Page 78 of Where There's Smoke
“I’m calling my brother,” she said, raising the phone to her ear.
“The brother you just kicked out?”
Melody huffed. “No, the one who probably spilled the beans to our parents about me being an omega and caused this whole problem.” She tapped her foot impatiently as the phone rang.
Thankfully, she put it on speaker, so when Chord’s voice rang out with a “Hello?” we all heard him.
“What the hell did you tell our parents?” Melody snapped.
“Oh, shit. Did they call you? I was talking to Reed the other day, and I accidentally let it slip that you’re an omega. It was a complete accident. I was talking about a case I was doing with an omega and totally spaced. I told him to keep his trap shut—but I guess he didn’t.”
“Jesus, Chord. I don’t know if he listened, but Idoknow he just turned up at the fire station,insistingI go home,” Melody said.
“Wait—really? Why the hell would he do that?” Chord asked.
“I have no idea, but he was spewing nonsense about how omegas are meant to be protected by their families. Like I’d trustourparents to take care of me,” she growled.
“I’m so sorry, Melody. Do you want me to come back out there—keep an eye on things if Reed’s still around?” he offered.
Melody shook her head, glancing at the three of us. “No. I think I’m pretty well protected by my pack.”
My chest tightened and expanded all at once, like it was going to explode. Melody had just referred to us asher pack. No words had ever sounded so fabulously fucking amazing.
I wanted to hear her say it again. And again.
“We’ll take care of her,” I said, raising my voice so Chord could hear through the speaker.
Chord chuckled. “I have no doubt. You’ll do a better job protecting her than I ever could. But if you need anything—or just want to chat about how shitty our family is—call me. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Thanks. But don’t you have a fiancée to look after?” Melody smiled. “How’s Lilia doing?”
“Cranky, but happy. The morning sickness is still pretty bad, but she’s finding some foods that help.”
“Good. Make sure you’re taking care of her. I want to snuggle my future niece or nephew soon,” Melody said.
“I’m really sorry this happened, Melly. Hopefully, it was just a shock to the family, and they’ll stop bothering you soon.”
Watching Melody, I saw her shoulders slump, all of her visibly deflating. “I assume it’s wishful thinking to hope our parentsdon’tknow yet?”
Chord snorted. “Come on. You and I both know—if Reed knows something,theyknow something.”
“The perks of being the golden child.” Melody laughed, but there was little humor in it, and I could tell she was stressed.
“Your brother some big-shot lawyer or something? I feel like I’ve seen him before.” Melody looked up at me as the line hung with a brief note of silence.
In tandem, the siblings replied, “No.”
Melody shook her head, smiling at me when I raised my brows. “He’s a big deal back home as a lawstudent. I don’t know why you would have seen him around here. He doesn’t travel this way often, if ever, but he has assisted with some high-profile cases in the past year. Maybe you saw him with the lawyers of his firm?”
“Yeah, he hasn’t taken the bar yet,” Chord added. “But hey, I need to get going. Are you sure you’re all right?”
I stopped listening intently as Melody and her brother said goodbye, my mind churning over where I’d see that slimy asshole before. I knew I had. Had he been involved with one of the arson cases that crossed state lines? No, it couldn’t be that. We were clear on the other side of the country, and none had taken place on the East Coast. Had I seen him on a news report in the background while the real lawyers did their jobs?
“Bye, Chord.” Melody stuffed her phone into her pocket, sighing. “I need a fucking break. That was too much, and I’m going to lie down.”
“We’ll come with you.” Fitz hurried to say. “We’ve always got your back.”
As Melody padded back to her room, smiling through the stress with Sam and Fitz hot on her heels, it finally hit me where I had seen Reed Smoke before.
