Page 62 of Stolen Omega

“This place,” I tell him, motioning at the sign. “What, you don’t think I should buy a murder house?”

“I don’t think we should buy a house in this neighborhood,” he admits, as he gives it another look over. “But you can look up the listing online while we head back to the hotel. The Ortegas are on their way there.”

Shit. We’ve been summoned.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Archer

Instinctively, I want to ignore Zelena’s parents, and continue our own search. Unfortunately, recent events have led me to reconsider trusting my instincts too closely. Thinking things through before I act is my go-to move now, and that move in this situation is telling me we’ll get the chance to find out what the cops know if we play this by the book.

I’m willing to reconsider that move again later, dependent on what else happens between times, but for now it’s the smartest thing we can do.

Russ has been quiet since we got back on the road, but he clears his throat and glances at me when we get back into the city. “You think the cops will know any more than we do?”

“Hopefully they do,” I tell him. “If not, we’ll have made contact and that could be helpful later.”

“Later?” he asks. “I’m already worried about how long she’s been gone.”

“I know. I am too.”

That’s why I offered Seth more money to try and crack the encryption on that payment that was sent to Castle. He said he would try, but that he couldn’t make any promises.

I have faith in his skills, but I also know I might have given him an impossible task.

There are no other options right now. We seriously need the name of the guy who bankrolled this abduction. Whoever paid Castle is the kidnapper, and we have no other leads to chase down.

I doubt the driver is the guy we’re really looking for.

This feels like an Alpha move, which could even be why the kidnapper had one of his lackey’s drive the van out of that parking lot.

If he spoke to Castle in advance to arrange the payment, he would have been sure to get his intel at the same time. So, he’d know the driver couldn’t be an Alpha, because that would breach protocol.

“Zelena’s bedroom probably smells like a nest,” Russ blurts suddenly. “If they check her suite, her parents will know she perfumed. They’ll know she’s close to her heat!”

“We can’t think about what happens after we get her back,” I warn him. “Not now. It doesn’t matter.”

“But what do you think will happen if they find out one of your team claimed their daughter?”

It takes me a second to understand why he’s worried about that.

Her contract only relates to her heats, which haven’t actually started yet, though that could probably be debated now that her perfume has arrived. That’s not really the point he’s making though.

“You think they might use it to fire me?” I ask, kind of amused at the thought of that. They already have more than enough leverage to fire me over what I allowed to happen tonight.

“I mean … They don’t want their daughter mated to anyone, and now she is.”

He’s actually worried about this. Or he’s deflecting his worry over Zelena to it, at least.

“They don’t know that, okay?” I reassure him. “You and I know we’re Zelena’s true mates. No one else knows that, and no one else needs to know until the time is right. Zelena’s a grown woman, and theoretically, if she wants to … have a little fun while she’s on tour, who’s to tell her she can’t?”

Who knows if her parents would understand that, but considering they’re not overly concerned with their daughter’s wellbeing, I doubt they’d be too worried if she’s having casual sex. They only seem to be worried about her forming permanent attachments.

“They’ll know I was the one she was with, Archer. I was in her room with her last night.”

He was, and I can understand why he’s concerned about it, but ultimately it doesn’t matter.

“Do you think you can’t lie to them?” I ask, glancing at him.

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