Page 19 of Therefore

Chapter Sixteen

Emerson

F or the first time in weeks, I was able to work in the office uninterrupted. I hadn’t seen Pearl as I came in this morning, but she was doing an excellent job at herding Harris away from my office all morning. Hopefully, he hadn’t asked too much of her yesterday. I’d have to check on her at lunch.

Pushing my colleagues to the back of my mind, I poured my focus into Miranda Fisher’s diary. Everything from the text itself to the peculiar wear and tear of certain pages held my interest, but I made a note of a few things I thought could prove useful.

There were many initials we hadn’t been able to assign to known associates of hers—R and L were often in short meetings every few weeks, but H seemed to be for social occasions and larger gatherings. Strange that we hadn’t found them during the raid where she was arrested.

As I turned the final page, the inside cover caught my eye.

The lining curled away from the edge, ever so slightly.

Normally, I wouldn’t think anything of it in a book this worn, but it was curling away from the spine as if it had been glued down badly in the past. Flipping the book over, I compared it to the inside of the front cover.

The edge where the outer cover met the inner lining was sealed perfectly. How odd.

I took a moment to take a few photos on my phone, then grabbed a craft knife from my drawer and carefully peeled up the inner lining of the back cover.

It came off with very little resistance, only reaching near the spine all the way down.

It definitely wasn’t sealed by a professional bookbinder.

As I lifted the lining further, it revealed a photograph of a woman, held in the arms of a man, her legs wrapped around his waist as they smiled lovingly at each other.

The woman was instantly recognisable to me from the years’ worth of evidence I’d been looking into. Miranda Fisher. But the part that had my hand shaking and my lungs gasping for air was that I also recognised the man holding her. In fact, I saw him just yesterday.

Loving you always, H xx

His handwriting was on the back of the photograph. So familiar and yet… It couldn’t be. I must’ve missed something. There was just no way, right?

My phone clicked over and over as I photographed my findings. This had to be why Trystan was hired to steal the diary. If the police had already found this, he would’ve been arrested weeks ago. He knew I’d figure this out.

“Emerson!” a muffled voice shouted from outside as a fist pounded on the door. “I need to talk to you!”

“Just a moment!” I called out to the stranger at my door. Where had Pearl gone?

While the banging continued, I quickly placed the photo and fake lining back in the book and locked it away in the small safe under my desk. It would have to do for now.

I practically ripped the door off its hinges as I opened it, knowing I likely looked a mess. My eyes darted around the empty hallway, and I felt sweat beading on my forehead.

An orange blur burst into my office, screaming, “Trystan’s gone!”

“Bee?” I spun to Trystan’s flatmate, closing the door behind them. “What are you talking about? Slow down.”

They looked even worse than I did, clutching a beat-up-looking laptop like a lifeline as they paced in a tight circle on my rug. Reaching out with one hand, I guided them to the sofa.

“What’s this about Trystan?” I asked. “He seemed fine when I left this morning. Did he say something?”

Shit, I’d heard of this happening—omegas getting scared after bonding with an alpha if they were left alone too quickly. I hadn’t even considered it would happen to Trystan. He seemed so secure in himself earlier. Why would he run?

Bee opened their laptop and clicked through a few folders.

“I was showing the audio-bug tech to a friend of mine early this morning, you know, the stuff we used yesterday. Anyway, I realised it was recording live. I thought Trys must’ve left it in his pocket—he’s always doing shit like that—and maybe I’d hear something funny to joke about later…

” They inhaled a shaking breath and looked at me with tears in their eyes. “I think he’s in real trouble.”

“Play it,” I said, my jaw clenching painfully. If Bee was reacting this badly, this was something a lot worse than post-bonding jitters.

Bee opened the file, and an unfamiliar voice growled through the laptop’s speaker. “—fucking pathetic. But I’ll still get my money’s worth outta you.”

“What are you—”

Rage bubbled inside me, burning through my stomach. That was Trystan’s voice being cut off, no doubt about it. I wanted to puke.

“Careful, Leo! That boy’s expensive.”

My heart stopped as rustling sounds and a pained moan filled the audio. What the hell were they doing to him?

“Call the client back. Tell him we’ve got another to go with his girl, then go collect the diary. I want this job finished today.”

Bee closed the lid on the laptop. “There’s not much more after that, mostly just some rustling. I found the device still recording at the flat, so they emptied his pockets before leaving with him.”

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t blink. My alpha wanted to roar and rip out the throat of the person who would dare to take my omega away from me, but I needed to find them first. More importantly, I needed to know Trystan was safe.

“Do you recognise who took him?”

“Roman. I’ve only met him a couple times, but he’s the one ordering Leo around.” Bee swallowed, gripping the sides of the laptop hard enough the plastic creaked. “Why would they take him? I thought Trystan was valuable enough working for them.”

“Their client is part of a market that deals in omegas. Probably thought they’d make more money selling him than using him for jobs.

” Bile rose in my throat at the thought of what they planned for Trystan.

The testimonies from Fisher’s surviving victims had been harrowing enough without picturing my omega in the same situation.

“What time did you find that recording?”

Bee glanced at their phone before responding. “About two hours ago. It took me a while to get home and find the flat empty. I came straight here after.”

I shot to my feet, heading straight for my desk. “Shit. He could already be here. Check the door!”

Quickly punching in the safe’s combination, I grabbed the diary and tucked it under one arm, covering it in my blazer. Not ideal, but it would do for now.

Bee shut the door again before calling out, “The hallway’s clear, but we should probably leave your very-well-signposted office.”

“Right, stay close to me.”

We made our way out of the office, past Pearl’s empty desk.

Strange. I wondered if she even came into work today but didn’t dwell on the thought.

We continued moving swiftly towards the elevators until I spotted a hulking man in cargo pants sneering down at a sweating analyst. I ducked into an empty meeting room, pulling Bee with me.

“Was that him?” I asked, already fairly certain of the answer.

Bee nodded, carefully poking their head around the door. “Yeah, the fucker blocking the way to the lifts. Pretty sure he grew a muscle for every spelling test he got wrong as a kid. Still doesn’t even know what letter his name starts with.”

“I can work with that.” I thrust the diary into Bee’s hands.

“Take this and go up one flight of stairs to boardroom three. It’ll be to the right of the lift.

Barge into that meeting. They’ll yell, but I know you can handle it.

Give this to Norah. Don’t let anyone else touch it, understand? Only her.”

“Got it.”

“Tell her I said to look at the photo in the back cover and call detective Rhodes.”

Bee looked down at the green book in their hands, their brow furrowed seriously. “But what about Trystan? It’s the only leverage we have over whoever has him. We can’t give it back to the police.”

“You know I’ll do anything to get him back, Bee. It’s why you came here today. Trust me, this is how we’ll do it.”

They took a moment to absorb my words, but I had faith. If Trystan trusted them, I would too. Without question.

Shuffling on his feet, Bee asked, “You alphas, uh… You get kinda crazy when your omega is in danger, right?”

I nodded, wondering where this was going. It was difficult enough keeping my alpha urges under control in this situation. The last thing I needed was a reminder.

Bee chuckled, slapping me on the shoulder. “Well, a few years ago, Leo broke Trystan’s nose. Have fun with him, ‘kay? Meet you upstairs.”

My lips spread into a grin as I felt a switch flip in my brain. Oh, this fucker’s gonna pay in blood for touching my omega.

I approached the desk in long strides, flexing my hands by my sides. Placing one hand on Leo’s shoulder, I gently turned him away from the poor analyst and said, “Mike, call security.”

As I turned back to Leo, I could practically see a circular buffering logo in his bloodshot eyes. He snarled towards me, and I gave him my most professional smile as I squeezed his shoulder slightly.

“Hello, my name’s Emerson Richter. I believe you’ve been looking for me. Now, I’m told you have someone important of mine. Tell me where he is, and you might get to leave this building with some of your teeth still in your mouth.”

Shaking off my hand, he cracked his knuckles. It would’ve been intimidating if I didn’t more than match his size. And this man didn’t smell like an alpha. “How ‘bout you gimme the diary, and no one ‘ere gets hurt?”

Summoning my inner-Trystan, I pretended to think for a moment.

“Hm, can’t say I know of any book here, at least not one with enough pictures for you to be able to read.

I do know of a lumbering idiot already on his last warning, though.

Maybe you know him? Huge frame, terrible breath, learned to tie his shoes last week? ”

His fist met my lip, and I tasted blood. Perfect.

I chuckled, wiping my chin with my thumb as I leaned into my alpha instincts. “Oh, I’m so glad you threw the first punch. Now, I get to do this.”

He dodged my first punch, but he didn’t expect the second one to hit him square on the nose. It crunched under my knuckles as the perfect sound of payback, but I didn’t ease up. My fists kept swinging until he was on the ground, his breathing reduced to a wet wheezing.

As security finally crowded behind me, I squatted next to Leo, looking him up and down. He’d live, unfortunately.

“You’re going to have a hell of a time dealing with assault charges against a lawyer.

So, if I were you, I’d start talking.” Fisting his shirt, I tugged him off the ground enough to growl in his face, pushing every drop of alpha fury into my words.

“Tell me, where is Trystan? Where the fuck is my omega?”