Three heads turn to me in question.
“We need to go straight.”
Chapter 28
Mags
“Aw, c’mon! Surely there’s another way …”
Kip shakes his head. “No, Mags. We’ve grifted long enough. It’s high time we started looking for legitimate jobs. No more heat helping, no more breeding, none of it. You’ll stay here and be the omega you were born to be, and Nik, Kaden, and I will find jobs to support us all.”
“But … we’ve built up such a great team. We all know our parts. We—”
“Mags.” Nik’s voice is edgy, tense. “Look at it this way: We’re all going to have to testify against the Langleys and DeltaCorp. When that goes down, we need to build honest, hardworking fronts.”
“Yeah.” Kaden smiles at me as he massages my arm. “We’ll consider it the ultimate con: convincing the authorities and judges that we’re trustworthy.”
Okay, that was funny. I giggle a little, then turn back into putty in their hands.
“Just think … You can stay home with the baby. Relax.”
“I don’t know how to relax.”
Nik lifts my other arm at the elbow, demonstrating how my limp hand dangles. “Hon, you’re as relaxed as you can be right now. Imagine this but multiplied.”
Even as I roll my eyes at the notion of me relaxing, I sigh contentedly as they work all the tension out of my body. “I somehow doubt I’ll relax much once the baby comes. Those things require a lot of work.” I gasp and bolt upright as a wave of panic hits me. They’re not just going to leave me all alone—they’re going to leave me all alonewith a newborn! “Wait! If you three are working, how will I take care of the baby? I don’t know what to do with a baby!”
“Calm down, babe.” Kip pushes my shoulders until I’m lying flat again. “We can take alternating shifts wherever we work. We won’t leave you alone, okay?”
“Roll over.” Nik nudges my shoulder. “Let’s get your back, too.”
“I really do need that shower …” I mumble as Nik and Kaden work the knots out of my shoulders and lower back. “As amazing as all this attention feels, I also would like to wash the DNA off of me.”
It’s too bad we don’t have a tub. A nice, hot bath would be good, too. Maybe some unscented bubble solution in the tub, too. I’ve smelled enough chemical bubble baths in my days as a fake beta that I couldn’t stand anything perfumed, especially right now. It’s like any scent other than my mates’ throws me into hurl mode.
“Somebody make a note for the new house, since we’re set on moving: bathtub. A big one.”
“Anything else, your highness?”
I swat at Kip, who easily dodges me. “Hey! You guys want me to be an omega. Well, omegas are needy, privileged bitches. So gimme.”
“Maybe we should remind you of your pretend beta roots,” Kaden teases. “You’re good to stand now, right? Because we’re not helping you shower. You’re a big girl, and we’ve soothed every muscle we can reach.”
Nik pats me on the shoulder as I sit up. “We have to change the sheets and blankets and probably a couple of the mattresses. You shower, we’ll clean up the nest, and then we’ll each take turns in the shower after. Give us, say … forty-five minutes, and you’ll have a nice, post-sex euphoria cuddle pile. A clean one.”
I groan and reluctantly stand under my own power. It’s easy to see now why omegas are so spoiled. This is nice. The attention, the affection, the love and tenderness. Who wouldn’t want a pack of males tending to your every desire?
After taking a depressing solo shower, where there weren’t nearly enough hands on me, I step out and wrap a soft, plush robe around me. I pad back to the nest, but surprisingly, no one’s there. In fact, the nest looks trashed, like the guys left in the middle of taking out all the soiled bedding. That’s not like them.
I search the house, but they’re all gone. No one in Kip and Kaden’s room, no one in my old room, not even anyone in the kitchen or living room. What gives?
If this is for some kind of special surprise, it sucks.
When I can’t find them, I open the pack bonds and poke them. Thankfully, the guys are okay, but they’re being evasive. None of them will relay their location through the bond, which is suspicious as fuck. Why would they just abandon me without letting me know where they are?
I dress in a rush as worry overrides any sense of self-preservation. Stretchy leggings, a baggy tee, and some loafers. There. I’m decent, or at least decent enough to go outside.
I fling open the front door and come face-to-face with Agent Elgin.
