Page 90 of Alpha's Redemption

“Great, see you soon,” I tell her. We have a whole houseful at the moment—both our fathers are with us, as well as Macey and Taylor, plus Casey, and probably Zoe and Marcus soon, depending on how comfortable they are with going home. I text Derrick and Dion, who say they’ll head out now, then wander into the kitchen where my father is preparing food for dinner.

“Macey is grabbing Chinese,” I tell him, and he sighs.

“Thank the Goddess! I was trying to think of what to make and was about to send John grocery shopping.”

I try to picture that. I’m sure he’s shopped before, but to shop for this many would be a nightmare.

“What's up? Everly okay?”

“Yeah, just tired. I've been thinking of moving everyone to the main packhouse. It’s been sitting empty for months and it has more space than here,” I tell him.

“If it’s too much, I can take John, Macey, and Taylor with me.”

“No, it’s fine. I think Everly likes everyone in one place at the moment, and I know she’s worried about her father, even though she won't admit it.”

“Yeah, he feels guilty about Claire, Ava, and Zoe,” Dad tells me.

“Where is he anyway?”

“I think he’s doing puzzles with the kids,” Dad says with a shrug. “I know you don't like him, but he’s her father, and we’ve all done some shit that we wish we could take back, son.”

“I know, and I don't hate him. I'm just worried that if something happens to him it might be Everly's tipping point.”

“Ah,” he murmurs, turning the kettle on.

“Anyway, I was talking to John. He confessed something to me earlier,” Dad tells me, and I raise an eyebrow, leaning on the counter.

“John banished Carter's mother from the city. She didn't leave because of Nixon.”

“What?”

Dad nods. “Yeah. Claire threatened to leave him if he didn't because they were close; Rachel was her cousin. So he banished Leah, but when he banished her and ordered her out, she had Nixon's daughter with her. John let Nixon believe she ran off with his daughter, but she didn't. He said he felt guilty about it, but he couldn't find her once she was gone. He and Nixon had a rocky relationship as it was, with business dealings falling through, so he didn't tell him,” my father tells me.

So Doc was right, there was more to the story.

“Anything else?”

“No, that’s all,” he says when my phone rings. I pull it from my pocket and see it’s Derrick.

I answer it quickly, turning and leaning against the counter. Except, it’s Dion's voice that comes through the other end.

“We got him.”

“Got who?”

“Micah,” Dion tells me just as I hear a crash in the background.

“I'll be down soon,” I tell him, getting ready to hang up.

“Hold on, Derrick wants to speak to you,” Dion says, and I wait for Derrick to beg for his son as I hear the phone exchange hands.

“Pick up Marcus on the way,” Derrick says before hanging up.

That wasn't what I was expecting. “I need to go.”

“I heard. I’ll keep an eye on Everly,” Dad says, and I nod my head.

As I walk down the hall, I stick my head into one of the rooms to see the kids playing with John.

---