Page 132 of Curvy Quirky Omega

Frankie nodded and then turned on her heel, heading right toward me. I didn’t know why she looked so excited, but I hoped this was the end of it. If I had to wonder if Liam was next I’d just kill her right here and now.

I wasn’t going through that again. I refused.

“Look.” Frankie held up something gold that glittered under the streetlights.

I took the ring from her, recognizing it immediately. This was Gideon’s wedding ring.

“Helen was wearing it around her neck under her clothes,” Frankie explained. “And that Buttercuppa Coffee location? It used to be owned by Valor before they sold the building thirty years ago.”

My body hurt too much for me to get why that was significant, but thankfully, Frankie didn’t wait for me to guess.

“I found a weird trap door in the backroom,” she told us, glancing back to watch as more members of Valor went in and out of the building. “I was pretty sure it was something they used during the Prohibition, but thanks to River, I was able to pull all the original blueprints for the buildings downtown. There’s a tunnel that leads back to Valor Enterprises. Apparently, it used to be a part of the old escape route before they decommissioned that elevator.”

“Jesus,” Liam muttered. He ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. “There’s another basement under level four, but it was bricked off when my mother installed the new elevators after she took over. We updated them again when Gideon and I remodeled, but I wasn’t a part of the construction. Just the design. I had no idea that basement still existed.”

So, Gideon reopened the old escape route without telling anyone so no one would know he was having an affair. It was clever. I honestly hadn’t thought he was capable of coming up with something like that, but then again, he was laundering money for years without anyone finding out.

I studied the wedding ring in my hand, knowing this was enough to get a search warrant for the murder weapon. It was also enough for Nicolette Valor to claim the rights to Helen’s life if not the whole Tinley pack.

That one would be more complicated since they essentially attacked all four packs tonight.

Untangling how much Steele had to do with this wasn’t something we were hired to do, but if they wanted us to figure that out, they could hire us to do so.

After I was feeling a little less like death.

Cas scooped me up like it was nothing and I could feel how worried he was.

Wait. I could feel his emotions again.

I looked up to see his eyes shining with unshed tears and I wrapped my arms around his neck to comfort him. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Lucy.”

“Hey, what about me?” Liam popped up and wrapped his arms around Cas so I was squashed between them. “I think I missed you the most, Lucy.”

“No, I definitely missed you more.” I closed my eyes, glad I could feel his relief as well as mine. “Can we go home now?”

“I’ll take care of the rest,” Frankie reassured me. “Get some sleep and then go to the hospital tomorrow to get your wrist looked at.”

“Yes, mom.” I sighed and decided to ignore how all three alphas were laughing at me. “Now take me home.”

I could worry about what Valor planned to do with Helen Tinley tomorrow.

CHAPTER 47

Lucy

Three weeks later and the sun shone down on Gideon’s headstone, making the white marble nearly blinding as Melinda stared down at his casket with a white rose in her hand, crying silently. Her tears glittered in the sunlight and I didn’t know what to say to her.

Not only did she have to mourn the alpha she once thought she’d spend the rest of her life with, but she had to deal with the knowledge that he’d been cheating on her too.

I didn’t think the fact that they were both cheating would cancel out the complicated emotions either. Especially when Gideon started his affair long before she did…and then had made plans to leave the pack for his mistress.

But there was no one else who might want this.

I moved through the crowd comprised of only members of Valor, the air cold despite the bright sun. It felt strange to be here as one of them but not quite…a Valentine not a Valor. Still, they didn’t watch me with curiosity or suspicion.

Whatever Nicolette had told them about me made sure all eyes stayed on the casket or the alpha of the pack.

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