Page 19 of Nothing is Free

We’re coming, Free, hold on, Baby Girl.

CHAPTER 12

OMARI

“Honestly, it took me a minute to decipher the series of numbers, 39° 28' 56.0316'' N. and 106° 2' 46.2516'' W. The email was encrypted, almost code-like in nature. It took me a few hours, but it turned out our target was giving the good old doctor coordinates to his location,” Malcolm tells the team, pulling his glasses off temporarily to rub at his bloodshot eyes.

I don’t think the man has slept. Dez definitely needs to give his team a raise and a much-needed break. There’s been a shit ton of rescuing these past few months. But his team’s willingness to work so hard is a credit to the man they work for. Dez is caring, even when he scowls, he is loyal and protective and treats them all like pack. I glance around the conference room at the hotel we are staying in, and I take in all their faces. The room has a large oval-shaped table with ergonomic black office chairs currently occupied by the rest of the team. Everyone here is focused on the debrief, alert and ready to go at Dez’s command, but there is an undercurrent of exhaustion hanging heavy in the air. Dez’s entire team has been going nonstop since the night my Petal was taken. Noone has complained, everyone is as invested in getting Freeya back as we are.

As if on cue, Malcolm yawns as he sits behind his laptop, the light from the screen highlights the lines of fatigue on his face. Dez, Beckett, and Quincy take up their normal positions behind his seated form, looking down over his shoulder at whatever he is pulling up on the screen. They all bark out commands to him and he takes them all in stride, mindlessly moving from monitor to monitor. He’s like a machine himself.

“I don’t know how to help them,” Faith whispers, leaning over just enough for me to hear her, but keeping space between us. She’s dressed in black; black long sleeve shirt, black cargo pants and boots like the rest of the team. She has loose curly waves, similar to her sister’s, but instead of her wearing it wild and free like Mercy, Faith pulls it up tight in a bun. Her light brown eyes gaze back at me nervously, as if it took all her strength to speak to me. I know she is still struggling with close proximity, but I am glad she feels relaxed enough with me to at least sit beside me. I’m not around a lot of Omegas. I’ve always kept my distance from female Omegas, well, because I didn’t know how they would react to me. I mean, the Omegas who were held captive, well, they were always terrified. I know now it was more from the Alphas and Betas who tormented them, and nothing to do with me. But the terror, the sharp changes in their scents, it’s something I will never forget, so, I kept my distance out of my own fear of causing harm. Now that my mate is best friends with one and it seems Faith is going to be around a lot more with Beckett, Quincy, and Malcolm, I am slowly building a positive relationship with them both, maybe even friendship. Something I never thought I could have.

I gesture to Malcolm, inclining my head in his direction. “Coffee, lots of coffee. It will all be over soon enough and we will be back home. Then we all can get some much-needed sleep,” I say, trying to sound positive, knowing when we do get our mate back, the struggle will be far from over. This is my first time going out with Dez on a mission and I already feel as if coming out here is pointless. Although I picked up Freeya’s scent yesterday from the abandoned SUV, it was all I found. There was no magic beacon for me to follow, no tug on our bond to point me in the right direction. Were we wrong? Maybe I presumed too much in regard to our true mate bond and me being here is a waste of time.

Faith’s hand reaches out and pats mine. I blink at the connection, surprised that she didn’t hesitate to touch me. She has come a long way from four months ago. “You think you being here isn’t helping. I feel the same way. I’m here because apparently I am too afraid to be left alone.” She shrugs and laughs humourlessly at herself. How she picked up on my own self-deprecating thoughts, I’ll never know. Maybe Faith is just good at reading people around her. Her smile fades, she looks lost for a minute, letting her past and everything it entails flash before her eyes, she blinks, then looks back to me. “They found me; they will find her. Whatever she’s been through, I will help her through it, just like she helped me.” She gives my hand a squeeze, then stands.

I watch her move around the room to the smaller round table filled with pastries, bottled water, juice, and a coffee station. She takes her time making three cups of coffee and my heart warms knowing exactly what she’s doing. Faith begins to pass out the cups of coffee clutched in her arms, first to Quincy and Beckett, who both startle in surprise, stopping Dez mid-conversation. Yeah, they’re all kinds of swoony. When she reaches Malcolm, she sits beside him before placing the coffee down, slowly sliding it closer tohim. He looks up from his laptop, his face lights up, all the weariness drains from his face as he beams at her with adoration. Well, I think she is doing just fine. She didn’t need my advice. Just her being here, supporting them, is helping. It’s clear the Grayson Alphas only have eyes for her.

“Omari.” I glance up, locking eyes with Dez. He smirks. I smile back and shrug. Yep, I’m invested in her happily ever after, aren’t we all. I think she deserves one.

“Yes,” I reply. Did I miss something important. I hadn’t realized the team were all packing up to leave. Well, damn, I didn’t mean to distract myself so thoroughly.

“We’re leaving. You’re with me,” Dez says as he exits the conference room. I stand and follow him out, my long legs help me catch up to him easily, as he’s shorter. Out of all of us, Dez is the shortest of my Alphas, they are all over six feet tall, but he’s built like a truck, not an ounce of body fat; he’s a walking weapon.Mine.

I open and close my mouth as we make our way through the hotel. Our bags are packed in the SUV already, so I assume we are not returning. The question I want to ask sticks to my tongue, afraid to voice my hope, just afraid. I keep walking silently beside him, until his hand reaches out, his fingers brush mine, grounding me without making a fuss. It’s what I love about Dez, he lets me find my way, without treating me as if I am made of glass. The way the world treats Omegas, both female and male, with an air of fragility. I am a man first, a man who wants to find and protect his mate. My Omega designation does not make me less inclined to fight for her. With these thoughts in mind, I finally speak.

“Are we going after her now?” I ask as we reach one of the black SUV’s ready and waiting for us in front of the hotel.

“Yes, Mari. Let’s go get our Beta back.”

The caravan of SUVs climbs higher and higher up the mountain path. I feel more ridiculous by the minute, making myself yawn to combat the constant underwater feeling in my ears. The altitude is wrecking my hearing, the persistent popping only makes this experience more unbearable by second. The coordinates in Dr. Neeson’s email to Damyn is sending us to the middle of nowhere. The two-lane narrow highway curves steeply up the mountain and I find myself white knuckling the oh shit handle more than once. Thankfully it’s not snowing, because I don’t know if we could travel up here safely. Dez mentioned when we started the drive that passes like this through the mountains get closed regularly as the weather is unpredictable as well as the conditions. None of us need to have an accident up here, there would be no way to get help to us in time if we were in a situation where the weather took a turn.

I anxiously watch the road as the wheels of the SUV move closer to the edge of the asphalt, the other side is a railing with a clear drop down. I’m not usually afraid of heights, but damn, it is a frightening sight to behold. One wrong move and you can easily dance with the devil, or angel, whatever you believe. Hell, I would probably call on both if it meant surviving a fall like the one below.

Dez looks over quickly and I catch him out of my peripheral. Adjusting myself in the seat I turn my attention back to him, I tilt my head in question. “What?”

Keeping his eyes forward, his teeth work beneath is jaw. He’s tense. Is it the drive? Or is he worried about what’s going to happen once we get up there. “When we get to where we’re going, stay by my side, Mari, please. Whateverhappens, you need to follow my lead. I promised Avion and Vic your protection will always be my responsibility. I can’t—” He swallows, the muscles in this throat straining. “—I cannot, I will not, lose you too.”

I know he means well, but his concern angers me. I know they all want me to be safe, but what about what I want? What I need? I want my mate to be safe. I want to protect the life growing inside of her. Fuck what happens to me. “Dez, you taught me to fight, to shoot, and I am just as capable as any other member of your team.” I point at him forcefully. “YOU! You made sure of that.” I turn my attention back to the window, refusing to look at him. I know I am being difficult but what is the point of me tagging along to help when he’s going to stand in my way and hold me back?

“I know you can, Mari. I know, Baby, I do. We don’t know what we are walking into. It’s why I have an entire team of people behind us. Do you think Faith is leaving the SUV?” he asks gently in his attempt to placate me, only it makes things worse.

“She is here for an entirely different reason, Dez. Don’t do that. Don’t make this into an Omega safety issue or I promise you, you will regret your words!” I snap. “She. Is. My. Mate.” I hit my chest, stamping each word. I growl low in my throat and his nostril flare at my blatant challenge. “If you think you can stop me?—”

“This is not an argument we need to have, Mari. I love you!” He shouts. “I will get her out. I will find her because I promised her too. I protect what’s mine and she is just as much mine as she is yours. Don’t you forget that, true fucking mate or not!”

The tension in the car is too much for me to stomach. I hate fighting but now I truly understand what it feels like to feel unhinged and feral when it comes to the ones you love.My need to get to her is so strong, I know I will disobey my Alpha to do so. What that means for my pack, the dynamic going forward. . .well, I will cross that bridge when I get there.

We don’t say another word the entire rest of the journey. The GPS pings loud in my ears breaking the silence as Dez turns the car down a road so narrow the branches and leaves of the spruce and pine trees scrape against the windows. The turn is so sharp, you blink and miss it. I turn around and see the others following closely behind and breathe a sigh of relief. I count all five SUVs then turn back to observe the world around us.

The trees are packed close together on either side of the makeshift path, making it damn near impossible to see through them. It’s midday, but the sky is overcast in warning of bad weather to come. The lack of sunshine casts the forest in an eerie gray wash of muted colors. It’s silent and bleak. I would say it’s a sign of things to come but I keep my mouth closed. All around the area snow litters the ground in patches even with it being late Spring, the temperature is a lot cooler up here. The only signs of life are the occasional squirrels jumping from the branches up above us.

“An off-road vehicle has been through here recently. The tracks are fresh by the looks of them,” Dez finally says, breaking the stalemate between us.

I hum noncommittally, still bristling from our argument. I don’t want to talk anymore, I need to take action. I reach behind my back where my gun holster is strapped tight and secure around my waist. I nod in approval to myself, knowing I have a knife inside the right leg pocket of my cargo pants. I am by no means defenseless.

We continue until we can see where the road ends abruptly. No visible destination, only a blockade of the forestitself. It’s just as we are about the reach the dead end when I see it. A disturbance in the landscape I’ve been stubbornly paying close attention to. Camouflage covering two large boulder shaped figures off to the side between the trees.

---