Chapter Thirty-Five

 

It wasn’t really much different from the other jobs Tristan had done. Get in, get what he came for, get out. He was going in alone which made him a little nervous. But Quinn was his backup, and he knew the alpha would move heaven and earth to keep him safe.

“Are you clear on your entry route?” Quinn asked him for the tenth time.

“Scale the back wall, cross the yard, climb the trellis onto the balcony on the second floor. Take the back stairs up two floors to the fourth floor. The nursery is on the right, two doors down.”

“And the security?”

“Guards patrol outside and inside the wall every twenty minutes. More guards on the fourth floor, but we don’t know how many or how often they patrol.”

“If you’re caught?”

“On the way in, I pretend to be a party guest who has wandered away from the crowd. On the way out, I run if I can, surrender if I can’t and claim that the baby is mine.”

The idea being that the claim would at least delay them from doing anything drastic, giving Quinn time to bust down doors and get him out.

“Okay,” Quinn said, checking his watch. “Ten minutes until we move.”

They were sitting in a rented car, one that couldn’t be traced back to them if they had to abandon it. Tristan glanced down at what he was wearing, unzipping his top to check the sling Darcy had fashioned to carry the baby out. It would leave his hands free and let him climb back out, baby in tow.

“Nervous?” Quinn asked.

The word no was on the tip of his tongue. “Yes.”

The alpha grinned. “Pre-job jitters. They never go away, but they do get easier.”

“What if I mess it up? That omega is counting on me.”

“Counting on us,” Quinn corrected. “You’re not in this alone, it’s not all on you. We’re a team.”

Tristan took a deep breath, nodding as he exhaled. “We can do this.”

“We will do this.”

The alpha handed over an earpiece and a small button-shaped microphone that Tristan clipped to the collar of his shirt.

“Don’t rush it. Focus on not being seen on the way in and speed on the way out.”

“I know.” They’d been over and over it. He was sure he could recite the plan in his sleep.

“Then it’s time.” Quinn leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Be safe.”

Tristan wanted more, pressing his lips to Quinn’s. The alpha’s hand rested lightly on the back of his neck, fingers teasing at the bond mark there. A spark of heat made him shiver before, reluctantly, they both pulled back.

“See you soon,” he promised and slipped from the car.

Quinn’s voice was in his ear a moment later, checking the connection was clear, then he went quiet. But Tristan knew he wasn’t gone, his silent support, his partner in crime.

Tristan crept closer to the pack house until he could see the wall. Then he crouched behind a tree and waited. Five minutes ticked by before the patrolling guard passed. Tristan didn’t move for another five, needing to be sure the guard was out of sight and hearing range while leaving enough time for him to scale the wall before the guard circled back.

Then he ran for the wall, using the momentum to propel himself up and climbing the rest of the way. He paused at the top, moving to lie lengthways along the top of the wall while he tried to spot the guard inside. There was no-one on sight or in earshot, so he went over, climbing down a few feet before letting himself drop to the ground, landing softly in a flowerbed.

He crouched, breathing hard, worried he’d drawn attention. But nothing moved. In the distance, he heard voices and laughter. The party Griffin had said was happening that night, the background distraction for their crime.

Glancing around, he spotted the balcony he needed to get to. Staying close to the wall for cover, he skirted around until he was standing just below the balcony. The trellis looked easy to climb but he wondered about whether it could take his weight. Only one way to find out.

The first few steps were nerve-wracking, but the trellis held and he was climbing over onto the balcony a minute later. He stopped there to get his bearings, watching the garden to see if he’d been spotted while keeping an eye on the door leading from the balcony inward.

Through the door were the biggest unknowns of this job. There weren’t supposed to be guards on this floor but that didn’t mean there was no one around. He crawled to the door, reaching up for the handle to slide it over. He was worried it was locked, but it slid aside easily and near soundlessly. Once it was ajar enough for him to slip inside, he paused again and listened. There was silence from within. Taking a breath, he stepped through.

“I’m in,” he murmured.

“Well done,” Quinn’s low voice rumbled.

His next objective was to find the stairs. Griffin’s map had shown them to the left of the balcony, down a long corridor. Tristan started walking, keeping his movements as quiet as he could. In the distance, he heard a door open and froze. There was a voice and footsteps but they were growing distant not coming closer.

Relieved, he moved on. The stairs were right where they were supposed to be, dark and empty. He climbed two floors then paused. If there were guards, this was where they’d be. But he couldn’t hear anyone in the corridor beyond.

He stepped out and turned right, counting the doors as he passed them. And then he was outside the nursery. He listened closely, straining to hear inside. He could distinguish four people breathing. And one of those was moving around. Uh-oh. Maybe there was a nanny in there with them?

The footsteps moved toward the door, and Tristan backed hastily away, slipping inside the room next door which was, thankfully, empty.

He left the door cracked just enough to be able to see. The person left the nursery but walked the opposite direction from Tristan before opening another door, stepping inside, and closing it.

Tristan waited another minute before going back outside. He stopped at the nursery but paused, wondering if the nanny or whoever it was would be coming back. But from the room they had entered, he heard the heavy breathing of someone falling asleep. Whoever they were, they’d gone back to bed.

Pressing down the door handle, he slipped silently into the nursery. There were two cribs and a bed in the room. The bed held a child, maybe three years old. Definitely not the baby he was looking for. The first crib held a toddler. Tristan guessed he was a year old or so. The final cot was the one he was looking for, the little alpha deep asleep inside, one tiny arm thrown over his face. Opening his jacket, he got the sling ready then reached into the crib, lifting the baby out carefully and settling him into the sling. The baby stirred, letting out a little cry of unhappiness at being disturbed. Tristan shushed him softly, zipping up his jacket to keep the little one warm and moving to the door. There was no time to settle him.

“I’ve got him,” he murmured into the microphone.

“Time to go,” Quinn whispered back.

The corridor was still empty when he slipped back out, the stairs still deserted as he climbed down them. It was only when he reached the balcony that things started to go wrong. There were at least three people out in the garden, with flashlights. They were searching. And there was no way they’d miss Tristan jumping down from the balcony and running for the wall.

“Quinn,” he said, trying to keep calm. “They’re looking for me. My escape through the garden is cut off.”

“Where are you?” the alpha asked calmly.

“Balcony.”

“Go back to the stairs and head down. Go now.”

“Someone’s going to see me,” he whispered even as he walked. “They’re searching all around the back of the house.” He could hear new voices joining those already there.

“Yeah? Well, you’re not leaving by the back. You’re leaving by the front.”

“I’ll be seen.”

There was a whole party full of people there.

“We’ve got it covered.”

Quinn directed him to the first floor then around to the front of the house. Twice he had to duck into rooms to avoid being caught.

“You’re going to exit through some French windows in the living room, out onto the patio beside the pool. The place will be crawling with people but they’re not going to be looking at you, we’ll make sure of that. You’ll keep left. There will be a small grove of trees that you’ll use as cover to climb the wall there. I’ll be right on the other side.”

But if Quinn was out there, who was providing the distraction?

He reached the patio doors, crouching down to hide behind a sofa as people laughed and talked right outside. There were so many of them and so many lights, Tristan didn’t know how he was supposed to get by without being seen. Until the shouting started.

“That’s your cue, Tris,” Quinn said. “Go.”

He got to this feet and stepped outside, walking behind the small crowd just outside the door, their eyes fixed on the drama happening on the other side of the yard. Tristan glanced briefly in that direction but couldn’t see much over all the people crowded around.

The grove of trees came into view, and he all but ran for it, one arm wrapped securely around the baby. And then he was climbing, up and over, not bothering to check if anyone saw him. He landed a little hard, feeling his ankle twinge in complaint, but then he was in the car, with Quinn, and they were peeling away.

“Are you two okay?” Quinn asked.

Tristan reached down to check on the baby, finding him fast asleep.

“We’re fine. The little one didn’t even wake up.”

“Great. We’ll drive to the rendezvous point and catch up with the others.”

“Others? I thought we were doing this solo?”

“Mostly. Griffin just thought an extra hand or two wouldn’t go astray if we needed a backup plan.”

Which they had.

“Who was it?”

“Noah and Ronan. They should be finishing up their little spat and getting out of there right about now.”

The baby woke, and Tristan was distracted trying to soothe him.

“Shh, it’s okay little one. You’re safe now.”

“He might be hungry,” Quinn suggested. “There’s formula milk in the other car.”

“He wasn’t the only kid in the nursery,” Tristan said. “There were two more.”

“What ages?” Quinn asked.

“One and three or thereabouts. Both alphas.”

“Makes sense. They’re big on training fighters. They probably hand them over to the trainers when they’re three or four.”

Tristan glanced down at the infant in his arms. “But they’re just babies. They need love and care, not training, not discipline.”

“And he’ll get that. We’ll have him back in his father’s arms soon, and he’ll get all the love he needs.”

They slowed down and parked up in front of a familiar vehicle.

“We’ll wait for the others here,” Quinn said, turning off the lights. He leaned over, his hand reaching for the material of the sling. “Let’s have a look at this little guy.”

The baby’s eyes opened, and he seemed alert and curious, his gaze focusing on Quinn.

“Well, hi there.”

The alpha made a face, and the little boy smiled up at him before his face creased in a frown.

“Oh no, don’t cry,” Tristan said.

“I’ll go get the milk and a blanket. Why don’t you get him out of that sling.”

And then Tristan was alone with the baby while Quinn went to the other car.

“I wonder if your dad chose a name for you, huh? I’m sure he did. I bet he can’t wait to see you again.”

The baby didn’t like being taken out of the sling but settled quickly when Tristan cuddled him to his chest.

“Shh, I’ve got you. Things are gonna be okay now, you’ll see.”

Quinn came back, helping him wrap the baby in the blanket before pulling out a premade bottle which he shook.

“Try him with this.”

It took a little coaxing before the baby took the bottle but once he figured it out he seemed ravenous.

“That’s better,” Tristan said, sighing happily.

“You did great out there,” Quinn told him, settling an arm around his shoulders.

“I had you watching my back. I knew that, whatever happened, we’d get through it.”

“And we did.”

The baby took a break from eating, and Tristan sat him up, rubbing a hand across his back.

“I want one. A baby.”

He hadn’t meant the words to come out the way they did. Quinn took them in his stride.

“Well, we can’t steal this one,” the alpha joked. “But one of our own could be on the cards.”

“But first, I need a home, a pack, like I had before.”

Quinn did a double take. “You want to go home?”

The baby gurgled, and Tristan rocked him.

“Yeah,” Tristan agreed. “I want to go home. With you.”

Quinn grinned. “Now that is a future I can get behind.”