AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She couldn’t if she tried,” Mindy snaps. “Don’t you see what they’ve done to her?”
The detective clears his throat after he sees the tracker on Audrey’s ankle. “Right. Well…have a good evening, ladies.”
“We will,” Mindy adds. “Definitely. Especially now that you stopped by.”
“Mindy,” Audrey whispers. “Stop.”
The detective gives them a solemn nod, then makes his exit.
“Fuck. Fuck,fuck,” Mindy hisses once the door closes, pacing around the kitchen. “Why would Tabitha do that to you?”
“Probably to save her herself,” Audrey mutters. “She oversaw projects I didn’t. Maybe she’s trying to throw me under the bus.”
It’s just another problem to throw into her box of emotions. Now that she’s had her cry with Mindy, there’s room for her to compartmentalize everything again.
Pearl and Julian are gone, and now she’s part of an investigation.
“I won’t let them do this to you, Audrey.” Mindy’s still pacing and wringing her hands. “They can’t take you away. You just presented!”
Audrey puts her head in her hands and breathes out of her mouth slowly. “I worked at the lab for years,” she says. “And I broke in. I deserve this, after everything that’s come out.”
“No. Don’t say that. That’s not true—”
“I’m just so tired,” Audrey mutters, defeated. “It is what it is, Mindy. I can’t control any of this.”
“You can. And we’ll find Pearl, I promise. I’ll keep calling shelters. I know she’s out there, Audrey. Don’t give up like this.”
But her box of emotions has fully closed, and Audrey stops talking.
She has nothing left to say.
* * *
The news stationsstay on the TV until Mindy finally yells at her, and Audrey’s left to sleuth on her phone.
Either Julian is dead, or he’s decided Audrey’s not worth coming back for.
Regardless, more and more Alphas are fleeing the country and seeking refuge in Canada.
Maybe Julian is one of them.
It’s better this way, she tells herself. He was unhinged, and just because he showed her affection and attention doesn’t mean he’s the right one for her.
But no matter how much she tries to tell herself that’s true, the pull in her chest remains.
His scent still lingers on her skin, no matter how hard she scrubs herself.
By the end of the third week, Mindy enters Audrey’s room, eyes watery and red.
Audreyhatesthat she’s the reason her sister is this way.
“We need to discuss something,” Mindy chokes out. “I’ve been talking to your lawyer.”
A pit of dread forms in Audrey’s stomach. She’s accepted that she's going to jail, an Omega city, or wherever the government decides she belongs.
But Mindy’s next words make Audrey’s mouth fall open.
“We need to get you to Canada.”
