24. Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Pete

I t’s starting to get dark outside when Ezra finishes his shift for the day and comes to Lana’s office to find us.

Somehow, we managed not to test our girl’s patience too much after lunch.

I didn’t bring up checking those basement rooms out again.

I got one update on the security checks that are still being run.

A few of the guys have no links to anything shady.

Melvin wasn’t on that list of cleared names.

He’s still being checked into.

That doesn’t surprise me.

I would have been shocked if he was cleared as quickly as some of the others.

Putting a camera up in plain sight where there shouldn’t be one is fucking stupid.

I doubt he’s been smart enough to make sure nothing suspicious can be traced back to him.

It wouldn’t shock me to find an empty box for the camera in that tiny office he lives in when he’s on the academy grounds.

Shadow opens the door when he senses Ezra’s presence nearby.

They talk quietly over there, keeping their tones hushed enough that I can’t hear them at the sofas, so I know Lana won’t be able to pick up on what they’re saying either.

She’s still behind her desk, frowning at her computer screen and typing sporadically between bouts of sighing and little moments of rambling strings of curse-words spoken under her breath.

She’s under a lot of pressure, and she’s handling it well, but it feels like it’s also consuming her. She’s shown no signs of stopping since she went back to her desk and it’s a little after six p.m. now.

She sighs softly and gets to her feet. “Okay, I’m due a bathroom break and a cup of coffee. I’m assuming Dr. Clarke is here to bring you back to his suite …”

“You’re not getting rid of us that easily,” I cut her off, before she can try to shuffle us all out of the room. “Someone in this building is out to get you. You need someone at your side, around the clock.”

She shakes her head. “There’s been no real evidence of that, and I have a lot of work to get through. I can take care of myself. I don’t need a chaperone.”

I bite back on the urge to tell her what she does need.

Ezra wouldn’t be happy if I blurted out that she’s our mate.

“I don’t know about that,” I mutter. “Clearly, you need someone to remind you when you should be quitting for the day and eating a proper meal.”

Her eyes flash, and I almost wish I’d kept my mouth shut.

“What did you just say?” she asks, a warning note in her tone.

“I said you’re working too much, and you need to eat properly. You didn’t even finish your sandwich at lunchtime. If you think you’re doing a good job looking after yourself, I can tell you, you’re not.”

Her nostrils flare, and I can tell she’s ready to tell me where to go, or what to take a running leap off of, when Ezra clears his throat, loudly, capturing her attention and dousing her anger.

“You should head back to the suite,” Ezra tells me, putting a key in my hand. “Get some rest.”

I blink at him, freezing up physically at being told to do the opposite of what I want to, and unable to think up a reason to question my Alpha’s decision to make me leave the room.

Thankfully, our Omega realizes I’m not happy about it, and he makes a protest in my defence.

“Pete should talk to Owen when he gets here. It doesn’t make sense for him to leave.”

Ezra starts to frown before he lets out a sigh. “Fine. Wait outside the office.”

I nod stiffly before I leave the room.

Lana sighs wearily as I get to the door.

“I need to use the bathroom and then grab a coffee over in the medical wing. If someone wants to come stand outside the door, I’d prefer it was Ezra.”

It’s like a knife to my heart in the moment, but I realize she’s asking for him because he belongs there. She might have to explain me, since I don’t officially work for the academy yet, so I’m not wearing one of their uniforms.

I step out of the office and to the side of the door.

Shadow joins me, resting his head against my shoulder as we watch Ezra lead Lana out of the office. He lifts his head once they’ve crossed the hallway. Lana stops at the reception desk, says something to the Omega behind the desk, and the girl nods before getting to her feet and putting down her pen. The redhead glances at us and waves as she heads in the direction of the elevator. I don’t hear a ding, so I suspect she went into the corridor that’s past the elevator.

Lana and Ezra are just disappearing from sight into the medical wing’s corridor when I look back.

“She’ll feel better once she’s eaten something. You know women. They get hangry.”

“Says the guy who had two lunches and has been thinking about dinner for the past hour.”

He shrugs. “More like the past two hours. The service they do here is awesome. And there’s a lot of nice stuff in Ezra’s fridge, too. I could probably make something really good.”

Shadow is a phenomenal cook, when he’s in the mood to be.

When he’s not totally into it, he just burns everything.

I’d eat it either way, but he orders takeout when he burns dinner.

“Ezra can bring me a plate when it’s ready. I’ll be staying with Lana for the night.”

“Well, someone thinks he’s made a good impression,” Shadow murmurs.

“I mean I’ll be staying with her for her safety, Shadow. I know Ezra needs to be the one to tell her.”

“At least now, he will.”

I frown at him. “What?”

“Once Owen’s met her. You don’t think he’s going to talk to Lana before he talks to our other Alpha, do you?”

Damn. He’s right.

Ezra won’t want to reveal that until he’s sure about how all of us feel.

That probably means she’s not going to find out tonight.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Owen will be as interested in Lana as the rest of us are, but it wouldn’t be fair not to make sure first, and Ezra doesn’t do anything he doesn’t think is fair.

Having to spend all night around her without letting it slip doesn’t sound simple.

If she stays mad at me, it might be easy, but I’d rather not get off to a rocky start.

I start preparing my apology in my head while we wait for them to come back.