What does he know? “Release Magda, and I’ll answer your questions.”

“Oh, please.” The older alpha peered over his shoulder and walked out of sight.

Is he leaving? “Mr. Sharpe? Come back. We can work this out.”

“Magda… Mama? Did they leave?” Max shook the laptop. “Where are they?”

The word mama trips over his tongue. He’s not used to saying it.

The desk with its scones, tea and rum stood in stark contrast to an opened box with polystyrene foam poking out the top behind Mr. Sharpe’s chair.

Seb placed an ear close to the screen and held a finger to his lips. A shuffling followed by an ominous click had Max flinch and grip his mate’s arm.

“He locked the door,” the omega whispered.

The alpha reappeared, bent over and popped up again with a wide-eyed Magda in his grasp. “She’s my leverage, and I’ll use her until I get what I want.”

Stay calm, Seb. This is no time to lose it. Put your alpha-sized ego aside. “Which is?”

“That thing around your neck.”

“A minute ago, you were desperate to get Max home. And now you’re angling for a bauble. I’m getting whiplash with your demands.”

“That so-called trinket is worth millions, and it’s mine. Mine! Keep Max. I borrowed him and he’s been shackled to me for over 20 years.” The older alpha loosened his grip on Magda and pointed to Seb’s mate. “I’m setting him free in exchange for the nugget.”

“Don’t listen to him.” Magda headbutted her boss and sunk her teeth in his wrist. “It belonged to my father-in-law and old Mr. Whitmore. When my father-in-law died, he told his partner to hide it. My mate never had it.”

The alpha screamed and lunged for the housekeeper but she grabbed the cup on the desk and flung hot tea in his face. His screeches pierced the screen and stung Seb while Max wailed and reared away from the computer. Mary flung open the bedroom door and poked her head out. Trixie scuttled to Max’s side as he clung to Seb, his eyes fixed on the computer.

“Go back, Mary. Now!” Seb’s tone left no doubt who was in charge, and the older omega called Trixie and both she and the piglet scurried inside the bedroom and the door slammed behind them.

Dray sprinted in from outside, his phone tucked under his ear. God, it’s a freaking party. “You stay there,” hissed Seb. The younger man skidded on a rug covering the wooden floor and flipped onto his back while his phone slid under the sofa. Nope. It’s a circus.

Mr. Sharpe’s face was flushed, and the skin on his cheeks was already peeling from the hot tea, but his unblinking eyes were glazed as he hummed a tune and croaked, “You will pay for that,” in a sing song voice.

Shit. He’s scaring me.

The alpha grabbed a gun from the desk drawer and waved it toward Magda, who was out of range of the webcam. Blood trickled from the set of teeth marks outlined on his tanned skin. “And so will your son.”

Though he could no longer see her, the housekeeper’s sniffs and whimpering wounded Seb. And it’s so much worse for Max. His mate’s aroma, always changeable based on his emotions, was bitter and pungent. Fear!

Keeping his eyes on Magda, Mr. Sharpe pointed the weapon at the laptop and crimson droplets flicked onto the screen and dribbled over the glass. “Are you paying attention, Sebastian?”

He can have it so Magda gets her freedom. “Please don’t do anything rash. If you are a man of your word, allow Magda to leave, and I guarantee I’ll hand over the nugget.” Seb palmed the pendant as he spoke.

“Over there.” The older alpha returned his attention to the tiny omega, and she shuffled back into view clutching her shawl.

Did he hear me? “Mr. Sharpe?”

“You said it was fool’s gold.” His mate’s hand on Seb’s shoulder had the alpha taking a deep breath. Please Max. You don’t know the whole story—and neither do I. “Yeah. I lied.” Yet again.

The omega stared at the pendant around his mate’s neck. “This… this thing is why I was kidnapped and lives ruined, mine included? You had it? You!” Max was dry-eyed as he pressed his lips together. His stare was as icy as the wind that whipped off the lake in mid-winter.

“No. I’ve only had it since my grandfather died. I was a child when you were taken, Max.” Fuck! This is not the time for a discussion let alone an argument.

Seb squeezed the omega’s hand but his mate gave him a hard look, pulled his fingers out of the alpha’s grasp and stuck them in his mouth. He nibbled his nails as he stared at Magda.

A bashing on the other side of the study door had Mr. Sharpe point the gun at the housekeeper and whisper, “One word and you’re dead.”

“Stop him, Seb!” Max raked his hands through his hair, his torn nails raising welts on his pale skin.

Is that Nathan?

“Sir, is everything all right?” Nathan’s voice boomed from outside the room.

Thank God.

Max avoided Seb’s glance as he slumped into the chair and brought the laptop to his face. Mr. Sharpe’s eyes darted from Magda, to his computer and then toward the door.

He’s calculating his options.

The older alpha yanked both ends of the housekeeper’s shawl and she whimpered as she stumbled toward her boss. “Make a sound and I’ll shoot you, and your son will witness your agonizing death,” he hissed.

Max hunched his shoulders and moaned as he rocked from side to side. Seb knelt beside him and clasped the omega’s hands in his. “I’ve got you.”

“Ambrose. It’s okay,” Mr. Sharpe called out. “It was just the stupid housekeeper knocking over a bottle on the bar.”

Ambrose?

“He’ll send Nathan away, Seb,” Max whispered. “Do something. He’s her only chance.”

“It’s yours.” Seb lifted the pendant and placed it against the screen, but the older alpha grunted, and picking up the laptop, he balanced it in one hand while waving the gun in the other.

“Again, Sebastian. Louder this time.” With the back of the laptop leaning against Mr. Sharpe’s chest, Seb and Max peered between the bloody smudges on the screen as the alpha’s hand grasping the gun nudged Magda toward the door.

“The nugget. It belongs to you.”

The door to Mr. Sharpe’s office shook under Nathan’s battering. “Sir, I want to come in and look around, if I may?”

“Damn, he’ll break the door.” Jerking his head at the housekeeper, the alpha growled, “Open it, but try to warn him, and …” He placed the gun on Magda’s forehead and mimed pulling the trigger. “And after murdering you, I’ll find your son and feed him, piece by bloody piece, to the fish in my pond.”

The little omega’s face crumpled, but she bit her lip and nodded.

Max sagged against his mate, who squeezed his hand. “Not going to happen.”

To him, Max is a pawn. Credit to his grandparents, Magda, and to his strength of character he turned out as he did.

As the older man brandished his weapon, the laptop wobbled, and the picture seesawed with it. Magda shuffled over the carpet, and her shaky hands fumbled with the lock on the door.

“Hurry, up, woman.”

The door swung open and Nathan sprinted inside, his limp hardly noticeable.

Mr. Sharpe waved the gun in front of the screen as he pointed it at the housekeeper. “She attacked me, Ambrose.” Blood dripped from his palm, staining his pristine white shirt. “I was defending myself and she will pay for the attempt on my life.”

Nathan lunged for the cowering Magda. “Of course, sir.” His eyes flashed toward the laptop but other than a rapid blinking, there was no flicker of recognition. “I’ll handle it.”

Was that a signal? Morse code? I don’t read eye blinking.

“I’m not finished with her. Lock Magda in her room, and I’ll deal with her afterwards.”

Is he so intent on getting the gold, he’ll allow his bargaining chip to leave? Has greed addled his mind?

“This is your fault, Seb. You and your prized possession.” Max thumped his mate’s shoulder. “Nathan! She’s my mother.”

Max, no!

Everyone froze and life paused. Seb twisted, as if in slow motion, and examined the people in his living room.

Max had a hand pressed over his mouth as light faded from his eyes.

Dray was on his stomach, grabbing his weapon and his head was angled toward the omega.

Seb lowered his eyes to his own fingers, the knuckles white and raw, gripping the desk.

The alpha swiveled his head. Nathan stood in the middle of his boss’ study, holding Magda’s hands behind her back. His mouth opened and closed as the housekeeper sniveled and lowered her head.

Fuck, Max.

“Nathan? Who the fuck is Nathan?” The older alpha’s disembodied voice came from behind the computer.

“N-Nothing. I-I m-made a m-mistake, Father. I-ignore me. I’m upset.”

He won’t fall for that.

“Mr. Sharpe?” Make it personal. “Richard?” Seb’s voice rose as he tried to get the alpha’s attention. “The gold is yours. Think of what you can do with the money.”

But the alpha ignored Seb and his hand holding the gun appeared in front of the screen as he aimed it at Nathan’s chest.

“Who do you work for? Forget it. Doesn’t matter. I’m smarter than all of you.” The alpha’s voice reached a crescendo as his thumb slid over the trigger.

Nathan’s fingers inched toward his weapon, but the alpha shouted, “I wouldn’t do that! Put your hands up, you freaking two-faced piece of shit. You think you can bring me down by spying on me?”

“What have I done?” Max stuck a fist in his mouth and gnawed on his knuckles. “I’ve made it worse. Mama, I’m so sorry.” The omega grabbed fistfuls of Seb’s shirt. “Think of something, Seb. You got us into this mess, now get us out.”

Keep it together, Max. “I’m trying.” He placed his mouth on the omega’s ear. “We can rely on one thing. Your father’s greed.”

The omega pulled away. “But his desire for revenge supersedes everything else.”

“Richard. Ignore those fools. They’re distracting you from what’s important.” Maybe Max is right. “The gold, Richard. Look at it. Isn’t it stunning?” Seb held the nugget up to the light.

But instead of Mr. Sharpe’s face, only his fingers grasping the gun materialized on screen with Nathan and Magda huddled together in the background.

“We can put this issue to bed, Richard. I’m willing to hand over the gold in exchange for Magda’s safety and… and your man… ummm… Ambrose with her.”

“She’s innocent. Let her go,” Max pleaded.

“Innocent?” screeched the alpha. “Her father-in-law refused to hand over that nugget. Said it was theirs. His,” and he jabbed his finger at the computer screen, “and Sebastian’s grandfather’s. The Little Nugget they called it.”

Partners!

“Richard? What have you done?” Tony limped to the computer with Mary trailing behind him holding a sleepy Isla snuggled into the crook of her arm. Trixie poked her head out of the bedroom door but stayed where she was.

The boat. The pendant. Two grandfathers. All connected. Seb pictured the name above the Sharpe family compound. The one that got away. He grasped the lump of gold. Does that refer to my nugget?

“Excellent. Father. Mother. Max’s slobbering offspring. Everyone’s here to witness my truth.”

“Truth,” Magda snorted.

Mr. Sharpe pointed the gun at her head.

Tony grabbed the pendant round Seb’s neck and wrenched it. “Is this what I think it is?”

Owww. Still attached to my neck, Tony!

“Why yes, Father. And it’s mine.” Richard returned the computer to the desk and his face popped up on the screen. He was sweating profusely and damaged skin was dangling from his face at weird angles reminding Seb of a gargoyle.

“I was with them when they made the discovery, son. It was their first one. But you made a scene about it. Demanded they hand it over.”

“It was on our claim.”

“No. For God’s sake be honest, at least with yourself.” Tony’s voice, which was usually soft-spoken, was hard and authoritative.

“Max, are you there?” Magda yelled.

“She speaks,” Richard snarled. He maneuvered the laptop so it faced the two captive omegas. Magda poked her head under Nathan’s arm. “Max.”

“Mama?”

“After my father-in-law died, this alpha appeared demanding my mate, Matthew, hand over the gold, and he refused. He tossed our home searching for it, but couldn’t find it because Matthew had hidden it.”

Shit! He gave it to my grandfather.

“So, he beat my alpha.” The little woman broke down and sobbed on Nathan.

Max grabbed the laptop and rested his nose on the screen. “I’m here. We’ll come and get you.”

“No! Stay away.” The housekeeper’s tear-stained face peered at the computer, determination etched in the lines on her forehead and her pursed lips. “You were a newborn and he spirited us away late at night. He threatened me. Said I could live near you, see you every day if I kept the secret. And if not, he would hurt Matthew.”

“It’s not your fault. Mama.”

“Forgive me, Max.”

“This reunion is very touching. Blah, blah blah! I’m tired of your whiny voices. Shut the fuck up and let me think.”

Magda wailed, “I lost contact with my mate until he… this man… this alpha delivered the news that he’d died. If not for you, my life would have ended, my darling.”

Seb clasped his hands over his head while Max glared at him. One thing at a time. First Magda and Nathan. Then Max. He rocked on the balls of his feet as his thoughts raced. “Wait a minute.” He stilled his jerky movements. “Does the gold have something to do with your rejection of Max’s and my relationship?” It’s bullshit. Jesus, we’ve been so stupid. “Max, he wanted us separated, but not because he disapproved of me.”

“What?” The omega yelled, “I don’t give a crap. We have to save my mother.”

“He’s right, Max. It’s all intertwined.” Tony put a hand on the omega’s shoulder. “My guess is it’s been an elaborate plan since the day he discovered you and Seb mated.”

“No!” Max covered his face with his hands. “This is too much.”

“Father. Sebastian. You’ve finally used a portion of your alpha brains. Bravo! But you don’t give me enough credit.”

Mary moved to Max’s other side. “My son has harbored anger and jealousy about that gold for years. Based on what I’ve just heard, it’s obvious what happened.”

Seb took up the story. “My grandfather was Magda’s father-in-law’s…” Seb tried to work out the relationships in his scrambled thoughts. “…partner. Yes, your grandfather and mine were partners. If anyone knew where that gold was, it was my grandfather. So, your father… I mean, Mr. Sharpe bided his time. When he found out you were in Roselake, Max, and we had mated, all his Christmases came at once.”

“He planned it? How is that possible?”

“No. Even he can’t influence our bond, our affection for one another.” Seb stared at his mate as confusion mingled with despair in the omega’s eyes. He outstretched his hand and his mate tentatively stroked the alpha’s fingers.

Mr. Sharpe piped up. “As we’re into story-telling, I’ll add my part. Your stumbling into Roselake was no accident, Max. I kept an eye on you through the years—as you’re aware—and I made sure there were subtle references to Roselake left at your work, in bars, bus stations and in whispered conversations around you. That night as you slept on the park bench, Adam paid off the police to arrest you.”

“Why?”

Keep the conversation going. “To keep you in town while Adam figured out how to get us together,” Seb answered.

“Sebastian, I have to hand it to you. Getting drunk and creating a scene was a stroke of genius. When the call came in to the police about you creating a disturbance, Adam had them arrest you too.”

And Adam never saw Nathan ‘cause he didn’t go to the bar until weeks later.

“So all the shenanigans with Adam and wanting Max to head the company was…?”

Mr. Sharpe cackled. “…subterfuge, though Max is the best suited of my children—or should I say my combined legitimate and pretend children—to take over. If he’d agreed, I would have given it to him, but I wanted the gold first.

Of course.

“I needed you together. I had to make sure you were committed to my son… I mean, Max. And then I wanted him here. I was determined to make you so desperate, Sebastian, that you would give up a fortune for one insignificant omega. I tested your love by attempting bribery, and you passed the test.”

The briefcase of money.

“But I may not have known about the gold?”

“That’s true. But I had to try. And you had to be desolate at losing your mate and willing to give up your most precious asset, that you’d hand it over or find it somehow.”

“I have two valuable things in my life. Max and Isla. That gold doesn’t measure up.”

“Love doesn’t keep you warm at night, Sebastian, or protect you when everyone is trying to bring you down.”

He’s clever. I’ll give him that.

“I can’t believe that fucking idiot, Adam, never mentioned you wore a gold pendant.

“He never saw it.” Four strikes, Adam. Over and out. But why did you wait so long? It’s been years?”

“If you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”

Max and Seb shared a glance. “Merchant of Venice,” the omega whispered.

“That’s right. I absorbed some of your incessant blathering about Shakespeare, my dear boy.”

“This is more Macbeth than a comedy.”

“On the contrary, this is no tragedy, Sebastian. Your grandfather was a tough, old bastard. He would have died rather than give up the location of the nugget.”

True.

“I considered threatening you or your dad but neither of you measured up to the old man. I could have tortured you and still not learned anything useful. And your grandfather would have hunted me down if I hurt either of you, Sebastian. No one scared me as he did. I had to admire that, so I built my business and waited. After he died, I started planning.”

“He put us together, Max. And from there it was one step to finding out where the gold was hidden.” I can’t believe this. We’ve been influenced by a master manipulator.

Max’s white skin was covered in scarlet splotches and his bloodshot eyes glistened with tears. “Two problems. First, Seb keeps secrets and second…”

“…it was in plain sight.”

“You could have asked, Richard?”

“What?”

“After we mated, if you’d asked, I would have given it to you.”

“You’re lying.”

“Nope.”

“But that would have spoiled the fun.”

I’m not following. Ignore him. It’s not important now. Seb glanced at the screen. Nathan had one arm around Magda. The alpha made a rolling motion with his hands, indicating they were going to keep talking. The older omega gave an almost imperceptible nod and Seb nudged Tony and whispered, “Go on.” He made a phone gesture with his hand at Dray but the younger alpha was already muttering into his device.

“My son banked on Seb’s affection for you, Max, being greater and more powerful than anything—even a gold nugget worth millions.”

“Now you have what you want, Richard. Release Magda and…”

“…and what? My wishes will be granted? This is no fairytale.” The older alpha waggled the gun in Nathan’s face.

“And was it worth destroying so many lives?” Mary asked her son.

“When I get my hands on that hunk of metal, it will be and it’s so close I can taste it. This is an end and a beginning.” The alpha uncorked the rum and began shaking the contents over his desk and papers. “N-no need to save any of this.” But anticipation or cockiness had his hands quivering and the alcohol splashed over his suit, the carpet, and the polystyrene in the cardboard box.

He muttered and Seb could only make out individual words such as gold and paradise as he flung the empty bottle away and with the gun still pointed at Nathan and Magda, he fumbled in the drawer.

“What’s he looking for?”

My bet is a lighter but I don’t want to tell Max that.

Mr. Sharpe triumphantly pulled out a gold lighter as he edged out of sight. “And one last thing, Sebastian. I took pleasure in the long wait. As a child, I pulled wings from insects and watched as they died in agony. Killing you to get the gold would have been too quick. Your emotional death had to be excruciating.”

He’s fucking insane!

The unmistakable sound of a door being kicked open and a tiny flick had almost everyone at the farmhouse staring at the screen while Seb frantically scrolled through the apps on his phone.

“Get off the fucking phone.”

The alpha ignored his mate as he found what he was searching for. He glanced up as flames in Mr. Sharpe’s study crackled and devoured the alcohol saturated papers and furnishings. Magda’s screams echoed her son’s. Smoke obscured the screen, accompanied by a maniacal hissing as the fire slithered across the room.

“Get out, Mama!”

But as Seb held the phone up with his finger pressed on a button, the fire licked the polystyrene in the open box, and it exploded.

“Mama! Mama! Get out. Run!”

Three things happened in unison.

Mr. Sharpe blurted out, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, my friends.”

Seb’s phone detonated in a cacophony of sounds: fireworks, sirens, a thundering of hooves, tumbling water, screeching metal, and a voice shouting, “Drop the weapon. You’re surrounded.”

The empty rum bottle winged its way through the air.

Max’s shriek of, “What’s happening?” accompanied a grunt, followed by a piercing scream, and the computer’s screen went blank.

Max lay moaning on the floor enveloped in Seb’s arms while Tony and Mary sat holding hands on the couch. Dray’s muffled voice mumbling into the phone punctuated the stillness.

Isla was in her bouncy chair near her parents and Trixie was amusing her with a stuffed toy. Seb tipped the tiny chair with his foot as the piglet bobbed her head, and the baby giggled.

The alpha checked the time. It’s been two hours since we lost contact.

“What if she’s…?”

“Shhh.” What if she is, and Max has lost his mother just as he found her? Seb’s hand covered his mate’s heart, its unsteady rhythm a reminder of life’s power and fragility.

No one moved as the sun slid behind the horizon, and a weary darkness replaced the vibrancy of light. Shadows drifted between the furniture, searching for places to hide, but Dray shooed them away and turned on the lamps.

“No news,” the younger alpha mouthed when Seb jerked his head in his direction.