Page 5 of In Their Arms

“Doesn’t matter. We’re pulling you in for questioning again.” He sticks the key in the door and swings it open before reaching off to the side for the heavy chains he thinks will keep me from raging. If anything, it’s just humiliating. He straps cuffs around my wrists and ankles without resistance before slipping a chain to connect them so that any quick movement is restricted. I just watch him double check that everything is tight enough before pulling me to my feet. “Don’t try any of your bullshit in here. The sooner you give us the answers we need, the better.”

This time, it’s my turn to laugh. “Peyton, you do realize anything that I say as of this moment can’t be used in a court of law? I asked for my lawyer, which you have denied me.”

“I haven’t denied you anything. Just… delayed it a bit. Make this easier on us and confess, alright?” Peyton tugs me toward the interrogation room I’m always stuffed in, the same one Detective Ward managed to let me see Grayson in.

I have no idea what Peyton thinks I’ll confess to but he’s definitely accused me of a slew of things, one of which is stealing Luca from Hudson. He has to be brain dead not to understand what Luca suffered at the hands of that Alpha but that’s the least of my problems. Peyton stuffs me into a chair, the chains rattling as he hooks it up to the desk.

My gaze flicks up, locking onto Peyton’s. “Is this necessary?”

“Stealing someone’s Omega is one of the worst crimes a man can commit.” He steps closer, close enough that I can feel the heat of his breath against my cheek. He wants me to react. Wants me to snap. I don’t. “And the fact that you already have one?” He tuts, shaking his head like this is personal for him. “You should’ve stayed in your lane, Keller.”

A beat of silence spreads between us as Peyton leans against the opposite wall, folding his arms across his chest while I sit here, strung up like a goddamn beast. “Ask your fucking questions, Peyton. Not sure what you’re waiting on.”

He says nothing, waiting until another officer steps in—Garrett, I think. Just another dog on Hudson’s payroll or maybe an idiot, I’m not sure. My mates seem to be faring worse the longer I sit here, Blake so fucking weak that I can’t tell if he’s dying or just weak. Luca isn’t much better, the bond racing with exhaustion, fear, and confusion. And Grayson is trying so damn hard to keep them together. When I get out of here, we’re leaving the corporate world behind for as long as we can stand it, just the five of us—Maceo included—away from the strain of this reality. Just for a little while.

Garrett plops into a seat at the table, leaning forward as he plants his elbows on the table and then folds his hands. He’s trying to project authority. Trying to come off as calm, as reasonable, as if he isn’t just waiting for me to crack. “We need to go over what happened with Luca.” It’s the same old script they’ve been playing with for days now. “The timeline. When his heat was, whether he was under duress at the time of the mating bite, and most importantly—where he is now.”

Yeah, I’m not fucking answering that. I lean back against my seat as much as the chains will allow, raising a brow in challenge.

Peyton drops beside him, already impatient, already annoyed. “Luther,” he huffs. “We need to confirm—was the bite coerced?”

I’m not sure what they don’t understand. It’s been the same goddamn answer from the very first time they asked and it still hasn’t changed. “No.” It’s simple, one word, and it’s all they’re going to get out of me.

Peyton snorts, shaking his head. “Just give up and answer the damn questions.”

“You don’t want to hear my side, so why bother?” Every instinct is telling me to rage, to lunge, to act out but that’s what they want. They want to paint me as an abusive, uncontrollable Alpha in which a judge would eagerly sign off saying that Luca wasn’t safe in our home. And because I know Hudson is a piece of shit, he’d try to say that both of my Omegas weren’t safe with me. “Look, I get it. No, I don’t actually. For some fucking reason, you’re hellbent on making me confess to something that didn’t happen. I would never coerce an Omega into something they didn’t want. But because you don’t want to believe that Hudson is an abusive fuck, I’m here, chained to this table while you ask me the same question you did a few hours ago, last night, and the day before. Or maybe, you already know, but you’re trying to bury it under a confession.”

I watch them, carefully, reading the flickers of emotion they don’t bother to hide. Garrett stiffens slightly, his lips pressing into a hard line, but Peyton is too fucking smug.

It can’t be that fucking easy, can it? This whole investigation goes away the moment I confess to coercing Luca. And then… “If you get my confession, you can get the court to sign off on a bite removal.” It would be my bite removed, leaving him with only Hudson as his Alpha. I’ll give that man credit. He’s not as dumb as these fuckers. “Glad we had fun. I’d like to speak with my lawyer.”

“Not yet,” Peyton pushes out.

Garrett pushes back from his chair, the scrape of metal against tile grating against my skull, the sound setting my teeth on edge. He doesn’t look at me as he stands, doesn’t say a word. Just moves toward the door like he’s making some big fucking decision, part of some grand plan they’ve been waiting to unfold.

When he opens it, the smell hits first. Cigarettes. Stale and heavy, clinging to skin and fabric like a second layer. But underneath it, there’s something worse. Something bitter, something rotten, something that carries the sharp edge of possessiveness, of control.

I don’t need to look to know that Hudson is standing just outside that door. I’d ask what he’s doing here but all of this bullshit is so corrupt that it’s not hard to guess. The Alpha steps inside, measuring me up with one glance before stepping to the edge of the table. His grim smile soon spreads until it’s pure fucking glee at my predicament. He’s enjoying this too much.

I bite back the immediate reaction, tamp down the fury pressing against my ribs. There’s nothing to gain from reacting. Nothing to gain from giving him what he wants. Turning to face Garrett, I voice my objection with this current scene. “He’s not employed with the department. He shouldn’t be here.”

Peyton laughs, a sharp sound that just makes this situation worse. “That’s rich,” he says, and I hate the way his voice drips with amusement. “Coming from someone who smells an awful lot like Grayson Keller.”

It wouldn’t have taken a genius to figure out that Grayson had been here or that I had been all over him the moment he stepped in this room, his earthy scent wrapped around me, daring me to claim him like I so desperately needed to.

“We all know Ward let him in here,” Peyton continues, tapping his fingers against the table in a slow, rhythmic pattern. “So, it’s only fair that Hudson gets a chance to question where his Omega is.”

Hudson steps forward, hands in his pockets, head tilted slightly, eyes watching me with that same smug, self-satisfied look he wore when we first met. “Luther,” he says, dragging my name out, wrapping it in false familiarity. “This all goes away,” he says, gesturing vaguely with one hand, like it’s that easy, like the solution is right there for the taking. “If you hand over the Omega.”

The Omega?Something curls tight in my chest as I fist my hands in my lap beneath the table, refusing to give anyone the satisfaction of my reaction. Unfortunately, a growl rumbles through my chest as I glare up at Hudson. “You talk about him like he’s yourproperty.”

For just a second, just a fraction of a moment too quick to grasp, something flickers in his eyes. It’s small, subtle, something that doesn’t quite fit.

Something that almost—Then it’s gone.

“Look, he’s my Omega.” He pauses, lets the words settle in the air, lets them sink in. “My husband. You had no right to bite him.”

I should keep my mouth shut. I know that. But Hudson is standing there, arms loose at his sides, looking at me like I’ve taken something that belongs to him. His head is tilted just enough to let his arrogance show, his lips turning up in a snarl that he thinks he’s earned. He stands like a man who believes the world owes him something, like he’s convinced Luca is nothing more than property he’s been cheated out of.

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