Page 61 of Dubious Match
“I’m wrapping food up for you,” Malcolm says as he starts walking me toward the kitchen.
“Um. I can’t have anything in my hands if I’m walking to the elevator,” I say apologetically.
Felix realizes that I may need to protect myself and almost trips on nothing.
“I’ll put it in my bag so you won’t have to,” Malcolm growls. “Is there a reason Emilia hasn’t been killed yet?”
“So bloodthirsty,” I tease him.
I don’t see Remy as I walk into the kitchen with Malcolm and Felix.
Brice takes a breath as he sees me and walks over to join us. “You’re going to sound like me soon if you’re not careful. Emilia Richardson is protected by Pack Domino along with other packs that prefer omegas to adhere to the old fashioned rules where they submit to alphas. These packs prefer arranged marriages tostrengthen the bonds between different families, so they want Emilia and ROWS to continue teaching this. I was doing some research on her last week when I couldn’t sleep.”
“Who are they?” Felix asks. “And exactly how did you find this out?”
“They’re packs that aren’t affiliated with the Irish mafia families,” I explain. “Pack Domino is actually an Italian pack that lives in Michigan. Emilia is the niece of Roberto Domino, and he dotes on her. No one wants to have them come to Minneapolis to make trouble, which means she’s untouchable for now. One day, she’s going to piss someone off, and none of her alliances will help her.”
Remy walks into the kitchen, and I see a little bit of lace peeking out of his pants. Damn, he found my panties! I really thought it would be Felix going to the bathroom to find them. Guess I was wrong.
“Hollis,” Malcolm murmurs, taking out a takeout container to fill it with food. “How do you know this?”
“The dark web,” I grumble, pulling my attention back to him. “However, we’ve been trying to figure out how she’s so protected, and now we know. I need to call Cian about it. I don’t know if he actually knows this and is keeping the information quiet, or if he’s as in the dark as I’ve been.”
“I really hate how sexy it is when you talk about illegal activities,” he sighs. I watch as he packs the container with rice noodles, chicken, and vegetables in a brown sauce that looks amazing. “You can nuke this and it’ll make for a nice late meal or even breakfast depending on when you get hungry. It’s well sealed so it’ll fit in that monstrosity of a Mary Poppins bag that you have.”
“I love my bag.” Shrugging, I admit to myself that it’s a giant tote but it works for me.
“You look both awake and rested,” Brice says knowingly as I blush.
“It’s exactly what I didn’t know I needed,” I tell him.
I suppose it’s true. I needed to know I was safe and I’ve been so keyed up with anxiety and stress that I also needed the orgasm.
Releasing control here and there may be necessary for my sanity, but I won’t tell Pack Ledger that quite yet.
Thirteen
MALCOLM
Smiling professionally at the pack in front of me, I check their name off. Now that I know some of what it took to make Forever Yours happen, I have so much respect for all of the moving cogs. I also can’t stop thinking about how Hollis looks when she comes and that’s making it difficult to keep my features neutral, despite the cold.
The move into November was like a siren’s call for the snow, and a light mist graces the gardens today. Hollis has her fingers crossed that it won’t get much colder, and that everyone remains in good spirits.
I don’t think she has anything to worry about with the intermittently spaced heaters that she has placed all over the event area.
“If you walk to the table behind me, Remy will get you your gift bag courtesy of the event, and then Felix will show you where you’ll be going,” I say.
“Great, thanks so much,” one of the alphas says, walking past me.
Everyone was given different times to arrive so that the front gate wouldn’t be flooded with people. As I work through those who are here, I can admit how smart that is. Brice has another checklist to help get everyone through with the same level of attention, and I know that Remy and Felix can handle anything that happens after people come through.
I saw Hollis for just a minute as she went over the plan again with us, and then she was dashing away to check on various things. The front of the gardens is beautiful, and I can see why she chose this location.
There’s a varied mixture of people that come through the gate, from those who are very well dressed, to those who have an alternate vibe. I’m honestly enjoying this, and the underlying excitement everyone seems to have.
Though I am surprised when two particular alphas appear in front of me.
“Lars and Caleb Finnegan,” the tall alpha with dark curly hair and thick glasses says, pretending not to know me.
