Page 180 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“Finally realizing what a loser he is, huh?” Kyle said. “I knew that would happen sooner or later. Speaking of Cole, do you know anything about the little field trip he and his friends took to North Crest yesterday?”

“A field trip?” I asked, inflecting my voice with confusion. “No. He went there? I—” I thought of something good to lay it on thick and went with it “—I told him not to do that. I said you were too strong and dangerous to go against.”

Kyle breathed deeply on the other end of the line before speaking again. “Ah, my girl, youdounderstand me, don’t you. God, I can’t wait to show you how good I can be to you.”

Ignoring that disgusting remark, I went on. “It’s not surprising, really. The last few days, he keeps making these remarks about how it’s my fault that Ashton got taken. He’s being a real asshole. He’s got it in his head that you’re hurting him, but I know you’d never do that. Not in a million years.” My heart was pounding in my ears, my palms slick with sweat.

“And that’s the truth,” Kyle said eagerly. “Not one hair has been hurt on his head. He’s being treated like a prince. Which he should be, since his mother is my queen.”

Zayde had some sort of transcription software showing Kyle’s end of the conversation scrolling across the bottom of his screen while he worked in a separate window. When that popped up, he looked up at me, lips pursed in a grimace, and he mouthedwhat the fuck?

“I’ve felt like a prisoner with Cole. It’s getting bad. I’m starting to get scared of him,” I said, trying to draw out the conversation so Zayde could do what he needed.

“We need to get you out of there,” Kyle said in a low, breathy voice.

My gorge rose at the back of my throat as I imagined him jerking off while talking to me.

I swallowed, choking the bile down. “How would you do that? Cole’s got people watching me twenty-four-seven.”

“Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head about that. After the stunt he pulled yesterday, I’ll have him out of the way soon enough. Then, I’ll bring you here. I’ll make you the happiest woman alive. Vacations, jewelry, clothes, cars, mind-blowing sex—whatever your heart desires. We need to get that asshole out of the way first.”

Hearing him talk about hurting Cole made my knees go weak with fear. My stomach grew watery. He wasn’t lying or bragging now. No, he meant it, and that terrified me.

“Uh, could I… could I speak to Ashton? I haven’t heard his voice in a long time. I miss him, and?—”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Kyle said. “It sounds like you’ve made a decision on my offer, but we need to deal with Cole first. Soon. Soon, we’ll all be together. One happy family.”

Before I could say more, Kyle ended the call. Tears spilled down my cheeks, and I felt dirty. I needed to shower, to somehow wash my brain of the things Kyle had said, the things I’d said. Before I could stop myself, I slid to the floor next to Zayde.

A woman pushed her cart by us. “Uh, are you two all right?”

I nodded and wiped my eyes. “Yeah. Fine. Thanks.”

“Okay, then.” She moved along but kept glancing back at us.

“Tell me you got what you needed,” I said.

Zayde smiled. “I managed to access the IP address on his phone. It’s encrypted, but give me a few hours, and I’ll be in it in no time.” He tapped my phone. “I went ahead and installed some software to your phone to prevent Kyle or his little hacker bitch from tracing your phone. It’s what I was busy with all night. It should be ironclad. If I had to guess, she was on the line with him, trying to find your location. She’ll be pissed,” he added, looking smug. “Serves her right.”

“Good,” I said. “I need to let Cole know what happened.”

Zayde helped me back to my feet. “You did damn good right there, girl. I’m proud of you. You really missed your calling. Writing’s great, but you shoulda been an actress.”

Zayde pushed the cart to the registers and paid while I texted Cole. Hopefully, with Zayde gaining access to Kyle’s phone, all this was one step closer to being over.

43

COLE

Trent informed me that we needed to meet at a small coffee shop in Harbor Mills rather than the alpha house. It was a strange request, but I didn’t question it. Along the way, he sent me another text.

Trent:You remember Chris Riddle?

Where was this going? Chris Riddle had been the pack enforcer back in the day. He’d been one of Dad’s top men in the pack when I was a kid. He’d taken over the job from his father when he’d passed away. From what Dad’s beta Ricky Danvers had told me a few weeks ago, Chris was banished from the pack when he began digging into Dad’s problems.

At the next stop sign, I responded to Trent’s message.

Cole:Yeah. The old pack enforcer?

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