Page 43

Chapter 43

Ava

My heart lurches in my chest and my stomach twists sickly.

“Ava Charleston?” one of the officers asks me, looking past Garrett.

Dante puts a hand on my shoulder as I nod. “That’s me,” I say meekly.

I feel like I might throw up. The officers look stoic and unwavering. I don’t know why they’re here or what they want from me, I haven’t done anything wrong, but judging by the looks on their faces, this isn’t anything good.

“Miss Charleston.” One of the officers starts to step forward, but Garrett growls threateningly in the back of his throat, baring his teeth.

The other three Alphas close ranks around me, so that I can’t be seen by the officers.

I can hear the officer sigh. “Please let us do our jobs. Ma’am, we need to place you under arrest for the theft of one hundred thousand dollars.”

“What?” I push past Dante to stare the officers down. “What the hell are you talking about?”

I’ve never stolen anything in my life, much less thousands of dollars. I have no idea who I could have even stolen it from. My old boss at the animal shelter didn’t have that much money on him for me to take, and there’s nobody else. The only rich people I know are the four men whose foyer I’m standing in.

“We’re talking about a report filed with us a few hours ago,” the second officer says. “From a Marcus Travers.”

“And you just arrest people based on what others tell you, huh?” Ethan demands. “Just on fucking hearsay?”

The officers bristle. “No,” the second one says, glaring. “We come to arrest people when the accuser provides proof that what they’re saying is true.”

My mind races. The ‘proof’ that Marcus has given them must be false. It has to be. I know that I’m innocent. I never stole anything from him.

“He alleges, and the documents show,” the first officer says, “that you and Mr. Travers were in a relationship a few years ago, and that during that time you fled with a hundred grand of his money and have been on the lam ever since.”

Well, the running away part is true. But that’s only because I was fleeing his abuse.

“She didn’t do that,” Caleb says. “She ran away from him because he’s a piece of shit. She never stole any money and if you go and do a proper damn investigation, you’ll see that we’re telling the truth. He’s a fucking liar.”

“Sir, if you want to take legal action of your own against Mr. Travers, you’re welcome to do that. But in the meantime, what we have from him is sufficient evidence for us to press charges on his behalf.”

“So, what, she’s supposed to just go with you because you say that?” Dante challenges. “Where’s the evidence? Where’s the proof, I want to see it for myself.”

“The court will lay everything out in due time, but first, we have to book her. We will set her a bail, and if you want to pay it, you’re welcome to. But she has to go through our system first so that we can set her court date and get the ball rolling. Including in appointing her an attorney.”

“Don’t bother, we’ll get her one,” Garrett snarls. “In fact, we’ll get her one while she stays right here, because this is a fucking miscarriage of justice. I hope that you two aren’t fond of your jobs because you’re about to lose them.”

“You can’t be serious,” one of the officers mutters.

“Sir, please. We don’t want there to be any trouble.”

All four of my Alphas look like they would like nothing more than to cause a whole lot of trouble. I feel sick to my stomach.

On the one hand, I did nothing wrong, and I refuse to go to prison or be arrested for something that I know I didn’t do. In fact it’s preposterous to think that I did. I would love to know exactly what Marcus did to lay these false charges down on me.

I wonder if he paid someone off. Bribed someone? He got to Tracy after all. Maybe he was able to convince someone in law enforcement to cook something up against me for a fat enough paycheck.

“You can’t take her,” Dante says stubbornly. “We know these are trumped-up charges and we’re not going to stand for them.”

“Can you prove right now that those are trumped-up charges?”

“Don’t get fresh with me,” Dante snarls, striding toward the guy.

“Don’t!” I cry out, grabbing his arm. I know that I can’t really hold him back physically. He’s far stronger than I am. But my touch will control him. He’ll listen to me. “We don’t want to make this any worse than it already is.”

Dante looks at me. “Baby girl, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

The others all nod, and I know that they’re prepared to literally fight for me to keep me safe, just as they were with the ORD agents.

No, it’s even more so this time, because this time they know they’re in love with me, and that I’m in love with them.

And that makes this so much harder.

“I know that.” I try to keep my voice calm. I’m shaking, and my stomach feels like it’s completely in knots, but I know I have to stay strong now. If I don’t stay calm and take care of this, it could go really, really badly for everyone.

I won’t let my Alphas, the men I love, get hurt or go to jail because of me.

“You know I’m innocent,” I insist. “That means that there’ll be a way to prove it. All right? They’ll set my bail quickly and you can get me out. It won’t take long. And then you can call the lawyers and we’ll get me acquitted. It’ll be fine.”

“You might want to listen to her,” the second officer says.

Garrett gives a growl that makes it clear he’d like nothing better than to rip the man’s throat out. The officer shrinks back a little and I feel a bit of pride at how strong and confident my Alpha is.

I squeeze Dante’s hand and look at the other three. “It’s okay,” I promise them. “I know you’ll get me out quickly. It’ll all be okay.”

None of them look happy. Their scents have turned dark and smoky with their anger and I know that they’re all seething with rage. It’s plain on their faces and in their clenched fists.

To be honest, I’m terrified. The last thing I want to do is go with these police officers. But I know it’s what I have to do to keep my Alphas safe. I might be an Omega, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do my part to take care of my pack.

I let go of Dante’s hand, but he grabs me and pulls me back in for a last kiss. Ethan and Caleb each kiss me, and then I pull away, walking to the front door.

When I get there, I kiss Garrett. I know that this is killing them. I hate that I’m contributing to their pain, even though I know it’s the right thing to do.

I look over at the officers and nod. “Okay, I’m coming.”

I kind of wish I’d thought to put on something a little sturdier than just the first t-shirt and pair of shorts I could find, but it’s too late for that now. I doubt the police are going to let me spend another ten minutes debating my perfect jail outfit.

They put me in handcuffs and each grabs my elbow, leading me down the front steps to their waiting patrol car. I feel like I’m in a nightmare. Like any second now I’ll wake up, and I’ll actually be in bed with my Alphas, a little disoriented but safe.

This isn’t really a nightmare, though, as much as it feels like it. It’s just the worst day of my life. I knew that there was a reason to be nervous over Marcus. I never should have relaxed. I should’ve known that he would find another way to get at me and hurt me.

I can feel the eyes of my Alphas on me as I’m forced away from them. Knowing how much this hurts them and how concerned and protective they are makes me feel a little stronger. If it was just about me, I would probably be crying right now, but I have to be strong for my Alphas. I have to show them that I’m okay, so that they don’t do something we’ll all regret.

The officers help me into the back seat of the car and I keep my head high, but I don’t let myself look back at my pack.

These are the men that, just a short time ago, I wanted to bite me and officially bond with me. I want them to be my mates.

Now I’m being taken away from them.

I know if I look back I’ll burst into tears, and we can’t have that. I don’t want them to know or they’ll probably try to rip the car apart to comfort me, and I sure don’t want to cry in front of these police officers.

I keep looking forward as I’m driven away from my home. From safety.

From my pack.