Page 69 of Hide or Die

TWENTY-SIX

Leona

IWOKE TO the soundof Flynn talking quietly with someone at the door. Kam stirred beside me and sat up, blinking.

My eyes felt gritty; I had the dregs of a crying headache throbbing in my sinuses. I was sure I looked like hell warmed over—puffy and blotchy red. The events of the past day settled over me with cruel clarity, all of the blessed haziness from earlier gone without a trace.

We were fugitives.

We’d lost everything.

It was my fault.

And after all of that, I’d somehow slept for hours in total peace, wrapped in strong arms and curled against myodama.

Flynn and Beckett stood together in the doorway, engaged in a low-voiced conversation. Flynn nodded at something Beckett said, and took the plate that the smaller man had been holding. He crossed the room to us and handed it to Kam. It held two sandwiches, bursting with meat and cheese and tomatoes.

“Chief Beckett needs to talk to both of you,” Flynn said. “And I need to talk to Alex at some point. If you want me to stay, I’ll stay—but you should know that Beckett’s all right. You can trust him.”

I hesitated. Beckett had saved our lives on at least two occasions... and yet, I still had absolutely no insight into his true motives or goals. Kam and I exchanged a look. He gave a small nod.

“It’s fine, Flynn,” I said. “Go check in with youralef. Thanks for...” The words stumbled to a halt.Thanks for letting me soak your shirt with tears? Thanks for bringing Kam here so I didn’t shatter completely?

“Staying,” Kam finished for me. “Thanks for staying with us, Flynn.”

Flynn smiled his big, brilliant, uncomplicated smile. “Any time, ginger tea. Now, listen to what the boss has to say, okay? I’ll be back in a bit.”

He rose and left with a nod to Beckett as he passed. The security chief had remained at the door rather than barging into the room we were using as a nest. It was an interesting bit of nuance, coming from a beta.

“May I come in?” he asked politely.

Kam roused himself before I managed to. “Yes, of course.” He picked up the plate of sandwiches and set it on the corner table. Then he grabbed one of the blankets and draped it over my shoulders, urging me up to sit on the overstuffed sectional. “Please, come in and make yourself comfortable. We do need to have a talk.”

I wrapped the blanket around my body, feeling a bit less self-conscious than if I’d tried to face Beckett in nothing but Jax’s borrowed T-shirt. Kam waited until the chief had made his way down to the sunken den and taken a seat on the other side of the sectional before settling next to me.

“Thank you,” Beckett said.

I took a moment to study him—this mild-mannered, middle-aged beta with the pale, knowing eyes and kindly manner. He looked drawn, with dark circles under his eyes and new lines etched into his pleasant face. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him without a suit jacket and tie before—though to be fair, he probably hadn’t stormed the cave in Romania while wearing office attire. I’d just been too out of it to notice.

Now, the top button of his shirt was undone. His sleeves were rolled up, baring slender, sinewy forearms.

“It appears we’re in your debt, yet again,” Kam said. “Thank you for intervening. Though I do have to wonder what consequences you’ve brought on yourselves by helping us get away.”

Beckett gave him a quick, tight smile. “There are times when the consequences of doing nothing outweigh the risks of taking action.”

I still couldn’t figure out his angle. “Those consequences would have happened tous, though. Not to you or your team,” I said carefully, hating how the congested quality of my voice declared my earlier tears to the world.

The chief leaned back against the cushions, regarding me. “Ms. McCready. Mr. Patel. What you’ve achieved in the Foreign Office is extraordinary by any measure. Believe me when I say, the consequences of losing two omegas in positions such as yours would have been enormous.”

Kam leaned forward, perching on the edge of the seat cushion. “But we don’t hold those positions anymore. Whatever power we might have had before—it’s gone now.”

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