When he hung up, Madison left Jude’s embrace and paused directly in front of Alve, setting his cheeks on fire until they were a bright pink. “You’re not really going to give him any concessions, are you? The Omega Housing Initiative is too important.”
“I wasn’t even planning on going,” he confessed. “If you think you’ll need more time, I can, at least I could give everyone a heads up for when he leaves.”
Madison slammed against his chest and wrapped her arms behind his back. “Thank you.”
He moved so hesitantly with her, taking a full breath before he laid his hands on her shoulders. Apparently whatever anxiety he carried around was enough to override alpha instinct.
“So, we’re breaking into a house?” I asked, swallowing down my nervousness. I’d never gotten into trouble in my life, and I wasn’t eager to break that trend, but something had to be done.
“If he hasn’t changed the codes yet, then it’s not really breaking in,” Madison clarified, stepping away from Alve and wrapping her arms around herself again.
Ah, fuck it.
In for a penny, in for a pound.
I summoned up all my fortitude. I’d faced down swords and ornery horses. I could handle a rescue mission. “All right, let’s do this and hope we don’t get arrested.”
“I won’t think less of anyone if you sit this out,” Madison said. “Poppy and Pepper are my responsibility.”
“I’m fully going to take the opportunity to fuck with Tyler a bit,” Nathan announced. “Take the batteries out of his remotes, steal one of every sock pair, maybe piss on his bed a little.”
Madison let out a hysterical laugh. “Isn’t there DNA in pee, though?”
Nathan shrugged. “Probably, but if I did itunderthe mattress, the odds of him actually finding out before it ruins it completely are pretty low.”
I didn’t know Nathan at all, but I was certainly getting a crash course on his personality. He was one of those people who either pissed you off or made you laugh, and lucky for him, he seemed to be the latter with Madison. I supposed it was beneficial thatwe had someone that chaotic in our midst. I certainly wouldn’t have thought of a break in to get her cats back.
“Let’s roll out,” Nathan said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them like he couldn’t wait. “We can all fit in one car and park in my sister’s garage.”
“What does your sister have to do with this?” I asked.
“She lives down the street,” Nathan explained. “I doubt she’s going to be very impressed with me, but she’ll definitely want me to avoid prison time.”
“I have an SUV to haul around horse stuff,” I offered. “I haven’t had time to clean it, but it’s empty right now.”
“Perfect.” Nathan pulled out his phone and while we made our way downstairs, he called his sister. “Aves, can you make sure there’s a free spot in the garage and leave the door open for us?”
“Are you getting into trouble again?”
“Trouble? Me? Never.”
“Is this for a Madison mission?”
“You bet your ass it is.”
The woman on the other side of the call let out a deep sigh. “I’ll have Luke move his car. Is it just you committing shenanigans or should I expect more people for dinner?”
“There’s five of us, but we can feed ourselves for now. No need to extra impose on you.”
“Five?”
“You wanted me to make friends. This is the ultimate bonding experience.”
More logic I couldn’t fault. What connected people more quickly than committing a crime together?
They said their goodbyes and we parted from Alve, who went on his way to meet up with Tyler and get him out of the house. I opened the passenger door for Madison, Nathan and Jude piling into the backseat.
“Can someone give me directions?” I didn’t even know what neighborhood she was in. Part of me was intensely curious about where she lived, even if it wasn’t where she’d be going forward.
