Did we have anything to offer?
Not yet, but we would.
Dash would be able to find something now that he knew what to look for. I trusted that more than I’d ever trusted anything—maybe more than I should. But he was falling for my omega as fast as she was falling for him, and if this was what we needed to save us all, then he would make it happen.
“It’s a better plan than anything else I’ve thought up,” Liberty said, glancing back at the closed office door. “But if we have to torture someone for information, I’m out. There was a brief period where Reynold and I really weren’t getting along, and the idea of having to torture him was altogether unpleasant.”
I snorted. “There’s not going to be any torture. I’m not a hundred percent above board, but I’m not a monster.”
Liberty cringed, pulling a piece of folded paper from a pocket in her jean shorts. “Less above board than you thought, I’m afraid. I looked into the jobs you told me to, and your mother was absolutely making you do illegal shit without telling you.”
I took the paper, but didn’t unfold it. Part of me didn’t want to know the details. Mercury could look at it when we got home to see if anything was relevant.
For me, it was enough to know my mother hadn’t respected a single one of my wishes. Not even the desire to avoid working for harmful criminals.
I’d told her outright that was something I wouldn’t do—not even to keep my brother’s secret. Marlowe would be furious if he found out I was hurting people to keep him and his pack safe.
“Thanks for looking into it,” I said quietly.
She nodded, and silence fell over us.
This warehouse was oppressively hot with the August midday heat. It hadn’t come equipped with AC, and I wasn’t rich enough to install it, leaving us with little temperature control. Each breath of warm air made me feel heavier, tiredness weighing me down.
I could only run on desperation for so long.
“If you’ve got everything handled, we’re going to go home,” Ambrose said.
It made more sense for us to stay. Ask Reynold more questions. Do more work and research. I doubted I could convince Ambrose that I didn’t need a nap, though, because I did.
He was taking care of me like he always had in the bedroom, but this time I wasn’t trying to stop it.
“Reynold is slowly detoxing, and we’ll send him off on the run when he’s done,” Liberty said. “If he remembers anything else, I’ll contact you again.”
“Thanks,” Ambrose grunted on behalf of both of us, leading me to the car.
He opened the door and pushed me gently down into the passenger seat. I didn’t complain when he took the keys from me. We were out of the warehouse and back on the road quickly, but the path he took wouldn’t bring us back to my condo.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
The decrepit buildings and dirty streets of the Gritch District dissolved into a bustling commercial area. Ambrose kept driving in a straight line.
“Nowhere. But you need some rest, and it’s going to be harder for you to relax when we’re home.”
“No it isn’t.”
“Kiara is days away from heat, doll. She might be needy, and if she is, you’ll cater to her. Right now, she has Mercury to cater to her, so we can spend an hour or two driving around.”
I wasn’t sure how Mercury was going to cater to my omega. He still seemed to be trying to insist he didn’t want her—that wouldn’t go over well with her near-heat mood swings. If things devolved into absolute chaos, I was sure Mercury would call, and that soothed my nerves just enough to let my tiredness creep in.
Yawning wide, I tried to fight it back for no more than a few seconds. Then, I sighed.
“Fine. I’m not used to sleeping with another person. It’s made it a lot harder—combined with everything else.”
“Here, it’s only you in that seat. Take a nap, and I’ll wake you up when we’re home.”
I didn’t complain again, drifting slowly off to sleep as I realized that Ambrose hadn’t referred to it asmyhome.
Just home.
