My heart races. A date. He said a date, and asked if I wanted to go. Was he just saying it to be nice or was he being for real. My nerves start to rise and my breathing quickens as my scent pours off me in waves. How can he want to date me and he hasn't even seen me. For all he knows I could be catfishing him.
To Holden: Wish I could. Sadly I’m not able to.
To River: Hey GTG, we’re heading out to dinner. Can I message you when I get back?
To Holden: Of course.
I sit there, gazing at our messages. Reading them over repeatedly, trying to decipher if he meant exactly what he wrote or if he was just being nice. But my eyes keep stopping on the part about the fight his brother Roman might get in to and I decide to start doing some digging especially since I’ve drawn a blank on the other case I’m working on.
I scour the internet for hours even diving into the dark web to get any information I can. Checking everything there is to know about this Hancock Matthews. From the way he spends money, the people he associates with, to how many times he goes to the bathroom. If there was something to find out about him, then I did. Just when I think I’m hitting another dead end, something catches my attention.
“Okay Hancock, why are you looking at chloroform?”
It was easy to break into his personal computer. He had no firewall protection. It’s as if he didn't care who could sneak in under the radar and take a look at his browsing history. Now that I have a lead, I feel that giddiness in me that I always get when I’m close to breaking something and finding the truth.
The deeper I dig, the more my stomach churns. His search into the drug started after his failed fight with Roman. And according to the cryptic message he received late last night, he’s found a way to obtain it.
Roman needs to know before he decides to do this rematch in that cage. Hell, before he heads to that fucking club for the fight. Does the owner know? The organizer of the fights? Did Hancock pay them off in some way to ensure that this rematch is beneficial for him?
So many questions. But very few answers.
I need to warn Roman, but I need to be careful about it. There’s no way I want Holden to put two and two together and figure out that I may be involved. Now isn’t the time to drop the information. I’ll wait for the perfect moment and then send him a message on my burner phone. The one I use to speak to the people I help. In a sense that’s what I’m doing. Just not my normal way of helping. It’ll be the first time I’m actually helping an alpha to save himself.
There’s a knock on my door, and I turn around just as Tav, Callux, Josh and Torin step inside my apartment. I close my laptop not wanting them to see what I’m looking into.
“Oh shit. I must be in trouble with all of you here at the same time.”
“Never. Have you done something you need a spanking for, Brat?” Callux jokes as he heads straight to the fridge and pulls out some lunchmeat and begins making himself a sandwich.
“Make yourself at home,” I say sarcastically, pretending to be upset.
“Oh, don’t worry, I will.” He smiles brightly, his eyes twinkling as he does. I love that he’s the jokester in the bunch. No one knows that behind that silly exterior he puts on that he could kill a man at the drop of a dime, and not have an iota of remorse about it.
“Cut it out,” Tav barks, causing everyone to laugh.
“Are we going somewhere for dinner?” I ask, curious as to why they are all here.
“We can. But that's not why we’re here.” He moves over to the couch and sits down, while Josh heads over to the little kitchen table I have and pulls out a seat.
“Make me one too, while you’re at it,” Josh calls to Callux, who nods in response.
Torin starts to head over to Tav, but changes his mind and heads to Josh, sitting down in his lap as he wraps his arms around him, kissing him lightly on the lips. I love seeing them being so affectionate.
“Then why are you here?” I tilt my head to the side, confused.
“We’re having the crew who was here earlier build the deck. We’ve limited the workers to three men, brothers. But we need you to continue to stay here, in the apartment, while they’re here. They’re unmated, and I don’t want to risk your safety, especially with a heat looming in the near future.”
“Got it. Hide in the rafters like Quasimodo.”
Tav rolls his eyes at me, shaking his head. “No, you’re nothing like him. Come on, River, humor us. Just stay in the apartment, doors and windows shut.”
“Okay.” They don’t need to know I plan to watch them through the security system. “What else is there? You said first.”
“We’ve been talking with Heatwave and they have sent over their best candidates to help you with the heat. They suggest having a backup option in case of emergencies. Do you want to help pick the pack?”
I just sit there. Stunned. Speechless. I knew this moment was coming, but now it’s real. If coming off the suppressants wasn’t enough to tell me, choosing a pack to help me through my heat is.
“No. Just pick whomever you think is good. I don’t want to know anything about them or their names. That hasn’t changed. Also, make sure they don’t call me any pet names. Omega isfine.” I don’t want to talk anymore about it, and none of the guys try to pressure me to.
