“Hey, hey. Sweetheart, calm down.” Mercer took the file from me, flicked it open, and cursed when he saw what I had. He shoved the file into his bag, grabbing my hips and pulling me into a hug. “We’ll get him back for this, but right now, we need to stay in the zone, OK? Think we’ve found everything there is to find?”
“I know everything I need to know,” I said faintly. “Let’s leave.”
“Got it.”
He said a few words to Lavinia over the earpiece, then ushered me toward the door. I followed his lead with my head feeling like it was somewhere else entirely, detached from my body.
The betrayal ran deeper and longer than I’d thought.
And somehow, despite everything Benjamin had done, I hadn’t been expecting it to get worse.
The name from the documents rattled around in my mind, refusing to leave me alone.
Benji O’Connor.
I’d scent matched to a low-level member of the O’Connor family, and he’d taken advantage. He’d lied to me for years, waiting for the perfect moment to use me to bring about the ruin of my family.
When Mercer had flipped open the file, I’d caught a glimpse of a picture. The building Jurah owned—the one I’d met Benjamin outside of. He’d scoped the place out and had obviously been there for a reason that day.
What reason? Those files might tell us.
Mercer would take them back to the Residence, and West and I would be right behind him.
Standing on the balcony of the room next door in my satin dress and strappy heels, I numbly watched as my pack did everything else around me. West tossed a rope ladder up over the railing of the balcony and Mercer secured it. Conrad watched the surroundings for any roaming guards or guests who might spot us.
When it was set up, Mercer took my hand and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Off you go, my princess. West is here to save you from your tower.”
Despite the sensation of feeling separated from the world and from them, that got a smile out of me. “I do kind of feel like Rapunzel right now. Without the hair.”
He chuckled, grabbing my hips and helping me climb over the railing and onto the flimsy ladder in my tight dress. “Well, Rapunzel, climb down to your Prince Charming.”
“Flynn Rider. Prince Charming is kind of boring, but Flynn Rider is rogueish and a lot more like West.”
Mercer rolled his eyes, holding the rope at the top to stop it from swaying. It still moved with every twitch I made, and climbing down a ladder in high heels wasn’t exactly easy in the first place. As soon as I was close enough to the ground, West lifted me down the rest of the way.
His scent blockers were beginning to wear off, and I inhaled deeply, trying to find more hints of his wool and smoke scent beneath the chemical nothingness.
It was barely there, but I would take what I could get. I needed comfort after learning how horribly I’d been fucking deceived.
“Come on, little omega.” West didn’t waste a second.
Giving me a jacket to fend off the cold, he led me toward a short wood fence that backed onto a neighbouring property.
I glanced back at Mercer, who was climbing down the ladder. “Aren’t we going to wait?”
“No. They manage themselves, I manage you. We’re getting out of here as quickly as fucking possible.”
Frowning, I almost complained. I didn’t need managing—didn’t need to be coddled. But I kept my mouth shut.
I should let them help me. Doing everything on my own had only gotten me into a huge mess before.
He helped me hoist myself over the fence and into the next yard. We were surrounded by bushes and trees, the house this property belonged to barely visible in the distance. The escape route had been chosen very intentionally. Despite having no idea how to be a criminal, everyone I knew was exceptional at it.
Listening to West’s hushed orders, I let him lead me on a winding path. We went through backyards, around pools, and even crossed a bubbling stream at one point.
Every estate here had a ton of property, and we stayed away from the buildings until we got closer to the place where we would emerge back onto the road.
Picking our way across a large estate, between outbuildings and gardens, West suddenly stopped short in front of me and cursed under his breath. I froze too, adrenaline pumping through me, but I didn’t know what he’d spotted.
