Omega Protector: A M/M MPreg Non-Shifter Romance (Snow Falls Omegas Book 2)

by Esme Beal

  “What are you doing?” I said. “Are you just gonna let them leave?”

  Marshall put his hand up to calm me down.

  The Hearts all revved their engines and moved down the street until they disappeared in the distance.

  “Why would you do that?” I pleaded. “You just let them—”

  “They have Amy,” he said. “She’s a hostage. If I did anything, they would know that they’re not getting their ransom. Her safety is more important than anything.”

  “But—”

  “Listen, Spencer. I know you’re angry and frustrated. But now is not the time. Not until we know where they’re hiding Amy.”

  “Why don’t we just follow them then?”

  “No. You… You just have to trust me on this. Please, Spencer. I know it’s hard for you but for Amy’s sake. When we get to her, we have to make sure that she’s still safe.”

  I let out a frustrated sigh and put my hands on my hips.

  “All right,” I said. “Now what then?”

  “The plan doesn’t change. We go to Tsunami. I’ll talk to Cyan and get the information from him.”

  “And what if he doesn’t have anything on the Hearts?”

  “…Then I’ll question every biker gang in Snow Falls until I find someone who does.”

  Chapter 11

  MARSHALL

  The clock was ticking.

  The confrontation with the Bleeding Hearts only made me more determined to get the job done. With Spencer behind me, I raced on my bike back to Tsunami to see if Cyan or anybody else had the information I needed.

  As soon as I parked my bike, Spencer jumped off and paced so fast toward the entrance to the bar that I had to stop him.

  “Hey,” I said as I grabbed his arm. “Slow down.”

  “What? What’s wrong? We need to go in there and talk to this guy.”

  “If he’s in there, there’s no need to rush.”

  “We’re running out of time.”

  “I know that. But Cyan isn’t the kinda guy you wanna rub the wrong way. He has every reason to give me what information he has but he could hold it back if he wants. These bikers… They’re volatile. Trust me. I’ve dealt with them before.”

  “Right…”

  Spencer chuckled softly and shook his head.

  “…I’m sorry,” I sighed. “I didn’t mean to act out.”

  “You don’t have to apologize to me. You have every reason to be on edge. I know how much it took for you to restrain yourself back there. But this is Amy’s best option. You trust me, don’t you?”

  “I trust you.”

  He didn’t hesitate in saying it. It was enough to put a smile on my lips.

  “Okay,” I said with a nod. “Just follow my lead.”

  I headed into Tsunami with Spencer right behind me. The place was just as I remembered it. The crowd didn’t seem to care much about me one way or another. I looked in the place I’d found him before and immediately spotted Cyan along with the rest of his gang.

  Come on…

  I gritted my teeth before heading over to him. The rest of his gang was busy drinking, smoking and having a good time with the ladies on their laps. I walked right up to the table. Cyan was too busy with a couple of ladies playing with his beard to notice that I was right next to him.

  “Ahem!”

  I cleared my throat and the entire table looked at me.

  “Ah!” Cyan said, a shrewd smirk on his lips. “Mr. Marshall. Just the man I was expecting to see.”

  “You were expecting me?”

  “Of course. Even with your talents, I doubt you’d be able to find much on the Bleeding Hearts.”

  His grin grew even wider.

  “What do you know about them?” Spencer said as he moved forward.

  “Who’s this guy?” Cyan said.

  “Spencer,” I said. “He’s a friend of mine.”

  The look I gave Spencer was enough to calm him down.

  “A friend, hmm? I hear you’ve been making a lot of friends in Snow Falls these days.”

  “I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of things.”

  “Indeed I have. Things you’ll be interested to hear as well.”

  He shooed the ladies off of his lap and stood up from his seat. Despite how old he looked, Cyan appeared fit for his age.

  He walked away from the booth where his gang was and headed to the other side of the bar, away from the rest of the crowd.

  “Come along,” he said. “We have business to discuss.”

  “Business?” Spencer said.

  There was some concern on his face. And with good reason. There was no telling what Cyan was up to. At this point though, I had no choice but to keep going.

  I took a seat at the booth across from Cyan and Spencer moved next to me. The biker leaned back and stroked his beard, looking down his nose at me like he was trying to figure me out.

  “How’s Snow Falls treating you?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Snow Falls. Our fair city is nice, isn’t it? Though I imagine you’re spending most of your time in the Southern Block. The Northside is much more appealing. Even in the West Bay, there are places that you could enjoy the rest of your days in peace at. You just have to avoid all of the gangs and make sure you know where you’re going.”

  I shook my head in confusion.

  “What are you getting at?” I sighed.

  “I’ve lived most of my life in the Southern Block. Me and my club have lived a fine life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Actually, there is something I’d trade it for. A nice place in the Northside. Nothing fancy like all of the rich folks. I don’t need to be Ashton Webb or anything. But a nice place to call my own, away from the dirty streets of the Southern Block.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because you’re going to get me to the Northside.”

  “Me? How am I gonna do that?”

  I looked at Spencer but he was just as confused as I was. Cyan was smiling this whole time, so it was hard to tell if he was serious or not.

  “Why did you come to Snow Falls?” he asked.

  “What? You know why I’m here.”

  “Yes, you’re investigating a missing person. I get that. But you were never obligated to do it. It’s not like the girl is your daughter or anything. I imagine you don’t even know her at all. No, you’re here because you’re getting paid.”

  “So what if I am?”

  Cyan leaned forward and looked me right in the eye.

  “You’re here to make some money for solving this case,” he said. “If I’m gonna help you solve this case, I’m gonna make some money, too.”

  “Fine,” I said with a shrug. “What do you want? A hundred bucks or so?”

  “Oh, you haven’t been listening,” he said with a chuckle. “I said I wanted a nice place for me and my gang. In the Northside.”

  “You can’t be serious,” Spencer exclaimed. “You don’t expect us to just give you that kind of money.”

  “I expected you might say that. Shame what they might do to that little girl…”

  Cyan had us right where he wanted us. Spencer tugged on my arm and pulled me away.

  “I need to talk to you,” he said.

  “Business,” I said to Cyan.

  “Of course,” Cyan responded. “Talk to your associate. You’ll see how generous my offer is.”

  Spencer and I moved to the corner of the bar. He kept his voice low but couldn’t hide his concern.

  “This guy wants us to pay for information,” he said.

  “What choice do we have?”

  “If we pay this guy, what’s the difference between giving this guy money and paying the ransom to the Hearts? Not to mention I don’t trust this guy…”

  I looked over at Cyan. He was sitting calmly, a big grin on his face as he stared at Spencer and me.

  “Cyan’s got nothing to gain by lying to us,” I said.

  “That still doesn
’t make paying him off right. Ashton hired you so he wouldn’t have to pay a ransom.”

  “He hired me so that the ones responsible for taking Amy were brought to justice. It’s not like Cyan had anything to do with this. What does it matter how we get to Amy as long as we get to her?”

  The decision wasn’t simple. Spencer was right but I didn’t see any way around it.

  “If he’s got the information on the Hearts, I have to do everything I can to get it,” I said. “This is our best shot at getting to Amy.”

  Spencer looked away from me, his hands on his hips. I’d already made my decision but I was still waiting for his approval. I didn’t want to do this alone.

  Then something strange happened. Spencer started chuckling softly.

  “You’re right,” he said with a nod. “Cyan didn’t have anything to do with this. Maybe there is another way.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Just hear him out.”

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “Trust me.”

  Spencer gave me a wink. Just that was enough to make me more than willing to go through with it.

  “You’re back,” Cyan said. “So… What have you and your associate decided?”

  “What exactly do you want?” I asked.

  “I’m a fair man. I don’t have a specific dollar amount in my head. So, let’s do it this way. You’re being paid a specific amount. I want my share of it.”

  “And how much would that be?”

  “Twenty percent.”

  I scoffed at his suggestion. Even though I was willing to give it to him, I wouldn’t give in so easily.

  “Ten percent,” I said.

  “Ten? Don’t insult me, Marshall.”

  “When you realize how much I’m making, you’ll understand that it’s more than fair.”

  “Ten percent…”

  He stroked his beard and thought about it.

  “…I’m not sure—”

  “Hold on,” Spencer said. “I’ve got an idea for you. You said that you wanted a place to call your own on the Northside. A nice, modest home. How about instead of taking a cut from Marshall’s payment, I get you a place in the Northside?”

  “Ha! And how exactly would you do that?”

  “Yes, Spencer, how would you do that?” I said, raising an eyebrow at me.

  “I know Ashton Webb himself,” Spencer said. “He owns a lot of property in the Northside. You give us the information you have, I can get you a meeting with him. I’m sure he’d be more than willing to compensate you.”

  “I’ve heard a lot of things in my life but this… This is something impressive.”

  Cyan looked at Spencer incredulously. But Spencer wasn’t budging. I couldn’t help the smile on my lips.

  “What do you say?” Spencer said. “We have a deal.”

  “I just want you to understand one thing,” Cyan said. “If you don’t keep your word, the Bleeding Hearts will be the least of your problems.”

  “I’ll keep my word. Now keep yours. What do you know?”

  “Okay…”

  Cyan nodded and exhaled a deep breath. He leaned forward across the table.

  “The Bleeding Hearts are a nomad gang. They’re the type to move from town-to-town, likely because they’re causing all kinds of trouble. The man in charge is named Hudson.”

  “Hudson,” I said. “He’s the one who confronted me.”

  “Hudson must’ve heard about Ashton Webb. You can’t spend a minute in Snow Falls without knowing who he is. Probably heard about his ties to the shelter and figured he’d make a quick buck with a ransom by scooping up one of the children. I’m guessing Mr. Webb is more than willing to pay it.”

  “We already figured most of this,” Spencer said. “Where are they keeping Amy?”

  “Calm down. I was just getting to that… I heard the Hearts are holding the girl somewhere on the West Bay, near the docks. I had some people check it out and I’ve got the location right here.”

  Cyan held up a small piece of paper.

  “All right,” I said. “Give it here.”

  I snatched the paper from him and read the address.

  “Do you know where this is?” I asked Spencer.

  “No. But it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

  “All right. Let’s go…”

  Spencer and I got up from our seats.

  “Hold on now,” Cyan said. “You didn’t let me finish.”

  “What?” I said. “You said this is where they’re keeping the girl.”

  “That is where they’re keeping her. I’m sure of it. But the Hearts themselves… They’re somewhere else.”

  “What are you talking about?” Spencer said.

  “They would never all stick around the girl together. There’s too much of a risk. You find the girl, you can bag all of them. This…”

  Cyan pulled another piece of paper from his pocket and held it up.

  “…This right here is where they’re staying in Snow Falls.”

  Spencer took the paper and read the address.

  “That’s not too far from here,” he said. “It’s in the Southern Block.”

  “You have all of the information, gentlemen,” Cyan said. “I trust you’ll honor your agreement.”

  “You’ll get your meeting with Webb.”

  “Come on,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  We headed back outside and looked over both addresses on the papers. Spencer kept shaking his head.

  “What’s wrong?” I said.

  “These two places… Hudson knew what he was doing. They’re so far apart from each other, if anything were to go wrong in one place, there’d be no way to get to the other in time. Maybe Ashton could get the cops to coordinate on both places at the same time.”

  “No,” I said as I shook my head. “I’m sure Hudson is watching. Anything happens in one spot, his men in the other spot will hit the road. I’m sure they won’t have any qualms about leaving Snow Falls if things go south.”

  “Then what do we do?”

  I was tired of seeing the concern in Spencer’s eyes.

  Come on, Marshall… Think…

  I closed my eyes to try and focus.

  “We have to save Amy,” I said. “She’s the priority. But we can’t let them get away with this either.”

  “We can’t get both of them.”

  “Yes, we can.”

  “What? How?”

  “Talk to Ashton. Give him the address to Amy. Tell him to coordinate with the police. Keep a tight lid on it. Bring only a few men to the West Bay docks.”

  “But what about you?”

  “I’ll go after the other address.”

  “Right. I’ll tell Ashton to get some cops for you and—”

  “No. I can’t draw any attention to myself. If cops show up, there’s no telling what they’ll do with Amy at the other location. She’s the priority here. It doesn’t matter what happens to me.”

  “But—”

  I put my hands on his shoulders. I’d never been more determined in my life.

  “Amy will be all right,” I said. “She’s the only thing you need to worry about. Don’t forget that. Okay?”

  “I…”

  “Spencer…”

  “…Right. I’ll make sure that Amy is safe. No matter what.”

  “This will all be over soon. I promise.”

  I pulled Spencer close and wrapped my arms around him. I wanted to do everything I could to let him know that everything would be all right.

  There was only one thing left for me to do.

  Chapter 12

  SPENCER

  “This is serious.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment and felt the cool night breeze against my skin. The saltwater in the air from the water filled my nostrils and cleared my thoughts. I sighed a deep breath and kept myself calm. It wasn’t nearly enough to deal with how hard my heart was pounding inside of my chest.

  “Spencer… A
re you listening to me?”

  “I heard you. You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”

  I turned toward Ashton. He looked down at me like a stern parent ready to scold me. I didn’t care what he or anybody else thought though. Nothing was going to stop me from getting to Amy tonight.

  “How much do you trust this information?” he asked.

  “It’s a chance we’ll have to take,” I said. “There’s no way you can pay that ransom and let these guys get away with it. You know that just as well as I do.”

  “It’s not just Amy on the line. The cops here are putting themselves at risk. They could be running into a trap.”

  “That’s just a risk they’ll have to take. But Amy… She’s here. I know she is.”

  The address Cyan had given us was in a remote part of the West Bay. The docks stretched for miles with ships moving in and out. But the address was specific enough that we were able to find the exact house.

  Ashton and I watched the house from a distance, lurking in the darkness of the alley. I leaned up against the wall and waited until it was time. A police officer walked up to Ashton.

  “Everybody is in position,” he said. “We’ve got all exits covered. Though it’d be a better idea if we had more men for this…”

  “No,” I said. “More men will just draw more attention. You do that and they’ll alert the ones on the other side of town.”

  “We should have cops in that other location, too.”

  “It’s too risky.”

  “Who’s running this operation?”

  Ashton had that same stern look on his face.

  “Just tell your men to get ready,” he said. “Let us know exactly when you’re making a move.”

  “The operation will be underway in a few moments,” the cop responded.

  He eyeballed me for a second before walking toward a cop on the other side of the alley.

  “You know, you’re not making this any easier for anybody,” Ashton said.

  “I know, I know. I’m getting in the way. Whatever. I’ve waited too long for this moment. I’m not going to let Amy down now when she needs me most.”

  “How’s Marshall doing?”

  I was clutching my phone so tight in my hand that my palm was sweating.

  “I’ve got the message ready,” I said. “As soon as this cop starts to make a move, I’ll tell Marshall to move in on the location.”