“The one you said is the Irish Mafia boss?” Christopher asks in disbelief. “You want to bring the Mafia into this—”
“They’re already in it,” I snap. “My brother was behind the revelation that Senator Richard Pierce was involved in the omega trade. We can get that same reporter into the asylum and let the world see what really goes on. We can time it with Declan releasin’ all of the files he has to his contact in the FBI, and then there won’t be a Thornfield for Adela to go back to.”
“That…might work,” Roland says thoughtfully.
“Might?” Sam snorts. “It’s the only thing that will work.”
“But, surely Vander wouldn’t let his father send Adela back there.” Roland frowns. “Before she left, they were at the house constantly. He adores her.”
“Vander…is complicated.” I sigh, running a hand through my hair before remembering I have it in some complicated updo. Wincing, I try to detangle my fingers from the strands without ruining the whole thing. “I think he really does love her…but I don’t believe for one second he’ll choose her over his father.”
“Maybe he’ll surprise us,” West says hopefully. “She hasn’t been in real danger until now.”
“You don’t think she was in danger the first time she went to Thornfield?” Sam scoffs.
“No, but he probably thinks Roland is the one who sent her there, just like she does.” West crosses his arms. “We shouldn’t dismiss him so easily.”
“We also can’t count on him either,” I point out, matching his stance.
“So, what do we do?” Roland frowns, looking around the room. “I’ll bring the whole damn Mafia into my business if it keeps Adela safe.”
“For now, you should probably come back to the Gallagher Family compound.” I rub my temples, the stress from the day getting to me. “We have a house of omegas you can stay with if you’d like. That way you can be in the know about what’s goin’ on.”
Roland swallows. “These omegas…”
“They’re the same ones we rescued from Thornfield,” I confirm. “They should be comfortable around you, considerin’ your designation.”
He looks around the room, his eyes lingering in the corner where his nest is. “I’ll come. I need to get my daughter back, and this is…not the place for her or a baby.”
“Peachy,” I grin, clapping my hands together, “now, who’s ridin’ with who?”
It’s nearly nine when my phone rings as we pass the small pond that signals the start of Gallagher property. Sighing, I pick up the phone. “What, Declan?”
“Why the fuck are West’s parents and a pickup truck following you onto thefamilycompound?” Declan sounds pissed, and rightfully so. I wince, thinking I really should have called to update him before hauling everyone back here.
“Would ‘it’s a long story’ keep you from yellin’ at me?” I ask hopefully.
“Not even close.”
“Okay,” I take a deep breath, determined to get out all the information before we pull up to the houses, “it turns out Roland isn’t the one who sent Adela to Thornfield in the first place, it was Xavier the whole time as a way to control Vander. Roland is actually an omega who was pretendin’ to be a beta, and Adela’s mom is an alpha. He’s gonna stay at the omega house until we get Adela back. West’s parents are comin’ because they want to meet the rest of the pack, and as far as we can tell, they were unaware that they were aidin’ and abettin’ a psychotic cult leader.” I glance at Sam and West. “Did I miss anythin’?”
They shake their heads, and then I hear Hayden’s voice in the background. “Shit! We’re meeting Doctor Mom and Dad? I’m not even wearing pants!”
“Then put some fucking pants on, you absolute psycho!” Declan calls out before sighing. “Fine. But that’sit, Jo. No more strays.”
I bristle. “I know you did not just refer to my sister, in-laws, and a bunch of stolen omegas as ‘strays’.”
Dec sighs. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just…it’s gettingcrowded, Jo. And Mabel runs the other direction every time she sees me…You know what? Fuck it. I’m sorry. Bring as many people onto the compound as you want.”
My brows shoot up. “Well, I wouldn’t gothatfar.”
“Thank fuck.” He laughs, but it sounds more tired than I’m used to hearing from him. I don’t get a chance to ask him about it though, because then we’re pulling up to the houses. I hang up the phone when I see him on my front porch, phone held to his ear.
Guess that explains why Hayden wasn't wearing pants—though I can't help but wonder why he's at my house and not his own.
When we get out of the car, I look behind us to see Roland’s crappy pickup, closely followed by West’s parents’ Rolls Royce.
Eyes wide, Roland gets out of the truck. “This is where you live?”
