“We can try to trace the call and find where Volkov is that way, but there is no guarantee that he will call from where he is keeping Mrs. Dubois or that the call will even be traceable. Our best bet is to stage a handover, putting wires and GPS trackers on both Dominic and Eloise. Wait for them to get to the secondary location and swoop in and arrest the lot of them for kidnapping and a slew of other charges. Anything to get them into federal prison and keep them there.” He reiterated his plan again. There were so many ways that this plan could go wrong. There was a high chance that Eloise wouldn’t come out of this unscathed and just the idea of it sent fear shivering through my body. I must not have done enough to shield my emotions from Eloise because she sent soothing emotions down our bond and I gave her hand a little squeeze and tried to get my emotions under control.
“This is going to end badly, Eloise,” Leon turned to our omega, his eyes pleading with her, “Please don’t do this.”
“We can find another way to save Dominic’s grandmother. This is definitely the nuclear option.” Ric had begun to pace up and down the length of the room and I could feel his residual panic through our mutual bond with Eloise. I couldn’t send calming thoughts his way like Eloise could but I watched her brown eyes fall on his hunched shoulders and after a moment his steps slowed and he let out a whooshing sigh as the bond took its effect.
Dominic nodded, “I have to agree with them, Eloise. This is not a good plan—” He was cut off by the phone beginning to buzz and ring on the table. All eyes flew to the little black flip phone as if it were a poisonous snake, ready to bite us.
Eloise stood up and untangled her hands from Leon and I’s and picked up the cell phone, crossing the room to Dominic and holding it out to him, “This is my choice. Make the deal.” She said to everyone in the room but her eyes were on Dominic who looked miserable. He gripped the back of her elbows and drew her in close and they shared what looked like a conversation and an argument all wrapped up into one look.
“Do it.” She reached out and pulled his hand into hers, turning it so that his palm was open and put the ringing phone into his hand.
Reluctantly Dominic opened the cell phone and answered the call “This is Dominic.” His voice shook just a bit as he pressed the speaker button and Alexei Volkov’s deep baritone filled the room.
“Dominic. So glad you got my message.” The man said in a thick russian accent, chuckling at his own joke.
“Please let my grandmother go. She has nothing to do with this.”
“I was just enjoying a cup of tea with her Dominic, no need to panic. Elisabet, say hello my darling, your grandson is on the phone.” There was a sound in the background and then a muffled scream that sent shivers running down my spine. Dominic’s grandmother was in the same room that Volkov was calling from, I realized and out of the corner of my eye I watched Agent Collins step into the other room—no doubt to try and trace the call.
Dominic pressed a fist to his mouth before continuing. “If you hurt her, Volkov I will kill you.”
Volkov mock gasped, as if he was offended by Dominic’s words, “My, my Mr. Dubois. I would never. Elisabet and I are fully enjoying our time together. In fact, we are enjoying it so much we’d love for you to join us. With Pack Russo’s omega of course.”
There it was. I had been holding out hope that he’d ask for some kind of financial information or for Dominic to kill Leon Russo. But Volkov knew that both of those things wouldn’t hurt Leon. What would hurt Leon the most was to go for our most vulnerable point—which was Eloise.
“Absolutely not.” Dominic growled, what the hell was he doing? He was supposed to agree to Volkov’s terms. That was the entire point of all of this. “I told you to leave the omega out of this. She’s got nothing to do with the situation.”
An ominous chuckle crackled through the speaker of the phone, “I’m so sorry for laughing, Mr. Dubois, I just think that it is very funny that you think you have any choice in this matter at all. The picnic spot where you answer my calls. 10:30pm.” With that he hung up with a click, giving us only five hours to figure out just how the hell we were going to pull this off.
41
“Put these on.” The FBI agent standing in front of me said, holding out a pair of gold stud earrings. It had been three hours since the phone call with Volkov. We’d barely had a moment to breathe since Volkov had ended the phone call. Agent Collins had been unable to trace the call so he started to mobilize any and all available agents, getting them ready for what was shaping up to be the sting of a lifetime.
“What are these?” I asked, switching my own earrings out and handing them to the agent who put them in the black velvet box that the new earrings had come in.
“Tracking devices in both. We’ve also got a ring, watch and necklace.” The agent, who I was pretty sure was called Agent Emerson, was a pretty blond woman who looked far too young to be in the FBI.
“Ah… got it thanks.” I took the necklace and ring from her and held the necklace out to Gage who’d been hovering within touching distance ever since the end of the phone call. “Can you help me get this on?” It was a locket and I clicked it open, surprised to find a picture of Link as a child inside.
“We’re trying to keep these devices as undetectable as possible.” Emerson explained, “So they need to seem like something you would wear. Try not to draw too much attention to them.”
I nodded as Gage put the locket around my neck and fastened it with clumsy fingers before placing a kiss onto the back of my head.
Dominic was in the other corner of the room talking to another agent as they outfitted him with a wire and similar tracking devices. They had outfitted him with a black dress shirt, informing us that the wires were sewn into the seam of the collar and that if they patted him down, they wouldn’t be able to feel anything.
“What if they sweep for the devices that they are wearing?” Leon asked as he hovered nearby. He’d made it clear how much he hated this plan and had taken to either trying to convince me not to do it and sullen silence.
“These shouldn’t be detectable by most means.These are relatively new pieces of technology that the FBI uses.” Collins explained as he oversaw the room which was abuzz with activity. Owen had stepped in to help one of the analysts with the technical side of things, Link and Ric were talking on the phone with Aria and Theo and catching them up with the situation. Gage, always my protector, hadn’t left my side and Leon… well I could tell that Leon was struggling with the loss of control.
“No offense but that doesn’t make me feel any better.” Leon grumped, looking like he was close to losing his temper again. I stood from where I was perched on a stool and headed over to him, my hands ready to calm him. I’d never put much stock in the idea that omegas had any significant kind of control over their alphas until I’d started soothing Pack Russo. Running my hands on the planes of his back and around to his chest before putting them on either side of his face I gently forced him to look at me, “We will be just fine. You will know where we are at all times and will be able to swoop in before anything bad happens.” I hoped.
I don’t know how I’d gone from attending dance classes and being thoroughly bored with my life to being a part of an FBI operation. I guess life was just funny like that.
Leon leaned down and took my mouth in a desperate kiss that he reluctantly broke far too soon for either of our liking. But there were too many non-pack eyes in the room, watching every move we made. “Hey, I love you.” I whispered. It was the first time I’d ever said that to him and I hoped that I’d have many more chances after this to say it over and over again.
Happiness briefly replaced the stress and misery and Leon pressed his forehead to mine, “I love you too,cara, make sure you come back to me safely.” He whispered back.
“It’s time.” Agent Collins at some point had strapped a bulletproof vest over his white dress shirt and it had ‘FBI’ in large white letters across the front.
