“Isupposeshe doesn’t have to go…if—”
“If we give you back Brooks,” I snarl. “That’s not happenin’.”
“Then she can blame you when she’s ripped to pieces by the psychopaths in The Cathedral.”
I stiffen.
Hayden grabs my hand, holding it tight.
The Cathedral.
She can’t go there.
Shecan’t.
“Where is she?” I choke out.
“Sitting with my son, blissfully unaware of the danger she’s in.”
“Vander will never let you send her back.”
Helaughs. “Vander has no say over what I do. Nobody does. He is my son, and he will always obey me. So what will it be, hm? Will you hand over a scientist you have no use for? Or will you allow a pregnant teenager to be sent to an insane asylum? The choice is yours.”
I can’t let her be sent back to Thornfield. I can’t—it’s not an option.
So I lie my fucking ass off.
“Brooks is currently bein’ held in a remote location that will take at least a week to transport him from.” I ignore the “WTF” looks from my guys. “You will not send her to Thornfield.”
“I am not a patient man, Jo,” Xavier warns. “Where is he exactly?”
Forcing out a snort, I roll my eyes. “Yeah, like I’d tell you. You’d just try to find him yourself.”
There’s a pause. “Fair enough. One week. If you betray me again, Adela gets sent back to Thornfield. You know where to find me. If you’re late…I’m driving her back myself.”
twenty-three
Jo
The line goes dead.
“Fuck!” I drop the phone, burying my face in my hands. “What are we going to do?”
Strong hands rub my back. “You bought us time, that’s the important thing,” Sam murmurs reassuringly.
“We’ll make sure Addie is safe, Fireball,” Hayden adds, crossing his arms.
“You’renotgiving him Brooks.” Declan’s hard tone snaps something inside me, and then I’m shooting to my feet, rushing at the alpha. Turnip jumps ship, landing on Hayden’s lap.
Thenerve. The absolute fucking nerve of Declan Gallagher trying to tell me what I am or am not going to do when he wouldn’t even know about any of the shit going on if it weren’t for me.
“You don’t think I fuckin’ know that, you fuckin’ asshole!?” My hands fly out, shoving him hard in the chest, and he’s caught off guard enough that he stumbles just a little bit. “We asked you towait! Why didn’t you wait?!” This time my fist connects with his jaw, and as he rubs the skin, his eyes flash with something dangerous before I try to launch myself again.
Strong arms wrap around my waist, pulling me back. Kole.
“We needed to make a move, otherwise he could have revealed his own version of events at any moment! I did itforyou!”
“And you just unilaterally decided to reveal his involvement with the missin’ omegas?” I snarl, struggling against Kole’s hold. “What happened to just revealin’ that he died? You changed the entire plan!”
