Chapter 29

Prowling through the house, I go through my mental list of things to do. Aisling is on her way to hang out with Flynn and Wren. I found out that tonight we’ll be publicly executing Crowson, so her father will be in attendance. He formally thanked me for taking such good care of his daughter, but the omega is just fun to be around.

She’s an awesome friend and business partner to Wren too.

“You’re stressing,” Everest says wryly as I stalk past him again. I have an open bag in the hallway, and I keep throwing in tools of my trade inside.

I’m not the only one, either. Ambrose is packing his favorite torture items as well, because we’re going to be in one of the warehouses in the main area tonight. The families are united in seeing the traitor tortured and executed, no longer vaguely interested in hearing his side of things because he went too far.

Even if omegas weren’t sacred for us, Flynn is well liked by the mafia families, even if he rarely ventures out for events.

“Yep. No one expects performance anxiety when they’re flaying the flesh off a person’s bones, but it is what it is,” I mutter.

“Let’s play a game,” Amb says wickedly as he walks toward me without his filled duffle bag. “First one to make someone puke tonight wins.”

Snorting out a laugh, I nod. “Fuck, I love you,” I tell him. “This is better than imagining everyone naked.”

“We’re the only assholes you get to see naked,” Everest teases me.

“Well I hope so,” says Wren, surprising me as I turn to see her in the hallway. “Is this going to be dangerous?”

“No, Sweetness,” I tell her with a smile. “It’s going to be a little peoplely since we’ll have an audience, but it’s a pretty straightforward torture session for information and then an execution.”

“Good,” she says with a nod. “Flynn decided to make pizza from scratch instead of ordering in, so he is getting his dough ready now. He doesn’t seem worried, but I didn’t know if I should be.”

“Nope,” I say with a grin. My phone buzzes to alert me that Aisling is at the gate, and I pull it out to check it before I hit the button so it’ll open. “Aisling is coming up the drive, so as soon as she’s here, we’ll head out.”

Nodding, Wren steps into my arms to hug me. Immediately, I squeeze her back, purring in contentment. My omega relaxes into me, showing how nervous she is about this. Surrounding us, Everest and Amb wrap their arms around us, cocooning us as they purr.

Wren completely melts with a sigh of relief, and I can feel her anxiety disappear.

“Better?” I ask her, kissing the top of her head.

“Thank you. Yeah, I just feel off and uneasy,” she says, scrunching her nose at me. Rubbing my hands up her arms to see if she feels warm, I keep my expression neutral as I find she’s not.

I’ll have to keep an eye on her, though her heat may very well link up with Flynn’s. Wren could also simply nest for longer and feel extra needy, because she hasn’t been able to do that before. Forcing myself to inhale the scent of my pack, I remind myself that all of this is in the past. We’re building our life together in the present.

The doorbell rings, making me sigh. Ugh, I don’t want to move yet.

“You good, honey?” Ambrose rumbles, kissing her next. Whimpering, she nods, but I notice the way she rubs her thighs together for friction. Poor little omega hasn’t been knotted since yesterday.

She’s such a cute little brat.

“Yes,” Wren breathes. “This helped.”

Amb meets my gaze, and I shake my head.

“Let’s go let Aisling in before she starts blowing up my phone,” I tease her, and we all step away from her. I made sure she could contact all of us, just in case.

Following Wren to the front door with our bags, we kiss Flynn goodbye, who was pulled out of the kitchen by the sound of the bell.

“It’s Aisling,” Flynn murmurs against my lips as Wren opens the door.

“I know, baby boy,” I say, devouring his lips one more time. Damn, this is one of those times that I would be much happier staying at home. Usually I’m all for scratching the itch to kill people.

At least I’m not on clean up duty tonight. I just have to clean up my own toys and have a heart to heart with my boss about how we can’t be his main enforcers anymore. Fuck, this is gonna suck.

When Flynn whines, I pull away.

“We’ll be fine,” I remind him and myself, turning to face Aisling.

After she hugs Wren hello, she pulls away to point at me.

“You,” Aisling practically growls, making me raise my brows.

“Fuck, what did I do, Aisling?” I ask her, giving her a signature smirk.

“Don’t pretend,” she snarls, dropping her overnight bag on the floor. I kind of forgot she was spending the night, which shows how out of it I’ve been today.

“I really don’t?—”

Aisling cuts me off as she stalks past Wren, glaring up at me.

“Did you know my father is single again?” she asks.

“I have no idea how that could have happened,” I tell her, completely unable to hold back my grin. I may have gotten in the man’s ear about how his girlfriend has been treating Aisling when I called him.

I meant it when I said that I protect our people.

“Thank you,” Aisling says, clasping her hands in front of herself. “You really didn’t have to do that.”

“We protect our own,” I tell her. “Even from body shaming betas.”

“Fuck yes,” she giggles. “I feel slightly bad, though.”

“You shouldn’t,” Amb says, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder. “Your father is much better off. He dodged a bullet.”

Nodding, we say goodbye to our omegas and Aisling, trudging out to the car.

“Alright boys, let’s get this over with. It’s gonna be a long fucking night,” I say, sighing.

“I packed acid and the traitor brand,” Amb says with a wink as he tosses his bag in the back seat.

“Fuck yeah!” Everest whoops, helping boost my spirits.

“Sounds like a party,” I admit, getting into the SUV as they climb in too.

If this is going to be one of our last big torture jobs for the boss, we may as well go out in style.

The house feels really quiet now that my alphas are gone.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I say with a smile. “I decided to make pizza from scratch and chocolate chunk brownies. Want to come hang out in the kitchen while I cook?”

“Absolutely,” she says with a grin. “Where should I leave this?”

Aisling gestures to her bag, and I point to a chair.

“Drop it there, and I’ll show you to your room later. It’s possible we may all decide to crash in the living room,” I say.

“Hmm. A slumber party on those couches sounds fun,” Wren says with a nod.

“Done, I’m in. I don’t really love the idea of sleeping alone tonight,” Aisling explains.

“They’ll be gone awhile,” I tell her. “The couch turns into a giant bed for movies.”

“Does it really?” Wren gasps. Smirking, I chuckle. Things have been so crazy, we haven’t had a proper movie night yet.

“Oh yeah. It’s one of the reasons I decided to get it,” I reveal as we walk back to the kitchen. “Wine?”

Aisling accepts, despite not being at all legal, but I don’t really care about that. Wren bites her lip as if she’s not sure, making me smile.

“Do you want to try a little?” I ask her. “I have a sweeter one you may like.”

“Okay,” she accepts.

Soon, I’m making two large pizzas with different toppings, sipping on my own wine as we chat. There’s still light in the sky, and Aisling stares out at the garden.

“I’ll set a timer on the pizzas,” I decide. “Let me put them in the oven, and we’ll go swing in the tree.”

“How old are we, Flynn?” Aisling asks, but there’s excitement in her gaze when she glances over at me.

“Who cares, it’s so nice outside, and the swing is big enough for three to hang out,” Wren says with a shrug.

“Yep,” I agree, putting the pizzas in the oven. Picking up my phone, I set a timer, drinking the last sip of my wine. “To the swing!”

Aisling snickers as we walk outside, her head tipping back to enjoy the sunshine, her long blonde hair curling down her back.

“It’s so odd being eighteen when I feel as if I’ve lived a lifetime,” she admits. “You guys remind me to just live in the moment.”

“There’s no one here to hurt you, sneak up, or pull out the rug from under you,” Wren says, understanding. “It’s a really odd feeling when you’re used to being on edge.”

“Yes!” Aisling exclaims. I was a little on edge after being kidnapped with Wren, but we’re completely safe here. There’s miles of our land that’s unoccupied.

Everest has slowly been planting more flowers and hanging plants, and the backyard looks like an oasis of beauty. Wren crawls up into the swing laying back, while Aisling shrugs. I can see the exact moment she decides to say ‘fuck it’ and just be.

Jumping into the swing with her long legs, she looks over her shoulder at me.

“Do you want to be in the middle or have the outside corner?” Aisling asks. Pursing her lips, she looks at Wren, as if to figure out which is the better option.

“Flynn, come snuggle in the middle,” my omega says with a giggle, unbothered. Some omegas can be very territorial, and while Wren is with others, Aisling is safe.

“I guess I’m the filling,” I snicker, getting into the swing. Settling next to each other, we watch the clouds, playing a game of what animal each one looks like.

“I think you guys are the best thing about being in Minnesota,” Aisling says contently as we sway slowly. The food is going to be ready soon, but I don’t want to move.

I’m way too comfortable.

“What about your dad?” I ask her. Cian Reynolds is a burly alpha, with a big voice. He’s always been nice to me whenever he’s seen me at events when I decide to go.

“It’s hard when we haven’t known each other for long,” she admits. “I think he misses the time we lost, and he’s very protective, but I think that’s to be expected. The world isn’t kind, as we all know.”

“He seems to care about you,” Wren says almost wistfully. Threading my fingers through hers, I hold her hand as we sway together.

“No, he absolutely does,” Aisling agrees. “I’m so used to doing everything myself, we’re trying to figure out our way. He wants me to tell him where I’ll be and for how long, while I’m used to going wherever I please.”

“Boundaries are hard,” I chuckle. “You’re eighteen, which is still very young, but you’ve been taking care of yourself for much longer.”

“Yes!” she exclaims. “On the other hand, he wants me to allow alphas to court me, and I’m dragging my feet.”

“Personal question? You’re welcome to tell me to go fuck myself,” I tell her, making Wren and Aisling smirk.

“Go for it,” she says, granting permission for me to be nosey.

“Have you had your first heat yet?” I ask her.

“Nope,” Aisling says. “I didn’t eat much the last two years because I was always barely breaking even, which made my body stave off my heat, I think.”

Nodding, I think about how normal that is. “I started dating around eighteen,” I tell her. “Pack Mohan was the first pack I met.”

“How fortuitous,” she murmurs. “Maybe I’ll reach out to Hollis and go through her dating service. I’ll call it homework for what the steps are, so I can see how they can be applied for our Center. Someone should properly go through the process to address any concerns, it may as well be me.”

The omega doth protests too much.

“That’s very noble of you,” I say before I break out into laughter. Aisling elbows me as she snorts, while Wren buries her face in my shoulder as she snickers. Together, we crack up under the sky as the sun slowly starts its descent.

We’re interrupted by my phone alarm, signaling that the pizza is ready. The wiggling and rolling necessary to get out of the swing is hysterical, but finally we’re on our feet, my alarm is switched off, and we head inside.

“I insist on getting all of the details on your dating experiment,” I say as I pull the oven door open to slide out the pizza trays.

“You’ll get a blow by blow experience,” Aisling promises. We clearly have a case of the giggles, because the three of us fall apart laughing.

Damn, this is one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time already, and the sun is just starting to disappear behind the trees.

Who would have thought I needed more estrogen in my life?

Mafia families have their own way of doing things. Thankfully we’re not stuffy when it comes to doling out punishments.

The heads of the families stand in the warehouse, ready to bear witness to Crowson Murphy’s sins. The man of the hour is stripped naked to his boxers, strung up on chains. Shaw, Everest, and I stand in black masks that forever smile, wearing only our jeans. We decided it would be easier to clean up later this way.

Shaw steps forward, making the first cut across his chest with a sharp knife.

“You’ve been found wanting by our court of law, even as lawless as we are,” he intones.

Smirking, I stab Crowson in the fleshy area of his thigh, ensuring that I miss all major arteries. It still hurts, judging by his hiss of pain.

“You turned your back on your brother due to greed, and now you will suffer as we are tasked with finding out how deep your betrayal lies,” I state.

Twisting the knife deep into his thigh, I smirk as he grits his teeth. It”ll only get worse from here.

Picking up the brand, Everest heats it with the blow torch he packed. All Crowson can see are vacant eyes and wide smiles, and I see the exact moment he begins to lose his nerve.

“Corbin!” he roars. Crowson can’t see his brother because the spotlight over his head is so bright, which is being done on purpose. He doesn’t get to beg for a reprieve.

Not after what he did.

“Your brother can’t help you,” Everest taunts, waving the blowtorch over the brand theatrically.

One of the alphas clears his throat uncomfortably, but Everest ignores him, waiting until the brand is red hot before he presses it against Crowson’s chest.

The alpha screams, losing control of his bladder as I snicker.

Perfect. We’re just getting started.

Together, Everest, Shaw, and I pull information from Crowson as we have our fun torturing him. We find out that he had had plans to poison the family water wells, sell certain omega daughters into the auctions, and lace the alpha pheromone blockers we create and sell with large quantities of fentanyl.

Crowson wanted to destroy us, and everyone we associate with.

Slowly, we lose members of our audience as we leave our humanity at the door. We have a job to do, and squeamish alphas don’t fit our duties. The killer in me is demanding bloodshed and violence, and won’t stop until I get it.

I can tell my pack brothers feel the same as we take turns exacting our pounds of flesh. The acid is a fun touch as I pull down Crowson’s boxers, pouring it all over his cock and knot.

“You’ll never need these again,” I say in a sing-song voice. The smell is terrible, and an alpha stumbles out of the warehouse to puke.

Fuck yeah.

Glancing at Shaw, he nods. We have all the information we need, now it’s time to see if Corbin has anything to ask him. We’ve been torturing his brother for the past six hours, keeping him awake and conscious.

“Corbin, do you want to ask him anything before we end this?” Shaw asks.

Stepping forward, Corbin stares dispassionately at his brother.

“Was all of this worth it?” he rasps. “We both lost Hillary, you fucking bastard.”

“You didn’t lose your mind the way I did!” Crowson roars. “Why?! Did you not love her enough?”

“Hillary was my entire world,” Corbin whispers. “I have responsibilities that wouldn’t allow me to fall apart.”

I remember the nights we pulled him away from the whiskey bottle and put him to bed while he mourned. Corbin Murphy lost his heart when his omega died. Crowson turning his back on him too should have been more than he could handle.

Instead, even while his eyes are red rimmed, Corbin is holding it together well. We’ll have to watch him over the next few weeks to ensure he doesn’t decide to eat his gun.

Fuck me.

“Let’s end this, boys,” Corbin sighs. “Executioner’s choice.”

Nodding, the three of us pull out our guns from our holsters. We’re done playing. Pulling the trigger together into Crowson’s skull, there’s a collective sigh of relief from the crowd.

“Someone clean this up!” Corbin calls out, and three men step forward to pull him down and dispose of the body. It appears our boss is already cultivating new grunt men.

I’m oddly okay with this.

Throwing our tools into a large container, we begin cleaning them. Once they’re also dried, each item is put away in our duffel bags. Picking up our things, I raise my brow at my boss and then remember we’re still wearing our masks. In another bag in the boss’ office are changes of clothes for us.

“Let’s chat,” Corbin grunts at us. Raising his voice, he thanks the heads of the mafia families for witnessing this execution, and sends them all home.

Pulling off our masks, we’re surprisingly free of blood.

“Just a second,” Cian says, walking over to us quickly. “I just wanted to confirm that Aisling is staying with you tonight.”

Nodding, I pull out my phone to check it. Flynn sent us several photos over the course of the night, and smiling, I hand my phone to Cian to show him.

Blowing out a breath, Cian smiles as he sees Aisling’s photo with Wren and Flynn as they take a bite of a brownie together.

“Good. Thank you again for warning me off that snake,” he grunts. “I only went on a couple of dates with the woman, but I let her around my kid. I need to be more careful about who I spend my time with. I’ve only had Aisling in my life for a couple of months, it’s been a rough transition.”

“It’s not every day you find out you have a grown daughter,” I remind him. “Aisling is wonderful, and she’s made fast friends with Flynn and Wren.”

“You’re doing the best you can,” Shaw agrees. “I think she knows that as well. Aisling is safe at our home, you don’t need to worry about her.”

Saying goodbye to the alpha, we head to Corbin’s office, where he’s waiting for us.

Pulling on shirts, we don’t bother to change as we sit down to speak with him.

“I always knew I wouldn’t be able to lean on the three of you forever,” Corbin says, pouring himself a drink. “You’ve kept our family safe, taken out the trash, and helped keep me honest.”

“We’re not breaking up with you,” I say in amusement. “We need positions that allow us to work from home more often than not. It’s not feasible for us to be gone so much from our omegas.”

“Yes,” Shaw grunts. “We almost missed Flynn’s heat last month when it came earlier than expected. We need a shift so we can still fill in to scratch the itch when we need a solid kill, while being able to work from home more.”

“I had to kill my bookkeeper,” Corbin mutters. “There’s a job opening for that.”

“I’m good with numbers,” Everest says. “I’m used to checking the spreadsheets every month so I could see who was behind on their payments.”

“Thank fuck,” Corbin says. “I have trust issues right now, so that’ll help me sleep at night. I’ll send you the files tomorrow. This world is transitioning more and more to emails and telephone calls, and I hate both.”

“I can help with those,” Shaw decides. “I can also phone in for meetings if you’d like.”

Soon, Corbin looks over at me, and I remember the statements that all I’m good at is killing people.

“You’re very good at thinking on your feet,” my boss says. “I want to expand into a few more legitimate businesses, one of them being a nightclub. Can you help me with the research I’ll need to open one?”

Nodding, I agree. “I can do that,” I murmur. “I think I’d enjoy that as well.”

“Thank you for never giving up on me,” Corbin mutters. “It was rough for a few years there. It’s after four in the morning. Time to go home.”

“You going to be okay?” I ask as we stand.

“Absolutely. Tonight was hard, but necessary. I’ll get my head right about it. I’m going to head home too,” he says, leaving half a glass of whiskey alone. “I’ll walk you out.”

Saying goodbye to him, we drive home to Flynn and Wren who are sleeping with Aisling on the couch. They’ve converted the area into a huge bed with pillows and blankets.

“It looks like a very successful slumber party,” I whisper with a grin. They’re so cute.

Retreating quietly, I head into the kitchen because I’m hungry. Shaw and Everest follow, rubbing their stomachs with a wince. Finding a whole pizza in the fridge with a note that it’s ours, I fist pump as I heat it up in the oven.

“Our omega is always taking care of us,” I say happily, handing out cold bottles of beer as we sit around the island.

“He is,” Shaw confirms. “I’m glad Corbin took this so well. I was worried that he’d be upset that we’re changing jobs.”

“He knew at the meeting last week when Flynn and Wren were taken that this was coming,” Everest says softly. “He’s just accepting the writing on the wall.”

Sitting in thought, we eat our pizza and drink our beer, deciding to look toward the future. There’s only good things ahead for us.