Page 85 of Into the Fire: After

“And in the matter of House Bill two-five dash seventeen, A Proposal to De-Regulate the National Omega Registry, eighty-two votes of yea—”

All the air left my lungs.

“—one hundred six votes of nay—”

My fingers were dead little sticks living on my palm.

“—four abstentions. The nays have it.”

Ringing shattered my ears.

Nothing.

All of it had been for nothing.

Thirty-six

Brea

“Hi,thisisTaryn’svoicemail! You know the deal.”And then the beep.

The voice of my omega mocked me as, for the fifteenth time, she didn’t pick up the phone. Lin met my eye. “Anything?”

I shook my head, chucking my phone onto the couch in frustration.

Last night’s vote had devastated her. For hours, she’d sat there in stunned disbelief. She hadn’t even been able to move into the bedroom to go to sleep. Brooks had lifted her, cradling her against his chest until he could set her so gently in the center of his bed. The three of us had fallen asleep there.

When we’d woken up this morning, the bed had no omega. The apartment had no omega. When I checked the tracking app, it showed her exactly here. Then we found her necklace on the kitchen counter.

That was ten hours ago. None of us had seen or heard from her since. Lin had been by Bean & Leaf, The Basement, the park, herfavorite thrift shop, the antique store that reminded her of her Gran’s old place, Sheyna’s twice—no sign of our omega. Brooks had called the hospitals, bus stations, the goddamn airport. No one had seen her.

My omega was a ghost.

Brooks was on Caine retrieval duty now, since Gail’s colleague had managed to lower his bail to an attainable amount. Lin stood with me in the living room as we tried to think of anywhere else she’d go.

But what if she wasn’t somewhere we could find her?

What if she’d just walked out onto the street and Wainwright had snatched her again?

“I’m panicking,” I said slowly. I looked down at my hands as they began to shake.

Lin took them in his. “We’re going to find her.”

“She was counting on this.” Tears blurred my vision. “Maybe I should’ve tempered her expectations. I should’ve—”

“Should’ve doesn’t mean much in the present.” Lin squeezed my fingers. “Taryn is responsible for Taryn.”

The door opened, and Brooks and Caine charged in. “Anything?” the beta said. We shook our heads.

Caine swore under his breath. “I assume we checked the roof?”

Lin gave him a look.

“Fine,” Caine growled back. “What about the apartment downstairs?”

I shook my head. “She hasn’t been in since—well, since the last time she was there.”

Caine led the procession downstairs, pulling out his master key as we approached the apartment where Taryn and I had meant to make our home.