Page 42 of Alpha's Redemption

“Wait! You have one vaccine left?” I ask.

“Yes, so?” John says.

“Give me the vaccine. I’ll see if any of our doctors can replicate it. If we can't, then go public as he wants.”

“I haven't got the money to fund a science team. Everly has seen my pack’s accounts,” John tells me.

“I’ll pay for it, but if you have to, go public. You out Nixon, you tell them everything. Even if you are involved in any of it, you go public. It will force him to hand the vaccine over to Claire and buy us some more time to prove a case against him,” I tell him, and I see Everly's head turn to look at me as she listens in on the conversation.

“Or better yet, we beat him at his own game—tell them about Claire, paint him as the hero and tell the city he promised to give her the vaccine free of charge. If he backs out, it will backfire on him. I know he won’t, and it gives us time to work out a cure while she receives treatment,” I tell John. I could hear him talking to Claire in a calm voice before returning to the discussion.

“I get seen going over there, Nixon will know we’re talking,” John says, and I look at Everly. We go over there, Nixon will definitely know—yet one of the rogues might be able to meet John somewhere.

“I’ll send Macey to the gas station near your place; give it to her,” I tell him and we discuss details of the time, etcetera. Everly uses my phone to call and gives Macey her father's number. Once we hang up, we wait.

ChapterTwenty

Everly

Macey drops the vial off later that night. However, when I hear the knock and open the door, I’m stunned to see Tatum with her. I knew they were close, but to see him with her so late at night makes me wonder if more is going on than them than just being friends with benefits. Macey, noticing my shock at seeing him, speaks.

“Oh, we weren't... Tatum just came with me… just in case.”

“You woke Tatum up at one in the morning to see my dad? You sure he wasn't already at your place?” I laugh, raising an eyebrow. I don't understand why she’s being so secretive about it. No one will care, but I know Macey still hates packs, so I wonder if it’s because he’s one of Valen's pack members. I let them in and walk into the kitchen to make coffee.

“Hey, Mace,” Valen says as he comes into the kitchen to help. Only then do I realize that by getting my hidden coffee out, Valen would see it. He snatches it off the counter.

“No caffeine. You're pregnant,” Valen growls, and I try to take it from him, but he holds it above his head.

“It’s basically morning. I’m tired, and I have to be up soon. So there is no point in me going to bed now,” I growl at him.

“You’ll make them come out with six heads,” he snarls. I shake my head at his logic. Caffeine is fine. Macey, taller than me, snatches it from him and sticks her tongue out at him, handing it to me.

“It won't hurt her. But why aren't you going to bed?” she asks. I point to all the files on the coffee table.

“Have a meeting with Dad's accountant tomorrow. I'm going over everything first to figure some shit out,” I tell her, and she sighs.

“Make me one; I can help.”

“Don't you have to get home to Taylor?”

“Nah, Mom has her,” Tatum says. I look at him and smirk before eyeing Macey, and her face heats.

“Just friends, huh? But his mom now has Taylor?” I ask, knowing Macey doesn't trust anyone with Taylor other than her own mother, brother, Zoe, and me.

“Oh, for Goddess’ sake, babe! Just tell her already,” Tatum says with a shake of his head. I look at Macey expectantly.

“Nothing! There is nothing to tell at all. Crystal is just babysitting because I had dinner with her,” Macey says, and Tatum growls.

“Macey is moving in with me. Mom has Taylor for a sleepover while I move all her crap. I filled a damn trailer with toys. Toys!” Tatum says, shaking his head. “I swear if there’s a Troll or Smurf toy on this earth Taylor doesn't have, I will eat my left kidney! Fucking crazy the amount of toys that girl has. We could use a break so we can move the rest tomorrow.”

“She doesn't have that many toys,” Macey says, rolling her eyes at him.

“We fit an entire living room in and bedroom in that trailer, Macey. She has too many toys. My house only has three bedrooms. One room will be just for all of her toys!”

I snicker at their quarrel. I know Macey spoils the crap out of Taylor. I do the same with Valarian, although he never asks for anything. That kid is limited in what he likes, so his toy hoard isn't even a quarter of what the girls have. He wants order, and regularly cleans out his toys to make room for new ones. However, when he does want something, he always gets it; same with Zoe.

I understand it. For so long, we scraped coins to make ends meet, and often that meant no toys and buying only the staples. So after the hotel kicked off, once we had money, we made up for lost time; we spent it on the kids, giving them what we couldn't before. I get it.

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