That has the room sitting up straighter, their eyes trained on the screen. Except for Paige, who sinks further down in her seat.
“Let’s just calm down for a second,” a woman speaks up on the stream. “Isaac, what is the word on Doctors Brooks and Whitmore? Have we determined where the leak came from that revealed Senator Pierce’s involvement with the missing omegas?”
“Prometheus is in the process of obtaining Doctor Brooks as we speak. As for Whitmore…he has disappeared entirely.” I frown, watching the screen as the attendees of the meeting whisper amongst themselves.
“Whitmore isn’t missing,” Beta McGrabbyHands says, clearly confused. “He’s here. He’s been giving us new medications while Brooks has been gone.”
“I know that,” I snap, fixing my attention back on the livestream. “Hush, McGrabbyHands.”
“Mynameis Peter! Peter Carson, not that you ever—”
There’s a bang on the doors of the cafeteria cutting offCarson, and a loud voice calls out, “What is the meaning of this?”
Speak of the devil.
Whitmore.
Sam meets my eyes, and grinning, quickly opens the door, dragging Whitmore inside before shutting it again. Hayden leaves my side, sliding Sam’s shotgun between the door handles.
My alpha grins as he holds up the beta. “Ah, Doctor Whitmore, so nice of you to join us.”
“Wright!” Whitmore’s eyes are panicked as he looks at Sam, and then they nearly bug out when they fall on me. “Josephine!”
“Well, howdy there, Doc.” I grin, looking up at him. “We were just watchin’ the live stream of the Beta Liberation Union, right along with the rest of the state, I’m sure.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” he sputters, and it’s then that I realize one of his hands is nothing but a bandaged stump. Guess getting a radio blown out of your hand by a sniper rifle will do that to you. “You were never supposed to come back here.”
“Ah, is that why you chose this as your hidin’ spot from Xavier Bowen?” My smile pulls tight. “What a delight! He’s on his way here right now, and I bet he’dloveto see you. The question is, what will he do when he finds out Mr. Thornfield has been concealin’ your location all this time?”
Whitmore goes pale.
And Tate, who, apparently, has not learned his lesson, lets out a roar and starts to charge at Sam.
Fucking hell.
My pistol is out of my holster faster than he can blink, and in the next instant, the bullet leaves my gun and goes through his knee.
Thank fuck for silencers.
He crumbles to the ground. He screams, holding his leg. The cafeteria is silent. Violence is the only language they understand, and I just made the ultimate declaration.
I’m the one in charge here.
Hayden barks out a laugh. “Damn, Tate. Can’t contain your hard-on for Whitmore for one second, can you?”
When I look at him in question, he grins. “Tate was the asshole who reported the lockdown to Whitmore when we were breaking you out.”
Snarling, I turn back to Tate. “You want me to take out your other knee too?”
Whimpering, he sputters, “N-n-no!”
“Then stop fuckin’ tryin’ to hurt my alpha!” The words leave me, my command echoing off the walls in the silence of the room.
“What’s your end game here?” It’s a random beta that I’ve never interacted with before who’s speaking to me. “You told us about this Beta Liberation Union bullshit, but I don’t knowwhy.”
My Southern charm comes back full force as I turn toward the only helpful patient in the room. “What an excellent question, I amsoglad you asked.” My voice is as sweet as honey. “In about…” I check my phone, “thirty minutes, the FBI and the mysterious Prometheus, who is actually a prick named Xavier Bowen, will be here. With him, Xavier will have the sweetest girl with him, a pregnant eighteen-year-old beta by the name of Adela Olivier.”
Concerned looks are exchanged throughout the room, and I see the group of betas Adela hung out with before me covering their mouths in shock.
