To ruin an Omega - Chapter 345: What Justice?

Chapter 345: What Justice?

ALDRIC

“Come in.”

The door opened and Garrett stepped inside. He was tall. Broader in the shoulders than most of the other sentinels I had seen around the estate. Though he was young and has a decent looking face, it was still weathered in that way that came from years of outdoor work and probably a few too many fights. His eyes were his most redeeming geatures. I disliked them so much too. Because they looked sharp and alert. They swept the room in one quick motion before settling on me.

I stepped back and gestured toward the chair near the window. My hand was steady. My expression was neutral. Everything about me screamed casual concern.

“Sentinel Garrett. Thank you for coming.”

He nodded once. “You requested my presence. Of course I would come.”

“I did.” I moved to lean against the dresser. My arms crossed over my chest and I let out a breath that sounded tired. Worried even. “I apologize if I’m being paranoid. I just can’t shake this feeling.”

Garrett didn’t sit. He stood near the door with his hands at his sides. Professional, as he waited.

I continued. “Our witch guest left suddenly today. Madeline. I’m the reason she’s here in the first place. I vouched for her safety when I brought her into this estate. And now she’s gone and I’ve been calling her phone all morning. Nothing. She won’t pick up.”

I paused and ran my hand through my hair. The gesture was meant to look frustrated. Agitated.

“Something doesn’t sit right with me. The way she left. All of it.”

I sighed and shook my head. The picture of a concerned older acquaintance who was worried about his guest.

“The Alpha isn’t concerned about it. I understand that. Their relationship was turbulent at best. But she’s still a witch. And that species currently has it out for him because of his involvement in another witch’s murder. Not much can be done about that I suppose. It could also be seen as pound of flesh being gotten back. But a Supreme’s daughter?” I looked at Garrett directly. “I worry.”

Garrett’s expression didn’t change. He just nodded slowly. “How can I be of help?”

“I was told you were at the gate when she left.”

“I was.”

“Can you tell me what you saw?”

Garrett’s jaw shifted slightly. He was thinking. Choosing his words.

“She left in a car. A Mercedes. Silver. One of the sentinels drove her.”

“Who drove it?”

“Sentinel Carl.”

I nodded and kept my face thoughtful. Concerned. “When did the car come back?”

“I’m not sure about that.” Garrett’s voice was even. And because of that it felt practiced. “That part is murky. But I believe it was about forty minutes later.”

Forty minutes. That lined up with what Ronan had told me earlier. The timeline was consistent. Nothing out of place there.

I watched Garrett’s face. There was no fracture in his story. No hesitation. No tells that would indicate he was lying or uncertain. He spoke like someone reciting facts.

“What time did she leave exactly?”

Garrett shifted his weight. “I apologize. I’m not sure of the exact time. All I know is that it was dawn. Early. Very early.”

“Okay.” I nodded and pushed off the dresser. “Thanks. That will be all.”

Garrett looked me up and down. His eyes traveled from my face to my chest to my hands and back up again. There was something in his gaze. Something assessing.

“I guess that means I can go.”

“Yes.”

He turned toward the door. His movements were controlled. Deliberate. He reached for the handle and I watched him. My mind was working. Turning over everything he had said.

The answers felt rehearsed. Too smooth. Too clean. A lot like he had practiced them beforehand. As if someone had told him exactly what to say and how to say it.

I moved.

My feet carried me across the room in three quick strides. While I was silent with my steps, I was fast too. I raised my hand and reached toward the back of his head.

“Hey.”

Garrett turned.

His eyes went wide when he saw how close I was. His hand shot down to his holster. His fingers wrapped around the grip of his gun and his whole body tensed like he was about to draw.

The look on his face was pure terror. Just for a second. A flash of fear that he couldn’t hide.

Then as quickly as it registered, he masked it.

Bingo.

I stopped and raised both hands in a placating gesture. My expression shifted to surprised and most importantly innocence.

“Woah. Just because you’re a sentinel doesn’t mean you should be trigger happy.”

Garrett’s hand stayed on his gun. His breathing was faster now and he was trying his best to still it. I could hear it. I could see the way his chest rose and fell.

I smiled and gestured toward his head. “I have quite the compulsive nature. The way your hair is sticking out bothers me. I apologize for startling you.”

Garrett’s face shifted. The fear melted away and he forced out a laugh. It sounded strained and very nervous.

A pathetic attempt to settle things if you asked me.

“Reflex.” He said.

“Oh, I bet.”

I dropped my hands and stepped back. I gave him space. Room to breathe.

“Well, that is all done, you can go now.”

Garrett nodded. He turned back to the door and pulled it open. Then he stepped out into the hallway and closed it behind him.

I stood there and listened.

His footsteps moved away. Swift at first. Then even faster. Faster than they should have been. And underneath that sound was another one.

His heartbeat.

I could still hear it through the door. Pounding. Racing. Thundering in his chest like a war drum.

Sentinels were trained. They were disciplined. They didn’t panic. They didn’t startle. They certainly didn’t reach for their weapons unless they were facing an enemy.

But Garrett had.

He had looked at me. Seen me close to him. And his immediate instinct had been to draw his gun and shoot.

That was all the confirmation I needed.

I turned away from the door and walked back to the dresser. My hand went to my pocket and pulled out my phone. I unlocked it and opened my contacts. Ronan’s name was at the top of the recent calls list.

My thumb hovered over it.

One call. That was all it would take. I could tell him to prepare for a coup. I could warn him that Cian was making a move. That Garrett has revealed it all without saying a word and that we needed to act first before they did.

Ronan would listen. He would mobilize my people. We could strike before the sun went down. Take out Cian and anyone loyal to him before they had a chance to come after me.

My finger moved toward the call button.

Then it stopped.

My eyes dropped to my hand. To the blood ring sitting on my finger. The red stone gleamed in the light from the window. Dark and deep like a pool of blood.

I stared at it.

Gabriel’s face flashed through my mind. Not the way he looked now. But the way he had looked when we were younger. When we were still figuring out where we stood with each other. Before the betrayals. Before the games.

He was my insurance. My safety net. The one card I had left to play if everything went to hell.

But if I didn’t use him. If I called Ronan and started a war. Then what?

I would survive. Probably. I might even win. But I would burn through every resource I had. Every pussy ally. Plenty of my bargaining chips too. Chances were that I could also face the court of the Alpha King. I couldn’t do that. End up used up. Wasted on a fight that I didn’t even know for certain I needed to have.

Because what did I actually know?

Garrett was scared of me. That was clear. But was that because Cian had ordered him to play me? Or was it because he genuinely believed Madeline had left and he was just nervous about being questioned?

The shoe in the passage. The footprints. They pointed to something. A game. A game I would have played too if I were in that position.

Maybe Cian did know. Maybe he had figured me out and this was his way of toying with me. Seeing how I would react.

Or maybe I was just paranoid. Maybe I was seeing threats where there were none. Maybe my mother’s voice was still in my head telling me I wasn’t good enough and I was overcompensating by imagining enemies everywhere.

I closed my eyes and took a breath.

No.

I couldn’t act on maybes. I couldn’t burn my best asset on a hunch.

I needed to be smart and careful. I needed to think this through.

My thumb moved away from Ronan’s name and then I slowly lowered the phone as I stared at the screen. My reflection looked back at me. Distorted and warped in the black glass.

Ronan would hate me for this. If he survived. If he figured out what I had done.

But that didn’t matter. I had to be safe. That was what mattered the most.

I slipped the phone back into my pocket and turned toward the window. The grounds stretched out below me. Green and perfect. Peaceful.

Everything looked fine.

But underneath it all was rot, decay and most likely a betrayal waiting to happen.

And I was going to make sure I was the last one standing when it did.

I’d allow the defiance. Briefly. I was curious to see what was going to happen.