Page 56 of Their Alpha

“But you can’t be alone with Gideon for a second,” Fletcher added. “And I want your car keys.”

That was a good thing to add. I was so proud of my husband.

Fletcher drew in a breath, then relaxed. Artemis must have thought the same thing at him through the bond.

“I agree to those terms,” Goode said in the tone of voice he would use to say he’d agreed to bring potato salad to a picnic. He still held his car keys in one hand, and he held them out to Artemis as he stepped up onto the porch. “When do we start?”

“Now is as good a time as any,” Artemis said.

He accepted the car keys, then immediately handed them over to Fletcher, though he kept eye contact with Goode as he did. It was a clear indication of who was in charge and a strong message to Goode.

Goode sent another loathing look at Fletcher. At least, I could see in his eyes that it was loathing. He was still smiling and pretending like everything was fine and happy. It was something a lot of us who grew up with The People had perfected as a survival technique.

“So,” Goode said, clapping his hands together. Do youwant me up on the ladder, nailing shingles, or should I be the one handing them up to one of you?”

“Oh, you’re definitely going up on the roof,” Artemis said. “You’re staying as far away from Gideon as possible.”

“You know what?” Fletcher said, and for a moment I thought he was going to call the whole thing off. “Take off your shoes,” he ordered instead. “And your shirt.”

“I beg your pardon?” Goode said, his false smile slipping.

Artemis sucked in a breath, like he suddenly understood, then nodded. “Take off your shoes. It’s so you don’t run.”

“You already have my car keys,” Goode said, losing even more of his false sense of casualness. “Is this really necessary?”

“Yes,” Fletcher and Artemis answered in unison.

I smiled despite myself and despite the tension of the situation. Maybe I was coming between the two of them, but they were already so much in accord. Maybe my addition to whatever they had going on was more like the descant line over a particularly nice melody and harmony. Three parts could work together, right?

That hopeful thought withered as I caught Goode staring at me. I didn’t need to be close to him to feel the lust and calculation he radiated. I didn’t know how on earth we could possibly resolve the sticky situation we were in. I fully expected Goode to double-cross all of us at some point. I just hoped my mates could come up with a way to stop him before it was too late.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Artemis

After three days of idyllic peace with my omegas, I was now staring down the barrel of the most precarious situation I’d ever been a part of. Goode was dangerous. I’d felt it during my interview with him days before, but I hadn’t known what it was then. The edginess that had radiated from him as he sat behind his big desk, questioning me about what I could do for him, was from this desperate, grasping certainty that Gideon belonged to him. There was no way to predict what he would do to take what he believed was his.

If I could have beamed Gideon away from the cliffside house to safety, I would have. But the remoteness of our hideaway worked against us as much as it worked for us. We were all trapped there together.

“Whoever shingled this roof originally did a decent job,” Goode said in a too-casual voice as we moved around,removing rotted shingles and replacing them with new ones. “It looks to me like the only problem with this structure is its age. How long have you owned it?”

“I don’t,” I said honestly, inching along the roof as Goode did. “Fletcher owns it.”

Goode nodded, and his affable expression faltered for a moment, but he didn’t comment.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see what Goode thought about Fletcher. He hated my omega with a passion. Logically, I could understand why. Fletcher had managed to keep Gideon away from him for years. I had the uncomfortable feeling that Fletcher would have continued to be able to keep Gideon safe if I hadn’t joined the picture.

Every which way I looked at it, I figured the only way Goode would have been able to find Fletcher and Gideon was through me. Whether it was Goode himself or someone working for him who had arrived at the farm just as I was leaving, they must have somehow had the ability to see the license plate on my car and to identify me after all. That or they’d spotted us at the travel center. But I didn’t think they would have known where to look if it wasn’t for my car.

And then there was my cell phone. I’d made that call to Victor the other day. I wasn’t sure about the technology behind it, but there had to be some way Goode was able to figure out my exact location based on my last call.

I wished I could make a call to Victor now, but after being turned off and unplugged for three days, my phone had no battery. I’d asked Gideon to plug it into the generator to get some power now, but I hadn’t wanted to let Goode out of my sight long enough to make a call.

I had to keep my omegas safe, and for now, that meant watching every move Goode made. I certainly didn’t want him anywhere near Gideon. Fletcher had his keys and hisshirt and shoes, but I wasn’t about to let my guard down or assume Goode was neutralized for a second.

“The view from up here is spectacular,” Goode said, making light conversation.

We were on the ocean side of the house, dealing with the shingles there. The view was amazing as the sun slipped in and out of clouds, but I didn’t tear my eyes away from Goode to see it.

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