Page 33 of Going Down Smooth: Part Two

“At the end of the day, with the law as it stands, it is not in their favor,” Lox says, throwing his hands up in frustration as he speaks passionately. “To the outside world, everyone saw the perfect pack. Rich and influential. The only reason we knew different is because we grew up with her. We saw the shell she’d become. But who were we to go against her mates? Our hands were tied. No, Trey, don’t put that guilt on yourself or anyone else. Christopher looked the other way. Her own damn father!”

“But there is hope,” I interject as I try to find the positive in this terrible mess. “We must protect that hope. Protect her. All eyes are on Mercy. She’s become a symbol, a beacon of light for so many. Hell, we witnessed it last night at the bar. Benjamin knew this, he knew his daughter was special. Even after she ran, he still left her the company and made sure we would be by her side. He believed a woman in her position could provoke change. It’s such a massive weight for her to have on her shoulders and we have to help her bear the load. This whole entire situation goes against an Alpha’s instinct, but nothing about our pack is ordinary. So, we will go in there, support her, and pick up the pieces when she falls apart.” I watch my brothers’ faces, feeling their anger subside through our bond. That is the best rallying of the troops speech I can muster.

With that said, I turn in the direction of the rooms, and my brothers follow behind me as we pass two of Dez’s security team members. The closer we get to the room the more anxious I become, a sense of foreboding washes over me. Mercy is safe, she has her sister back. I believe the words I’ve just spoken to my brothers. There is a light at the end of this dark-ass tunnel. As much as I want to believe we are coming to the end of all this. . . something tells me that this is far from over.

* * *

“I won’t leave her. I want to be the first face she sees.” Seneca’s voice breaks as she holds Faith’s hand in hers. She sits beside her bed as tears run down her cheeks, the emotion in the room is so thick it takes my breath away.

My mind takes me back to the day my parents were killed. I remember this exact same breathlessness, and for a second, I stand there frozen in the doorway. Edward stands at her back trying to lend her his strength, but he looks just as broken as she is.

“Sen, Mercy and her pack are here. You need rest and food—”

“NO!” Seneca shouts, making me jump, pulling me out of my own trauma haze. I am not used to Seneca raising her voice. Growing up in and around their pack house, she never needed to, and for some reason we’d always fallen in line for her, and that went for her children and her mates.Or so I thought.But this woman, the sudden rage on her face, it surprises me. I shift nervously at the door, my brothers at my back, and I wonder where Mercy is. I look at the closed restroom door on the other side of the room and I assume she is inside.

“This is my fault. Don’t you see, Edward. I did this to her. I allowed you all to raise your daughters as you saw fit. I gave you each a child. Yes, they were all your children, but Faith is Christophers daughter, Grace is yours, and Mercy belonged to Benjamin. I thought. . .oh God, I thought I was doing something good. Teaching the girls what they needed to survive this world as Omegas in hopes that when it came to them being mated, you would all make the right choice. Oh, how wrong I was!” She angrily wipes away her tears and sniffs, yet I can tell her anger is growing. “Christopher can be so convincing, the church, his followers, his beliefs. He swore to me Faith would be okay, that he chose her the perfect Alphas. But I watched from afar as my daughter died a little every time I saw her. They kept her from us for months at a time. How was I to know? Damn it, how was I to know? She never said anything because I taught them to accept their Alphas’ wishes— Oh God, why didn’t she tell me?” Seneca crumbles, her head falls to Faith’s bed, and she sobs inconsolably.

We all move into the room and take up a post against the wall by the door and my eyes narrow on the restroom door. Is she okay? I can feel her distress through our bond, and I assume it’s because she’s seen the state Faith is in and can hear her mother.

Faith lays unconscious on the bed. Her face is swollen with black and purple bruises on one side. If I didn’t know it was Faith, I wouldn’t be able to recognize her. Her head is partially covered in bandages, and there are actual handprints marring her neck. With her gown covering her body, who knows what scars she hides underneath. But what’s most noticeable is her wrapped wrists, the bandages stopping just shy of her elbows. No one should ever be made to feel that their only way out is through death. The fear and despair she must have felt, I can’t imagine.

“Where is Merce?” Nate whispers as he rubs at the center of his chest with a frown on his face, and I gesture to the closed restroom door. He nods then turns to whisper her location to Trey and Lox. I look over my shoulder just as three sets of eyes train on the restroom door. If she doesn’t come out soon, I am going to go get her myself, something feels off. Come on, baby.

“Sen, I won’t let you blame yourself. She’s my daughter as well. He convinced me and Benjamin also. We knew they were traditional in their beliefs, but I never thought they would do this to her. Lead her to want to. . .to . . .take herself away from us.” Edward’s voice falters, but he holds back his tears and looks over to where I’m standing with Nate, Knight, and Lox. His eyes narrow as he looks toward the door, but he turns his eyes back to us. “Christopher is not allowed in this building. I won’t allow him to hurt anyone else I love. As far as I’m concerned, he is no longer pack,” he says, his voice full of determination. I couldn’t agree more, Edward. I couldn’t agree more.

“I will make sure security knows this,” Lox says as he excuses himself from the room. I go to turn and follow him out, just in case one of us needs to find Dane to relay this information, but Edward’s words stop us both.

“Where’s Mercy? Did you leave her at home?” Edward’s question sucks all the oxygen out of the room, and I feel the world shift on its axis.

My unease, the anxiety I felt as we approached the room, slammed into me like a battering ram. My heart pounds in my ears and my adrenaline spikes. I don’t know what makes me rush to the restroom door and open it, I know she’s not there, but there is a part of me that hopes it was that simple. That it was a mistake; that they missed her coming into the room somehow. All a fantasy on my end.

Lox growls. “What do you mean? She is here. She arrived with us.” Lox’s eyes widen, then they shift to me. “No!” He turns and runs out of the room yelling at the security team to follow him.

“Fuck!” Trey and Nate shout as they turn and run out of the room to follow Lox.

“Knight?” Seneca calls out to me as I jog across the room. I pause at the doorway.

“Knight, where is Mercy?” Edward asks, his eyes wide with panic.

“She was with us. She ran ahead, I assumed she made it up here before us. When I saw the restroom door closed, I didn’t question it.” I hang my head because I’ve failed her yet again. Fuck. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure where she is. I can only hope she got lost on her way up, but I will find her.” I attempt to reassure them both, but I don’t stick around for their reply as I run down the hall in search of my mate as the sound of Seneca’s screams filter to me down the hall.

NINETEEN

MERCY

“Mercy!”

“Fuck, mouse, slow down!”

I hear Knight and Lox call my name, but I don’t hesitate as I slip and slide toward the entrance to the emergency room. I make it inside without wiping out and rush over to the reception desk. The nurse sitting in front of me looks up, then does a double take when she, I assume, recognizes me. I’m so used to flying under the radar, this easy recognition is going to take some getting used to.

“Miss Smooth, ah. . .ah. . . How can I help you?” she asks with a kind smile.

I lean in, not wanting to be overheard. “I am here to see Faith Douglas.” I cringe at the sound of her pack’s name as she begins to type on her computer, but I quickly throw out, “Ah, check Faith Smooth?” I question, hoping Dez changed her name back to our family’s pack name for discretion. I drum my hands on the desk and wait.

“Oh yes, Faith Smooth. She’s on the VIP floor,” she says quickly, then points me to the elevator down the hall. I turn to see if the guys have caught up yet, but I don’t see them. I almost stop to wait for them, not wanting a lecture about going somewhere without them, but I toss that thought out of my head as I thank the nurse and jog toward the elevators. I’m in a hospital, Dez is here, possibly my parents, so I am safe here.

The entire ride over, all I could think about was Faith and everything she had been through. I thought about every moment I saw her after she was mated and wondered why I didn’t question her more. I remember the day of my would-be mating ceremony and her cryptic statement about Alphas demands, urges, needs, and how I should be happy I was being mated to Alphas I knew and grew up with. If I knew then what I know now, I would have grabbed both of my sisters and ran.

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