“She was taken too. We were told that she had died in prison. Mrs. K will be at the dinner. Also, she knows about the omegas. But I’m not sure what else she knows,” I said.
“Yes, she would help a little sometimes. Thank goodness she’s all right. Spencer keeps in touch with her?” His look went tentative.
“She works for him. When he started this company, he lured her out here,” I added.
Nick went quiet again. “Demitra didn’t make it. She was a talented scientist. I was also the one who kept pressing her to continue every time we were told to stop. Though some of it was because the others told us not to worry about it. We… we trusted them.”
His scent went salty again as he looked away.
“You saved lives, Uncle Nick. And as far as we know, they’re still here, safe, and living happy lives,” I assured him.
A heavy sigh escaped his lips. “Will your parents be at whatever this party is?”
I shook my head. “They passed away a while back in a car accident.”
“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. They were good people.”
“Thank you. My sister Sonja will be here with her fiancée, but Sasha won’t. Riley, my little sister that you’ve never met, lives with me and my pack. Which is me, Spencer, Grace, Brennan, Jett, and Wes. I’m not mated to Spencer, but I’m mates to everyone else. Spencer’s only with Grace.”
“The tiny one.” Nick nodded. He frowned. “Why did they bring mehereand not to Ilena?”
“Short version? Grace was a witness to something for the Authority. It scared the fucking shit out of us when they took her, and we were afraid she wouldn’t come back. The guy who brought you to us is an agent of some sort. While she was there, she asked about you and Dr. K, and when he mentioned that you might be released, she asked him to bring you to us. And here you are. Just in time for Spencer and Grace’s mating party. They bonded a few weeks ago.” We stopped at a stoplight, and I used voice-to-text to send Spencer a message that we were almost there, and he should come out.
I wasn’t sure how Spencer wanted to do this. Especially since so many people were here, including Uncle Nick’s dad. We wouldn’t want to give Spencer’s grandfather a heart attack.
Or Auntie Ilena, for that matter.
“Their mating party? She knows about the Temporal Authority. You said that she works for my son. What does she do?” Nick asked.
“Grace is a theoretical mathematician. She works with qubits and string theory. Right now, your son has her trying to make a virtual super collider,” I told him. “You’re going to like her. And not just because she’s also Dr. Thanukos.”
He beamed. “I love it. You’re an omega? I didn’t expect that.”
“Me neither. I was in my twenties and in the military when it happened,” I laughed. “I’m an advocate for the Omega Center now.”
His head bowed again. “I missed so much.”
“But you’re here now, Uncle Nick. Um, I’m pretty sure that the Temporal Authority won’t let you take up your old research. I say this because Grace isn’t allowed to do hers. But now, you can travel and do all sorts of things with Auntie,” I said. “She’s been working her way through the list of places that you were going to visit when you retired. You could start with that.”
“Oh. My poor Ilena, alone for so long. I suppose I could. I’m not sure I have the taste for my research anymore now that I know so many were lost because of it. Traveling with her sounds nice. I was always too busy to do so before…” He grew quiet again as we turned down a street full of very fancy old homes, many with hedges and fences. “They’ll be happy to see me, won’t they?”
“Spencer looked for you. He saw you taken and tried to find you. He’s so happy to have you back. Auntie will be, too,” I added as we drove through an open gate.
“Prison.” He swore again in Greek. “They took so much from me.”
We pulled onto a massive brick circular driveway. Spencer stood in front of the giant home, looking nervous in a suit. His tie, vest, and pocket square matched Grace’s pale gold dress.
“There’s your boy, Uncle.” I turned off the ignition. “Yeah, it’s awful that you lost so many years just for helping people. Butyou’re back with us now. Your son and wife are well. Get your revenge on the Authority by making the most of your life.”
Uncle Nick’s face lit up. “Oh, just look at him. You’re right. Now, I need to go hug my son.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Spencer
My heart pounded as I ended the call. Hand shaking, I went to put my phone in my pocket. I missed, and it dropped to the floor. Bending down, I picked it up and dropped it again.
He was here. My father washere, in Rockland, with Evan.
