Page 112 of Bonding the Band

By the whimper he let out, it seemed like he was about to piss himself and get a head start on that. “Don’t hurt me.”

I planted my boot in the middle of his back and ground down. “You don’t get to ask that. How long have you been torturing Hendrix?”

“Fuck, he needed it. He would’ve ruined everything for all of you if I didn’t step in. He’s been a basket case since your first tour.”

“He neededsupport, not drugs.” I heard the wailing of police sirens and hauled my foot back, kicking him so hard in the ass, he could probably taste the rubber soles. “You’d better be grateful they showed up when they did, because the ocean is not that far away, Gary. If you somehow get out after what you’ve done, I’ll make sure that you’re never found. Do I make myself clear?”

Gary wheezed, his eyes watering. “Crystal.”

At the slam of the car doors, I shouted up the hill, “He’s down here.”

I stood numbly as they took him away. I had never really liked him, but he had been a father figure in our lives for a decade. There was no joy in seeing him brought this low, only vindication that his crimes might be answered for. The courts took omega safety seriously, doubly so when they were pregnant. With any luck, Gary and Ellie would be locked away until they died, but that was probably wishful thinking.

Beckett:

Arlo says she’s on a train?

I’m betting she’s going all the way to Seattle

Let’s go get our omega

Chapter 43

Arlo

Beckett:

We are getting on a plane right now

How close are you to Seattle?

Arlo:

2ish hours out

Beckett:

Perfect

Grab us a hotel room, and we can all go see Meadow together now that shit has been sorted out here

While I had assumed I would get to our omega first, I forgot about the utterly abysmal state of the roads. There had been detour after detour, thanks to road construction, and unexpected snow once I’d hit the mountains, so now we were all going to be arriving around the same time. The other shit thing was the nausea and headache that had been building since she’d bolted. It forced me to go slower, when all I wanted was to speedand get to her sooner. The bond needed us close, but more than that, I hated being apart from her.

I pulled into a gas station, throwing on a baseball cap to conceal my identity as I filled up my car and grabbed a snack. As I got back into the car to eat, I picked up my phone to message Clover.

Meadow had been pointedly ignoring us. I had the distinct impression that she had blocked us to avoid the barrage of calls, so I had to get creative in my attempts to contact her.

Arlo:

Please let us talk to Meadow

We’ll be there soon

Clover:

She has her phone

If she wants to talk to you, she will

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