Chapter 15

There's a reason I'd rather kill someone than owe them a favor.

Cas's level of panic proves that impulse isn't as outlandish as some might suggest.

"There's no way this isn't going to affect our ability to make that deal with Annika and Grady," he growls, pacing the floor bare near the door to the garage.

"Your ability," I correct. Cas goes rigid, spinning around to glare at me. I snort, shaking my head. "It's not my marker. I've never met the man."

I told him not to take the deal back then, but he didn't hear a goddamn word I said. That looming favor has been hanging over his head for years, and now it's been called in.

Cas growls, jabbing a finger toward my chest. The sound of a vehicle pulling into the garage has him turning back to the door.

I sigh but step around the princess to assess the threat.

He's not even armed.

The door pops open with little effort, and I stretch out a hand to shut the garage door, but my jaw falls when I hear my name.

"Ward?" Annika's voice is impossible to miss.

"It's a family reunion. Just not the one I imagined." Grady chuckles darkly. "How ya doing, Grandpa?"

"I'm sorry, but how did you get in here?" Cas tries to step around me in the doorway and ends up slamming his shoulder into mine. "We've had something come up. We won't be able to continue?—"

"Kane," a man I hadn't noticed says, offering his hand to Cas. "Ranger sent us."

My jaw drops as Annika's eyes widen.

Right, so today just got weirder.

They're the guests Cas has been losing his shit over for the last several hours, but the names don't match up.

My eyes immediately narrow in on the sparrow tattoos on Grady's neck.

"Jesus Christ," Cas mutters. "You're telling me I propositioned Ranger's little sister?"

"It would appear the three of you need to come inside," I say, clearing my throat. It doesn't sound like this is a conversation to be had in the garage.

Not to mention, Annika or Sparrow has dried blood on her arm and neck.

Jesus Christ, indeed.

Cas guides our three visitors into his downstairs office. I stand at the door as the big guy, Kane, tosses himself down in one of the chairs on this side of the desk.

My eyes widen as Annika shoves Grady's hand off her back as they head past me.

Damn, I don't even know what to call her.

"You're related to Ranger Cavanaugh?" Cas asks, but it very much sounds like an accusation.

"Unfortunately," she mutters.

Kane leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I don't know how you know each other, but I was told this was where we were landing tonight."

Grady steps to the right side wall and leans against it.

Annika begins pacing the floor.

"Are you all right?" I murmur, pushing off the door and coming to a stop in front of her. "You're covered in dried blood." Now that I'm paying attention, all three of them are. The men, more so than the omega. Perhaps it smudged off onto her, based on the similar stains I spot on Grady.

"It's been a long night since we saw you last," she whispers, grimacing.

My hands move to her hips. "Why don't I bring you upstairs, and you can take a shower? I'll find you some fresh clothes."

Her gaze immediately flies over her shoulder to look at Grady, but I catch the newcomer, Kane, watching her.

Well, that look might spell trouble.

I'm not exactly sure what it is, but if I had to take a guess, I'd say he's wishing she looked to him for safety, not Grady.

Grady shoves himself off the wall with his arms crossed, but he pulls them down to steal her out of my grasp. "I'd rather stick around to listen to this, but I think Ward would take care of you in my absence. Won't you, Granddad?"

I raise a hand, flipping him off.

I'm probably less than ten years older than he is, but I've been going gray since my early thirties.

"Um, are you sure we shouldn't stay together?" she whispers as Cas and Kane get back to discussing whatever the hell it is they're talking about.

"Ranger wouldn't have sent you here if he didn't trust that you'd be safe," Grady says, dipping his lips to hers. It's barely a tease of their mouths meeting before he stands to his full height, looking at me. "I'll find you once I'm done."

Annika nods, spinning around to face me. "Okay, a shower and fresh clothes sounds heavenly."

I guide the omega upstairs and gather one of my undershirts and a pair of sweats before leading her into the attached bath.

Could I have taken her to one of the guest rooms?

Probably.

But I would prefer to keep her in my space. Also, we would have had to stop by my room for clothes, either way.

So, really, I just saved us the trouble of needing to walk to another room.

I toss down the clothing, start the shower, and grab a towel. When I turn around, I find her leaning against the wall with a glazed look in her eyes. Chucking the towel over the top of the glass shower wall, I immediately focus back on her.

My instincts are in full-blown alpha hover mode. It could be the burned tinge to her normally sweet caramel scent, or possibly it's the look of misery on her face, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to walk out the door.

She smacked Grady's hand away when they walked into Cassian's office, but she immediately looked to him for confirmation that she'd be safe with me.

"You look like you've got a lot on your mind." I come to a stop directly in front of her. At just over six feet, I'm on the shorter side for an alpha, but she still has to crane her eyes up to meet mine.

"Yeah, I really wasn't joking when I said it's been a long night." She cringes, laughing awkwardly.

She's in the same dress from earlier. My hand lands on the smooth material at her hip, but I move it around to her arse to pull her closer.

"I'm feeling a bit out of the loop since I haven't the vaguest idea what's gone on," I say, my accent sounding especially thick. "But tell me this, lass. Are you okay? Do you feel safe with those two?"

She huffs, and the next thing I know, her face is buried in my chest. "Am I okay? No. Am I safe?" Her head shakes. "Probably. At least until Kane drags me back to my brother."

"And that's the bloke Cas owes a favor?" I ask, running my hand up and down her spine.

"Apparently so," she says, but it's muffled by the fact her face is buried in my shirt.

"Are you under duress? Is that other man a danger to you?" I ask as my jaw clenches and my hand tightens its hold on her back.

"I don't know," she says. "The last time I saw him… I kinda…" The rest is too muffled for me to make out.

"You what? I couldn't understand the last bit."

"Shot him."

I snort as my eyes widen. "Really?"

"I'm not joking."

I wasn't expecting that. "Right. Did he deserve it?"

She shrugs. "At the time, I thought he did, but since then, I've decided I may have overacted."

"And did you shoot someone else tonight? Is that why you're covered in blood? None of you seem to be injured."

"No, they locked me in a safe room. I didn't get to shoot anyone. But Lucien and Ezrah Andretti know I'm in Vegas…"

My entire body stiffens at the mention of one of the most notorious crime families in Boston.

"Yeah," she says, nodding against my T-shirt. "It's going to get ugly if they find me."

I exhale heavily. "Might I ask why?"

"They killed my mom and dads." She nuzzles deeper. "I probably shouldn't even be talking about all this."

"Fair enough," I agree.

I'm a vault.

You don't rise through the ranks like I have with a squeamish stomach or a loose tongue, but she doesn't know that. Nor does she have any reason to trust me with her secrets.

"You'll feel better once you've had a rinse." I pat her shoulder and step back. "The water is running, and I left the clothes on the counter. There's a towel for you." I point. "Do you need anything else?"

Her nose is red as she steps back enough that I can see her face. It's not helping settle my instincts at all that she looks like she's about to burst into tears.

"I'll be fine. Thanks, Ward." She stretches a hand back to unzip her dress.

I nod and move to exit the bathroom. Making it to my bed, I strip off my guns, shove them into the bedside table, and toss myself down on the edge of the mattress.

What the hell kind of vendetta could the Andrettis have with that little omega?

No matter how hard I rack my brain, I can't even fathom the answer.

Cas has some explaining to do, but that will have to wait for when he's done talking to the other two.

The omega comes out less than ten minutes later with a red face and wet hair. Her curvy frame fills my white T-shirt out to perfection, and I can see the tops of her creamy thighs, since she skipped the sweats.

Steam billows out of the bathroom around her as she stands in the open doorway, dragging her toes against the carpet.

"Did you enjoy your shower?" I ask, leaning back with my hands behind me on the bed and my feet on the floor.

A little whimper escapes her puffy lips, and she bolts toward me. She climbs right onto my lap, kneeling with her knees on either side of my hips. Her face ends up buried in my neck, and I bring a hand to her lower back to steady her.

It's been quite a lot of years since I had contact with an omega at all, and those were my mum and sisters. I grew up watching my dads comfort my mum, and thinking they spoiled her rotten.

And yet, my instincts are trying to convince me to go to war with one of the largest crime families on the East Coast.

If that's not what or who is bothering her, then I'll need to obliterate that problem too.

Gone is the feisty woman from Spades who held her own and declined Cas's advances. She seems especially breakable. Like she's hurting on some deep level that I can't fix because I don't have all the information.

"Grady lied to me," she says, like she can read my damn mind. "I'm pretty sure he did it to protect me, but my whole life, men have lied to me to keep me safe." My fingers drag up and down the soft material of the T-shirt she's wearing. "On one hand, I really should have seen it coming. On the other, I'm just hurt."

"That sounds complicated." I nuzzle my cheek to the top of her head. "Do you think you can forgive the lie he told?"

"It wasn't just one. It was so many. Like a shitload of mistruths." She sighs heavily. "It was a fabrication, then all the necessary lying to keep up that facade. And at the same time, it's weird. I feel like I should be angrier than I really am. Mostly, I'm grateful to have him, no matter how I got him. You have no idea what I'm rambling about."

I chuckle and pull her closer. "Not exactly, but I get the idea. I'd say Mr. Wells isn't who he said he was. I wouldn't even be shocked if the man is a career criminal."

"Takes one to know one?" she asks.

"Maybe a little."

She nods. "My heat is coming and everything just exploded. Yet, all my impulses want to do is cuddle and nest, but I don't really have anywhere I could do that."

"You're safe here," I assure her. "The property guards let you pass because they were expecting you. But make no mistakes, this place is secure."

"Yeah, but that never seems to last. Sorry, I really am exhausted. Maybe I could take a nap somewhere? My adrenaline just crashed."

I nod, toeing off my dress shoes and sliding backward on the bed. Once we're deep enough on the mattress, I twist and roll us both on our sides. It takes some effort to avoid crushing her leg, but she moves with me, making the process easier.

I run a hand over the back of her head. "Do you prefer to go by Annika or?—"

"Sparrow is technically my real name, but I haven't gone by that in years. It's hard to feel like her because she's been dead for so long." Her nose wrinkles as she wiggles her head up to rest on the pillow. "I didn't hate the name back then. It's just got a whole bunch of feelings wrapped up in it."

"Annika works for me." It also keeps things simpler.

She runs her finger over my chest, right where my heart is. "You could've shown me to one of the guest bedrooms."

"I think we'll both feel better with you resting in my bed."

"Yeah," she agrees, tilting her head until she meets my eyes. "Thanks, Ward. I think I was about to have a panic attack before you pulled me out of that little meeting."

I could tell she was anxious, but I had no idea it was to that level.

My lips brush over her forehead. "Get some sleep. I'll watch over you."

She scoots forward, officially erasing all space between us, and buries her nose in my shoulder right near my armpit.

Good God.

She's absolutely precious—and probably too young for me.

It's a weird feeling to not even have my eyes open and be able to sense a threat well enough that I grab for my gun. Only, I'm not wearing a holster. My eyes pop open to find Annika's liar of an alpha climbing onto my bed.

"Chill, Gramps. It's just me," Grady says. His hair is wet, and he smells like my body wash.

"Make yourself right at home," I grumble, keeping my voice down.

Annika sleeps with her head on my shoulder and her thigh tossed over my pelvis. If I'd known she was this snuggly, I would have gotten more comfortable before putting us to bed. I definitely wouldn't have gone to sleep fully clothed, that's for damn sure.

"I intended on it." Grady slides up, wrapping himself around her back. "I found a pair of sweats in the bathroom, which I'm guessing Anni passed on."

"Cas might owe someone important a favor, but that in no way gives you the right to cuddle in my bed," I growl, trying to keep my voice down. "And call me by my name if you're going to speak to me."

"Whatever you say, Granddad."

Yeah, that about guarantees it.

I'm going to kill that bastard at some point when Annika isn't watching.