Page 61 of The Beta: Part Two
“Wait, sweet boy, there's more.” I pull out my phone and send him the pictures I took of myself, strategically arranged on my bed wearing just the panties. In one of the pictures, I have my hand just barely tucked into the front of the panties, giving the impression that I was touching myself.
“You're an asshole,” he mutters, then to the others in the front of the cab, “she's a fucking asshole. I don't want to sit back here anymore. She's a goddamned tease.”
I see Reid's lips twitch in the rear view mirror as Corso pretends to reprimand me. “Talia, don't be so mean to Alex. He doesn't deserve to be tortured. Sit nicely with him and we can stop for ice cream on the way.”
“Fuck you, Corso. We are not stopping for ice cream. I won't survive it. Look at these fucking pictures.” Alex taps on his phone, and Corso sucks in a breath when he gets them.
“No, you're right. No ice cream. You're a terror, bella.”
I grin over at Alex and find him bringing my panties to his nose. He's not even embarrassed.
We ride along, behaving ourselves and listening to Reid's classical piano playlist for over an hour. I'm just starting to see the landmarks that tell me we're getting close to the farmhouse when I get a call from Jasper.
“Talia?”
Something is very, very wrong. His voice is quiet and strained, and I can feel his wretched urgency. “What's wrong, Jasper? What happened?”
I think I'm going to be sick.
“They came back. They took them. They took my alphas. I think Devon's dead. He's gone.”His voice is shaking now. I can hear how hard he's trying to hold himself together.
“We're coming. We'll be there soon. Where are you in the house?”
“The freezer.”I've never been more grateful for a walk-in freezer in my life, I'm also grateful that he's got enough signal to make the call.
“Okay, princess. I'm coming. Stay on the phone with me, keep talking. Have they left? Is Devon with you?” I can't imagine Devon letting anyone kill him; and I can't let myself imagine him slumped on the floor dying or dead, either.
“I think they're gone. Devon went upstairs. I can't leave the freezer. He gave an order. I tried, I can't even open the door.”He chokes on a sob.
“Listen to me, princess. If Devon's order is still holding then he isn't dead. We'll get your alphas back. Everything will be alright. I'm coming.”
Chapter nineteen
Jasper
I don't think I can let go of Reid's hand. Even if I wanted to. Talia burst into the freezer a while ago, trying desperately to calm her expression. That's how I know how bad the situation is, she couldn't. She couldn't make her face do anything but show a deep, snarling scowl of both worry and rage. Mostly rage. Talia goes straight to anger most of the time. Not me, though. Not this time. I've gone from horror to sorrow to rage, and now I'm mostly numb. Numb or not, I can't stop the grip I have on Reid's hand.
He's holding mine just as hard as I'm holding his. He's also purring. For me. He offered to hold me in his lap, but I refused. I wanted to be able to move quick if we need to leave or if Devon calls for me. Reid gave me a firm look, but didn't press it; and he made sure I knew the offer was on the table anytime I need it. And I might.
Devon isn't dead. Just very, very close. I knew the moment he lost consciousness because I felt the hold his order had on me dissolve. I made it to the top of the stairs before Talia plowed into me, holding me around the waist and refusing to let me get past her. That's another reason I knew it was bad with Devon. She wouldn't let me go to him.
The medic team is here now loading him into their van. Talia snuck me into the kitchen so I could see him take a breath with my own eyes before she ushered me into my room with Reid in tow. She made me promise to stay with Reid no matter what, and that she was going to make sure Devon was safely strapped down in the medic van before she'd let them take him. I think that's when I started going into shock because I didn't fight to go to the hospital with him.
Reid's purr increases and I feel my eyelids droop a little. “You don't have to do that. I'm alright.”
He squeezes my hands in his and presses his warm palm against my forehead with his other hand. “No, Jasper, you are not. You are my omega to take care of, and you are not alright. Besides, if I don't do every single thing I can think of to comfort you Talia will have my balls. She'll have yours, too, if you don't let me. Are you uncomfortable with me? Would you prefer one of the others?”
No, I don't think I would. Reid smells like when we took a trip to the beach a few years ago, sand, saltwater, and sunshine; and his purr vibrates so deep that I almost feel it in my own chest. Besides, Corso and Alex are combing the house with the team that Elizabet sent the second Talia called her.
Elizabet Graves herself is going to the hospital where Devon will be to put the fear of death into the staff there. If they don't get Devon up, running, and well within whatever time frame she has in mind they'll regret it. And her dads, Alpha Reynes and Alpha Colton, will be there to help guard him until his own family can get there.
“Jasper.” Reid's deep, rumbling voice cuts into the sludge of my thought process. “Look at me, Jasper.”
I look right into his face. He doesn't feel like my alpha. Not yet. He hasn't marked me as part of his pack, and he certainly hasn't marked or claimed me as his omega, but we all agreed that we were one pack. So, official or not, he's my alpha.
He holds my gaze for several long moments and his lips tighten. “Corso,” he barks.
A minute later, Corso strides into my room scenting the air. He goes to his knees right in front of me where I'm sitting on the edge of my bed and holds my face in both his hands. Corso's fingers are long, I can feel how they reach from my jawbone all the way past my cheekbones and to my temples. He doesn't like whatever he sees. “They've just left with Devon. I watched Talia check the straps on the stretcher. He's going to the hospital, and Elizabet will be there before he ever realizes he's waking up. We're going to take you home. I know you'd rather stay here, but it isn't safe. I won't put you or Talia at further risk. Alex is gathering bedding and suitcases.”
