Page 71 of All In

Mercy collects his omega and they leave. Laken stays curled up on the couch with the dogs at her feet.

Maverick jogs into the room with a sandwich and tosses himself down on the other side of the sofa.

I briefly plot his demise when he offers half to my omega.

My brow furrows as she takes it with a grateful smile.

It is close to lunchtime. She never had breakfast.

Good god. We’re just as bad as her previous captors.

Ranger strides forward with his arms crossed and a significant frown marring his face. “I have confirmation, Adair and Kurran have been spotted in New York. They’re no longer locatable, meaning they’ve been taken in by the Barretts.”

My entire body goes stiff. “And they know the exchange was to take place with you? I mean, they know your information and that you’re responsible for the massacre at the Andretti compound?”

He nods. “I have no way of verifying it, but I’d imagine Lucien informed the Barretts of his plan to ambush me during the exchange.”

“Maybe they’ll decide they don’t want to go to war after how fast you guys wiped the Andrettis off the map,” I offer, suddenly feeling itchy all over. This has the potential to be a big fucking problem.

“Mercy and I discussed the same thing,” he says, keeping his voice low. “I’m afraid I made things worse by allowing myself to be distracted.”

“What do you mean?”

“I-I…” He swipes a hand over his face. “There was an incident this morning, and I’m unsure what it means. I did ask Laken to move in with me permanently, but she seemed dismissive.”

My jaw falls. “You did what now?”

“We were intimate. And the monsoon that came from nowhere isn’t helping matters. I wasn’t even able to buy a ring. How am I supposed to inform her that we’re getting married if I don’t have a ring to offer?”

“You know this isn’t the 1950s, right, man?” I chuckle.

Ranger glares. “I miss Kane. Sparrow stole the only person I even half-liked.” He pauses. “Outside of Laken. It’s not solely about what transpired between us. There’s also the benefit of spousal privilege. No one could force her to give testimony about anything she may or may not have seen me do that night at the Andretti mansion. She could willingly waive that right, but why would she choose to do that?”

“Just to be clear. You’re planning to ask her to marry you?” I ask dubiously.

“I intend to offer her the ring upon informing her of our union. Her birth control lapsed during the kidnapping…” He rolls his shoulders back, and he waves at the omega in question when he catches her staring. “It’s only right. Also, I would like to revisit doing those things again sometime…” He bites his lip, watching her with a look I’ve never seen on his face. “Very soon.”

“That’s still not grounds for marriage.”

I’m not sure what I’m feeling. On one hand, I got my questions answered about last night. On the other, I was trying to take my time and build something a little more slowly.

I mean, it’s practically impossible to miss their chemistry, but he straight-up ran from her in the hotel.

And then, I basically did the same.

Jesus Christ.

“I feel confident anyone who learns of our union will think twice before taking action.” He nods, agreeing with himself. “I’ve successfully picked off many of their soldiers over the years. They haven’t gone to war with me yet. All of that was before I had something worth protecting. The world isn’t prepared to see exactly what I’m willing to become if someone threatens her.”

My mind replays what he said before, and my jaw drops. Her birth control lapsed during the kidnapping.

“Holy fuck,” I whisper-hiss, grabbing his arm and dragging his skinny ass away from the living room. “What the hell is she going to do about her heat if her birth control isn’t active?”

Ranger shrugs. “I spoke briefly with the local OBGYN. He’s the brother of one of Vale’s alphas. His practice also sees omegas. He recommended back-up contraception until after the heat passes. I should possibly allow Laken the opportunity to check her voicemail to see if she heard back from her doctor. Although, I’ll need to coordinate with tech to ensure that call isn’t traced.” I’d say he’s talking more to himself than to me, which is fine.

My brain is still a little obsessed with the fact that birth control never crossed my mind. I don’t even let myself focus on the tiny piece of my impulses that scream that I missed my chance to breed her.

Jesus Christ.

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