Page 9 of Your Wild Omega

I’ve had enough. I step in front of him, squaring my shoulders. “Look, pal, I get that an omega’s heist embarrasses your entire enterprise witless, but do you really think your ego is worth more than a man’s life?”

This riles up the guard, and a faint snarl emanates through his clenched teeth. “Man? He’s not fit for rehabilitation. Our psychologists already assessed—”

I sneer. “Why would I give a rat’s ass about what your Lodgings psychologists say? Because they haven’t been able to get that man to say a single word, have they?” I fling my hand out toward the closed door. “Meanwhile, my client’s been with him less than twenty-four hours and he’s talking.”

My alpha scent swirls heavily through the air as I take a deep breath, working hard to keep my temper in check. Still, I can’t resist a few last digs. “So shelve your petty little temper, and start thinking with your forebrain. Let’s solve this instead of running backward, shall we? A man’s life is at stake.” I lift my brows as a thought strikes me. “You were planning to take him out of commission, so just let us have him without all the fuss. Won’t change your bottom line.”

Words will serve me better than fists today, even though I feel like punching the jumped-up prison guard until he’s black and blue. That’s been my policy for most of my life. Well, except when it came to Rickon getting bullied and calledal-megain high school. Then I used everything in my arsenal. I clamp my lips around the smirk threatening to break loose.

Without giving him a chance to reply, I swing back to Leroy and lift my brows.

Leroy rubs a hand across his mouth, and I get the suspicion he’s hiding a smile. “Well said. I know a judge in Darinian who I’m sure will look into the matter, but we’ll need to transfer the alpha, Zack, was it? He’ll move to the Laversham Alpha Lodgings, for now.”

The other agent crosses his arms, simmering with barely contained fury but I have bigger issues to worry about. This feral alpha won’t even release Red, and she seemed just as agitated about losing him.

I lick my parched mouth, scrambling for a solution. Any way to keep them together. “How about you assign a qualified OCB agent to our household in the meantime?” I suggest to Leroy. “Red Jones is at the center of our cases coming out of the trafficking ring. She needs to have the full support of her alphas if she’s testifying.”

I feel like a shitty bastard for leaning into something Red clearly doesn’t want to do. I’ve already pressured her enough,but even if she never testifies, this arrangement will help her heal. Get the alpha she wants into her home. I hope.

The guard goes red in the face. “What? That’s clearly overstepping! Even if she’s involved in a case, she’s now a criminal herself, so—”

I shove my hand in front of his face. “Allegedcriminal,” I correct sternly.

He sputters and waves toward the doorway. “She’s in there, cuddling an escaped alpha. That’s clearly aiding and abetting!”

“Allegedaiding and abetting,” I repeat. “She hasn’t been formally charged, let alone convicted in a court of law. And no one’s investigated the extenuating factors and accomplices yet.” I glare at him, letting my alpha dominance slip. “You do believe in the law, don’t you, McKenna?”

The man vibrates like he’s about to explode.

Leroy drops his hand on the guard’s shoulder. “The lawyer has a good point. Nothing’s been proven, and she has bail available.”

“This is abuse of power,” he yells, hands balling into fists.

Leroy tightens his grip on the man’s shoulder. “Come again? You want to be very careful about your choice of words, officer McKenna. Thisisme following due process to protect at-risk individuals. If you prefer, perhaps I really will abuse my power to get you reassigned to federal interests in the Southern Isles.”

The prison guard’s eyes widen and I’m sure the same shudder running down my spine crawls through his body. The Isles are a mess with war going on—peacekeeping efforts send in lots of supplies and men, but mostly only body bags come out.

“I overstepped,” the guy confirms, hanging his head.

“Mm-hmm.” Leroy releases his grip. “The Laversham OCB will take over this case as of now. The Darinian Alpha Lodgings can address requests to me, Leroy Hanamack, at our head office.”

The harangued guy grits his teeth but nods reluctantly. “Fine. I’ll get started with the paperwork to release three persons of interest into your jurisdiction.”

“Three?” I ask.

He sighs. “We also arrested the man who drove the truck.”

I press fingers to my lips to hide a grin. Can’t wait to hear the story about how Red roped him into this fiasco. “I’d better see if he needs a lawyer,” I say, sucking on my cheeks to keep from laughing as the officer throws me a look dirty enough to soil a man’s soul. Except he can’t touch mine. Everyone knows lawyers have black souls.

Leroy shakes his head. “Head back in if you need to,” he tells me. “It’ll take some time to get the judge to sign the transfer and arrange an escort to Laversham. We’ll have to go by road—can’t risk an incident with an insane alpha on a plane.”

My hair stands on end at the idea of an alpha going on a rampage in a tin can midair. Most of us are strong to begin with, but one feral trained to fight to the death, well, that would be tantamount to suicide.

“Agreed.” I nod and rest one hand in my pocket. “We’ll leave the arrangements to you, then.”

The OCB supervisor scratches his head. “Ah, I’d better also ring the big boss for authorization on your request for bodyguards. This will cost a pretty penny.”

“I can pay to hire your agents,” I tell him. We have enough obstacles without money being a problem.

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