Page 70 of Hide or Die

Beckett met our eyes, looking from one to the other of us. “You don’t holdthosepositions anymore, no.”

I stared at him, a crazy suspicion growing. “You and Alex walked into a police station, and walked out with me in your custody. Nowaywas that officially sanctioned. There would have been security cameras. A paper trail. You won’t have a position left, either.”

“Oh, I assure you, I will,” he said with a decidedly wry note coloring his voice.

“But not as a federal security agent,” I insisted. “So maybe you’d better tell us who you’re really working for.”

He gave me a satisfied nod, as though my answer had pleased him. “I’ve no doubt you’ve both had contact with us in the past—and in more than one capacity. Unregistered omegas don’t rise to public positions without considerable support from behind the scenes.”

Kam drew in a sharp breath. “The underground. You’re with theunderground.”

Beckett lifted an eyebrow—a tiny flicker of a gesture. “Lost positions or no, the two of you still have contacts in high places, scattered across the world. Some of those contacts will be sympathetic to the alphomic cause. We could use you. Both of you. And—at the risk of being indelicate—under the circumstances, you could use us as well.”

I tried not to show outwardly how much I was reeling. “But you’re a beta.”

That small, secret smile played over his lips again. “You might well think so. And, to be fair, there are many betas in the underground. Not everyone falls prey to the Committee’s propaganda machine.”

Kam’s lips parted. “Oh,” he said, in the tone of a revelation. “You... you were out sick during the bilateral talks. You were out for aweek.”

“Yes. I’m far too old to rely on blockers for every heat,” Beckett said dryly. “Seriously, Ms. McCready—those things will kill you sooner or later.”

I caught my breath, realization dawning.

Beckett undid a second button on his shirt and tugged his collar aside, twisting to present his right shoulder to our wide-eyed gazes. A single, perfect bite scar surrounded the place where an omega’s mating gland was located—the skin there darkened and raised to indicate that the mating bond had taken.

“Well,” I said faintly. “I suppose that explains a number of things.”

Kam let out a startled huff, more shock than amusement. “Doesn’t it just?”

Beckett’s expression turned rueful as he straightened and buttoned his dress shirt. “Indeed. So now, the question once again becomes what you intend to do, going forward. Even in circumstances such as these, with enough lead time, we can still get you out of the country. We could set you up someplace out of the way with new identities. Or... you could join us, with the understanding that you won’t be any safer working for the underground than you were while working publicly as unregistered omegas.”

My body stilled while my mind processed his words. I stared into Beckett’s eyes, searching for any glimmer of insincerity or deceit. I saw only compassion and resolve.

“We’ll have to discuss it,” I said quickly, even as a faint, burgeoning sense of hope blossomed in my chest.

Maybe this wasn’t the end.

I met Kam’s soulful brown eyes, and he held my gaze with a look of fond understanding. He’d always wanted a pack—a proper one. And what bigger pack was there than the secret network of alphas, betas, and omegas dedicated to protecting our people from behind the scenes?

“Of course,” Beckett said. “Either way, I’m afraid we’re going to be stuck here for a couple of weeks at minimum, while more permanent plans can be made. This house is one of hundreds scattered across the country, owned by an utterly unremarkable real estate investment firm with no suspicious ties to anything controversial. We’ll stay here and keep our heads down until the scandal of an escaped omega fugitive blows over, and the news outlets start to lose interest.”

I couldn’t begin to face the reality of my picture being posted all over the front-page news. Not yet. I set that aside for now. There were other things to address, as much as I dreaded doing so.

“I do have another issue,” I said.

Kam laid his hand on my blanket-swaddled thigh.

Beckett nodded slowly. “Yes. It’s been eleven weeks since Romania. I’m well aware.”

I relaxed a bit, still in the process of rearranging my brain around the idea that I was talking to another omega—one quite a bit older than me, who’d had a lifetime of managing heats around the sham of a beta existence.

“It’s short notice,” Beckett went on, “but barring anything unforeseen, I should be able to acquire whatever drugs are appropriate. However, I’d suggest talking to the alphas first. They’re downstairs having a pack meeting as we speak, and you don’t have to be a genius to guess what it’s about.”

I blinked at him. Kam inhaled audibly.

“At any rate,” Beckett said, “I should let you eat and talk. There’s bottled water in the mini-fridge if you’re thirsty. Will you be all right on your own for a bit?”

“Yes,” I said, the word so faint it was barely audible. I cleared my throat and added in a stronger tone, “Thank you.”

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