Coming Full Circle

by Kian Rhodes

  “That’s what I said, ain’t it?”

  “Can I ask why?” I asked, raising my hands and taking a step forward.

  “We’re on to you, copper,” he huffed, his voice shaky. “Ain’t nobody gonna tell you nuthin’.”

  “Copper?” I repeated, trying to sound confused as I edged a bit closer to him. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re a cop?” Casen chose the perfect moment to jump into the conversation, his voice shrill and angry. “And you’re illegally buying Omegas? You filthy pig!” He shoved my back, sending me off balance and staggering toward the guard, who instinctively raised his hands to break my fall, offering me the perfect opening.

  I clapped one hand over his mouth and grabbed the wrist of his gun hand in the other, twisting until the weapon clanked to the concrete floor and slid away from us. Once he was disarmed, I peered around the corner into the hallway.

  We were alone.

  Dragging him into the cell, I eased the door mostly closed, stopping it before the lock engaged, and shoved him to the ground, pinching his wallet from his back pocket as he fell.

  “So, you think I’m a cop?” I started, keeping my tone light and conversational. “Why on earth would you think that?”

  When the guard didn’t answer, Casen slipped one wooden clog off and promptly swatted the guard with it. I winced at the hollow thud it made against the side of his head and then shrugged. “I guess if you don’t want to talk, he can do that again.” I flipped open the wallet and pulled a Pennsylvania driver’s license free.

  He was human; no surprise there. Went by the name of Paul Cadere. That rang a bell, although, it did take me a minute to figure out why.

  That was the name of the punk that Black-hair Jack the Omega Kidnapper had been working with. The same one whose case Rafe had mentioned in passing seemed to have been bogged down in the system.

  Interesting.

  When Paul still didn’t answer, I looked to Casen who raised the shoe menacingly.

  “I don’t know, okay?” Paul whimpered, trying to pull as far from the frightening footwear as possible. “The boss..she got a call a little while ago and took her phone outside. When she came back, she was all kinds of pissed off and said we had to get rid of the cop,” he whined. “Then she told me to take you out and shoot you.”

  Even more interesting. And concerning. Very, very concerning.

  “I see.” I bent down and picked up the gun. “Take off your clothes.”

  “What?” Paul’s jaw dropped. “Why?”

  I clicked the cylinder of the gun open. Yep, it was loaded. Snapping it closed, I raised a brow. “Because I said so,” I responded calmly, leveling the gun toward his head.

  Paul choked on a gasp and began peeling off the ugly green guard uniform so fast that I was afraid the polyester might tear. When he was finally down to a pair of saggy gray briefs that I was pretty sure started out as white, I motioned for him to stop. “You keep those.” With my foot, I nudged the rest of the clothes over to Casen. “Looks like a change in plans, love. Get changed.”

  Five minutes later, the guard – redressed in Casen’s nearly transparent fur-trimmed robe and nothing else – was gagged with one of his own socks and handcuffed in our cell as Casen led me through the halls, my hands loosely tied behind my back and the bag of supplies from Lachlan stashed beneath my jacket.

  “Which way?” Casen murmured in my ear when we reached a fork in the hallway.

  I nodded to the left and led him through the labyrinth of halls until we reached a small alcove with a nearly hidden door. “Through here.”

  Casen wrestled with the door and, for a brief moment I feared that I’d made a mistake, but the door finally gave with a screech and swung open. Shaking the rope off my wrists, I wadded it up and shoved it into my pocket before leading the way up the narrow stairs, Paul’s mag light lighting the way.

  When we finally got to the top of the rickety steps, there was another door, much smaller and even harder to open. When it finally gave way, we were hit squarely by the stale odor of a room that time had forgotten. Which, given our situation, was perfect.

  Gathering a large handful of dust from a table in the corner, I smiled at Casen. “I’m going to go hide our tracks,” I explained. “I’ll be right back.”

  I could see the doubt in his eyes, but he nodded and began to move around the room, inspecting our temporary home. Once I’d scattered the dust over our footprints on the first few steps – after all, it wasn’t as if anyone was going to keep climbing if there was no reason to – I returned to the attic to find that Casen had wiped the rest of the dust from the small table and laid out one bottle of water and a small portion of the food that Lachlan had left in our emergency supplies.

  He glanced up at me from under lowered lashes. “Is this okay?”

  “It’s perfect,” I assured him. “I’m starving.”

  We ate in silence, passing the water back and forth. When we were done, Casen began to speak again, his voice hesitant. “Shouldn’t..shouldn’t we be trying to get out instead of hiding?”

  “Not quite yet,” I told him softly, nodding to the cobweb-covered window. “What do you see out there?”

  “Fields.”

  “Right,” I agreed. “Nothing but wide-open spaces for quite a ways. With the sun coming up, the bad guys would be able to pick us off easily. If we wait until dark, however, we only have to outrun the cameras.”

  Casen was already nodding by the time I finished talking. I thought he was going to say something else, but a huge yawn split his face.

  The attic room wasn’t much, but there was an old full-size bed against the far wall, and luckily, the quilt laying over the top of it seemed to have kept it mostly clean.

  “Why don’t you lie down?” I suggested. “That way you’ll be rested when it is time to leave.”

  “Alone?” Casen asked, biting his bottom lip.

  I wasn’t sure if he was worried that I was going to join him or that I wasn’t, so I waited.

  “I mean, it’s big enough for two, easily,” he mumbled. “I, ah, don’t really want to be alone.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him I wasn’t leaving the room, but then I remembered that, for all his bravado and grace under pressure, he was still a civilian. And not just any civilian, he was an Omega on his own.

  “I’d love to lie down with you,” I lied easily, even though I’d really feel better if I was stationed near the only door, “but only if you’re sure you don’t mind.”

  When Casen shook his head, I slid a stack of old boxes against the door to keep anyone from sneaking in on us and pulled the messager out of my pocket. “You go ahead and climb in,” I suggested. “I need to send a message warning Rafe that everything has gone sideways. Again.” I sighed and began to type on the old-school numeric keyboard. Once the whirling sun had stopped, assuring me that the message had sent, I walked over to stretch out beside the exhausted Omega while we waited for night to fall.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Rafe

  Compromised. Mole. Batching it until coast is clear. Watch your 6.

  I stared at the sentence running in a loop over the tiny screen of my messenger, disbelief flooding through me.

  How the hell could we have a mole? Who could it be? Why would anyone on the COPSD payroll be helping these monsters? Where was Ralph hiding? Was Casen safe? Were they still together? What the fuck had happened?

  I hadn’t settled on a response yet when the screen lit up again.

  He’s with me.

  At that, some of the weight lifted off my chest. If Casen was with Ralph, he was safe.

  That meant I had at least a little time to suss the situation out. And I was going to have to start by identifying the fucking mole.

  Where are you? Extract after dark. Sit tight. I finally responded, only to have my device light up immediately.

  Negative. We’re safe. We’ll come to you. Don’t know who we can trust.


  I groaned and rubbed my palm over my face. At least, it seemed that Ralph still trusted me.

  12 hours, then we come in.

  24.

  Fine.

  Tossing the messager down on my desk and crossed to close my office door. Then, for the first time in all my years with the Council of Packs, Security Division, I locked my door.

  Returning to my desk, I reached for the plain manila folder in my top drawer and flipped to the front page, to the list of players in the Hydra sting.

  Clint. Colt. Zade. Alrich. Lachlan.

  I’d trust any of them with my life.

  Hell, I’d trusted many of them with my life more than once and I couldn’t for the life of me imagine any of them betraying our mission.

  Even the newer members, Clark and Connor and Scott, had proven themselves more than once. There wasn’t much more telling about a being’s character than his performance under pressure. Trial by fire and all that.

  I snorted as the phrase immediately took me back to that day in the old corral when I’d watched an Omega, my future mate, takedown over a dozen of the toughest hand-to-hand fighters I’d ever known with minimal training.

  Yeah. Trial by fire really did make a being’s true character shine through.

  I sighed, remembering the look of betrayal on Colby’s face when I’d ordered him off to the relative safety of werewolf territory with the rest of the Omegas.

  There wasn’t much I wouldn’t have given to have him sitting across from me right then, helping me struggle through the impossible task of finding a traitor in the circle of my closest advisors.

  Forcing my mind back to the task at hand, I logged onto my laptop. The reminder to research the mystery of the second Omega trafficker’s court case popped on my calendar and I snoozed it, rescheduling it for twelve hours later as I opened the COPSD Social Identity module and clicked on the link for the first of the files, beginning the mind-numbing task of invading my friends’ privacy as I searched their Council records for anything that could possibly suggest they were the mole.

  By the time I had closed the last digital file three hours later, I was pissed. I was frustrated. And I was still no closer to identifying the traitor.

  I shoved the laptop away in disgust and noticed the alert light on my cell phone was flashing.

  Shit. I’d forgotten that it was silenced.

  I swiped my finger across the screen and a text message from Colt immediately popped up.

  911. Arrived in Salem; evidence destroyed. Cal is dead.

  What the fuck?

  I pressed my finger to the number, waiting impatiently for the call to connect.

  “Hey, Rafe,” Colt’s voice was tight.

  “What the hell is going on?” I growled into the phone. “You had one fucking job!”

  “Fuck you,” Colt huffed back heatedly. “When we pulled into town, shit had already gone down. Foxy’s Den was nothing but a smoldering pile of rubble. The fire department was still hosing down the hotspots as they pulled the bodies out.”

  “I’m sorry, Colt. I know it’s not your fault. I’m dealing with some other shit.” I sighed. “You said bodies, plural. How many? Do we know who?”

  “Yeah,” Colt exhaled sharply. “Three bodies in total. And they were all easily identifiable.”

  “The building burned to the ground and the bodies weren’t cremated?” I asked, surprised.

  “Yeah,” Colt’s voice lowered slightly. “And there’s something else that doesn’t add up.”

  Shit.

  I really wasn’t up to anything else that didn’t add up. “What is it?”

  “Well,” Colt said slowly, “the first body is Cal, which wasn’t really a shock.”

  “Okay.”

  “But the second one is that fucker Willard Riley. Why the fuck isn’t he in jail?”

  “Willard Riley?” I repeated, pinching the bridge of my nose as I searched my mind for the name. “That skeezy PI that Sky mauled when he and Chloe were attacked? The one who ended up being Harley’s cousin?”

  “The same,” Colt confirmed. “Why the fuck wasn’t he locked up, Rafe?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted, reaching for the damned laptop again. “I haven’t seen any paperwork come through on his release, so he should be.” I tapped on the keyboard for a minute and ground my teeth in frustration when the file came up. “It shows inactive with no disposition,” I told him.

  “What?” Colt snarled in my ear. “How the fuck is that possible?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “That’s the same thing I found on that Cladere asshole’s file, too. I’ll find out.” I clicked the light bulb icon on the top of the page so I would be notified of any activity in the file and closed it. “Who is the third body, Colt?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “What? You said they were all identifiable?” I questioned.

  “And they are,” he insisted. “The identification says the body is Doctor Fredrich Miango.”

  Well, double fuck. Now I saw the problem. “Except, he’s already dead.” Even without seeing him, I knew Colt was nodding. “Okay. I’ll request the death investigation reports. See if you can get your hands on the fire report and then get your ass back here.”

  “On it, Rafe.”

  “Colt?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Watch your back. Something isn’t right.”

  “You got it, Rafe. I’ll see you soon.”

  Tossing my cell phone back onto the desk, I fought the urge to scream my frustration, instead reaching for the notepad and a pen.

  Maybe if I could figure out who was inactivating these court cases, I’d locate the fucking mole.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Casen

  Once Alpha Coraine had told me to get some rest, I hesitated, uncertain whether or not he was expecting me to undress. Ultimately, it was the sweat-funk smell of the damp polyester uniform that made the decision for me. After too many years as a rent boy, I was perfectly comfortable being naked with strange men and that uniform was just plain gross.

  I stripped down to my satin panties and laid the uniform out over some boxes, hoping it would both dry and air out while we slept. Then, I crawled into the bed and took the spot next to the wall, more than willing to let my protector take the space between me and the door.

  I felt the mattress beside me dip a few minutes later and sighed as the comforting Alpha scent drifted over me.

  “You okay, Casen?” Alpha Coraine asked, his voice soft. “You've had a rough day.”

  My lips curved into a slight smile at the understatement. “I think so, sir,” I murmured, trying to hold back a yawn. “Just tired.”

  “All right, then. If you need anything, you tell me, okay?”

  “I will,” I agreed sleepily. Now that I had a big, strong Alpha next to me in the bed, I was fighting a losing battle against exhaustion.

  “Good boy.”

  After over two dozen years of emancipation, trite adulations like that would normally have had me bristling, but, whether it was this Alpha in particular or just my response to a high-stress situation, a warm glow washed over me at the praise, making me relax even further.

  I was quickly tipping over the edge into the darkness when a light touch at my brow made me smile again. My last thought as I lost my battle was that I had to already be dreaming. Surely my Alpha protector hadn’t really kissed my forehead?

  When I woke some time later, I was more comfortable than I could remember being since, well, in a while.

  A long while.

  As tired as I’d been, I clearly remembered having been between the wall and the back of Alpha Coraine when I slipped into my slumber. That raised some questions about why I woke up leaning against the seated Alpha, my ass planted between his spread legs and my head pillowed on his firm chest with the comforting beat of his heart in my ear.

  He was leaning back against the headboard, his calves were hooked over my own and one warm hand was
gently stroking my chest. Even though I knew I should move, I couldn’t seem to make myself.

  I opened my eyes just enough to peek out and saw Alpha Coraine’s eyes were still closed, his face relaxed.

  “What’s wrong, Casen?”

  His sleep rough voice took me by surprise and I laughed.

  “I thought you were sleeping.”

  “Just resting my eyes,” he said, his lips drawing up and revealing a tiny dimple before his lashes swept up, revealing his warm blue eyes. “Are you okay?”

  “Perfect,” I replied, snuggling closer to his chest. “Unless I’m bothering you? I, ah, don’t really know how I got here.”

  The Alpha’s laugh rumbled through his chest. “You were a bit restless,” he explained softly. “After you kneed me in the kidney, I took a chance and scooped you into my lap. You settled right down, so I counted it as a win.” He hesitated. “Is that okay?”

  “Mmhmm,” I agreed, reclosing my eyes. “Comfy.”

  “Good.” Alpha Coraine pulled the quilt higher, tucking it under my chin. “It’s still pretty early. Why don’t you get some more rest?”

  “Okay,” I agreed automatically, drawing in a deep breath of his scent. It wasn’t often I had the chance to be held and cuddled by an Alpha – after all, snuggles weren’t what they paid me for – so damned if I was going to give it up one second before I had to.

  The next time I woke, I was alone in the bed.

  “Alpha?” I sat up slowly, blinking in the dim light.

  “Over here.”

  Rubbing my eyes, I finally managed to focus on him in the corner where he was gazing out the window, his body angled to hide him from the line of sight of anyone below us. “Is something wrong?”

  “Not exactly,” he said with a smile, walking toward the bed. “I knew they’d eventually discover our little deception and they have.” He chuckled. “Our buddy must not have had a spare uniform because they have him out searching the woods in your nightie.”

  I snickered. “Serves him right. What do we do now, Alpha?”