked up, bouncing from facility to facility, I had a goal in mind—get to Mabel. Now all we’re trying to do is not get caught. Sure, the orgasms help, but we can’t go on like this forever.
“Tomorrow.” Sam gives me a smile, and when I squeal, throwing myself into his arms, I barely register Declan hanging up the phone with a low chuckle.
thirty
Hayden
“Everybody wake the fuck up.” Sam’s harsh voice has me jolting upright, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest. “We need to keep the lights off and move quickly.” The clock on the bedside table reads two in the morning, and my brain takes a second to catch up with the implications of his barked orders. A heavy weight lands on the bed, and I rub my eyes just in time to see Kole grabbing the assault rifle as he slides off the mattress.
Well, shit.
“What’s happenin’?” Jo’s voice is sharp and clear, with no indication that she had been fast asleeponly moments before.
West pulls his pants on, grabbing a handgun from one of the duffel bags on the ground.
“Heat sensors around the perimeter picked up movement. Cameras are showing at least twenty armed bodies. We’re under siege.” His voice is hard, his jaw set tight. “They’re stalled for now, probably waiting for the go ahead from their commander.”
“Fuck.” I scramble out of bed, throwing on the nearest clothes I can find. My lighter, which had been on the nightstand, soothes some of the anxiety churning in my gut once I have it in my hand. My eyes flash to Turnip, whose little head is poking out of the box-nest that West made for her at our last house. I hope she doesn’t get too panicked.
“What is the plan of attack?” Kole asks, now fully dressed.
“Our one advantage is they don’t know that we’ve spotted them. They’ll think we’re sleeping, completely unaware.”
