16. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Lana

T he trip from the basement back to my office is made in tension-drenched silence. My regular day was turned upside down by some unscrewed light bulbs and a single security camera, and now it seems that one of the men I’ve been trusting with the lives of everyone inside this building might be up to something.

It’s either that, or the hot new men I’ve just met are the ones messing with me.

Instinctively, I refuse to let that idea sink in.

I don’t know what makes it so hard to believe.

All I know about them is that they’re Dr. Clarke’s mates.

I may not know him very well, but what I do know tells me he’s a good man.

I doubt he could be mated to someone with a vastly different kind of moral compass.

Pete might have done time in prison, but that doesn’t mean he’s the same person he was when he did whatever he did to end up there.

Taking my seat behind my desk, I watch as Pete paces slowly around the room.

His gaze takes in everything from the file cabinets behind the visitor sofas and the accolades that have been on the wall since Geraldine was in charge.

He stops at the door to my left side, the one across from where I’m sitting.

“Where does this lead to?” he asks.

“Nowhere. It’s a storage closet.”

He cracks the door open and peers inside before closing it again.

Ignoring my overflowing inbox, I look up the paperwork we need to get his pack’s security team on the academy’s books, realizing he’s leaning against the closet door, staring at me when I finally find it and hit print. My desk printer makes some crunchy, angry noises as I stare back, trying to remember what I’m doing. Once the sheet of paper is ejected onto the desk, my recall comes back. I pick it up.

“I … um … You’ll need to fill this out, and I’ll need to file it in our system.”

“And then you can give me that list?” he asks.

“There’s probably an ethical argument against letting you have that information, but since there’s a genuine threat, I don’t think I can afford not to give you it.”

He moves forward and takes the form out of my hands.

“You seemed to have good reason to think someone might target you. I’m going to need the full details.”

Of course.

I sink back in my seat.

“It’s not me , exactly. It’s what I’m doing. The changes I’m making.”

“Got a pen?” he asks, putting the form down on the half-sized filing cabinet next to my desk.

I lean forward, grabbing one from my pen holder and passing it to him.

He takes it and nods. “Thanks.”

It’s not until he starts filling it out that he stops for a second and looks at me.

“Go on. What changes are you making?”

“Oh. Uh, well, it’s kind of a big job, but, basically, I’m changing the system here so we no longer need to answer to rich donors. Which means they no longer have any say in who we let into the academy or what kind of events we run to help the Omegas find their mates.”

“Wow,” he murmurs. “That’s … I’m just … Wow.”

“The upside is the Omegas have a guardian who’s actually looking out for them. The downside is a lot of people have a good reason to want a new head administrator put in place so things can go back to what they’re used to. Fortunately for me, I met a good lawyer, and she has my back. If anyone tries to sue, and they already have, we have standard information that tells them they have no rights to do so. “

“You should have a round-the-clock security detail,” he says, as he fills out the address part. “Those people who have good reason to be angry at you are rich, powerful sons of bitches. They don’t care about the same things that most people do, and they won’t hesitate to hurt anyone they see as standing in their way.”

He sets the pen down and straightens as he hands me back the form. “You realize you’ve got a big target on your back, and a large number of potential, credible threats to your life.”

“I wasn’t thinking about it like that,” I admit. “But I did when you asked if there might be a reason why someone might want to hurt me.”

“And you’re not thinking about stepping down from this position?”

I think about what he’s saying, and I think about the hundred Omegas who are counting on me to make sure they get a real shot to find their fated mates, or to find the thing they’re meant to be doing with their lives.

Brooke’s face pops into my head, and I know the answer.

“I have a friend,” I start, stopping and shaking my head. “She might be more than a friend, but that’s complicated, and it’s beside the point. She fought against her own father to be released and to get the chance to be with her fated mates. This place was killing her. She would have given anything for the shot I can give every one of the hundred Omegas who are under my care right now. This change was needed so badly, and everything that happened to get the academy to this point … It’s time. It had to be me, and it had to be now. No matter the consequences.”

“This friend who might be more than a friend,” he starts. “She also has mates?”

“I told you it was complicated. That ship might have sailed, but I’ll always love her.”

“You’re sure you have to be the one to do this?” he asks.

“I don’t think it can be anyone else,” I admit. “The previous heads were all corrupt, and I’d bet my last dollar the donors would find another one of their messed up buddies to take my place if I stepped down. They’d reverse as much as they could and have this place back up and running like it’s an elite brothel in no time.”

He sighs.

“Are you going to call me crazy?”

“You’re not crazy. You’re brave. It’s not the same thing, but it’s damn close.”

“I was just in the right place at the right time.”

He laughs. “You have no idea the kind of guts it takes to do what you’re doing. You’re so like Ezra. Doing the right thing no matter what it costs you.”

“There’s nothing wrong with doing the right thing.”

“There can be,” he murmurs.

It sounds like there’s a story there.

But a second later, he blinks, and I can tell he’s got something else on his mind.

“That list,” he requests.

“Right,” I confirm.

I place the form he filled out on the scanner and pull the file through to the recruitment database. As soon as it registers, I pull the list of existing security staff.

It prints off on a single sheet of paper.

Names, addresses, contact phone numbers and email addresses.

I hand it over to Pete without hesitating.

He nods as he reads it over.

“This’ll work.”