“Well, I might have had an ulterior motive for figuring the bonds out.”
“Mags …”
“I didn’t want to mess up this grift!” She pulls back and scans the hall for eavesdroppers. “And it’s a good thing I hid it, now that we know what’s going on here. If anyone found out, I’d probably disappear. Omegas are worth a hefty chunk of change. I don’t want to think about what might have happened to me if I hadn’t.”
That thought sends me into a panic. I can’t keep doing security here if I need to guard Mags. I might have to break my stupid contract just to keep her and her baby safe.
“Do the twins know?”
She shakes her head. “As soon as I figured out how to block the bonds, I’ve been doing it nonstop.”
“You’ve got to tell Kip and Kaden. I know they’re betas, but there’s still a chance—”
“I know, I know. I thought I had more time to figure things out.” She closes her eyes, and a ripple runs through the bond. “Fuck, they’re worried.”
“Of course they are. You ran out of there like you’d just chugged a bottle of the cheap stuff.”
“I wish I could drink right now.” She sighs. “I don’t understand. I took my birth control like clockwork. Do you think Dave Donnelly messed with those, too? I never thought to check the pill pack after all that went south.”
It’s a terrifying thought. The Donnellys could have sued us for custody, or worse, they could have demanded Mags stay there until she gave birth and kicked the rest of us out. I don’t think I could go that long without her.
“So, what’s the plan? Should we skip out tonight—get out while the getting’s good?”
Mags grows quiet, and I see something in her eyes that I don’t think I’ve ever seen there before:
Compassion.
“We can’t. There are too many people here who will end up sold off to the highest bidder at the end of the month. We should try to bring this whole operation down before that can happen.”
“How are we going to do that? We’ll get arrested for forging our documents if we go to the cops.”
“Only if they figure out we forged them.” She rubs her chin in thought. “I mean, I did a pretty good job of creating backgrounds for each of us. They should hold up for a little while, hopefully long enough to bring this scam to a crashing halt.”
“Hopefully?”
“Well, fuck, it’s not like I’ve ever had to forge fed-worthy docs before!” Panic and frustration rise in the matebond. Something else rises, too, and Mags dives back into the bathroom.
I follow behind and lock the door, then squat behind her and hold her hair back with one hand while gently massaging her neck with the other.
“You’ll figure this out, Mags. You’re the smartest of all of us.”
“No—hurgh!—pressure then.”
“No pressure, hon. Just faith.”
“Well …” She grabs a few sheets of toilet paper and wipes her mouth. “Here’s hoping it’s not misplaced.”
Chapter 23
Kaden
My jaw drops damn near to the floor when Mags reveals the news of her pregnancy to me and Kip.
Mags is going to be a mom. One of us is going to be a father. Granted, it’s most likely Nik, but it’s not like I haven’t gotten an omega pregnant before.
Of course, the circumstances were entirely different then. For one thing, it was during a con, so we booked it the fuck out of there once we found out. Second, the omega’s rich parents were so embarrassed that their daughter got knocked up by a beta that they kept the whole thing very hush-hush. No fancy announcements in the society papers, no baby shower, nothing. They didn’t even ask for child support. In fact, they paidusto keep quiet about the matter.
A kid. This changes everything.
