Page 2 of Nothing is Free

I rush from the tent, knowing that Vic and Avion will take care of Omari. Even though the need to take care of him first is strong, I fight back past the impulse and focus on finding Freeya. I know there will be no consoling Mari if something happened to Free. She is important to us all.

The night is a hive of activity as catering staff rush around to prepare for the dinner portion of the night. I find Kiah easily as she frantically calls for Free through her earpiece while continuing to direct catering staff to their right location with ease. She’s a Beta like Freeya, and can’t be a day over twenty, she reminds me of a little doll with her short pink bob and her black rimmed glasses, light brown skin and big brown eyes. Clutching a clipboard to her chest she glances in my direction, and I can see her body relax as she blows out a breath as I make my way toward her.

“Dez, tell me you know where she is,” she says, her arms flailing around animatedly. “I have an issue with the ice sculpture, and the pastry chef is freaking out about a cake they want to present to Mercy after dinner is served.” She pauses in her panic as she looks up with hope filled eyes. For a moment I freeze; I wish I had a better answer for her. It is my job to take care of what’s mine, to take care of my pack, and I have a feeling I’ve failed, again. I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight. Deep down, I already know she’s gone, or she would be right here beside me, complaining about high heels and how she is in desperate need of a foot rub. The thought makes my chest ache and instead of panicking, I silence those thoughts and do what I do best, my job.

I sigh in frustration and walk past her. “I don’t know where she is, Kiah. I have wasted time coming this way. You may as well get ready to shut all of this down—we have bigger problems than cake,” I say over my shoulder as I break into a jog. I know it might come off harsh, but the poor girl is just going to have to adjust and make it work, her boss is missing.

“Quincy, I need everybody on high alert. Check every inch of the grounds, Freeya is not answering her coms. Has anyone had eyes on her in the last thirty minutes?” I ask, keeping my voice calm when I am anything but.

“I had eyes on her near the porta cabins, but she quickly walked away from the long line of people waiting to get in.” One of my team members answered back instantly. “I watched her head in the opposite direction of the party, sir. Should I have followed her?” he asked hesitantly. I can only assume he’s worried he has fucked up and I am about to lay into him. Far from the truth. No, this is not his fault, his job is to stay at his post and that’s what he did. Hell, he is the only one giving me some insight into where she might be.

“No, you did well. Let’s start corralling all the guests toward the main tent. Everyone: prepare to shut this place down. Please inform Mercy her party is over. I will explain everything to her and her mates shortly. I need to know what we are dealing with before I can say more,” I say down the line.

“Roger that,” they all answer in unison. The feeling of my team at my back gives me hope that this is just a misstep, and in the end, I am going to have a very long talk with my mate about safety when I find her. The thought should be enough to ease the rapid beating of my heart, but it’s not.

Static breaks up my thoughts as Quincy speaks in rapid succession. “Dez, surveillance camera on the main building hasher rushing in through the front doors about twenty-five minutes ago. As far as I can tell she may still be in the building. Malcolm and I will keep searching the security feeds. Alpha team: meet Dez in front of the Smooth Bourbon Administration building. Beta team: I need a complete perimeter check, eyes up people.” Quincy gives out orders and I don’t question my second in command, right now, I need his level head. My Alpha team were made up of the more senior members of my company, battle hardened Alphas and Betas who’ve worked under me for years. While my Beta team consisted of newly trained members of my security team who still needed more experience on the ground. This is the perfect moment to put them all through their paces. Without another word from Quincy, I take the path through the trees away from the party and head towards the main building.

“Freeya, God damn it, woman, please, not now, we just found you, Baby. Not now,” I talk to her as if she was right in front of me. My voice carrying my prayer, because that’s what this is, a prayer to whomever is listening on the wind. The red and white floodlights shining bright on the main building come into view as I rush up the path, reaching the glass sliding doors at the same time as my Alpha team.

“Where do you want us?” Beckett, my Alpha team leader, and a member of Quincy’s pack asks as he holds up his fist for the rest of the team to halt and await their orders. The front doors slide open on our approach, and I nod, signaling for them all to follow me. I don’t know whether to be apprehensive or relieved that the doors are unlocked, someone left them that way and I hope it was Free. The museum style foyer is bathed in auxiliary lighting as we make our way quietly past displays of Smooth Bourbon history.

“Fan out, check all the restrooms,” I say as we approach the elevators. I glance to my left, the ground floor restroomswere just beyond the vending machines. I know my girl, if anything she would have gone in this direction instead of all the way up to her office. But it doesn’t hurt to check the upper floors just in case.

I move, my body on auto pilot, aiming for the restrooms down the hall. I don’t stop to see if my orders are being followed, trusting Beckett to do as I ask. I hear the ding of the elevator doors opening and the sound of feet behind me is all the confirmation I need.

“Split up and report anything out of the ordinary,” Beckett says through our earpieces as he opts to follow me with three other members of my security team.

Except for the glow of the fluorescent lights from the snack machines, the hallway is eerily lit. I can’t hear anything but the pounding of our feet against the marble floor. It’s quiet, too quiet. The soft buzz of the vending machines adds to my anxiety as I pause in front of the door of the woman’s bathroom.

Looking over my shoulder, I find Beckett waiting expectantly. “Give me a second,” I say as he gives me a nod of understanding. If she is in here, the last thing I want is for her to freak out if we bust through the doors five men deep, guns at the ready. I turn and push the door open and step into the room only to stop dead at the sound of running water from one of the faucets. In the middle of the floor is a pair of discarded black stilettos. Free’s stilettos. I blink, stunned, stepping closer I notice specks of crimson dotted along the floor beside the shoes. Blood.

Turning I rush out the restroom, trying to keep a semblance of calm as one of my team members speaks frantically through coms. “Dez, we found forced entry on one of the ground floor side exits. Looks like someone broke inwithout setting off the building’s alarms,” he says, making my heartbeat even faster than it already is.

I step into the hallway, bypassing Beckett, then pausing. My ears ring from the force of the blood rushing. I look at the floor, left then right. “Get me a UV light!” I shout, instantly regretting the break in my composure.

“Sir!” I hear someone say followed by the sound of them running away from the group to follow orders.

“Dez.” Beckett places his hand on my shoulder, making me flinch. I don’t turn to acknowledge him right away, choosing to look up at the ceiling, taking deep breaths. If only looking up can solve my problems. I wish I had all the answers, but I don’t. She’s bleeding. She’s hurt. That spike of panic, the unease I felt through our bond, it was hers. It’s all I can think about as I place my hands on my hips and turn to face Beckett finally.

“I’ve lost her. She’s gone,” I say in resignation.

CHAPTER 2

FREEYA

My eyelids feel cemented shut as I try to pry them open. I shy away from the brightness of the lights overhead, automatically squeezing them closed again, wincing against the pain. My head pounds, a slow pulsing throb, mirroring my heartbeat as I try to take stock of my sluggish body. Everything feels heavy and I can only assume it is from whatever drugs I inhaled the night before. The night before.Forcing my eyes open further, I ignore the pain and turn my head, taking in my surroundings I panic as my thoughts become clearer. The gala, the need to go to the restroom, walking down the path to the main Smooth Bourbon building, the restroom.

I inhale a breath and shudder remembering whose face I saw staring back at me through the mirror. Damyn. A face belonging to someone I thought was once my salvation, someone I thought would whisk me away from my godforsaken family. Someone, I hate to admit, in my moments of vulnerability and weakness, I had loved. Or was I just a teenage girl, grasping for any semblance of care and decency that was thrown my way? Whatever my reason, I had caredfor him. I thought he was dead. My parents told me he was dead and with his death, my future died with him. But when I looked in his eyes, those wild, crazed brown eyes. The long scar marring his face, the resolve, and maybe a bit of regret, I knew there would be no running. He had come for me like he promised, my past had come to collect, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Damyn looked at me as if I was still that girl, still his. I thought it was just a coincidence, that maybe my parents were trying to taunt me in an attempt to bring me home when those texts came through all those months ago. Especially when they used the term of endearment Damyn had always used—his Butterfly. I thought it was a cruel, sick joke. It wasn’t the first time they had used such tactics to bring me to heel.

“Your father and I have chosen a pack for you, Freeya. I expect, no, I demand you do your duty. You will do well to look appropriate, with the airs and graces you have been taught. Omegas in this family are highly revered. Look at your sisters and the prestigious packs they were mated into. There will be no exceptions. No more thoughts of school or leaving, you will meet your future Alphas this very afternoon,” my mother stated as she stormed into my room, walking straight into my closet, no doubt in search for something she deemed appropriate.

I didn’t want a pack. I just wanted to be free. I wanted to be able to choose for myself, to plan the life I wanted. I sighed. I was a Stuart. I would never know what it would be like to make decisions for myself. Without a designation, I really was a prisoner and I had no choice but to do what I was told.

“It’s not what I want,” I grumbled as I clung to a pillow and sat in the middle of my bed, watching my mother pace around the room, tsking in disapproval as she threw clothesat me from various places. “I’m not an Omega, Mother, I’m not anything, yet. Why does it even matter? Why can’t I plan just in case?”

The look she turned on me made my stomach churn, her manicured nail pointed directly at me as she walked slowly, advancing. “I will not hear you speak of anything other than you becoming an Omega, Freeya. Nothing else is important. You’d better hope to God that when you present, Omega is the only designation you receive. So help me God, if you screw this up, you ungrateful girl.” She was on me so fast I didn’t have a chance to protest as she grabbed my arm and yanked me away from my bed. Pulling me over the edge, my pillow flew out of my arms and I cried out as I hit the floor.

Pain shot up my legs from my knees on impact. I bit down hard on my tongue. My mother ignored my whimpers and looked down on me in disgust as I knelt before her. Tears ran down my face unchecked as she shook me like I’m a rag doll, her nails dug deep into my flesh.

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