Chapter 66 Chapter 66

Chapter 66 Chapter 66
Beck

Misty was glued to her desk, afraid to miss any intel they discovered. Her apprehension took over the apartment, knotting even my stomach. I wandered downstairs for some boxes, Valentina eyeing me as she caught a glimpse of me going back upstairs. I figured letting Cricket focus and let her frustrations out on sorting and packing would keep her busy and avoid her being consumed by Misty’s worry. I cleaned the kitchen, made grilled cheese for lunch which Misty only ate half of. I took it away when I realized she was looking sick, trying to force herself to eat to not worry me. I was about to drag her from the desk, information be damned, when she hurriedly waved me over pushing the earbud at me again. I popped it into my ear.

“Whats the news on the van?” Creedon growled like he was trying to hold back his temper but clearly failed.

“The business is only registered online. The address is an abandoned building falling apart, but the van is registered to a man named Tanner, looking into the shifters in the area he is a part of a sleuth of bears that call themselves ‘The Blacks’. Most of the members have had issues with the law at one time or another and their previous leader went missing under mysterious circumstances,” the head of security informed Creedon.

“Get me everything on every member of that sleuth, and a blueprint of the city with their territory boundaries. The Blacks are about to have a very bad day. I want it all ready after my press conference. My mate needs to know I haven’t forgotten about her. Only she could be behind the rest of this shit storm. She has stolen something very important to me,” he said, his voice almost guttural. 

My wide eyes looked at Beck’s. We had accomplished putting the blame on The Black’s as intended but this other development worried me. I looked over at my computer and clicked on the browser looking for the press conference he referenced. 9 p.m., did I tell her? Would she want to know? Would it be too much? No, Adelaide needed to face the man she was about to destroy.

Misty

It was just before the press conference started when my fingers fumbled over the keys on my phone to call Briar. This wasn’t the news I wanted to give her. The phone rang once before she picked up.

I didn’t bother waiting for her hello, I just cut to the chase. “Your douche bag is about to start his press conference. I figured, if you wanted to watch, I’d sit with you. I sent you the link to the live.” 

I heard her breath catch before the zip of a bag and some fumbling around commenced. A long moment of silence.

“I wanna know who this asshole is,” a female voice hissed. Lana, the sheriff’s female best friend’s girlfriend. At least her new friends already had her back. I was happy she had them, but a part of me worried I had been replaced. It was stupid, years of being a fuck up, years with only Briar beside me through everything played back. I shook it off, this wasn’t about me. A tear fell, Cricket’s door shut down the hall. Beck had put her to bed because I had paced the last hour before I made the call. Part of me hoping she didn’t pick up. This wouldn’t be easy for her.

The click of the mouse sounded, an exhale. In my mind I reached across the hundreds of miles of distance between us and gripped her hand.

Creedon’s obnoxious face filled the screen. The facade of complete control and seriousness. I knew better. The man was a volcano ready to implode. Beck settled next to me, a soft rumble emitting from him as he took in the screen.

He started going on about business moves, things I know he stole from Adelaide’s dream of helping those who could not afford tech. When I had visited the poor Appalachian town she had grown up in I had realized how hard Adelaide had worked to get a foothold in the world she found herself in, deservedly so, she was smart, sharp, and didn’t take shit. Through it all she never lost sight of her honorable heart.

I found myself gripping Beck’s hand. “He stole all that from Ads, he’s trying to mend things he knows are now in jeopardy,” I murmured, leaning into him. so the phone on speaker now couldn’t pick up what I was saying to explain what was happening to the man out of the loop. His jaw tightened and I turned my attention back to the screen.

“Where is your assistant? Or should we say girlfriend?” a press woman questioned, her words bold; meant to disarm him.

“The authorities and my personal team are working tirelessly on the disappearance of Miss Anderson. It has been a blow to the company, as well as to me personally, and we are working every angle to find her. Rest assured, we are exhausting every lead.” he replied the clearly practiced response.

I was seething. If these people only knew the monster flaunting in front of them disguised as a concerned employer or love interest as the press liked to swing things. New York’s most eligible bachelor was finally hooked and she has been mysteriously taken away. His fake concern made me want to punch the screen but Beck squeezed my hand and I leaned into that comfort.

“Addy, baby, I know you’re out there, I’m coming for you,” he promised. The slight smirk on his face had me seeing red. I pushed away from the desk, my hand yanking from Beck’s hand as I paced and cursed in Spanish. My blood was boiling in my veins. How did you dismantle the fucking untouchable? Adeilade had the right plan but even though I almost lost my life yesterday in the name of taking this sick fuck down, I felt like I was powerless to help her. Beck stood giving me a questioning, worried look. I just shook my head as some commotion stirred on Adelaide's side of the phone, I walked back over and was about to speak when what I did hear stopped me. My eyes shot to Beck.

“Briar,” Lana called her name as if trying to pull her out of a daze. But there was fear laced with her words.

“Snap out of it, Briar. I’m not the one supposed to be here for this. I can’t handle you,” Lana pleaded.

“What’s going on?” I asked, moving back to the desk and pulling up the cameras and realizing I didn't have any inside the house. I left them rolling across the screen as Beck sat back down with me waiting for an answer. My gaze shifted from the screen to his silver eyes. He was focusing, maybe trying to hear more than I could from the phone.

“Carter is talking to her from another phone, he's talking her down,” Beck explained in a soft whisper.

Down from what? I thought, listening to the faint sound of a male's voice in the background.

I narrowed my eyes at him wanting more information, he held up a finger and I wanted to smack it away.

Adelaide let out a breath.

“Ads?” I asked.

“I’m fine Misty,” she answered, but I could hear the unintended lie in her voice. She was trying to convince herself. “If anything, I’m just more determined to end him in every way I can. He wants to make my life miserable; two can play that game. We need to go through the evidence. I have a plan. We need to sort the information from what you will leak, and what I can provide to all of his potential clients and current business partners. They need to know who this man really is,” Adelaide insisted.

That was my bestie, bound, determined, and steadfast in a goal. That we could work with. If she had fallen apart I don’t know what the next step would be.

Over the next hour she solidified her plans. Ingenious really. The entire time I could feel Beck was holding back something.
“What is it?” I asked him after I hung up.

“I think she almost shifted, before even knowing what she was. That could have been dangerous,” he admitted. My worry for my friend reached an entirely new level then.