Page 53 of Dodging Bullets

“We picked up a kid, then dropped him at a gas station just outside of Springfield. Ian made it sound like he was rescuing this kid from a bad situation. Said it was his nephew. It was all bullshit, and when Pieter scooped up the kid less than ten minutes later, Ian had thrown half a bottle of sleeping pills down his throat and left the bottle there with him in a dirty bathroomstall.” The rage in his voice was barely tamped down, and I bit back the small fearful whine that wanted to escape. “For the next few months, I ingratiated myself with him, and when word came that we had to bring someone in—someone who wanted to buy an Omega—I knew I had to be there, if for no other reason than to protect you.”

Max’s lip pulled back in a sneer. “Great job at protection, asshole. She was down in that hole for a week before we found her. If we’d killed that little weasel before he confessed she was in there, we would have burnt the place down around her.”

Kross looked aggravated. “It wasn’t perfect. I lost her once she went with fucking Anthony Smalls, then shit went sideways and I had to kill Ian.” He said it so casually, like murder was just something he did after getting takeout on Thursdays. “By the time Jewel tracked down the warehouse, she was gone, and there was nothing but smoldering rubble left. We thought she was dead. At least until you popped up on the dark web, asking questions.”

Silence fell over the table, and my head was whirling with information that I didn’t know what to do with. I looked at Henry, who’d basically risen from the dead, and his soft expression was so like the boy I’d known.

Nim had always had the hugest crush on Henry. She used to think that once they both designated as Betas, she would choose him as a partner. When he’d died—or rather, didn’t die—she’d been inconsolable for weeks. I thought of other members of the Homestead who’d died or disappeared with little explanation. “How many have been saved?”

Henry reached over and put his hand on mine. Rio growled, but I squeezed his knee, reassuring him that it wasn’t like that. Henry, Nim and I had been raised in the same house, almost like siblings. Well, for me it had been like a sibling bond; for Nim, it had been something else. But I definitely didn’t see Henry as anew prospective Alpha, no matter how happy I was that he was alive.

“Including Kross, but not including you”—he shot an apologetic look at my Alphas—“there’ve been nine survivors. We’ve buried eight more in a cemetery outside of Pieter’s farm, about an hour outside of Little Rock.”

Sadness echoed around me, mine and theirs. People I’d known, people I’d loved, discarded like they were little more than waste.

Sucking in a fortifying breath, I steeled my spine and looked at Kross. “What do you need me to do?”

Thirty

Llew

Being in a room with this many other Alphas was grating on my control, but there was no way I’d leave my Omegas alone in here, or leave my Packmates outnumbered. So I sucked it up and when we got to their hotel suite, I sat on the furthest wall with my eyes on the door and Polly in my lap. I also had August tucked close. Neither of them protested, like they could sense I needed this.

In the end, all the others needed from Polly was information. Things that had changed in the years since Henry had left. The routine. Where people slept, ate, and the weapons they possessed. It was hard watching Polly now second-guess everything she’d seen. The guns that rested on the sides of the building hadn’t been to keep out monsters. They were to prevent people coming to help, because the Leaders were the monsters. The people she’d regarded as parental figures had all had lives outside the walls of the Homestead, and suddenly, she was questioning every single interaction.

“They all lied so easily,” she said to me softly, and I held her tighter, pressing her closer to my body like I could absorb her pain through symbiosis.

August kissed the side of her head. “It’s likely that they’ve detached from reality and truly believed the things they were telling you.”

She looked completely wrung out by the time they circled back around to things she’d already told them, and I decided that was enough. I was taking her home to our Packhouse, where she was safe. I stood, not letting her out of my arms. “We’re done.”

Kross didn’t protest, merely stood as well. The rest of the Pack gathered at my back, and Polly wiggled until I set her on her feet. Walking over to stand in front of her, Kross dipped his head. “I’m sorry that I caused you so much trauma, Omega. I’m not perfect, and neither was the situation. I was doing the best I could, but I’m Alpha enough to admit that my best just wasn’t good enough.” He looked at me and the men around me. Her Pack. “I’m glad that you actually have a chance at happiness now. From what Henry’s told me, the Homestead’s views on Omegas have only gotten worse since I left. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemies.”

Polly was more gracious than I ever could be. I doubted I could ever forgive someone who caused her even a moment of pain. But she wasn’t me; she was better than us all. “You did what you thought was right. It’s all any of us can do.”

Shaking my head, I envied her that sweet nature right then. Because we all knew there was more that could be done, and if I judged by Kross’s cold expression, he was going to do it with extreme prejudice.

I let Polly go long enough for her to walk over to the other Alpha, Henry, and hug him. My Alpha didn’t like it, though I kept telling myself that there wasn’t anything romantic between them. Looking between them, though—Henry with his straight, dark brows and blue eyes—they looked almost like siblings than friends.

August leaned in close. “Do you see the similarities too?” I nodded. He cleared his throat. “So, you guys don’t know who your parents are?”

Henry shook his head. “No, they believed that children belonged to the village. I assume there must be some record somewhere, if they had any foresight, and some of the older members would obviously know, but if we ever asked, we were quickly shut down.”

“And you guys are the same age?” August pressed, and I watched Kross tilt his head, understanding dawning on his face.

“There were several of us raised in a group, though I couldn’t tell you our actual ages with any certainty. I’m only basing mine off a guess and the age I went through my designation,” Henry answered.

Jewel was eyeing them too now, and that little Omega had a sharp mind and a fierce gaze. Where Polly was soft, I doubted Jewel had any softness left. She looked over at August appraisingly. “You think they’re twins?”

August nodded. “Even their scents are complimentary. Jasmine, but hers is kind of sweet, where Henry’s is a little spicier, maybe woodsy?”

Jewel tilted her head and nodded. Omegas were very sensitive to scents, even more so than Alphas. But now August mentioned it, I could sense the similarities in their scents, as well as their appearance.

Polly blinked up at Henry, looking at his face as if she’d never seen it before. “We didn’t have mirrors; I never knew what I looked like to know if we looked similar. But Nim never said anything, nor did any of the other kids.”

“Nim was raised with us. We probably looked wildly different to someone who’d seen me try and grow a moustache at twelve,” Henry joked, but I could see the sadness on his face. He was clearly holding it in for Polly.

She threw back her head and laughed. “It looked like dirt on your lip. Nim was planning to shave it off while you slept if you let it go much longer.” She looked over at us, then stepped away. “I don’t know if we’re related, or twins, or anything like that. But I’d like to know later—after we get Nim out of there.”

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