Page 62 of Sawyer

“How?” I swing to her, my heart thudding rapidly.

“An unknown source approached him, asking if he had any gammas willing to take on private jobs. He gave them names.” She sets the key down on a mini fridge. “The same individual approached me, but unlike Tomi, I knew exactly who he was.”

“Who?”

“Patience, Lotus. Patience,” Stefani says. “I knew who he was, but I also don’t make my girls’ decisions for them. They sign a contract with me for three years. After that, they can do as they wish. I only had four girls end contracts when he came to me, and all four have gone missing.”

I mentally calculate how many bodies they found. Five were recent, and at least two weren’t. “When?”

“All within the last year,” she replies.

“Fuck.” Rumor heaves out a sigh. “There’s one more either still out there for us to find or one who didn’t get away.”

“Or simply one who is still wherever she ended up,” I counter.

“I’m telling you this because I request check-ins. All four missed their first check, which I require forty-eight hours after a new job.” Stefani holds herself tall but stiff. She won’t show it, but this affects her more than she is willing to let on. “This happens occasionally, so I had them chipped.”

“You had your girls chipped?” Rumor asks in disbelief.

“Beta science is groundbreaking. I’d be a fool not to use it,” she retorts. “It’s keeping them safe from horny alphas and deranged deltas. It’s come in handy more than once.”

That’s when it hits me. “You are a beta.”

“Yes. My twin has been working on infertility among designations. He is the one who set me up with the engineer, and I had him place a small chip in their shoulders right here.” She taps her right trap muscle.

“Do you know where your girls are now?” Rumor questions.

“I do now. Four showed up on my radar exactly two nights ago. No life.” She looks at Rumor. “You may try to hide whatever you found on that mountain, but I know my girls are dead. The last went off the grid. They all did until they showed up dead.”

“By the fates…” I slouch into a chair and hang my head.

“There’s more,” she says. “My twin went missing one year ago. At first, I didn’t think it was connected, but now, I’m not so sure.”

“No wonder you wanted to negotiate,” Sin mutters, looking pale. “I should have taken this more seriously than I did.” There’s guilt tingeing his vetiver scent, turning it smokier.

“I agree,” Stefani clips out. “You all need to.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” I beg.

“The man who approached my girls was the late heir, Finch,” she answers, stunning us all.

The dean’s son, the very man who shut down this entire investigation before it ever began.

Across the room, Sin slowly begins to untuck his shirt and fan himself.

“Hot, alpha? So soon?” Stefani mutters. “There are more missing gammas, but I advise you to stop chasing them. You won’t find a trace. I’ve had all of my elites looking into it. There’s nothing—nothing except where the signal stopped broadcasting.”

Heat claws at my insides, but I won’t allow it to take over just yet. “Where?” I choke out.

“I’ll have the coordinates sent to you first thing in the morning.” Stefanie walks to the door. “Oh and, Lotus, give them a show.” Her eyes slide to the camera mounted on the wall. “Find my brother, and the video is yours. Call it a bonding gift.”

“I thought the elixir was to confirm our pack status.” Heat burns in my belly.

“Oh no, your connection is evident for all to see. I wanted blackmail.” With a teasing smirk, she leaves the room. The click of the door and the snap of the lock signal a finality I didn’t need.

The heat burrowing under my skin is another.

“Fuck.” Rumor rips off his shirt, his muscles coated in a fine layer of sweat.

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