Selling Myself To The Alpha
Chapter 152

Liana

POV

I sigh heavily as I get out of bed and walk to the bathroom.

My night was restless. I hardly slept and when I actually managed to fall asleep, I was taunted by nightmares of Davy grinning at me while playing with pigs. Something is gnawing at me, and I do not know what it is. Since we caught Davy, I have repeatedly replayed the events in my mind, but I cannot figure out what I am missing.

"I am worried about you," Axel looks at me concerned when' I return from the bathroom. "Don't think I haven't noticed you didn't sleep last night."

"You don't need to worry," I smile weakly. "There's nothing wrong."

"But something's bugging you," he takes my hand and pulls me onto the bed next to him. "Talk to me."

"I don't know," I admit with a groan and nestle closer to his chest as his arms go around me. "It just feels like I'm missing something. I already made one mistake when I forgot about a tracking device in Davy's car. It was pure luck that he deactivated it. I can't afford to make mistakes when other people's lives are at stake."

"First off, we made a mistake," he kisses me softly on the forehead. "It's not fair that you carry the responsibility by yourself."

"Thanks," I smile as his words warm my heart. His unwavering support is priceless. "But if I want an idea, I must think it through thoroughly."

"Let's take it step by step," Axel says softly. "There isn't a body to be found, the car's untraceable and in pieces at a scrapyard. It was delivered with our men in disguise and false number plates. We left Davy's phone by the road, and nobody can trace it to us. They found the phone like we knew they would and.."

"That's it!" I sit upright and look at Axel. "The phone. We haven't looked through it."

"I don't understand," he frowns. "There's nothing on it that we don't know. Why is it important?"

"Because we know," I jump up and walk to my cupboard."

We know what happened to Davy but according to everyone else, he is missing, not dead. We didn't bother searching the phone, but what if there's information about Sophie there? A photo or something that might help The Enforcers replace her if they get their hands on the phone."

"But they don't have the phone," Axel reasons.

"Until they do," I say over my shoulder as I dress. "They're capable of so much more than stealing a phone. Adele needs to hide that thing far and deep until they can unlock and search it." "I'll call her," Axel reaches for the phone.

Adele POV

"What does Axel want this early?" Luther yawns and stretches out lazily as I put my phone down.

"He warned me to guard Davy's phone," I reply and get out of bed. "And I asked them to be here in an hour. We have business to discuss before this afternoon's meeting." "I'll start.."

Luther is interrupted by an alarm, and we look at each other for a split second before storming downstairs. I usually do not confront people in my pyjamas, but there is no time to change. Rena, report, I mind-link her.

I'm already here. There's an intruder in your office, she replies hastily.

"st*t," I look at Luther. "Davy's phone."

Luther and I barge into the office and see Rena with her knee on a man's back. The man looks vaguely familiar and then it hits me. It is Alfred, he used to be Jack's Delta. Quickly I scour my office but at first glance, nothing is out of place. Not even the furniture is disturbed.

"Alfred?" I frown and walk closer. "Is he the intruder?"

"One of them," Rena gets up and pulls Alfred to his feet."

Neal is chasing the other one."

"What the hell, Alfred?" I cross my arms in front of my chest. I study his face but there is not a trace of blood or bruising. "Is this payback for replacing you as Delta?"

"You have it all wrong," Alfred looks pleadingly at me. "I came to help. I saw a suspicious person entering your home, and I could smell he was not from Moonstone. So, I investigated and that's when Rena found me."

I sniff in the air, and it takes all my self-control to keep my composure when I indeed smell an unfamiliar smell.

Alfred's story sounds like a lie, but the part about the intruder is true.

"Lock him up until I decide his fate," I order Rena.

Silently I wait as Rena leads Alfred away as dark tendrils curl around my heart. I cannot place my finger on it but this entire situation stinks. I walk to my desk and pull open the drawer.

"For fvck's sake, no, I mumble as I slump into my chair and look at Luther. "They got the phone."

"How did they know to go directly to your desk?" Luther frowns.

"It's the last place Sheldon saw it. He took a wild guess, and it paid off. I fvcked up," my blood boils as I say the words. "I should've locked it away."

"There's no way you could've known ..."

"I should've known better," I cut him off brusquely and closed my eyes for a moment.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," I stand up and walk to him."

I'm furious at myself for not thinking."

"It's okay," he gently kisses me on my forehead. "Snap all you want; I can take it."

I tried mind-linking Neal a couple of times, but he is not responding. This only means he is not within our borders and that Alfred was not lying about the other person not being from Moonstone.

"I'm going to get dressed before Liana and Axel get here," I pull away from Luther and walk to our room.

Axel POV

I look at Liana as we listen to Adele's story. I knew Liana was right about the phone, but I thought she was a little too anxious about it. Now it seems she had every right to feel like that.

"This is such a mess," Adele continues. "The culprit might not be from Moonstone but he sure as hell had help from the inside. How else did he know where to look and how to deactivate the security system? And nobody knows the code, except for me, Luther and the ranks."

"It's not Rena or Neal," Liana says adamantly. "They know were looking for The Enforcers. If they were part of it, they would've warned them."

"How do you know they haven't?" Luther raises his eyebrows. "Sheldon already wants to suspend working overtime. That tells me they know we're onto them."

"If they knew, they wouldn't need the phone," Liana argues.

"They would've simply killed us and get it over with. They're laying low for another reason."

"I cannot fathom that Neal or Rena helped, but who else?" Adele says sceptically. "They were awfully quick on the scene. Hell, Rena pinned Alfred down without knocking over a chair. They were not supposed to report for duty for another hour. Why were they here so early? And if they are conspiring against me, why catch Alfred? Why not take the phone and plead clueless?"

"Alfred could be part of this," Luther shrugs. "Think about it.

They were three against one. It should've been easy for them to catch the intruder. Catching Alfred might simply be a smokescreen to distract us from what's really going on."

"And allowing the true culprit to get away," Adele adds.

"Those are all valid questions" I say firmly. Adele has every reason to suspect a traitor amongst her ranks but speculating about it is not going to help us now. Time is a luxury we do not have. "But figuring out the answers is a waste of time. Our priority now is to get Sophie to safety and keep up appearances."

"Like your meeting with the clients this afternoon," Liana nods.

"Right," I agree. "And things might be clearer once you talked to Neal and Rena. There could be a logical reason for this morning's event."

"He'll be in my office in five minutes" Adele looks at her watch. "But Rena is guarding Alfred."

"It's better to interrogate Neal and Rena separately," I state.

"That way they can't lie for each other."

"I'll take care of Alfred," Luther smiles wickedly. "My hands are itching to break something."

"Just don't break his neck until we have answers," I warn softly, and Luther gives me an annoyed look.

"And I'll get Sophie to safety," Liana smiles.

"I know this is our best option, but I don't like this," Adele looks at Liana. "You're pregnant and things could get dangerous."

"I agree with her," I look at Liana as my guts pull into knots.

"I won't do it alone," she reassures us. "David will be by my side."

And I'll warn Shedrick not to feed his pigs. Liana's mind-links me.