Page 65 of Lying Lainey

“Yes, my sweet little vixen, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” he murmured, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. “Now I feel like we need to go back to my office and see what they’re up to. Maybe even have a chat with your syndicate friends.”

I didn’t really love the sound of that, but I agreed all the same. Kerian stood and offered me a hand which I took instantly. Pulling me to my feet, he wrapped me up in a tight hug, burying his face in my neck. “I’m sorry I said those things to you. My fear of losing you made me lash out, even when I didn’t mean a word of it.”

“Let’s call it an even draw on that,” I suggested. “I’m not without blame in this, and I said hurtful things as well in a feeble attempt to get you to hate me. The thought of you three taking the blame for my actions wasn’t something I could live with. Better for you to have a common enemy than to go after each other.”

Kerian pulled back to look me in the face. “We do have a common enemy. Two, in fact, because if we can take down Reuben as well as the Syndicate, I can’t say that’s an all-bad situation.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more, especially after Halstead told me about their past,” I said, looking over at Halstead. “I have a feeling I’m going to be like you when it comes to protecting people I care about. Once I’ve claimed you, no one else can fuck with you.”

Halstead gave me a smirk as he ran a hand over his beard. “That really shouldn’t be such a turn-on, but it sure as hell is. Let’s go deal with these fuckers so we can put this all behind us and start our life together.”

“I love the sound of that,” I agreed.

twenty-seven

Kerian

Entering my office, it was quiet as if nothing had happened here thirty minutes ago. Is that all it took for my life to have imploded and been rebuilt again? One second, I thought my heart was going to shatter as Lainey ripped it out of my chest, only to have her replace it with her own. She felt the same way about us as we did her—it was clear in the way she looked when she thought it would all disappear. Then there was the shock of her telling us she most likely was pregnant.

Never did I think I’d have to try so hard to keep a grin off my face, but every time I thought about being a dad, I couldn’t help it. I’d always loved kids and hoped it might happen for us one day, but the right time never seemed to happen. Now it was clear why—Lainey wasn’t with us. She was the missing cog in the complex system we built for our lives. With her finally in her rightful place with us, things seemed to work effortlessly.

“The phone is sitting on top of your computer tower,” Lainey said, pointing to the device.

Anger sizzled under my skin as I reached for the phone and handed it to her. She’d explained only her fingerprint would open it to the right screen. To anyone else, it would appear to be a normal phone.

“Here,” she murmured, handing it to me. “I don’t know what you want to do, but that’s the screen they use to talk to me.”

The screen was black with simple monospaced lettering. I read over what they’d instructed her to do in order to delete the code off my computer and was impressed. They had some incredibly skilled programmers and hackers at their disposal. Taking a shot in the dark, I typed out a message and assumed they would see it and respond.

I want to negotiate a deal with the Syndicate — Kerian Lewis

There was nothing but a blinking text cursor for a few moments as I held my breath. Then words started to appear on the screen, and they were not happy ones, that’s for damn sure. I didn’t even bother reading all the threats. Instead, I just hit the phone symbol, assuming it would call them. If it didn’t call whoever was rage-typing, then it might give me someone more reasonable.

“The OUS doesn’t deal with Alphas,” a voice clearly altered by some kind of technology answered. “We of the OUS seek to put Omegas in positions of power to keep Alphas like you in their place.”

“That’s all fine and dandy with me. However, I would like to negotiate a deal with you on Lainey’s behalf,” I explained, hoping that would make a difference.

“She failed her mission, and the enemy has the code. Ms. Caddel knew the consequence of failure, and now she’s made things worse for herself by telling you about us,” they responded.

Rolling my eyes at the dramatics, I forged ahead. “I know what her mission is, and I’m telling you I can make sure that code is destroyed so not even a zero is left behind. Reuben might have that code right now, but if you guarantee me that Lainey will be absolved of her connection with you, then I will complete the job for her. In fact, I’ll even allow you to set the terms to hold me accountable so that I never try to recreate what I’ve worked on. Not having seen all of it, I can’t say I’d be able to replicate it, but if I felt the need, I’m sure I could make my own version to hunt you down,” I warned.

There was a pause, and I closed my eyes, praying that I’d made the right move by reminding them that I was as much a threat as an ally.

“If you succeed in obliterating the code and ensuring it will never again be recreated, then we agree to see this as full completion of Ms. Caddel’s assignment. As far as terms to ensure you don’t ever act on this knowledge, you will leave a backdoor in your systems to us using the password UVEIL so that we might check in on your data. Fail to do this or cut us off, and we will disclose all we have on Lainey Caddel and inform Trent Stone of her involvement in his permanent incarceration. Do we have an agreement?”

Lainey grabbed my arm and shook her head. It was clear she had no idea how far any of us would go to make sure she was safe. “You have a deal. As of now, Lainey will cease to contact you since I will be destroying this phone. The man you had as her driver is not to come anywhere near Lainey, and if I so much as feel the itch that someone is watching when our child is born, we will destroy everything you’ve built. I don’t give a fuck how good you think your people are, we are better, and no one will be able to run from us when the right motivation is presented. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent,” I said, then hung up the phone.

Marching out of the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, I yanked open the microwave and chucked in the phone. “Let’s see you fuckers work around this.”

I slammed the door shut, hit the one-minute express button, then stepped back to watch the sparks fly. The satisfaction I felt watching that phone char inside our microwave shouldn’t have been as fulfilling as it was.

“You know you’re gonna need to replace that, right?” Ruth drawled. I jumped, not realizing she was there and found her sitting at the counter peeling potatoes for dinner.

“Worth it,” I answered. “Besides, I think it was time for an upgrade. This time we could get one of those cool five-in-one with the air fryer built in.”