I’m about to slam the wooden gavel down on the table when I’m reminded of my other beef with Jackpot. The one that is still slithering through my veins, whispering of vengeance and destruction. I lean down towards his smirking face, catching the flare of panic in his eyes as they drop to the gavel clutched in my hand. “And if you ever raise a hammer – or so much as a harsh word - in Abbie’s direction again, it’ll be the last thing you ever fucking do.” I bring the gavel down with a satisfying crash. “Meeting adjourned.”
Chapter Thirteen: ABBIE
For some reason, I find myself drawn back to Lyla and her garden, and two days later, she recruits me into helping her mulch the flowerbeds. I know next to nothing about green things – that was always my mom’s domain - and I wonder what she’d think of her daughter splattered in mud that didn’t come from a dirt bike. It’s hard not to be drawn into memories of her – the good and the not so happy – but I try to trick my mind into following the rhythms of my body. Digging, watering, and pushing wheelbarrows around is more tiring than it looks, especially with the sun on your shoulders and a persistent ache in your chest.
I’m in the process of deadheading a butterfly bush – something I never thought I’d find myself doing outside of a twisted dream - when Pitt appears at my side, a strained look on his face. I’ve just deposited three wheelbarrow loads of dead leaves and withered blooms on the compost pit, and I’m feeling fragrant, to say the least. “You look like you need a hug, but I won’t inflict it on you right now.”
He smiles, but it doesn’t erase the tension from his eyes. “I have something to show you. Can you come with me for a fewminutes?”
He nods towards the security building just over the hedge, and I raise my brows at him. “You mean I’m getting a glimpse behind the curtain? When I used the gun range, I got a feeling there was more to see, but it was one of those need-to-know deals.”
“You were right.” He doesn’t say more, simply waiting until I’ve brushed off my hands and grabbed my water bottle before leading me over to the door. Unlike the last time when the door just mysteriously opened, he waves a badge over the scanner, and we’re admitted with a loud beep. The same prospect is sitting behind the desk, and he gives Pitt a respectful nod as he leads me towards another door. Another scanner, another corridor, and a couple of other club members walk past with more respectful nods in Pitt’s direction. “We call it the Hub,” Pitt informs me. “It’s the base of operations for all the security businesses. Ark has recruited guys out of a bunch of military intelligence and special ops units, and they’ve really taken it to another level.” He opens the door and ushers me inside. “Come through here. Goldie’s got something to show us.”
“Goldie?” I click my tongue at the sight of the clinic’s security guard sitting so comfortably in what looks like a high-tech interview room. “So, you really are a Flyer?”
He shuffles his feet under the table, looking sheepish. “Sorry I didn’t say anything earlier, but…”
“It was a need-to-know deal?”
Neither of them can miss the sour note in my voice, but Pitt just places a hand on my shoulder, directing me to the empty seat next to Goldie. He nods at the laptop, and the security guard loads a video file. A young, dark-haired guy in jeans and a hoodie appears on the screen, his arms crossed over his chest, and his mouth screwed into a thin line. He’s sitting across from Goldie in a room I recognize from the omega clinic, and he keeps glancingat the door, like he has somewhere to be. “This is the guy from the CCTV footage who we caught entering the staff break room,” Goldie tells me. “He’s an out-patient. Part of a new suppressant trial. We caught him coming back into the clinic for a routine checkup. His name is Danny Gleeson. Twenty-two. Unbonded omega.”
“I don’t recognize him.”
“Makes sense. Have a listen.”
Goldie is clearly jumping into the middle of the interview, the omega looking increasingly annoyed by his questions. “He came up to me in the parking lot,” he explains in a clipped voice. “Told me he’d give me five hundred dollars to help him out. That’s all I know. He didn’t tell me his name, but like I said, he was wearing a white coat.”
“So, he worked at the clinic?”
“I guess so. He had a badge and he looked like a doctor. Don’t you have records of who works here, or is that security uniform just to show off your muscles?”
Goldie ignores the jab. “Describe him again.”
The omega blows out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know. Like an uptight alpha? Big shoulders, thick jaw, hair with gray at the sides…” He tilts his head, considering, then shrugs. “Dark eyes like yours, but he was wearing glasses and had kind of a big nose. That’s about it.”
“Gray hair, so middle aged? Forties? Fifties?”
“Yeah, whatever.” The omega shrugs again, picking at his finger nails. “He looked like all the other doctors in here.”
Goldie draws his attention back by tapping the table. “So, he gave you five hundred dollars and the backpack. You didn’t think to check, make sure it wasn’t a bomb, or something?”
“A bomb?” The omega rockets upright in his chair, his hands gripping the table edge. “Are you crazy, bro? He said it was aprank. Confetti knots, or something, because she was gettingbonded in a few days.” He glares at Goldie, but I can see his throat bobbing nervously. “Everyone knows doctors are weird. I just thought it was his lame sense of humor.”
“Did he tell you why he didn’t deliver it himself?”
“Nah, but it was five hundred dollars, man. I got less than half of that on the last trial.”
“Okay. So, he told you where to take the backpack. Then what?”
“It was easy. He had a pass to the back entrance. I walked a couple of corridors, but I just had to follow the reheated meatloaf smells to the break room. No one was there, so I ducked into the sleeping area, found her on her cot, and unloaded the backpack…” He squirms, biting hard on the side of his thumbnail. “They weren’t paper butterflies, were they?”
Goldie stares at him, his face a blank mask. “Did he tell you to do anything else?”
“Yeah, he handed me a note. I didn’t read it until I got in there, and then… I heard noises, so I ducked out.” He sits up straighter, defiant again. “Screw that asshole. I wasn’t getting caught harassing some omega while she was sleeping.”
“So, you knew it wasn’t a prank by then?” Another shrug, although he avoids Goldie’s eye and his leg has started to bounce under the table. “What did the note say?”
“I ditched it. First trash can I saw. But I caught a glimpse, and it said something about losing the things we love.” He gulps and peers at Goldie through his fringe. “I didn’t really want to know, okay?”
