Page 56 of Verses and Blooms
“No,” he said solemnly. “You’re right. My daughter wasn’t there, and I don’t expect you to have all the answers for me.” His eyes implored me to believe him, and I truly did. He was just a desperate father searching for any leads he could find. Who could fault him for that? I’d kill for a father that devoted.
“I understand, Chief,” I said, but he waved it off.
“I think we’re past honorifics right now. You can call me David.”
It felt strange to refer to him that way, but I nodded, letting him know I understood. I was more interested in finding out what else he wanted to know.
“We may as well get this out of the way,” he sighed, passing over a folder. “I just want you to take a peek, Audrey. I’m not expecting a miracle here, but if you could just give me your thoughts, your memories, anything you have, as you sort through that.”
“In the meantime, let’s eat,” Ares said, as if I’d be able to. The moment I opened this folder, I’d be facing my past head-on. I knew the images would be haunting, the words revolting enough to sour my stomach, but what choice did I have?
I had a feeling that if I refused and walked away, the Chief wouldn’t hold it against me. That wasn’t my style, though.I couldn’t subject his daughter to that place any longer if I possibly held the key to finding her.
Plus, all the other omegas and betas I knew they’d find.
My stomach was a bundle of nerves, my hands shaking as I carefully opened the envelope. I couldn’t seem to force my eyes to glance down at the page, though.
Every bond I had with my pack instantly pushed reassurance toward me. I felt stronger with them here and I could practically feel their claiming bite marks burning as they made their presence known.
The message was loud and clear.I wasn’t alone.
With one final breath, I looked down at the page. It was a dossier, page after page of them for each of the men they thought were involved.
“We obviously know who your captor was, and we’re looking for him, especially after what he did to you and Jameson.”
I nodded as I looked at all the faces and read the list of crimes under each one. The girls still on the inside deserved for me to take this slow and careful, making sure not a single word was left unread just in case.
The first page was a list of potential names and locations. Clearly, they were still working on hunting down each of the suspects and gathering as much information as they could. Each document after that held pictures, schedules, aliases, family, the works.
They were thorough, even if they were slow.
I couldn’t understand why they waited so long to infiltrate these places knowing what secrets they held. Men like Seamus got away with murder and torture while the Alliance danced around the red tape.
The men on these pages were absolute monsters. Men who reveled in the pain and submission of each of the omegas andbetas they locked away. Found pleasure and greed each time they tormented us then sold us for a few nights or for good.
Though, it seemed Seamus wasn’t very good at the last part.
I’d spent long nights listening to the screams, the cries for help and horror, the gleeful laughter from the officers who thought they owned the world and everything in it.
“This man,” I said, pointing to a face burned into my memory. “He was the first to bite me. He was close with my captor, Seamus. One of his trusted buyers who would spend money just to have a few nights with us.”
I couldn’t bring myself to use his name. He was a monster and didn’t deserve one as far as I was concerned.
The memories flared, hands roaming over me that I didn’t ask for. Spit hitting my face as he screamed at me that I was a useless omega. Barked commands that did nothing to force my body to comply.
He was weak, pathetic.
“When the bites didn’t work, he beat me within an inch of my life. Not that it took much back then. He told me I was useless, a bad omega. After that, I was thrown in my cell to ride off the rest of the medication. I guess I took too long to recover. I remember waking up to icy water being dumped all over me. Their version of a bath. Then injected with those godforsaken meds all over again.”
No one said anything, but I could feel the anger and disgust pulsing in the air as I continued. At this point, I couldn’t seem to stop. They should all know the depth of what we were facing here.
I found another face. “This one was a guard. He was always with Seamus. Sometimes he brought me to the men, or sometimes he brought the men to me, depending on what they paid for. I suppose he’s just as guilty. He watched every single second they spent with me.”
“Noted,” the Chief said as evenly as he could. There was an undercurrent of fury in his words he couldn’t fully hide. “I’ll make sure he pays.”
It continued on like that as I flipped through the list of suspects, marking the ones I knew were there. They already had the faces. I doubted this was helpful, but I didn’t rush myself, naming them one by one and listing the crimes I’d witnessed or endured in detail.
The chief marked each one in his notebook, his pen scratching away as I spoke. He was taking this seriously and I found relief in the fact he’d use my words against them.
