Lola & the Millionaires: Part Two

by Kathryn Moon

  “Lola, sweetheart, are you okay? Did you—”

  Wes was whole and safe, my hands running over him desperately. Rake yanked himself free of the police and ran to us. And Indy…

  He stumbled back a few steps, landing on his knees while a dark stain bloomed over his chest and his gun dropped to the floor.

  “Everybody freeze!” an officer cried as they realized that somehow, in the melee, Indy had been shot.

  He’s dead. He’s dying. Finally, he’ll be gone.

  Rake ignored the officers, and Wes and I opened our arms just in time for him to collide into them with a great ‘oof’ of breath. My omega’s mouth pressed to my cheek, my temple, my nose. Rake blocked out the view of Indy collapsing to the floor, the wet sounds of his breath muffled by Wes’ murmuring reassurance, Rake’s ragged sighs.

  He’s dead now. It’s over.

  I closed my eyes on that chapter of my life, refusing to look back at his body. It wasn’t relief or happiness that followed, but a bone deep acceptance. I’d lived through Indy. In the end, I’d won.

  Twenty-Seven

  Lola

  “I do have one last question for you, Ms. Barnes,” the detective said, glancing up from my statement.

  I was tired, I was sore, my hands were bandaged and bruised and swollen, despite the ice the police had given me. But I was almost done with the interview, and I could restrain my frustration with this guy’s questions for another minute or two.

  “The shot that killed Indy came from outside of the room. Probably a window or building from across the street. We just can’t seem to think of who would’ve been watching from there,” he said.

  I blinked. That wasn’t really a question and certainly not one I was going to answer with, ‘Probably the hitwoman my alphas hired to kill the asshole. She was a little tardy, but I guess she got the job done.’

  “I don’t think Indy could’ve had that many friends left and I doubt I’m the only person relieved that he’s dead now,” I said instead. "I have no idea who it could've been. I assumed the police."

  The detective hummed and his head tilted, eyes narrowing, but before he could ask me anything else, the door to the room opened and a regal woman in a well-tailored suit stood with an officer.

  “Lisa Campion, Ms. Barnes’ attorney. I’d appreciate it if we could get Lola home with her pack to rest, and finish any further questions at a later time,” Lisa said. It wasn’t a question, and she didn’t step farther into the room but eyed my detective in challenge.

  I did my best to hide my surprise at her arrival. I definitely did not have an attorney, and it was the first time I’d heard anyone outside of the pack referring to me as a member. It gave me a heady thrill and a deep sense of comfort all at once.

  The detective raised his hands in surrender and nodded to her. “I’m all wrapped up for today. Ms. Barnes, thank you for your time and I’ll be in touch.”

  I nodded and rose from the table, hurrying to follow Lisa Campion down the hall, my eyes searching around shoulders and heads for my pack.

  “Any issues?” Lisa asked me as we walked at her brisk pace, her heels clipping against the tile floor.

  “Um, no. You’re…”

  “I represent your pack. Well, the home side of things,” Lisa said, flashing me a toothy smile. “I don’t get very many calls though, so this was fun. Everyone else wrapped up already and Matthieu had concerns about how long they were keeping you.”

  “Just quizzing me over why I went in alone,” I said.

  “In the future, they’ll go through me. It’ll be wrapped up soon,” Lisa said. The woman seemed to be built on confidence, and I was all too happy to let her take over the circus of my dealing with police.

  “For now, I leave you with your alphas,” Lisa said as we arrived at the busy lobby of the station.

  Matthieu and Wes stood and stepped forward as I arrived in the room, and I wove through the mess of police and waiting civilians to get to them. I ran and fit myself directly between them, sighing and letting my eyes fall shut as they closed in at my front and back, blocking out the rest of the world. My forehead rested over Wes’ heartbeat as Matthieu crowded close behind me, combing his fingers through the tangle of my hair and pressing a long, soothing kiss over his bondmark.

  “The others?” I asked.

  “I convinced them to wait at home, I hope you don’t mind,” Matthieu said. “Rake needed to get out of here, and the others weren’t really better off.”

  I nodded and reached for one of Matthieu and Wes’ hands each, tugging them up to my chest as I caught my breath. Matthieu grazed his thumb over my fingers, and I hissed and lifted my head as it scratched at my raw knuckles. I twisted as Matthieu pulled my hand back, raising it to his lips and kissing each red, scratched, swollen mark softly.

  “You should’ve seen her wailing on him.” Wes ducked his head, bumping it against mine. “Proud of you.”

  I tilted my head and stole a firm kiss before Matthieu tugged me away, catching my face in his hands and dragging a slicker deeper stroking kiss for himself. “Good girl,” he whispered in my ear, the sound harsh and making me shiver with a confused kind of pleasure.

  I shook my head and stepped back. I didn’t want to think about Indy, or how satisfying it had been to make him bleed. Reasonably, I knew he’d be a piece of baggage I had to carry a while longer, but for the rest of the day, I planned on leaving him in that mildewy old motel room.

  “Home?” Matthieu asked, reading my mind.

  “Please.”

  I left the police station with both of my alphas' arms around me, holding me steady as we descended the long steps to the street. I was happy to see one of Wes’ guys waiting at a long dark car. I wanted to be squeezed in the backseat between him and Matthieu, not watching him drive.

  “Thanks, Garret,” Wes said, as the shorter and prettier of the two alphas who’d met us in the parking lot earlier slid into the driver's seat.

  It was absolutely a squeeze in the backseat. Mostly because Wes was so broad. Matthieu twisted on my right, and as the car pulled away from the curb, Wes gingerly lifted my legs from the floor and draped them over his lap. I leaned into Matthieu’s chest, his arms immediately wrapping around my waist.

  “Did the glass cut you?” Wes asked, running his fingers carefully over the back of my calves.

  “Just a few scratches, nothing serious. I cleaned it up at the station.”

  “Wes…the shot?” Matthieu whispered.

  Wes nodded and shrugged at the same time. “I’m assuming it was her.” The hitwoman. When Matthieu had first said it, I’d balked at the idea. Now I really didn’t give a shit. Actually, I was pleased. I only wished she got around to it sooner.

  “How is Rake?” I asked.

  “Physically, fine. Emotionally…well, I’m sure that’s a different story,” Matthieu said.

  Wes glanced at him and then back to me. “He about threw a fit when the others made him leave the station.”

  “But you said—”

  Matthieu huffed, warm breath rustling my hair. “I said he needed to go. He didn’t want to leave without you, but an omega in distress is kind of a beacon for trouble in a police station.”

  “The others will calm him down,” I said.

  Wes hummed with thought. “Maybe. Right now, he needs the beta who stormed a pack of alphas to save him.”

  I blushed and glanced down at my own lap as Wes stroked the tops of my legs. The time between Indy getting shot and me sitting down with the detective was foggy in my head, blurred by shock. But Rake was there in the midst of it, arms wrapped around me tight. I glanced out the car window, my eyebrows rising as I realized the sun was setting. It had been around lunch time when I’d walked into the Devil’s Noose. No wonder Matthieu had grown impatient with the police interview.

  “I’m curious as to what that beta needs,” Matthieu said, his hands rising to cup my shoulders.

  I sighed and let my head fall to rest under h
is chin. “Just my pack.”

  Matthieu purred, and the familiar and comforting rumble of the sound sent my eyes drifting shut. It was only then that I caught the wriggling worry in my chest, and realized it was coming from Matthieu, not me. I raised my left hand to cover his, my thumb stroking over his skin.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he said, a little too quickly.

  My eyes opened and I frowned at Wes, who was almost smirking at Matthieu like he was laughing at him.

  “Tell me,” I said, squeezing Matthieu’s fingers and scooting slightly so I could see his face.

  His eyes were flicking back and forth, gaze drinking me in, and there was a pang of wistfulness in the bond.

  “Matthieu,” I urged.

  He sighed and shook his head. “It’s just that…you’re safe now, which I’m grateful for.”

  “But…” I said, watching him.

  Matthieu pressed his lips together firmly, and it was Wes who answered. “He’s worried you won’t need us now.”

  “What?!” I gasped out.

  Matthieu huffed and glared at Wes before swallowing and turning back to me. “It’s not that…that I don’t think you love us. I just…”

  “Matthieu, do you think I asked you for my bondmark because I wanted the pack’s house or protection or money or anything like that?” I asked, frowning. I tried to pull my legs off Wes’ lap but he wasn’t having it, and instead he pulled me out of Matthieu’s arms, leaving me to face off with my troubled alpha.

  “Of course not, Lolotte. I can feel how much we care about one another. It’s only that I…” Matthieu’s voice strangled as he searched for the words, his fingers dragging through his hair and combing it back.

  I blinked and remembered our conversation from a couple weeks ago. Matthieu understood his own value by being needed or being able to nurture. But why would he have imagined that had changed now that Indy was gone?

  “I always considered things with Indy a burden I was trying to hold at bay,” I said, watching Matthieu’s reaction. “I know that you and Wes and the pack did help me shoulder that burden, but that wasn’t what I was grateful for. I mean, I am grateful for it, all of it,” I rushed to add, looking over my shoulder at Wes. “But for me, our relationship was only ever about us. I’d still rather have pretty things and french fries than any of you worrying about vanquishing my monsters for me.”

  “So nothing changes?” Matthieu asked.

  “I mean, hopefully a lot changes for the better, but you and I haven’t lost anything between us now that Indy’s gone,” I said. “If you have a hero complex you want to work out, I’m sure we can think of some kind of role-playing game to try.”

  Matthieu barked a laugh, and Wes scoffed at my back. “Sweetheart, just tell him to get therapy like a normal person.”

  “That too,” I said, my smile cracking as Matthieu’s stress melted away. “Oh! But Wes, you could be the dragon. I can be an equal opportunity princess.” Wes growled back at me, but his lips twitched as I waggled my eyebrows. “I’ll let you pick out my costume.”

  Matthieu snorted, hands reaching out to wrap around my wrists and pull me across the bench seat, Wes’ hands around my hips.

  “You are a very wonderfully, silly girl,” Matthieu murmured. “And if you think I won’t take you up on this offer, you’re mistaken.”

  “You’ll have to get past her dragon first,” Wes said.

  Don’t make a sword fighting joke, I hissed to myself.

  “I love you,” Matthieu whispered.

  “I love you too,” I said, stretching for a kiss before arching back to do the same with Wes. “And I love you.”

  “Love you, sweetheart,” Wes said, all gruff and choked up and blinking as if he was about to tell me he’d gotten something in his eye.

  “Now, we’re almost home, and you should prepare yourself,” Matthieu said, tucking my hair behind my ears. I raised my eyebrows, and he continued softly, “Rake is going to be begging you to bond one of his alphas and I’m not sure even Leo will be able to keep him in line.”

  “For that matter, I doubt Caleb or Cyrus will try to stop him,” Wes added.

  I nodded at them both. “I understand. It’s fine. I know I want all the bonds I can get with this pack, I was just waiting for the right time.”

  Matthieu sighed and nodded, his smile a little rueful. “Then I suppose Wes and I will have to give you up for a little while tonight.”

  Wes grunted, and his hands squeezed against my hips. “Not if the dragon drags the princess off into his tower.”

  I laughed and pecked a kiss on Wes’ jaw. “Another night. I really need them right now too.”

  He sighed and nodded, reaching up to fist one hand in my hair, tilting my head back to steal a filthy kiss that left me sighing and whining. The car pulled to a stop in front of the house and Wes pulled away, a little breathless and appropriately smug.

  “Another night,” he said with a grin.

  “Good job, Wes. Now you and I get to be sexually frustrated while our mate goes off to an orgy,” Matthieu said with a sigh, swinging open the car door as I burst into giggles.

  Twenty-Eight

  Lola

  I stood outside of Rake’s bathroom door, smiling to myself and listening to the soft hum of conversation and the bubble of the jacuzzi tub. If I’d been waiting to walk in on Matthieu or Wes in the bath, they would’ve known it and called out to me. Without the bond, the rest of the pack had no idea I was here.

  And I couldn’t wait to change that.

  I had already left my shoes somewhere downstairs, and now I peeled out of my sweaty, stinky clothes from the day. There was literally no smell on earth worse than stress sweat, and I’d been stuck in mine for hours in the police station.

  I hoped Rake wasn’t in too much of a hurry for that orgy, because a bath sounded like a really wonderful idea. Shucking off my underwear to the floor near the piles from the others, I pushed open the door and tiptoed inside.

  Rake’s back was to me but Leo saw me immediately, and I wondered if it was their bond or his enormous smile that alerted our omega first.

  “Lola!” Rake yelped, and he lurched up from the water as Cyrus and Caleb both turned their heads to see me.

  Cyrus’ hands wrapped around Rake’s thigh. “Let her come here first, you madman.”

  I ran over to the tub where Rake was trying to shake off his alpha, Leo laughing on the far side of the tub. Rake gave up fighting and sighed as I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning over the ledge and pressing kisses over his heart and across his chest.

  “God, Lola, finally. What took so long?” Rake moaned, his arms squeezing hard around my shoulders, damp nose burrowing against the top of my head.

  “Matthieu had to call Lisa Campion. I think she got there at the same time they were finally getting bored with interviewing me. I’m sorry it took so long.”

  “It’s fine, love. Rake, let her in the water,” Caleb said.

  Rake ignored him and leaned just far enough back to immediately dive in for a licking, starving, demanding kiss. I rose up to my toes, my breasts pressed to his chest as he ravaged my mouth, the pair of us moaning. Rake’s cock stiffened between us, sliding and slipping against my stomach as the kiss continued until he pulled away, leaving me to gasp for air.

  “Lola, I want—”

  “Wait,” I said, my hand flying up to cover his lips.

  “But—”

  I raised an eyebrow, and Rake went quiet. “Wait, I want to say something first. And god, I want a bath. Let me in.”

  Rake helped me into the water and I sighed as I sank down, churning heat swirling around me. Leo and Caleb were immediately close and armed with soapy cloths, washing away the horrible smells still clinging to my skin. My hands burned as I dipped them into the hot foaming water too, but the sting subsided quickly and the warmth soothed the bruising ache that left my fingers stiff.

  “Better?” Caleb asked, his hand
s finding my skin and petting me lightly under the water.

  Leo floated close enough for our legs to brush one another's, and Cyrus was against Rake’s side, holding or possibly restraining our overeager omega.

  “Much,” I said as Leo wedged himself between me and Rake, ignoring Rake’s huff of protest. I found Caleb’s hand under the water and raised it up in both of mine, cradling it against my chest and meeting the gentle alpha’s gaze. “Caleb, I love you. It’s not just the way you care for me, but also for Leo, and Rake. ”

  Leo’s breath hitched on my left as Caleb blinked watery eyes. “I love you, Lola. The same way, if not more.”

  I shifted closer to Caleb and his arms wrapped around me greedily, pulling me to his chest, my legs floating back behind me and bumping into the others' limbs.

  “Will you make me yours?” I whispered, staring up at Caleb. His damp strands were darkened by water and brushed away from his face, skin flushed from the heat of the bath.

  “Gladly,” Caleb murmured, dipping his head to graze his lips over mine. “Gratefully. Finally, love.”

  We kissed, and it lingered and grew and swirled between us until our chests were brushing together with every breath and I was almost ready to toss away the rest of my plan and let Caleb have his way with me. But there were three very important people I didn’t want to leave out.

  I pulled away slowly, Caleb’s nose nuzzling against mine, his smile hazy and soft like the ridiculous dream he was. I sucked his taste off my bottom lip and turned in the water, smiling at Leo’s outstretched hand but passing it to reach Rake and Cyrus.

  Rake’s hands closed around my forearms before I could speak, soft gray-green eyes wide and focused on me. “You know I would’ve done anything and everything so you never had to walk into that place again, don’t you?” Rake asked.

  I gaped at him and then shook off my surprise. “You know I would do anything to get you back to your pack, our pack?”