by Charlie Tran
“Then get to the point. The less I have to hear your voice the better.”
“Awe, is that any way to talk to the father of your child.”
The way he said that made me start to think... He’d never often referred to himself in such a way, but maybe—
“Where’s Xander?!” I shouted, unable to control my anger any longer.
“Oh, straight to the point, hmm?” Leon purred, playing into my frustration. I didn’t know what he was trying to do, but whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be good.
“Tell me!”
“Sheesh. You’re worse than Declan,” he snorted, the sound of the wind in the background going away. He must have walked into his hideout. “But it’s true. I had someone adopt him out for me.”
“Who?”
“Not a member of our clan. People will do anything for a bit of money, can you believe that? Reminds me of how you used to be. Not so down for us anymore though, not now that you’ve got new wolves to play house with.”
“Can you get to the point? Or are you getting fucked up again?”
“Gotta admit, Thor is pretty tempting. But I gotta focus right now. We’re gonna be heading out of Solara, probably a few states away to start a new club.” He paused for a moment, sighing, and his voice suddenly became much more gentle. “I need you, Glenn.”
“For what? To be one of your whores again to make you money?” I couldn’t believe his audacity. After all the shit we’d been through, after having me jumped in jail, after taking Xander away, he was actually trying to pull this stunt on me?!
“If you want to put it that way, I suppose the answer is yes. I’m not lying when I say I need you. We were making so much money before, more than we made selling drugs or trafficking. And now that Declan is dead, I’m calling the shots. So, you need to come and help out the rest of the pack.”
“Why would I?! You’re just gonna blow as much of the money as you can putting more of that shit up your nose. I know how you are!”
I looked up to the car to see Lucas making a face at me, obviously wondering why I was still standing outside in the cold shivering my ass off. I turned my back to him and continued to listen to whatever else Leon had to say.
“Wrong. I need you to help show the new blood how to work. We’re only thirty strong. We couldn’t get everyone out of jail, but we got who we could with some help.”
“You still haven’t told me why I would ever do such a thing.”
“Because you’ll never see Xander again if we pack up and head out. You’re not that type of wolf. You’d do anything for your son, I know it. And in turn, you’ll do anything for me.”
I gulped. He wasn’t wrong.
“Where?”
“Ohh, I knew you’d come back to me.” He groaned, and for a moment I thought he might actually be groping himself during our phone call. The pervert. “I’ll give you more information soon on where we’re meeting. I gotta make sure you’re not gonna try and spring a trap on me first by bringing a horde of officers on my head.”
“Can I talk to Xander, please?” I couldn’t believe I was actually begging this man for anything. But I needed to hear my son's voice—needed to be sure that he was okay.
“You can when you actually arrive. And you need to do one more thing for me.”
“What is it now?”
“I know that you’ve been all over that pack’s Alpha. One of the bouncers here told me how you practically sprawled yourself out on his lap when we got busted that night. And you’re still living with them, so he must be fond of you too.”
Goddamnit.
“See, starting up a new club is gonna be pretty fucking expensive. And I’m spending almost all the remaining funds we laundered to recruit more officers to our cause, to keep us all safe while moving from place to place. You need to get money from that wolf, no matter the cost.”
“You want me to steal from Jude? I couldn’t—”
“You can. And you will. You’re gonna drain him for every penny he has, no matter how you have to get it. When you have the money, we can meet up. I’ll give you a call every other day to ensure that you’ve got the funds, so you don’t have to call me. Xander is waiting. And so am I.” Leon made a kissing sound on the other end of the line before the call ended.
What was I going to do now? I couldn’t possibly...
Lucas honked the horn at me, bringing me out of my head. I jogged over towards them, quickly jumping into the backseat as they took off, the tires starting to swerve on the icy ground, but quickly straightening out.
“What was that about?” He snorted.
“You okay?” Silver stared back at me as I kept my head down.
“Just court stuff. Don’t worry about it,” I assured him with a smile before turning to stare out of the window.
“If you’re sure...”
I was already using Jude to an extent to get my child, which had obviously failed thus far. And, of course, to get me out of my prison sentence. But if I didn’t go even further, if I didn’t do what Leon said, I might never see my child again.
There really was no other option here for me. Leon, that bastard. He knew how I was.
For Xander, I’d do anything. No matter the cost.
12
JUDE
The place was large but not too massive for a small group to have fun. Although there were a few people I socialized with now and then, I didn’t have any close friends outside of my own pack. And this lounge had a ramp for Alfie that allowed him to enter.
“I think this is the spot.” Jason was aiding me in my search while Forest was in the bathroom changing Willow’s diaper. The lounge was pretty dark, and the blue lights were low and lit everything up in a romantic way. It was beautiful and a perfect spot for us to just hang out and relax after everything that had happened.
“I agree. I hope Glenn thinks so, too,” I mumbled. I didn’t want to bring any flashbacks of the sex club into his head. I noted the mirrored ceiling, though the lights reflecting from them made it seem like it was just glowing, rather than a full-on mirror.
“You care a lot about him, hm?” Jason cocked a brow, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. I wrinkled my nose, baring my teeth for just a moment as I sat down on one of the many leather couches spread out in the area.
“I guess you could say so.” I shrugged, trying to come off nonchalant, but Jason had a knack for reading people.
“I don’t think it’s a good thing, you know.”
Okay, maybe I was wrong about that.
“What are you talking about now?” I flipped my hair out of my eyes and stared at the fiery redhead who had taken a seat just a few cushions away from me.
“Remember, he’s Grey Brotherhood. We don’t know where his allegiance really lies.”
“Are you trying to challenge me right now?”
“No, definitely not. You’re my Alpha, but I want to give you advice at the least. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if the people that Forest cares so much about got hurt.”
I waved a hand at him, motioning for the wolf to continue.
“You see,” Jason began, “I got a weird feeling. It’s not like you to trust people so easily. Look at me, for example. It took some time before you fully accepted me into our clan. And you question any wolf that could possibly be challenging your leadership—like Lucas. But Glenn, it’s like you’re giving him a free pass. You can never be too sure, and due to his past...”
“He helped Silver, did you forget? He did what he could and made sure that he was safe in that hell-hole. Don’t you think he’s proved himself enough?”
Jason closed his eyes, letting his head rest on the back of the couch. “No. I don’t think so. Don’t you ever get the feeling he’s just around until he can get his son? What is he gonna do when he gets what he wants? Stay with you? Just because you’ve mounted him?”
“What are you talking about?!” I could feel my face begin to burn with embarrassment. The heat creepin
g across my cheeks was enough to make my eyes begin to water.
“Jude, we heard you both. I saw him enter your room, and the grunting was loud enough for everyone in the apartment complex to know what was going on.”
I placed a hand over my face, as though that was going to save me from any more of that burning shame.
“Fuck.”
“I’m not here to try and embarrass you,” Jason attempted to reassure me. “However, I can’t help but think that there’s something more going on than just a simple relationship budding. And with Leon out on the run, I can’t help but be worried that something more could possibly happen. If anything, I just want you to keep an eye open. That’s all.”
“Are you sure about that?” I groaned, rubbing my palm over my face before letting it fall to my lap.
“Yes. Just keep your eyes and ears open. That’s all. I know Forest and I didn’t start off with your typical relationship, but... hey. Look where we are now.” He smiled as Forest entered into the main area of the lounge, Willow eagerly wriggling in his arms in an attempt to wrestle himself into his other father’s arms.
“What were you two talking about?” Forest grinned lovingly at his partner, who rose to his feet at the other’s approach, Willow practically flying from his arms and into Jason’s.
“Oh, nothing. Just talking about how fantastic this party is going to be for all of us. Jude deserves this as much as the rest of us, don’t you think?”
“Of course! Jude, you deserve some time to relax with how much you help all of us.”
“Duties of an Alpha.” I shrugged, also getting up from the couch, though taking my time to do so.
“Did you decide on this place after all?”
“I think so. This’ll be pretty nice, if I do say so myself.”
“Agreed!”
“Why don’t we all head home so we can see what the others have been up to?” Jason suggested, already headed out towards the front of the establishment. He secured the hood of Willow's tiny snow coat before continuing any further.
“I bet Silver’s back home already with his sonogram. I wanna see what it looks like.” Forest smiled, and I followed behind the two, keeping my mouth shut. Because while I too was interested in what the sonogram looked like, I was more excited to see Glenn. Jason’s advice be damned.
13
GLENN
“Following further prison breaks, the guards have begun to file inmates out of the county jail and into a nearby prison. The number of cops going rogue has increased dramatically from the initial report of three to eleven. The escaped inmates are all, interestingly enough, tied to the sex club bust that happened within recent weeks..."
The news anchor on the screen droned on and on about the Grey Brotherhood inmates that had been able to escape with the help of some of the guards and Leon. Well, at the very least, he wasn’t lying about what had happened. Maybe that also meant that he wasn’t lying about having Xander in his care.
Silver’s sonogram photo was still sitting on the coffee table in front of us, he and Lucas having proudly showed it off to everyone, though I’d already seen it beforehand. Forest was the most impressed, oohing and aahing at the sight of the fully developed child and talking about how excited he was that everyone’s children were going to be able to grow up together, being so close in age. Jude was happier about the fact that the pack was expanding.
I, while happy for my friend, was only concerned with what I was going to have to do soon to see my own son. I looked over to Jude who continued to sip his whiskey until it ran dry. He placed the empty glass down next to mine, already drained of its contents.
“So how was the lounge?” I asked. Jason was the first to speak up.
“It’s lovely. Not too big, not too small. I think everyone will enjoy it. Next is just getting decorations to set it up.”
“Decorations? Like streamers and confetti?” I laughed, eyeing my empty glass and wishing that I had more to ease my nerves due to the phone call I had received from Leon not even an hour before.
I told him I had the money already, even though I honestly did not. But I would soon. I needed to.
“Of course. Blue streamers and balloons... Maybe some white table cloths. The works.” Jason nodded as he stood up, ignoring the television with a deep stretch.
“I’m sure Forest is waiting for me. I should be headed to bed soon. I gotta work early anyway.”
“Have a good one,” Jude said as Jason gave a halfhearted wave.
“Night.” His eyes turned towards me and narrowed for a brief moment before he turned his attention back to Jude. “Remember our talk before.”
“I said good night,” Jude snapped, and the redhead left the room soon after.
What the hell was that about?
“You gonna go to sleep soon?” I asked him, now that the Alpha and I were alone.
“Not exactly tired yet,” Jude replied, but he seemed much more aggravated than he had been only moments earlier perhaps because of whatever Jason was insinuating. But still not tired?
Damn.
“What about another drink? I could go for one more before I call it a night.”
“I could too. Want me to break open the new bottle of scotch?”
“Don’t stress yourself. I’ll get it.” I smiled genuinely as I snatched up both of our glasses and headed towards the kitchen.
As I sat the glasses on the counter, I watched Jude from over my shoulder, careful to assure that he wasn’t looking over and watching me. I began to hum to myself as I moved to the freezer and took out Jude’s bottle. He had a nicer bottle he’d been waiting to crack open, but we were settling for the already opened ‘subpar’ bottle. I couldn’t taste the difference, to be fair.
I filled each of the short glasses about a third of the way full before returning the bottle to the freezer.
“Wow, I can’t believe they were able to take so many officers with them,” Jude said to himself.
“It’s scary,” I replied, glancing over again to make sure his head wasn’t turned my way. But I wasn’t done with our drinks just yet. I went into my pocket, carefully extracting the balled up paper towel I had tucked away earlier. I was careful opening it up, ensuring that the powder inside wasn’t going to spill out all over the floor. I might not have an opportunity like this again soon, so I needed to make sure that every last bit of it was going to make it into Jude's drink.
After unfolding it and using the corner of the paper towel to guide the powder over the rim of the glass, I gave it a good shake and threw it away in the trash can underneath the bottom sink cabinets.
I’d crushed up the allergy pills earlier, immediately after the second phone call I had received from Leon. The pills were crushed into the finest powder I could manage, and I had tossed away any small chunks that would give it away. Reclaiming both of the glasses of liquor, I swirled Jude’s, making sure that the powder disappeared completely to the naked eye, which was harder than I thought given how cold the liquor was.
“I hope a third of a glass is enough.” I forced a smile as I headed back into the living room and plopped down next to Jude instead of across from him, passing him the drink.
“It’s good. Don’t wanna get too wasted. I already have a slight buzz,” he admitted, taking a sip from it. I watched him carefully as I drank from my own glass, watching to see if he made a face and hoping he wasn’t able to taste the powder instead of just the Scotch. He cringed as he pulled the glass away from his mouth, shaking his head a bit.
I thought I would have a heart attack.
“S-something wrong?” I stuttered, taking another chug from my glass to calm myself down.
“Yeah. It’s not the single malt that I like, but I’ll get over it. These blends aren’t my favorite.” He wrinkled his nose as he downed the rest of his drink and placed the empty glass back onto the coffee table.
I sighed, relieved it wasn’t the allergy pills he’d tasted, and placed my glass down next to his.
“That feels amazing.” He sighed, his breathing softening already.
“Want to move to the bedroom, then? It might look strange if anyone comes into the room and I’m grinding into you like this,” I teased, leaning forward to whisper, my lips just barely touching the shell of his ear.
With my hands on him, I could feel him shudder.
“Yeah, let’s go,” he said, almost stumbling into the coffee table as he got up. He grabbed the side of his head as he walked towards his bedroom. “Maybe I drank a bit more than I thought.”
“That’s all right. It’ll help you relax more. I don’t need you tensing your muscles while I get to work.” I giggled and grabbed his hand as I allowed him to lead us both inside.
“I SAID RELAX, SILLY.” I was sitting on the small of Jude’s back as he lay on his stomach, allowing me to press my fingers into the sore spots on his bare back. We had taken some of Forest’s baby oil, hopefully he wouldn’t miss a couple of ounces.
“I am relaxed. Izznot my fault I’m mussely,” The Alpha slurred, turning his head to the other side and moving his hands from his sides to rest underneath his head.
“You are pretty fit. But I already knew that when I got on you the first time.”
I nearly fell off of Jude as he flipped over, but he was quick to reach for my waist, keeping me balanced above him as I now sat on his pelvis. I could feel how hard he had become at only the touch of my massage.
“Did that mean anything to you?” he asked, suddenly quite serious as his brows furrowed, almost glaring up at me as though I’d done something wrong.
“What?”
“Did you only do that to keep us from gettin’ busted, or do you like me?” he breathed, his eyes falling halfway shut. The pills must have been kicking in hard for him to be discussing things in this manner.