I lean closer, draping an arm over the back of Siren’s chair. Their scent is soft today, leaning more toward roses and rain than smoke and leather.
“How’s the forecast, darlin’?” I ask casually.
Siren smirks at our private joke. “Still undecided if we’re gonna have rain or sun. Could go either way,” they reply.
“You got it,” I answer with a dip of my chin, turning back to the computer. “Think we’ll be able to access the auction records with this Drake guy’s creds?”
“Maybe, but if not, I can work around it,” Siren says.
They focus on the screen, worrying their lower lip between their teeth in concentration. With a deep chuckle, I reach up and pull it free with my thumb.
“If you’re hungry, I can fix you up something,” I tease, nudging their shoulder.
Siren rolls their eyes, but doesn’t answer. They also don’t chew their lip again, which is the real win. It’s quiet for a few more minutes, which I don’t mind. Siren and I share the opinion that breath shouldn’t be wasted on mindless small talk.
“And there goes the firewall. I’ve logged in as an admin, so I should be able to get access to anything that’s in their system. Might take some time to sort through,” they murmur, still focused on the screen.
“Joker’s source mentioned that the alphas who…participate,” I nearly choke on the word, but if I say anything else, I’m going to break more furniture, “do so under the guise of donations. So keep an eye out for any donor lists or anything like that.”
Siren nods, and we fall into silence again. Speaking of Joker’s source has my mind wandering back to Delilah and the picture of her and her former pack. I can’t imagine going through something like that and still being alive, let alone semi-coherent. I hope Joker isn’t getting too attached, though. She’s going to have to stay behind when we pull him out.
“We can let Cross and Bones know what we’ve got in the morning. I’ll take over watch if you want to head to bed,” Siren says, interrupting my thoughts.
Tossing them a grateful smile, I get to my feet with a groan. I ruffle Siren’s hair with a chuckle, earning a snap of their teeth in my direction as I move toward the stairs. But I stop short, turning back.
“Can you do me a favor, darlin’?” I ask lightly.
Siren looks up, waiting expectantly.
“Can you take a look through the file for an omega in there named Delilah Montgomery? Joker’s been hangin’ ‘round her a bunch,” I ask, trying to keep my tone casual.
If Siren notices anything odd about the question, they don’t say anything, simply turning back to the computer and typing away. That dark look didn’t reappear either, which makes me think I was just seeing things earlier. When they don’t turn back, I slap the wood of the door frame and head up the stairs.
This is normal, I tell myself as I crawl into bed.I’m just asking to keep our omega safe.
The lie is believable enough to let me get some shut eye.
Chapter twelve
I’mleaningonthewall outside of the room where Delilah is having her therapy session, arms crossed and glare leveled at the frosted glass. In my ear, the pack is having a heated debate about how to complete the mission in light of the new information Siren managed to glean when they hacked into the facility’s mainframe overnight. But I’m hardly listening. My mind keeps replaying all of the details Cross read to me from her patient’s file in the wee hours of the morning.
The countless hours of attempts to get her to recall what she’d seen on the night of her pack’s murder. The medications they’ve tried and eventually stopped. The torture they’ve subjected my little wisp to under the guise of therapy.
“We can wait until the next auction, pretend to be high profilealphas and—”
“No.”
My voice isn’t the only one that cuts off Siren’s suggestion, Bones and Phantom joining me. Though I suspect their reasons for not wanting to wait that long are vastly different from mine.
I’d been toying with the idea of asking Delilah to leave with me once the mission is complete. But knowing what I know now, she’s coming with me whether she wants to or not, and regardless of what my pack says. Spending time with her has convinced me that there’s no part of my soul that could stomach leaving her behind in this hellhole. But the longer she stays here, the higher the risk that either she or I could be forced to “graduate” next month, which I’m not even willing to entertain.
“How the fuck else are we supposed to get into the building?” Siren snaps, irritated.
“Blow a damn hole in the wall if you’ve got to,” I grumble, only half joking.
“Joker that’s too—”
“Actually, hang on a second. That’s not the worst idea,” Cross interjects over Bones.