Page 85 of Ready or Not

“Soren hid her. By the way, that fuckface is still alive too. At least, until one of them snaps and kills him for keeping her hidden from them,” Holt says, running his hand down my spine. “Keeley is the omega they fell in love with during a mission earlier this year.”

“Wow, at least she’s alive?” I ask, studying Mercy, who is still looking shocked.

“It’s a very good thing for them.” He gives me a soft smile. “They won’t be returning to work in person, but Merrick will still be running tech. He’s asking that we provide him with an office space and some other small concessions.”

“I genuinely did not see that coming,” Ranger says in a tone I haven’t heard him use before. “Good. They deserved one in the win column. Unfortunately, now it’s Kate’s turn to rain down some questionable news.”

“Vale, do you mind looking at me while I tell you this?” Kate asks.

I grunt, trying to turn in Bishop’s lap. It doesn’t work, and Holt scoots over, pulling me to sit between them.

Mercy comes over, glancing at the lack of seating choices.

“Here, take mine.” Cooper scoots closer to Holt, leaving most of the chaise lounge open for Mercy.

“Feel free to get on with it at any time,” Mercy says.

Kate’s dark hair falls over her face as she exhales heavily, looking at the floor. “I never meant to stick around DC, but I was worried about you being all alone. Your mom had just died, and…” She pulls her thumb up, biting the edge. “That’s not even the start of the story.”

“Okay, so start at the beginning,” I say, trying to give her an encouraging look. I’ve never seen her look so miserable, and I don’t like it one bit.

“I grew up a lot like you did. No pack, just a single mom. I never expected to present. It wasn’t the gift everyone always claims. Not for me.” She glances away and finally goes on. “I grew up in Boston. Not the nice part, either. My mom cleaned houses for some wealthy people. The Andretti family was one of them.”

Bishop curses under his breath. My head tilts to peer at him, and he looks like he’s about to chip a tooth. I stretch a hand over, grabbing his and trying to figure out how to release soothing pheromones, despite how crappy I feel.

“They all know the name, but you don’t.” Kate is obviously talking to me. “Trust me when I say, you don’t want to. I barely made it out alive.”

“The Andrettis are at the top of the food chain. Guys like Alvarez report directly to them,” Bishop says, running his thumb over my wrist. “Andrew and his crew are bottom feeders that serve guys like Alvarez.”

I nod. “Alvarez is the guy in Boston who shot you.”

“Yes, and then Bishop killed him, making it impossible for me to extract important information about how Lucien Andretti runs things.” Ranger gives Bishop a distasteful frown.

“You’re still salty about that?” Cooper snorts. “We found you someone to torture in his place.”

“The man with no hand obviously gave you something,” Mercy says, nodding to Kate.

“Indeed, meet Fallon Pierce.” Ranger gives a dramatic wave of his hand, gesturing to my old roommate.

“I already put that together,” Bishop growls as his fury radiates in the bond. “Now, explain what that has to do with Vale.”

“You didn’t bring Andrew to our door,” Kate says, swallowing thickly. “I did.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Mercer

Ilean forward to watch my omega.

Vale’s jaw falls open as she squints at Kate. “What?”

“I’ve been in hiding for four years. I hoped Lucien would eventually stop looking. I had no idea he still had teams searching for me. I swear to God, Vale.” Kate’s eyes fall closed as her head shakes. She shudders out a breath and opens her eyes, looking at Vale. “I didn’t know Andrew even had connections to stuff like that until your guys looked into him. I thought he was just a run-of-the-mill creep.”

“Landis’s obsession with you saved you both,” Ranger says to Vale. “If any team should run across Fallon Pierce, they were to immediately surrender her for quite the monetary reward. However, Andrew wanted to hunt you. He enjoyed toying with you. If your roommate disappeared, then that could have put his access to you at risk. He always planned to turn Kate over to Andretti, but only once he was done with you.”

“Please don’t hate me,” Kate says. “Truthfully, I’ve always tried to look out for you. If I would have known…”

“Wow,” Vale says, rubbing her stomach. “That’s a lot. I don’t hate you. And you’ve always been a great friend, but you really could’ve trusted me enough to tell me that you’re an omega. That part bothers me a little.”

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