Page 17 of Nothing is Free

“Are you al?—”

“Follow the doctor,” she whispers so low I can barelyhear her. She presses her back against the wall and there is genuine fear in her eyes. I can tell it cost this woman to talk to us and I dread to think what will happen to her for giving us this information. Her courage deserves repayment. Maybe once this is over we can extricate her from this house of horrors.

“What?” I whisper back. She rolls her eyes and comes closer.

“Freeya. Follow the doctor, that’s how you will find her,” she says quickly. Did she just say doctor? What does a doctor have to do with Freeya?

Avion’s halfway out the door but pauses and turns back to her. “What did you say?” he asks, lowering his voice.

“Follow the doctor. Dr. Neeson,” she whispers again. “They want the ba?—”

“Marie!” Cadence calls the woman’s name, and she jumps in fright. I don’t want to know why this woman is so on edge, but I bet it has everything to do with the pack she serves. One thing is for sure, they lied to us, yet now we have a name.

Marie pushes me gently toward the door, leaving Avion and I on the front porch of the house. She gives us both a sympathetic smile, “Follow the doctor and you will find her,” she mumbles low then nods before the door closes in our faces.

Avion is down the steps and walking down the driveway just as our car pulls up in front of him. I don’t question how the man got back here so fast as we both jump into the car. Settling into the seat as we pull away, Avion’s on the phone before I can say anything about what we just heard.

“Dez.” He pauses. “Of course, they denied they knew anything.” He pauses again. “I want to destroy them,” Avion growls out his words in anger. “Dr. Neeson. The housekeeper said to follow the doctor.” I don’t know what Dez is sayingon his end to make Avion gasp suddenly. He curses under his breath then pockets his phone he leans his head back against the seat and blows out a calming breath.

“What does a doctor have to do with this?” I ask, but then it hits me what Marie was trying to say. They knew. They know Freeya is pregnant. The doctor is there to. . . What? I let it all roll around in my head, letting the scenery go by, we both sit in silence.

“No!” I finally say after I take a moment to think about it all. I straighten in my seat and turn my head to Avion, my mouth popping open in horror.

“Yes,” Avion replies. “They want the baby. Our baby.”

CHAPTER 11

DEZ

Sitting in my SUV two miles down the road from the location of the car Damyn used to take my baby girl away from me, I wait. I wait impatiently. Omari is further up the road with Quincy and his team, and I let him go. My Omega is determined to find his mate, our mate, and I won’t get in the way by being an overprotective Alpha. There is merit to their true mate bond, it’s our advantage, I know that. I only said no a few days ago out of fear. Deep rooted fears of our past, of pulling Omari out of a shipping container covered in shit and piss. Listening to his cries at night, the bad dreams, and the gripping need to take all his pain away. It still haunts me. Countless rescues later, countless recoveries of Omegas in far worse conditions, but Omari’s still lingers. Maybe, when I took the job on, my soul knew then he was mine, fate sent me to save him. I almost lost him before I knew I was meant to love him. Fate continues to be at play in our lives, I don’t doubt that. So, I hold on to hope and will see how this pans out. I’ll wait.

My ears are ringing, my pulse picks up, my heart hammers against my ribcage and my mouth is dry withanticipation. My senses are on high alert as we get closer and closer to finding her. My body has the same reaction with each person we find, but these feelings are magnified. The person we are searching for, the person we will find, belongs to me. This rescue is more important, so much is riding on this recovery, and there is no room for mistakes, not one. When I found Omari, I didn’t know that at the time, but with Freeya, my eyes are wide open. I know what I stand to lose. We’ve combed over every detail, planned as much as we can, now all I can do is. . .

“Dez, the SUV is empty,” Quincy’s voice chimes through our earpieces.

My grip on the steering wheel tightens. “Fuck,” I say under my breath. I reach up and scratch my freshly shaven head and blow out a breath. I knew it would be scrubbed clean, but there was that damn word again, hope, the voice in my head, told me differently. We would find something, a little bread crumb.

“Omari?” I ask, holding my breath, needing to hear it from him. Can he scent her? Sense her in any way?

“She was here, Dez,” he finally replies after what feels like an eternity. I can feel his relief. “Her scent is faint, to anyone else it wouldn’t register, but I can smell her.” The comms cut off, only for Omari to come back on, frustration in his tone. “I can’t sense anything else, just her scent in the car.”

“Alright, don’t worry. Let’s all head back to our rendezvous point and regroup,” I say to everyone.

“Roger that,” came down the line from everyone. I don’t move right away as I take in the lone two-way highway, thick forest on either side. The perfect location to hide something you don’t want to be found. The perfect area to get lost. Is this a clue? Is she somewhere amongst these trees,right under our noses? I dare to hope. Fuck, there it is again, hope.

I watch as four black SUVs speed by, coming from where they were all strategically parked up and down the road, and I finally start my car to follow. We were all ready just in case. Finding the car was the final piece of the puzzle to finding her. If only it was that easy. Nothing is ever that easy.

I drive, keeping my eyes on the car in front of me, knowing Omari is up there safe with Quincy, Beckett, Malcolm, and Faith. I relax and let my mind drift to Freeya, of my reluctance to take her as our mate. I think about the night she came home with us, entrusted us with her pleasure, it was all so easy. Too easy.

“Do you want this, Freeya?” Avion’s voice was soft and controlled as his lips brushed over her skin, making her shudder. I watched from the corner of Avion’s room, sitting in one of the armchairs, fists clenched, as I observed them. They were besotted by her. Her naked body was laid out for my brothers and my Omega, for them to feast upon. I wanted to join them, touch her dark brown skin, tease her. But who was she? Where did she come from? It was as if she’d fallen from the sky, falling right into Omari’s arms.

She moaned, and my dick could no longer ignore her sweet scent. My eyes landed on the rise and fall of her chest. Saliva pooled in my mouth as Vic took one of her hardened nipples into his mouth, and he sucked.Fuck.Freeya’s back arched off the bed while he bent over her, releasing the nipple with a pop he turned his attention to the other. Omari groaned and Avion claimed his mouth, both lost to a passionate kiss of their own. The scene in front of me was almost too much. The fire between us burned too bright, our bond hummed jubilantly, as if it had finally found the missing piece, turning our world from dull, muted colors, to bright,vibrant hues. She made us come alive. Was I imagining this connection? Or was this wishful thinking? It was too fast, too soon.

Omari pulled away from Avion and let his hands roam over the naked Beta before him. He touched her like she was the most precious gift, so reverently. His lips followed the path of his hands, peppering her body with soft gentle kisses, while Vic licked and sucked, marking her without biting.

“Please, please, no more. I need to cum.” She panted in frustration. They’d been edging her for what felt like hours. I could feel her need even without having a bond. I was over here torturing myself right alongside her.

Vic licked away her tears and groans. “Fuck, she is exquisite.” His voice was deep and husky, needy, with so much yearning it was suffocating. The muscles of my thighs flexed in preparation to stand and walk over to them, to join in their worship.

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