by Aiden Bates
None of it was Cody’s fault. It was Austin who had decided to go out and cheat on Cody with the man he’d pretended to hate. Maybe he did hate Kirby. Maybe he’d been reluctant, but he’d given in eventually. Now he was pregnant, and he thought that he could worm his way back into Cody’s good graces by pretending that Cody was the father.
Austin had to know that wouldn’t work. Right?
Austin had never struck Cody as duplicitous. He’d never struck Cody as the type to need an alpha around, either. Austin had alluded to that. I’ve never needed an alpha before.
What had Austin expected to get from that email? If he’d expected Cody to come running, he was sorely mistaken. Of course, Austin wasn’t the type to stomp off screaming and slamming doors, either. If he told a man that he wished he’d never met him, then chances were pretty good that he counted every encounter they’d ever had as something to be regretted.
Cody sighed. He didn’t regret his time with Austin. He resented the outcome. He hated the fact that his omega was going to another man, again, but he respected Austin’s decision.
I’ve never needed an alpha before. Had Kirby backed out of their agreement? Well, it served Austin right for cheating, damn it.
Someone buzzed his apartment.
He went over to the buzzer. He wasn’t in the mood for visitors, but he’d deal with whatever he had to deal with. “Hello?”
“Mr. Howell, this is Larry Wilde. I need a moment.”
Cody closed his eyes and cursed. “This isn’t a good time.”
“Official business, I’m afraid. You can deal with me or you can deal with an official process server.”
Cody’s blood ran cold. Was Austin that petty? “Fine. Make it quick.” He buzzed Wilde in.
Larry’s eyes were unreadable when he finally appeared at the door. That was a lawyers’ trick, a way to make witnesses nervous. It worked. “Mr. Howell.” He pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket. “I’ll need your signature on this.”
“He’s suing for child support?” Cody snorted and shook his head. “That takes big shiny brass ones, man.”
Larry stepped inside and curled his lip. “He would be fully within his rights to seek support for the child from you, of course, but he’s elected not to do so. Instead, he wants you to sign a document stating that you will not seek to interfere with his decision as to the outcome of his pregnancy.”
Cody pulled the papers out of the envelope. “Why the hell would I care what he does with his kid?”
Larry narrowed his eyes at Cody. “Because you donated half of the genes, Mr. Howell. He respects your decision to sever ties, but he refuses to allow you to have any control over him as a result of this unfortunate event.”
Cody laughed. The sound was bitter and nasty, even to his own ears, and he pushed the papers back at the lawyer. “Easy. I’m not the father. Hate to make extra work for you, but you’re going to have to re-draft these papers and put Kirby Lloyd’s name where mine shows up.”
Larry’s lip curled with disgust. “You don’t seriously believe that.”
“I know it. I heard it from Adrian Baines himself.”
Larry shook his head. “Let me get this straight. You claimed to have loved Austin, and to have trusted him, but you’ll take the word of the brother who wanted to offer him up to a man who openly said he’d force himself on Austin and who has ignored multiple court orders in order to get his hands on Austin’s money, over Austin’s word.” He pushed the papers back at Cody. “You’re a pig. You know that? Whatever happens, Austin’s a thousand times better off alone than with you anyplace near him.”
Cody bristled. He’d been damn good to Austin. “You watch your tone.”
“I won’t. Austin isn’t just a client. He’s a friend. His alpha should be protecting him, but his alpha prefers to believe proven liars and rapists over him so I guess it falls to me. If you truly believe that Austin would allow Kirby Lloyd to touch him, and live afterward, then you should have no trouble signing that piece of paper.” Larry gave him a shark’s smile. “After all, if the baby isn’t yours, you wouldn’t care what happened to it anyway?”
“We used condoms.” Cody leaned forward and snarled into Larry’s face. “It can’t be mine.”
“Oh, because condoms never fail. They never develop holes. And you were never holed up in Austin’s house during a power outage, when you’d have been unable to see a hole in a condom if one happened. Pregnancies happen with condom use all the time, Cody. But it doesn’t matter. Austin will fight you, in court, for control of his body and over disposition of the child.” Larry slammed a pen down onto the table. “This isn’t a plea for your attention. He would have been yours. I have no doubt. He is now willing to take any and all legal steps to make sure that never happens.
“He hates you, Cody. The only thing that’s keeping him alive right now is his sincerely held belief, which I share, that it causes you pain to know that he’s alive and successful, on his own.” Larry’s face had gotten bright red, and his voice was getting louder with each word that he spoke. “You call yourself an alpha? You’re supposed to keep him safe and secure. He sees you as someone to fight, just another enemy, and he’s right. Sign the goddamn paper, Howell. Do all three of you a favor.”
Cody grabbed Larry by the shirt collar. He wasn’t a violent man, but he’d had enough. “You do not get to come into my house and tell me I’m not an alpha. I will rip you limb from limb.”
“And you’ll prove him right.” Larry laughed. “More than you already have. You alphas really are all the same. You’re no different than Adrian Baines or his little cult, are you?”
Cody dropped Larry, ashamed. He still didn’t believe that Austin’s baby was his, but he wasn’t acting the way he knew he should. He picked up the pen and signed the papers.
The buzzer rang again, and Cody groaned. “What now?” He pressed the button. “Hello?”
“Cody Howell? This is Kirby Lloyd. Please don’t call the police yet. Give me ten minutes of your time and I’ll go quietly. I’ll even give up Adrian. Just please, hear me out.”
Cody paused. He didn’t want to let Kirby, the man who had taken his every joy from him, into his home. At the same time, it was an awesome opportunity. He could call the cops and get Kirby tossed into jail to serve out his five year suspended sentence. With any luck, Kirby would lead investigators to Adrian, and at least Cody would get some revenge. He pressed the button to allow his former rival into the building.
Larry looked at him. “This is the second dumbest thing you have ever done.”
“Second?” Cody raised an eyebrow.
“Tossing Austin to the side like garbage was the first. Hey, I’m not your lawyer. I’m his. I don’t have to be nice to you.” Larry sat down on the couch. “Don’t mind me. I’m just a fly on the wall.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll call nine-one-one after the two of you have knocked each other around for a little while, though.”
“Gee, thanks.”
The apartment door swung open, and Kirby Lloyd strode into the room.
Cody growled. He hated everything about the man before him. “This had better be good, Lloyd.”
Kirby held up his hands. “I promise you, Howell, I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here to end it.” He swallowed hard. “Adrian and I split up, to make us harder to track. We’ve been in touch here and there, on burner phones.” His eyebrows drew together. “Why is Austin’s lawyer here?”
Larry gave him a cheesy, bright smile. “I’m here to get Cody here to sign away his parental rights. Why are you here?”
Kirby turned back to Cody. “Whatever you do, don’t sign that paper.”
Cody rolled his eyes back into his head. “I’m not taking care of your damn bastard while you’re in prison, you jackass. You knew he was with someone else, and maybe he shouldn’t have said yes to you. That’s on him. A real alpha would have respected the fact that he was moving toward something with someone else. Anyway, it’s too late. S
igned and notarized. You’re not foisting your kid off on me.”
Kirby’s face darkened. “You’re such a jackass. I don’t deserve Austin, but neither do you. Austin never said yes to me. I never touched him.”
Cody staggered backwards until he landed in his chair. He could see Kirby’s sincerity in his angry eyes and the determined set of his jaw. “You said you’d force yourself on him if you had to.”
“In the context of making a claim. Austin’s words made me think.” He turned his head away. “I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t think as quickly as I should have, but I grew up around alphas who didn’t have a high opinion of omegas. It took a while to change my way of thinking. Austin’s the kind of guy who can do that, but it doesn’t happen overnight.”
“He does have that affect on a guy.” Cody spoke without thinking. “But Adrian told me you were the father. He wasn’t happy—why would he lie?”
“Why do you think, dumbass?” Kirby waved a hand. “He was pissed about you two getting together. He was ashamed of his brother being pregnant outside of a proper claim, because an omega shouldn’t be like that. And he wanted to ruin something for Austin. I think he figured that he stood a chance of reining Austin in if he could get him into enough of a state of despair.”
Larry smirked. “He doesn’t know his brother very well, does he?” He put his feet up on Cody’s coffee table.
“No. And he doesn’t care to. I was raised in the organization mentioned in the trial.” Kirby sighed and sat down on the other side of the couch. “I brought him home once and that was it. They sucked him right in. He doesn’t see omegas as human.” He looked up. “Cody, there is no possible way that you’re not the father of Austin’s baby.”
Cody doubled over. His guts hurt, physical pain that left him gasping. “No. It can’t be.”
Kirby was on his feet in an instant. He put a hand on Cody’s back and rubbed. “This is a good thing, Cody. I know it’s a little backward, but the two of you belong together more than any other couple I’ve ever seen. It’s not like I couldn’t see you during the trial. There was so much love there, I almost couldn’t stand to look. This baby just cements that. You’ll build a family of your own, however you decide to define it.”
Cody’s skin crawled at the thought of Kirby touching him, but he didn’t want to say anything. Kirby was trying to improve, after all. “It’s too late. I signed the papers. He doesn’t want me anymore. I’ve been ignoring him ever since Adrian’s visit.” His whole chest hurt, like it wanted to tear itself in two. “I’ve been such an ass.”
“You played right into Adrian’s hands.” Larry sneered. “You lost the best thing in your life, because like a typical alpha you didn’t think that an omega was capable of being honest or faithful.”
Kirby glared at Larry. “If you’re not going to be helpful, you can leave.”
“Oh no. This is better than gothic tragedy right here. Hey Cody, you got any popcorn?” Larry put his hands behind his head and stretched out.
Cody buried his face in his hands. “I kind of want to throw the lawyer from the window, but he’s right. I threw Austin away. It can’t be undone.”
“There are eight months and what, a week? You can still work with that. I’d get on it soon, though.” Kirby glanced back at Larry. “Which way is he leaning?”
“His decision is weighted heavily toward none of your business.” Larry put his feet on the floor. “It’s his decision alone.”
“Not if we have anything to say about it. Look.” Kirby turned to face the lawyer. “I know you’re itching to call the cops on me. And you want to see Cody suffer, because he hurt your client and friend. You’re right. I’ve behaved badly, and I let Adrian use me to hurt Austin worse. Cody—well, Cody’s made some pretty big mistakes. Do you want to keep Austin alone, and do you want to keep a family apart, because of our mistakes? Or do you want to exhaust every possible avenue to a winning solution for everyone before we go for the scorched earth policy?”
Larry shook his head. “I don’t want to see Austin with someone who would rather believe a liar and a rapist just because he’s an alpha. Austin deserves better, and that child deserves better than a father like that.”
Cody hung his head. “He does. They both do. But I want to be that man. I want to be that alpha. And at the end of the day, shouldn’t the choice be Austin’s?”
Kirby shrugged. “I’m going to jail either way. It’s not like I don’t know about the sheriff’s deputy at the house.”
Larry chewed on his lip, and then he looked away. “Fine. Go. But I’m keeping the paper.” He met Cody’s eyes. “Don’t go expecting anything from him, Cody. He’s not the type to take someone back, especially not once they’ve hurt him.”
“I know.” Cody closed his eyes and hung his head. “I have to try.”
Cody and Kirby ran for Cody’s jeep and headed out to Route 695. “Why are you doing this?” Cody asked his companion, pressing the gas as far as he dared.
Kirby sighed. “Adrian had his reasons for pushing for the match,” he said finally, staring out the window. “He did. When we were young, it was because he wanted to get closer to my dad, our organization’s leader. When Austin took off, he stopped mentioning it, and then when he had financial troubles he brought up the scheme of getting his hands on Austin’s money.
“For me? It was always about Austin. That scent, that smile, it was all too much for me. I’d do anything to have that in my life. It’s only recently that I’ve come to realize that even if I did claim him, I’d never have Austin. I’d just have an omega with his face. The smile, especially, would never be mine.” His shoulders slumped. “Don’t screw this up, Cody.”
Cody drove faster.
Chapter Twelve – Contents
Austin built himself a fire in the fireplace and grabbed a blanket. He shouldn’t have been wasting time with watching sappy movies or mindless television. He should have been researching adoption agencies, or trying to figure out the optimum diet for early pregnancy. Maybe he should have even been putting the time into finding a doctor, someone who would help him to make sure that nothing like that ever happened again.
Right then, though, he was too tired to do that. He’d worked on those things during a few slow periods at the shop, but he couldn’t make himself think about the baby anymore. He needed to pretend, just for a little while, that he was still his own person. He was too upset to sleep and he didn’t have the energy for anything else, so television it was. Home and Garden Television usually offered something mindless and cheery to take his mind off of whatever was going on in his life. Hopefully they’d have something to offer that night.
He turned to the poor deputy stuck in the house with him. “Sorry for being rude. Can I offer you anything?”
Deputy Lagunov shook his head. “I’m good, thanks. Make yourself comfort—”
Tires squealed as someone took the turn into Austin’s driveway at greater speed than they should have. They hit their brakes, hard, and then two doors slammed.
Lagunov held out one hand to Austin as a warning. The other one rested on his service weapon. “Stay down and avoid the windows.”
Austin scrunched himself into as small a space as he could, hiding from view. He held his breath as his pulse slammed against the vessels in his throat. Maybe putting an armed guard on him had been a good idea after all.
The doorbell rang. Austin’s heart leaped into his throat and stayed there.
When had he become that guy? He wasn’t the type to hide away and let others defend him, damn it. He didn’t let alphas make him cower in the shadows like some terrified bunny rabbit. He was Austin Goddamn Baines. He was the strongest omega out there, and he could hold his own. They might take him away, they might hurt him, they might even force him, but he’d take a damn good chunk out of them too. He’d already made it impossible for them to touch his money.
He straightened himself out. He could handle it, the same way he’d handled everything els
e. He walked over to the door.
Lagunov opened the door cautiously, using it as something of a shield. It wouldn’t be much of a shield. The leaded glass insert, original to the house, would shatter if Adrian or Kirby shot through it. “Can I help you?”
Cody stood in the doorway. Tear tracks marred his handsome face. “Is it all right if I come in?”
“I’d rather you didn’t.” Austin spoke from behind the deputy’s shoulder. He’d have liked to say that his voice was cold and strong, the way it should have been, but it wasn’t. It came out as soft as a pillow. That didn’t matter, though. What mattered was that the message got through.
“You heard the man.” Lagunov jerked his head toward the Jeep, parked across the driveway. “Out.”
Cody nodded. “I expected that. I don’t really have a right to ask you to hear me out now, Austin. Not after I wouldn’t give you the same courtesy. I was terrible. I mean I didn’t even ask. And I should suffer for that. But Austin, for your own piece of mind, for our kid, please. Let me talk to you.”
Austin closed his eyes. “You brought Kirby Lloyd with you. What kind of a monster are you? I can smell him.” His stomach roiled, and he clutched at it.
Lagunov glanced at Austin. “You can smell him? We need to hire more omegas on the force, no joke.”
Kirby stepped out of the shadows, hands in the air. “I’m sorry. I’m unarmed, and I intend to go peacefully, Deputy.” He licked his lips and glanced toward Austin. “I encouraged Cody to come. I found out what Adrian did, and I couldn’t let it stand.”
Lagunov grabbed his radio. “Where is Adrian Baines right now?”
“He’s at the Sleep-Tite Motel in Marietta. Paul is with him.” He gave a little chuckle. “The accommodations are not to their liking, I can assure you. Go ahead and call it in. I ain’t running. I’m turning myself in. I’m not going to be a party to this nonsense anymore.” He turned his hazel eyes on to Austin’s. “I wasn’t about to let Adrian get away with this.”