Forty-Three
Two months later
SHILOH
I’mat a backyard lunch with some of our allies and friends today, making sure to watch Winter and Cass carefully for any signs of fatigue. They’re both wearing flowing dresses to hide their little baby bumps, and Winter’s morning sickness has been so much better recently.
She even has more energy now, and she contacted a new theater production about helping them with their backdrops. They of course accepted, and she’s been busy between that and working three days a week at the shop.
I don’t really want her working at all, but I understand she needs to get out of the house. She still has a security guard that sticks close to the shop while she’s there, and she wears her bracelet everywhere again. I had to make her a new one with upgraded features.
Is it spying? Maybe. I never want to be in a position where I don’t know where and how she is. Privacy seems a little less important after her kidnapping.
“Shiloh?”
Surprised that anyone is talking to me since I’m used to sitting back and observing, I turn to find that Hollis is watching me curiously.
“Hey,” I say. “How are you?”
Hollis and her sister, Nova, have been traveling back and forth between Minneapolis and Savannah with their packs while they search for Alisa. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find her yet, and I’m a little concerned that she might have been picked up by someone or killed.
Being homeless as an omega isn’t safe, no matter the city you’re in.
“Frustrated,” she admits, making a face. “Video cam footage isn’t bringing up anything conclusive. Sometimes, I think we may have found her, only to find that it leads to a dead end. It’s hard to stay positive.”
“I have my programs looking for her too, but no one has a current photo of her. The best we could do is age her up digitally until it matched an image from Winter and Bellamy’s memory,” I admit. “You’d think it would be harder to escape video cameras and technology in a city this size.”
Hollis’ gaze catches on her sister who is chatting with Winter before she nods. “I understand that completely,” she sighs. “I have to hope we find her one day, even if it’s to shut the door on finding her alive. Alisa was kidnapped when she was a kid. It’s expected that she’ll be skittish. She may not even want to see her brothers, and a part of me wants to protect my best friends from that. It wasn’t their fault.”
“Misplaced guilt is something I understand,” I admit, leaning back as I talk to her.
“Unfortunately, so do I,” Hollis says. “I hate that I can’t fix it. They’re so happy with my sister. I wish they could fully enjoy it.”
I sense Winter before I see her, my arm wrapping around her waist to sit her on my lap. Her cheeks heat as she grins at me, lighting me up with her happiness.
“I didn’t want to interrupt,” she says, wrinkling her nose at me.
“So you were going to just walk past me? That’s rude, Kitten,” I purr.
Hollis snorts in amusement while I chuckle.
“Yes, I suppose I am a caveman,” I say. “You’re not interrupting. Hollis and I are chatting about Alisa.”
Winter turns so she can see Hollis, a shy smile on her lips. She sat on the other side of the table next to Nina and her pack at lunch earlier, so they haven’t had a chance to talk.
“Hi,” Winter says, getting comfortable. “I just want to say that I wish we hadn’t let Alisa run away when she did. Bell and I didn’t know her well because of our circumstances. Alisa is…”
“A bitch?” Hollis asks. “I’ve been told that. There was a girl who worked at Slick Dreams who didn’t have a great experience with her either. I don’t think Alisa is the same person I knew anymore. She used to be light, happy, and full of energy. I grew up in the same neighborhood that she did. I also spent a lot of time hanging out at her house when I didn’t want to go home.”
“Alisa was calculating,” Winter says carefully. “I heard stories while I was at Slick Dreams about how Bret had his favorites. Alisa got tired of that particular kind of attention, and did her best to avoid him.”
“Was this avoiding done by throwing other people in front of her?” Hollis asks carefully.
Winter shrugs slightly as if to ask what else she should have done, and Hollis nods.
“I don’t know anything about her life before Slick Dreams, but I imagine being there could break anyone,” Winter says gently. “Bell saved me from shattering into a million pieces, just like I saved him. Alisa’s brothers need to understand she’ll probably be a completely different person.”
“I think they do, in a way,” Hollis says. “They need to know she’s safe. If she never wants to talk to them again, they’ll accept it. Well, that’s not true. Caleb and Lars are hardheaded.”
