Page 78 of Legally Mated
“Shit,” parroted thelittleboy.
“We don’t use that word,” Raleigh told him. “Papa was wrong touseit.”
The little boy nodded and went back to making his little plastic dinosaurs fight each other on the table in frontofhim.
“I can’t go back,” Raleigh said quietly. “Not now.” He met Laine’s gaze, and Laine saw the surety of violence in them as clearly as if the bruises were already painted across Raleigh’s face. “I want something differentforthem.”
“Is he—” Laine nodded toHenry.
“No, thank Lysoonka. Probably no better than delta, but still not…what I am.” Raleigh looked down at the table and picked up one of the pens still lying loose on the surface to play with it. “Still, there has to be better. We aren’t the poorest pack, but I want them to have more than I had,youknow?”
“Ido.”
Raleigh spun the pen about in his fingers, his eyes focused on that monotonous movement, though Laine had no doubt that every other ounce of Raleigh’s attention was aimed directly at him. “Do youhavepups?”
“I have a daughter.She’snine.”
“Then you probably understand why I’mdoingthis?”
“I know that anyone who wanted to hurt her would have to go through me to do it,” Laine saidquietly.
“So you’llhelpme?”
“I’ll do what I can, but we’re dealing with packlawtoo.”
Raleigh’s shoulders slumped. “Isee.”
The phone rang again—Quin. “We have aproblem.”
“What?” Laine got to his feet and raised his index finger in Raleigh’s direction to stop the shifter’squestions.
“Lawyer-client privilege?” Quin asked, entirelyserious.
“Sure. Youhiringme?”
“I guess I am,” Quin drawled. “We were going to forge them some papers, but his pack already knows he’s gone. So the best thing we can do is get him inside walls and then lay claim to him. They can’t come into the enclave to get him, and the gate guards can’t refuse him entry if he’s not coming in throughthedoor.”
“So what do you plan to do?” The forging papers remark had made a chill run down Laine’s spine. He wondered if they’d done it before, and how often, and if they realized just how big the penalties could get if theycaught.
“We need to smuggle them in, but the car we use doesn’t have enough space for an adult and three children.” Quin took a deep breath, audible even over the noise of the pups chatting with their bearer. “Garrick tells me you’re coming with your daughtertonight?”
“You want me to pretendthey’remine?”
“Wouldthatwork?”
“Probably not. I had to do a background check. They know I only have one daughter.” He frowned. “I could say I’m babysitting for a friend.” Even as he said the words, the plan mapped itself out in his head, his brain picking out all the critical branches where things could go wrong and cutting them off at the knees. His heart sped up and he felt his adrenaline rise, like right before a high-profile trial, that last breath before opening arguments. “How many can youfitin?”
“Just the omega and one child. Maybe a second one, but it’ll be cramped and the safest place to stop to hide them is still a half-hour away from thegates.”
“I can handle that.” Laine turned and nodded to Raleigh. It hadn’t looked like the shifter had been paying him any attention, but as soon as he moved, Raleigh sat bolt upright and stared at him like he was the only thing between Raleigh and disaster. Which, if Laine was reading the half-spoken clues correctly, he might very well be. “I’ll explain ittohim.”
“Put me on speaker. We should sort this outtogether.”
Chapter64
Laine pulledup to the gate at the enclave justbeforedusk.
“Whose are these?” the guard asked, peering at the three little girls in thebackseat.
