Page 54 of Dodging Bullets

Henry gripped her hands. “I’ll bring her back to us, Paloma. I promise. I won’t stop until we’re all safe and happy.”

Polly nodded, her eyes getting shiny with tears, and I’d had enough. I walked over and wrapped her in my arms, before reaching out, putting a heavy hand on Henry’s shoulder. “I hope it’s true, but it doesn’t matter either way. You’re family to Polly, which means you’re family to us.”

“I can’t bury you again,” she whispered, which broke my heart once more.

Henry nodded solemnly, but he didn’t promise. I respected him more for it. Things could go sideways on missions like this, and Polly had been lied to enough for one lifetime.

I bundled both Polly and August out of the suite, holding open the elevator doors as Rio and Max brought up the rear. I moved over to the corner where, unsurprisingly, Polly turned into my body and climbed me like a tree, wrapping her arms and legs around my body as her tears soaked the curve of my neck.

“You held it together so well, my brave Omega,” I crooned.

“It’s so bad, Llew. So much wasted time. So much needless hurt,” she sniffled, as I stroked up and down her back, holding her close. I looked at Max and Rio, seeing the helpless anger on their faces. They would do what was right for our Omega, and put down the people that hurt her.

The Leaders and the Homestead would receive their retribution, and it would be all because of an Omega they’d thrown away like trash.

In the end, Rio and Max only came home for long enough to get Polly settled and grab their gear. August insisted he had to return home, because he was due back at work, but I hated having him out of my sight when things were so uncertain, even knowing that there was no threat to him. To my Alpha, August was already ours, so he needed our protection. It was a hard pill to swallow that he didn’t really need us, and despite going through Polly’s heat together, he wasn’t officially Pack.

Yet.

Everyone had left less than two hours ago, and I knew it would be a long few days. Rio and Max would meet Kross and his group in Arkansas, and it would take at least a half a day or more to get there. They’d take the long route, checking into a hotel in St. Louis, but not staying there for long. Then they’d drive through the night to a town just over the border and head down to where the Homestead was buried in the mountains. From there, the others had called in a few helpers, who had strong feelings on the mistreatment of children and Omegas, as well as less-than-stellar morals. Together, they’d go in and shut down the Homestead for good.

According to Max, the plan was to deliver the Leaders—and those who’d wilfully looked the other way—on the doorstep of police in Little Rock, along with so much irrefutable evidence, they’d be forced to open an investigation. I just hoped it didn’t lead back to Polly.

Right now, though, it was just me and a scared Omega in my Packhouse. We’d retreated to my suite, and I was showing her all my favorite movies from the last two decades. Max had stored enough food in the fridge that we wouldn’t have to do anything more strenuous than reheat stuff in the oven.

“Why didn’t you and the guys have a bond?”

I wanted to brush off the question, distract her with something else, something happier and more pleasant. But I’d promised myself I’d never lie to her, even by omission.

“When Rio was in the military, his humvee was blown up, and he was captured by enemy insurgents. He was taken and tortured for information for a little over ten days. Much like our connection, my bond with Rio was rare. It meant that I felt every moment of his pain. I worked out that using our bond, I could shield him from that, and I did. However, when they brought him home, our bond had burned out, as well as my one to Max. It had worked so hard to protect our Pack that it just… fizzled. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to bond you back after your Omega went rogue, because no matter how we tried after Rio returned, it was too broken to repair.”

She didn’t say anything for a long time, her head just resting on my chest. I could see the fluttering of her eyelashes on her round cheeks. She looked less gaunt and starved already, her soft Omega curves making her even more irresistible. Finally, she rolled over so she was looking up at me. “I think I can do it. Iwantto do it.”

“Do what, Sweet Thing?”

“Bond us all back together. Our bond is strong, as is my bond with Rio and Max. I think if you try to bond them again, maybe it’ll work because the links are already there, if fainter for you. When the time is right, we should try and bond again.” A smile curled her lips. “Maybe when we bond with August. It’s meant to be, Llew. I can feel it in my soul.”

A wave of pure gratitude washed over me. “I believe you. There’s nothing you can’t do, Polly Barrie.” I hugged her tightly. “Now, how are we going to court our Omega? I vote you just turn up naked, dipped in chocolate sauce, and say ‘Be Mine?’ We should practice that now.”

She giggled and slapped my chest, and I held her close, this angel that I didn’t deserve.

Thirty-One

Rio

Despite being honorably discharged over a year ago, preparing for a mission still felt like second nature. I wouldn’t say I felt at home doing it, but it was something I was good at—hell, something I’d excelled at for a long time.

Having Max beside me was new, but I also knew he was highly skilled and we weren’t going up against an armed militia. We were liberating a bunch of brainwashed people from the hands of some truly evil sociopaths.

I sent a quick message to the group chat I’d created with everyone, including August and Polly, telling them that we were about to go dark. That I loved them.

I was coming home with closure for my Omega. There were no other options.

I turned back to Kross. Toledo had gotten some satellite footage of the compound, and I wasn’t surprised it had never been found. They’d managed to camouflage it beautifully with the surrounding national forest—even the rooftops—making it hard to distinguish it from the surrounding terrain. There were no vehicles, any farmland must’ve been worked in between the trees, and even the fence was a drab green that looked like it had been reclaimed by nature long ago.

All in all, if the others hadn’t led us to their doorstep, we would never have found them.

“We go in through the entry point here”—Kross indicated where the tunnel came out in the ceremony room—“and we scale the walls here and here.” He pointed to the south and southwest corners, which were closest to the access road. “Minimal casualties is the aim of tonight, people. They’ll be scared and confused, and unless you are in immediate threat of grave injury, keep your phasers set to stun.”

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