“Already done. While you went for a walk. Gabe was coming to find you after we received a call from island security.”
“Yeah, well, lucky it was me that found them, because you would have had a fucking heart attack, let me tell you. Len was…” I take a slippery leap at Gabe and cover his mouth with my hand, shutting him up.
“Mistaken identity is all.” I give a big grin at everyone before glaring at Gabe, who is cracking up under my hand. “And you shut up!”
Climbing to my feet, I accept another towel from Lincoln and dry off.
“Go change, dove. I can put those through the wash. We’re not going to be doing any sight-seeing for a bit, so you may as well get comfy.”
I peel off my ruined socks; they plop to the floor, leaving a growing puddle under them, and then I pull off my hoodie, passing it over to Lincoln who is waiting.
“Thanks, Lincoln. I can take it through to your laundry room. What time is it?” I ask him. He takes all my wet clothes without letting me do it.
“Nearly midnight.”
“Okay, I have a meeting in ten minutes, then another scheduled conference call in an hour.”
Noah is hovering. I’m not sure he believed Valak that I wasn’t hurt, so I turn and show him the bottom of my feet so he chills. Without a doubt, if I didn’t show him my feet were okay, the thought I was hurt and not knowing would bug him all night.
“We might lose power but I’ve got backup generators. It will take a couple of minutes to switch over,” Lincoln says, watching me hopping around.
Valak and Gabe dry off, and I wait, wondering, hoping they’re going to semi-undress too. Until I realise I’m being a bit of a perv and then I focus on drying Ares off—he’s going to get stinky if I don’t towel him. “I’ll message and let them know that could happen because of the storm.”
Gabe passes another towel over and groans when I go to clean the floor. The four of us have made a right mess on Lincoln’s beautiful, clean floors. He squats next to me, stopping me for a moment, clearly needing to say something. I was so focused on cleaning up and drying off I missed it, by the looks.
“Any chance you can reschedule all your meetings or calls, Len? Like, I might be being super paranoid, but I’d prefer you off your phone and devices during the storm.”
“Oh, I’ve got satellite, it’s fine. I won’t get electrocuted,” I assure him.
“It’s not that so much, more that I want you completely offline. If whoever you’re talking to knows you’re in the middle of the storm, it’s going to be a giveaway of your general proximity.”
“Wow, you are being a bit paranoid.”
“Not really. While you were feeling my brother up,” Gabe says, and I glare at him and his intentional slip up, but he keeps going. “I was talking with Pack Bullard from the Alliance. They handle interrogations etc. Well, Pack Bailey used to, but Henley lost his shit with another pack… anyway. The couple trying to abduct you are being questioned and held by the Alliance in a secure location. The woman is starting to speak. And no one is liking what she is saying.”
I stand up, and he follows before I ask, “Why?” Lincoln pulls out a chair for me to sit on.
“She’s playing games, offering information for assurance from our team that we won’t press charges. She’s fucking whacked in the head if she thinks she’s ever leaving. But we’re playing her game. We’ve got a couple of our people pretending to be lawyers working for her, so hopefully she starts talking.”
“And what about the raid?”
“It’s clear the government is looking for someone.”
“Me?”
“You understand, Lennon, that’s how the four of us are taking it. The alliance will worry about all the other omegas, but as of the first time we all saw you, our focus on helping has been changed. Dramatically. You are our only concern.”
“They will get the information we need, Lennon. On everything going on too. But we don’t trust anyone but the five of us until we’re in the position we want to be in, which is you completely and utterly safe,” Valak growls.
“Isn’t kidnapping slightly illegal?” I ask.
“Yeah, well, we have alphas prepared to go to jail for murder if need be. The Alliance will stop at nothing to ensure people like her, and her government official buddy, are incapable of doing whatever it is they’re attempting to do. Our alphas are prepared to go to great lengths to protect omegas, and that includes kidnapping, torture, or theft and arson. We’ll do what we have to. Right now, though, I want you to stay disappeared. No one knows where you are. Let’s keep it like that.”
“All right, I’ll flick off a quick message and postpone my calls. Can I still work though? I’ve got a couple of things I need to jump on.”
“Me?” He waggles his eyebrows for extra effect as if he needs any more charm.
I shake my head at Gabe. “Sorry, but no. Who knows about later, but first up I’ve one of the producers from To Be or Knot to Be, to see if my reality starlet, come nightmare, Gemma Green is available.”
