Joseph’s eyes stare at me the whole time I drive. Some people would be worried, but he’s as useless as always, locked in chemical la-la land with no hope of escaping or remembering a thing.
Pretty soon he’ll be feeling a lot worse than he is now. And I’ll be back behind the doors of Heidi’s house having a shower, running the kittens to the kitchen for Bobby and Millie to watch while I get a bag ready for Heidi.
Confirming with Dare they’re travelling my way soon, I flick the call to mute.
The way my brothers and I were taught about being overly prepared means we see things different. Everything is a tool; every place is an opportunity to help us do what we do, which is save and/or rescue before we seek and destroy.
Once we have proof, indisputable evidence of a wrongdoing, there are no second chances, there’s no road to redemption.
Since Pack Lowly have become all that and more, they’re also about to become another example of the work The Phoenix Group does, and a warning to anyone watching.
And we’ve got a hundred different ways of dealing with people but today, the quickest, surest way to deal with Pack Lowly is a car accident. And the best place for that to occur was a spot my brothers and I already pointed out, a wicked sharp corner a few miles from Verdune. The location almost looks like a movie set in the way it’s perfectly staged complete with dangerous roads, and age-old trees down a steep ravine.
Obviously my brothers and I enjoy healthy competition, but they would never let me live it down if I screwed this one up. This job, while being personal, is nothing but simple maths, and trajectories have never been a weakness of mine. Once the car is in the right position and Joseph is back in the driver’s seat I use his own dead weight. The SUV lurches forward, nearly knocking me on my ass as I leap out the way, the acceleration leaves damn perfect skid marks on the road.
It happens quick and it’s a violent collision of sight and sound. The boom when the car hits the tree, the implosion of the car tearing apart and crumbling in on itself, the engine screams until it peters out, glass shatters and rains down. And then it stops. Not even the birds or animals make a sound.
Checking is unnecessary, even from the road it’s easy to see chances of survival would be slim, but I still check. Walking around the car there’s an eerie stillness, and death lingers. I’m not going to reach in and touch pulses, there is no need. And by the time Ronnie calls in the discovery to the authorities, the four Alphas of Pack Lowly will be cold to touch.
I stick to the edge of the vegetation on the way back to Verdune. It’s not too far to walk and it gives me the chance to do a check in with a few of our contacts. Everything has changed since Heidi, and that’s not a good or a bad thing. We’ve always had people manage our businesses while my brothers and I work in them—it’s the best way to ensure motivation stays at a high, along with cash bonuses, of course, and having your fingers in so many pies can get trying.
NutFite, our gaming goldmine, is the perfect example. We set the company up because we were wasting hours playing other people’s games, and spending money. One night Darius said we should be making the money instead of helping other people get rich, so we found the right people to invest in and floated them our idea. The same goes with the labour hire company we run, but that one came about so we could get more people to act as our eyes and ears though it turns a profit and requires little effort to run.
The only parts of what we do that we’ve never shared with any other living soul is The Phoenix Group. And just as important, although it doesn’t make a dime, is our flower farm.
The farm where we grow Delionix Regia. And only those flowers because like so much in our life, they were handed down to us with an expectation we continue the family tradition.
The story of why The Phoenix Group uses Delionix Regia as a calling card of support and of warning has to do with the colour and the common name—phoenix flower. The flower is thought to hold transformative powers that can help people overcome life’s challenges so they can emerge stronger and wiser. Since rising from the ashes is exactly what my family did after we were nearly destroyed by one of our own, it’s an easy connection to the flower and what we do. It didn’t take long for rumours to spread about the meaning of getting a bunch of Delionix Regia meant for most. They were a sign of our support, and we never really went out of our way to defend the use of flowers, letting it become an urban myth.
Except they’re not just flowers, they’re goddamn trees. Trees that need specialist care although we’ve got the orchard set up now to be more self-sufficient using solar and wind farming to help with the temperature and climate control and the irrigation.
The house out at the tree farm is insanely secure which is why we’re packing up and moving our girl, despite her being in the early stages of her heat. There’s enough time to get her there and set up before she’s completely submerged in pleasure and orgasms. It also gets her away from here for a couple of days. Allan has already agreed it’s for the best, especially with Ayden missing and a mystery insider working with Pack Lowly.
Cresting a small hill, I stop to take it all in. The view of Verdune Estate from up here is spectacular. When we’re back, I’m bringing her up here to see it herself. Being up here also gives me the chance to see for myself there’s no trouble waiting to spring out at us. So far there’s no police cars parked in the circular driveway, or pap vans making their way to get a story and by the time they arrive, my brothers and our Omega will be far away from here.
Stepping out of the shadows and on to the driveway, I phone the guards in the gatehouse to let them know I’m approaching. I’ve got no doubt they’d have seen me the second I made myself known, but it’s not something I want to risk either especially when my Omega is only minutes away from being home.
Two of her guards size me up, checking it is in fact me. Exactly like they should.
“How was your walk?” I ask them without stopping. It takes effort not to lift my lip in a snarl.
“Funny, we were going to ask you the same,” one of them answers as he looks me up and down, but he drops his eyes at the last minute because without a doubt he knows who runs the show here.
I flick my chin up and leave, or else I’ll start to read everything as a challenge. My Alpha’s amped up after finishing off Pack Lowly.
The walk down the driveway to the house does me good. It lets my Alpha see for himself that everything is safe, and nothing more will threaten his mate. I’d like to go and wash the astringency of my stress away, only wanting her to ever smell the good in me, but first I search for Allan to let him know to expect a visit from the authorities before too long.
Of course he wants more of an update than what I give him, but I stick to what he needs to know as opposed to what he thinks he needs too. Much like the guards, he has the insight to know when to drop pushing me for more. He stops asking questions but pushes me for samples. I’d give him my left hand if it meant he unequivocally supported the Triplet Law being overturned.
The guard room inside gets a visit too, letting them know they need to be careful on their rounds of the house. Heidi’s suites will be in lock down but at the same time, they need to make sure to check there is no danger lurking even if we’re not staying here. We set up a way to contact us in case of a real emergency, but we also agree Ronnie is the point of contact and will handle the inquisition with Allan that will come once the wreck is discovered.
Omegas in heat, and Alphas in attendance, are given special consideration, but still I shoot off a text to Ramses, and he confirms that during a lull in Heidi’s heat she spoke at length with Douglas and he’s only a phone call away.
Nanu and Tut are next. They look put out even before I bundle them and a few of Heidi’s scent laden belongings but on the way to the kitchen I promise them they get a day of cuddles with their Momma the second her heat passes. Next time they’ll be old enough to travel and we’ll have things better set up.
Bobby and Millie are clearly well experienced with Heidi’s heats, they have already packed up her favourite foods and drinks, all easy to digest and laden with vitamins and hydra lights. And then they help me gather a few extra things, running it out to the chopper, so all I need is Heidi and my brothers.
I literally feel the air shift when they pull up in the driveway, I open the front door the same time Darius lifts her out.
