Page 34 of Heroes & Hitmen (Windy City Wolfpack #1)

Ares

My older brother’s face fills my phone screen as our video call connects, and I’m already grinning like an idiot. Don’t even care. Archer Raines may be the most annoyingly responsible person I know, but he’s also my best friend, and it’s been way too long since I’ve seen him.

“Hey, little brother,” he greets, raking a hand through his neatly trimmed dark hair.

He’s sitting in Dad’s old office, the view from the window behind him unmistakable.

I’ve stared out it too many times while getting a lecture from our old man about behaving like the son of an Alpha– which generally means avoiding trouble, not causing it.

Archer looks right at home in there as our pack’s new Alpha, our dad’s mirror image.

Black hair, blue eyes, and moral compass calibrated to ‘boy scout’.

“Hey, Arch,” I say, shifting my weight in the driver’s seat of my truck. It’s not the first place I’d pick for this kind of meeting, but Alpha Gage has eyes and ears everywhere, so this seemed like the safest bet. “Still pretending you know what you’re doing running our pack?” I tease.

“Oh, you know,” he replies with a low chuckle. “Same shit, different day. How’s the Windy City?”

“Loud. Crowded. Smells terrible. I’m dying for a run, haven’t been able to let my wolf out since the full moon.”

“What?” He balks, his brow creasing. Arch knows as well as I do that Alpha wolves demand to be let out more often than most. All that dominant, aggressive energy needs an outlet, and running in wolf form always does the trick.

“Yeah,” I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face. “Hoping to change that soon, though, as soon as I can find some damn free time.”

“Their Alpha keeping you busy?” Archer asks.

“Yeah, with a bunch of bitchwork,” I grumble. “Definitely not what I expected, but it’s only a year, right?”

“Right,” Archer agrees, nodding. The picture on the screen wobbles as he leans back in his chair, rolling his neck on his shoulders. “So, as much as I’ve missed seeing your face, your message had me a little worried. What’s going on?”

“I’m guessing he’s gotten himself in some sort of trouble,” a familiar voice growls from off screen– one I’d recognize anywhere as belonging to my brother’s Beta and our longtime family friend, Nash.

“Tell that asshole to get in frame if he wants to talk shit,” I snort.

“Hold on,” Archer grunts, the camera wobbling again as he reaches forward to set his phone somewhere on the large desk– which it’s still weird to see him sitting behind.

Probably always will be. He scooches back in the leather chair, seemingly satisfied, and I take in the new angle as Nash drops into view, perching on the edge of the desk like the judgy bastard he is.

“Happy?” Nash deadpans.

“Ecstatic.” I flash him my brightest shit-eating grin. “Your face is like a sunrise, Nashy. If the sun was always super pissed and had zero sense of humor, that is.”

He rolls his eyes like he doesn’t have time for my bullshit, but he knows he loves me. Probably.

“So,” he sighs, arching a skeptical brow. “What kind of chaos are you involved with this time? Move in on another guy’s mate?”

“Drink too much and wake up butt naked in the woods?” Archer speculates.

“Crash a stolen car?” Nash piles on.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, that was one time ,” I laugh, waving them off. “And the car wasn’t even that nice.”

The three of us fall into easy banter, familiar as oxygen. I lean back in my seat, propping my phone up on the dash and letting the guys’ laughter fill the cab of my truck for a few seconds. It’s been a while since I’ve heard it. Too long .

When the noise finally dies down, Archer gets serious again, jaw set tight and brow furrowed in a way that reminds me way too much of our old man. “So. You said this was important?”

“It is,” I breathe, scratching at the back of my neck uncomfortably, unsure how to even begin. “I’ve gotten myself into a little bit of a… situation here.”

“Of course you have,” Nash replies flatly.

“What kind of situation?” Archer probes, his tone shifting to big brother mode.

I shrug, a grin pulling at the corner of my mouth. “It’s funny, really. There’s this girl…”

Archer throws his head back on a long-suffering sigh. “Here we go…”

“There’s always a fucking girl,” Nash grumbles, crossing his arms like he’s been personally victimized by my love life.

“Just shut up and listen,” I say, chuckling. “This one wasn’t even my fault, I swear.”

“We’re listening,” Nash mutters.

I proceed to give them the rundown of the whole messy story– meeting Miley, finding out about her arranged mating, her psycho dad, and my brilliant spur-of-the-moment lie to save her from his wrath.

When I finish, they’re both staring at me like I just suggested joining a cult or something, exchanging nervous glances with one another.

“Can’t believe you got yourself mixed up in this shit,” Archer groans, shaking his head in disapproval. “Actually, nevermind, I can. This is completely on-brand for you.”

“What can I say, I like to live life on the edge,” I snicker. “You should be proud.”

Arch cards his fingers through his dark hair with a heavy sigh. “Honestly, I am. But also, you’re a fucking idiot.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” I chuckle, glancing out the window as a motorcycle barrels by, then returning my gaze to the phone screen. “So, what do you think? Can you help me out?”

There’s a long pause, and for a second, I wonder if they’re going to say no. If I’ve finally used up all the lifelines I’ve been thrown over the years and landed myself in such deep shit that there’s no way out of it.

Archer slowly leans back in his desk chair, folding his hands over his abs and arching a dark brow. “What’s so special about this girl?” he questions.

“Besides the fact she’s my mate?” I scoff.

“ Fake mate,” Nash clarifies.

“Technically, yeah,” I mumble. “But just because the moon hasn’t confirmed it yet doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I think she might really be mine.”

“You used to say that about Avery Kessler,” Archer points out, snorting a laugh.

“This is different,” I growl. “Avery was just a stupid teenage crush. But Miley…”

“Actually likes you back?” Nash asks, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.

“Well, no,” I frown. “Maybe. Sometimes.” I shake my head in an attempt to clear my scattered thoughts, struggling to articulate what I’m actually trying to say. “That’s not the point. I just feel it in my gut, like an ache that won’t go away. It’s different. She’s different.”

The two of them exchange a look, a beat of silence descending before Archer turns back to the screen.

“And you want to let her go?” he asks, eyes narrowed.

I huff out a breath, stabbing my fingers through my hair. “It’s what she wants. To be free.”

Another long pause settles as the two of them engage in some sort of silent conversation with one another, my brain running a mile a minute.

Archer and Nash both have fated mates. The surly fuckers would never let them out of their sights, but if they were in my shoes, I know they’d choose their girl’s needs over their own every damn time.

I’m a little obsessive, sure. Possessive, definitely.

But I’m also fucking realistic. We’re currently in a lose-lose situation, so it’s really just a matter of choosing the best path forward.

Helping Miley escape to Stillwater wouldn’t mean letting go of her forever. Just for now, until I can get back there in a year and pick up where we left off.

“So, what do you think?” I ask when the silence becomes too much.

“Of course we’ll help you out,” Archer replies readily, as if it wasn’t even a question.

I exhale slowly, shoulders sagging in relief. Not that I ever should’ve doubted my brother. We might bicker, we might rarely see eye to eye, but loyalty runs deep in our family. We’re always there for each other when it counts. Especially when it counts.

My gaze slides from Archer to Nash, clocking the tense set of his jaw and the scowl twisting his lips. “Nash?” I prompt, hoping like hell that he’s on board, too.

His eyes ping to the screen and he jerks a nod. “Yeah, of course,” he says, and that last knot of anxiety in my gut unravels. “It’s dangerous as hell, but what isn’t these days? As long as we have a solid plan in place so this doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass.”

“Right,” I agree, nodding. “I owe you guys big time.”

“Nah,” Archer scoffs, waving a hand dismissively. “You already stepped up to take my place in Chicago. I suppose this is the least I can do since I’m partially responsible for getting you in this position, eh?”

“Something tells me you would’ve skated by here with a lot less drama,” I chuckle.

“That’s the fuckin’ truth,” Nash snorts.

Archer rolls his eyes at that, reaching out to deliver a playful jab to Nash’s bicep before turning back to the screen. “So, it’s just the girl and her sister, right?”

“Right,” I confirm.

Archer looks to Nash, and his Beta picks up right where he left off, the two of them completely dialed in with one another, as an Alpha and Beta should be.

“Their true identities will be on a need-to-know basis. Just us and your parents.”

“Mere and Andie too, obviously,” Archer cuts in.

Nash nods in agreement, because including their mates on this is a no-brainer. “Of course. But we keep it in the family. To everyone else, they’ll be distant cousins on your mom’s side from Montana that she recently reconnected with.”

“Makes sense,” I say. “New names, new histories, no connection to Chicago. And speaking of… do you happen to know anyone from here that might be able to help with the ID situation?”

Nash cracks a smile. “Actually, yeah. My buddy Drake knows a guy, and he owes me a favor. I’ll text you his number and let him know you’ll be reaching out.”

“Cool,” I say, adding it to the mental list of shit I need to do before this plan goes nuclear. “And if Gage Morgan comes sniffing around?”