Page 58 of Their Alpha

Then he just shook his head, like I was the problem, and continued working.

We only got a bit more work in before the clouds that had been gathering thickened and rain started to spit down from the sky. Sunset was on its way anyhow, and the light was quickly growing dimmer. The last thing I wanted to do was let Goode inside our house, where Gideon was, but I didn’t see how it could be helped.

“You’ve done a wonderful job of decorating,” Goode said once we were standing near the fire in the living room, drying off. He addressed his comment to Gideon, who kept his distance at the far side of the room as he set out snacks on the table. “I’m not surprised you have beautiful taste,” he went on. “You always were the perfect omega helpmeet.”

Those words had to mean something within the cult. Gideon snapped straight and blanched as he heard them.

“Don’t speak to him,” Fletcher growled, coming into the room with a pitcher of what looked like lemonade. “Don’t even look at him. He’s mine, ours, not yours.”

He glanced at me, and I felt so much more than his fury at Goode and his protectiveness of Gideon. He pulsed with energy, like he had figured out a plan and was eager to execute it.

“I’ll help you two with the rest of the food,” I said, moving away from the fireplace. Goode started moving, too, but I whipped back, pointing at him, and said, “You stay right where you are.”

Goode held up his hands, like he was gracious for obeying my request. “I’ll just slip back into my shirt, if you don’t mind,” he said, reaching for his shirt, which was draped over the back of the chair nearest thefire.

I didn’t care one way or another whether he was dressed or not, but there wasn’t a lot of time to think about it. Fletcher and Gideon had already moved back into the kitchen, and I was eager to go with them.

“What are we going to do about him?” I asked once the three of us were alone in the kitchen.

“We need to keep him here,” Fletcher whispered as we gathered around the sink. “I got your phone working earlier and I called your friend Victor.”

I bristled with relief, even though I wasn’t sure what Victor could do about anything.

“He said he’ll be here as soon as he can,” Fletcher went on.

I rubbed a hand over my face. “I wish I was convinced that bringing Victor up here would solve things,” I said. “Goode hasn’t done anything yet that we could use to have him arrested.”

“He’s good at pretending he’s doing everything right,” Gideon whispered, shifting over to the table to put the finishing touches on a charcuterie board. “Everyone who belongs to The People is taught how to say and do the right thing to look innocent and to stop the police from having any reason to take action. We learn that when we’re young.”

I had been worried about that much. Goode was probably five steps ahead of us without us even knowing it.

“What do we do, then?” I asked, letting my frustration show.

“We don’t give up, that’s what we do,” Fletcher said.

The rain and wind suddenly picked up, which felt like a reflection of the complete powerlessness I was feeling.

“Hey,” Fletcher said, grabbing my arms and turning me to face him. He stared hard into my eyes and repeated, “Wedon’t give up. There is a way out of this, we just have to find it.”

I nodded, wishing I felt as confident as my amazing omega. “I keep thinking that the only way to end this whole thing and keep Gideon safe for good is if Goode iseliminated.” I didn’t want to say “killed”. I didn’t want to believe we would have to resort to that extremity just to free Gideon of the specter that had been following him for too long.

Fletcher moved his hands from my arms to hold my face. “We’ll do what we have to do,” he said, his strength unwavering. “The longer we keep Goode here, on his own, without backup, the more time we have to figure out how to keep Gideon safe. It’s just a matter of figuring out what he values more than an omega who doesn’t want him.”

“His business,” I said, heart beating with hope. “I’m sure there’s a way we can target his business, threaten to expose him for the abuser he is to the public. Men like that care more about money and their reputations than they do about a single omega. If we can make him believe that the world will revile him and his business will flounder if he continues to pursue Gideon, then he might let Gideon go.”

“That’s a great place to start,” Fletcher said. “I wonder if revealing Gideon’s identity as Tristan Freehold would help. If all those legion of fans find out that Gideon has been on the run from a forced cult marriage, that could sway the situation as well.”

“I think it would work,” I said, breathless with hope. I smiled. “I love you.”

A moment later, I blinked. That wasn’t what I’d thought would come out of my mouth. I had just intended to compliment Fletcher for being brilliant. But I did love him. I lovedhim so much that I couldn’t contain myself for a moment longer.

Fletcher’s eyes suddenly brimmed with joy and affection as well. “I love you, too,” he said, then laughed. “That totally snuck up on me.”

“What, you mean you didn’t realize that you loved me when you had me bunched up over the back of the chair earlier while you pounded my prostate into oblivion?”

Fletcher laughed even louder. “Maybe,” he said. “We can give it another go sometime and see if fucking you senseless inspires me with more feelings of love.”

“I’m pretty sure it would,” I said, heating from the inside out.

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