Page 25 of Retribution
“I was way too close to blowing my load,” Lucas admits, following Oliver toward a set of doors on the far side of the warehouse. “Now explain how you found me.”
“I’m a hacker,” Oliver says, pulling a baseball cap out of his back pocket and pulling it low as we walk outside and begin walking upstairs. “I’m also a paranoid fucker so I’ll continue this in the apartment.”
Nodding, Lucas waits until we’re inside, walking Isolde to the couch in the large living room before putting her down.
“I hate cities, because there are so many damn cameras,” Oliver grunts. “It’s easier to find people if you have an image of them, which is where I hit pay dirt thankfully. I was able to screen capture one of Isolde from the bank video security feed across the street from the alley you were kidnapped at. After that, I fed it to a facial recognition program. I got a hit on the alias she’s been going by and then I found her through the warehouse's security feed.”
“I think she wanted to be found. Wouldn’t she have thought about your hacking skills when she pulled this kidnapping off?” I ask.
“Yes,” Oliver grunts. “That’s something I need to speak to her about. Nico Domino hates me. I have made it my life’s work to fuck with people, and if it means pissing him off, I’ll go out of my way to do it. Now that his father is dead, I’ve been doubling down to mess with his new empire. The only place that kept me out of its network without batting an eye while looking for you was your pharmaceutical company’s security system, Lucas. There were so many traps, it wasn’t worth hacking into.”
“I’ll be sure to give my anti-hacking team a raise,” Lucas chuckles. It’s low and sexy, and I have to look away as my cock twitches at the sound. We have more than enough on our plates without catching feelings for either alpha in my new found pack. “I have no idea how I’m going to explain this all. Grant, my guard, has to be shitting bricks.”
“I hacked into his phone actually,” Oliver says without a single qualm. “He’s taking it hard that he can’t find you. I think he may quit after you join the land of the living again.”
“Fuck,” Lucas groans. “I’ll have to figure it out. Isolde was really just that good. She timed things well. She has to have been stalking me because I didn’t even know I was going to stop for lunch until I was walking there.”
“Speaking of stalkers…Oliver is one,” I say. “He’s been texting us for months since we were all at Slick Dreams together. When your phone didn’t report that his texts were being read, he decided to begin looking for you.”
“That was two weeks after you’d been taken,” Oliver grumbles. “I don’t people well, and I’m terrible at fostering connections. So instead I would randomly send texts from burner phones.”
“That’s…” Lucas blows out a breath. “I had a feeling the texts were from you, but I wasn’t sure. Oliver, you need help. I would have responded to your actual number if it was texting me.”
“I didn’t know that,” Oliver admits. “No one actually has my real number. I gave it to you in a moment of vulnerability. I figured if you wanted to call me, you could use the number I gave you, but it was better for everyone involved if I used burner phones to text you.”
“You really are paranoid,” Lucas says. “So you used breadcrumbs and hacking to find me. What else am I missing?”
“This warehouse is a rental, and Nico has to have sold her a royal crock of shit for Isolde to take this job. She only kills rapists, killers, the worst dregs of society according to my deep dive on the dark web about her,” Oliver explains. “She has a code. This isn’t going to end well for Nico, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she cut ties with him. She’s a well sought after hitman from my research. The odd thing is that she kind of just appeared on the mafia circuit in the last two years.”
“What does that mean? She’s a ghost?” Lucas asks.
“Pretty much. It may tie into the abuse that you talked about,” Oliver says.
“Fuck me,” Lucas sighs. “She did torture me for information. Nothing that left marks, but she enjoys using tasers and stun guns. Since I didn’t have anything to hide, I answered her questions easily.”
“What did she want to know?” I ask. “No offense, but between the three of us you’re the most straightlaced and accessible. I just got back from Italy because Oliver freaked me out with his damn texts. I thought that I’d pissed someone off while money laundering for clients.”
Lucas snorts, wincing when Isolde shifts on the couch. She’s going to wake up soon. There are too many male voices for her not to.
“The questions were those that belonged in a horror story. She asked me if I’ve ever raped or auctioned someone off, or if my company has ever created a forced heat drug. As a scientist, that last question makes me sick. Heats are hard enough for an omega, but having one forced makes everything more intense and painful. An omega’s body goes haywire, and the only reason I can think of is that they wanted to breed or punish her. For the last three weeks, Isolde has been trying to get me to lose my patience,” he explains.
“You haven’t, have you?” I ask. As he shakes his head in denial, I make a noise under my breath. “Mytopolinais suspicious, and just as paranoid as we are. While I approve, I hate whatever has done this to her. Before she wakes up, I want to know if we’re going to help her fix whatever has been broken.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of fixing,” Oliver says. “Once some things are broken, they can’t be mended. All you can do is help the person find a new path. I am down to fuck up the people who did this to her though, even if it means holding them down so she can take care of things. Isolde’s not a delicate flower, I can see it just from the brief interaction between us. The stories of how she kills and her ability to torture are also legendary. She’s created quite the name for herself among the darker underbelly of the world.”
“Sweet girl,” Lucas rasps, his fingers dropping to smooth her hair. “There are a lot of layers to Isolde. I’ve seen it just while being her very captive companion, even the things that hide underneath the surface. We’re going to have to be really careful about how we proceed.”
“How so?” I ask, wanting a clear picture.
“Don’t lose your patience,” he says. “She will push all of your buttons, so watch how you react to things. I have a feeling Isolde doesn’t trust anyone easily.”
“Why are you in my apartment?” she asks, turning toward us.
I almost swallow my tongue, unsure of how much she’s heard. I don’t want her to think that we’re trying to manipulate her. We just want to ensure that we aren’t unduly upsetting her.
We can be patient. Oliver has to be while he’s playing the long game, coding and hacking his way into places he shouldn’t be. I need to be as I move money to places that won’t get flagged. Sometimes, that means a few dollars here and there in the grand scheme of things. Lucas’ research, work with hospitals and the medical field, as well as government agencies to ensure that the medications are compliant for patient care all needs a level of finesse also.
“You needed a place to lay down,” I say simply. “It was smart of you to stay close to your prisoner.”
