Chapter 6
It was late by the time he arrived home, and Thorn sat in the driveway for longer than he should have, wasting the minutes as he spiraled. The second a lone tear slipped past his defenses, however, he got back into motion, not allowing himself to dwell on things past his breaking point.
He should have gone straight to Frost Loans, but he’d hated the idea of walking in there looking and feeling the way he currently did.
The plan was to shower and make himself more presentable—put on a damn pair of shoes—then head back out and hope they were still open.
Places like that tended to be, they wanted money, after all.
Would they laugh at him? Pity him? Not even twenty-four hours after participating in the White Hunt and clearing his debts, Thorn was going to crawl right back to them.
Pathetic.
Hopeless.
If not for his brother, he’d—
No.
At his front door, Thorn slapped himself once and then shoved the key into the lock.
It was an old-fashioned mechanism with a physical metal key.
All of the houses in this neighborhood were like that, but he couldn’t afford to upgrade, and it wasn’t like there was anything inside that would be worth stealing, so the coin was better spent elsewhere.
Only, as soon as he touched it, the door creaked open before he gave even a slight turn of his wrist.
He was certain he’d locked up before getting into the taxi last night. Maybe the mechanism was broken? It seemed more likely than a break-in, but he cautiously pushed the door open the rest of the way, remaining out on the threshold in case he had to run.
Thorn’s stomach sank the second his eyes landed on the small table across from the entrance. Or, more accurately, on the wicker basket overflowing with white roses.
No…
The house was tiny. A single wall stood opposite the entrance, dividing the living space into two.
To the left, a short hall led to the two bedrooms and a modest bath.
The right led to the living room and the kitchen.
Neither space could be seen from where Thorn was standing, and the fact that he didn’t know what to anticipate made him freeze in place.
Someone had broken into his home and delivered these flowers. But why? And what were the odds they were still here?
He wanted to glance over his shoulder and check the driveway, but he was positive the car he’d driven from the cabin this morning was the only thing there. The streets had been empty as well—he would have noticed otherwise, since his neighbors all only had one vehicle apiece.
Even though he planned on going to the White Frost to take out another loan, they had no idea of that. He’d cleared his debts, so there was no reason for any of them to be here.
“Omega,” the familiar, commanding voice from last night called from the right suddenly, causing Thorn to flinch. “Come here. You’re letting the cold in.”
Should he run?
And…what? Get back into the car the alpha had left for him?
Where would he even go?
This was fine. It’s not like Baal had come here to kill him under the cover of darkness, right?
Thorn’s mind scrambled to think if he’d made any mistakes after all, but he truly believed his performance in the bedroom had been up to snuff. Maybe it hadn’t been as spectacular to the alpha as it had been to him, but—
Wait. No.
What was he even thinking?
Knowing better than to keep a man like Baal waiting, Thorn forced himself to enter and went through great pains to shut the door gently behind him so as not to give his nerves away.
Nerves that shot through the roof the second he stepped into the living room and saw what awaited him there.
Baal wasn’t alone.
There were five other mafia members with him, lined up around the room like sentries. They kept their hands clasped in front of them, and their eyes downcast, but the air was tense, and the mood was palpable.
The underboss was the only one not dressed in black, his crimson suit standing out against the faded tan of Thorn’s ancient couch.
His presence was imposing, his body seeming ten times larger than it had previously been.
He had one arm resting over the back of the ratty piece of furniture, and his gaze roamed down Thorn’s form in obvious inspection before flicking up to meet Thorn’s frightened stare.
To his credit, Thorn tried to mask it, but his fear must be apparent, because the corner of the alpha’s lips tipped up cruelly, and he grunted.
“Did you really think you’d get away?” Baal asked. “You took the car but left the flowers. That hurt my feelings, omega.”
Was he here for the car?
Thorn held out the key. “I was going to drop it off in the parking lot later. Thanks for letting me use it.” He would have driven to Frost Loans and then taken the bus home.
“Was that going to be before or after you spent the money?”
He frowned. “Money?”
Did he know about his brother’s surgery? How?
“Espen,” Baal kept his eyes on Thorn while he spoke to the man nearest the door, “go get the bag from the car.”
Wordlessly, the mafia member left to do as he was told, leaving the rest of them to wait there awkwardly for his return.
“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Thorn admitted when the silence got to be too much for him.
“You will,” Baal promised, just as the sound of the front door opening reached them.
Espen appeared at Thorn’s side, dropping a heavy leather bag to the floor between him and the underboss. He bent and unzipped it, then stood and moved off to the side, so everyone in the room could see the stacks of cash practically overflowing from the bag.
“Are you still going to deny it?” Baal’s expression was calculated.
Having owed money to the mafia before, Thorn was used to their intimidating looks. Typically, they came off angry and threatening, but this alpha…There was something hidden in the humor in Baal’s eyes and the way he kept fighting back a smile.
“You’re trying to say I took this?” Thorn pointed to the bag of money. “No way!”
“It was found in your driveway just now,” he stated. “Kind of hard to deny it with evidence like that in my corner.”
“In my…” The car. His frown turned to an accusatory glower. “You left it there on purpose. You’re setting me up.”
Why? Why would he do that?
“I don’t think you can afford anger, frosty omega,” he warned, though even that fell flat. He wasn’t really warning him at all. Whatever this was, the alpha was having a good time with it.
“What game are you playing?” And why did it have to be at Thorn’s expense? “I thought—” he caught himself just before completing that sentence, but of course, the alpha wasn’t going to let him get away with that.
“Thought what?” Baal urged. “Tell me.”
“Or what?”
Espen took a threatening step closer, and unlike with the underboss, the warning felt very real. He paused when Baal lifted his hand, but Thorn had gotten the message.
“I assumed…” Gods, could he really say this out loud? His eyes shifted awkwardly to the other people in the room, but they were still dutifully staring at the scuffed floorboards. “I figured last night had been all right for you, all things considered.”
“What are all things?”
“The car,” he tugged at his shirt, “and the clothes.”
“The flowers.”
“Yes.” Could this really be about the flowers?
If Thorn had known it would play out this way, he would have tossed them into the back of the car instead of leaving them on the kitchen counter.
“Just tell me what this is really about. Why are you trying to frame me for something you know I didn’t do? ”
“Do I know that?” The alpha hummed. “Everyone here saw you arrive in that car. They saw this bag of stolen money come from it as well. That’s solid evidence, omega.”
“You told me to take the car!” Thorn clenched his hands into tight fists at his sides and struggled to contain his emotions.
He couldn’t allow the alpha to provoke him like this.
Losing his cool now was dangerous. He knew better.
Summoning the patience he was known for, Thorn exhaled slowly and then tried again. “I get it. You’ve made your point.”
“Have I?”
“Yes.”
“And what point might that be?”
“That you can do whatever you want. It’s a terrible frame job and we both know it, but there’s nothing I can do to defend myself. If it’s your word against mine—”
“You’ll lose every time.”
Thorn dug his nails into his palm, letting the sting center him. “What do you want?”
The alpha wanted something. He’d purposefully left Thorn that car, knowing there was a bag of cash in the back. The asshole had even gone the extra mile and removed shoes from the cabin, basically ensuring there were no other options but to take the offered vehicle.
“Do you know what white roses symbolize?” Baal asked cryptically.
The word no was on the tip of his tongue, but then he recalled the card that’d been left with the flowers and opted to take a shot in the dark in the off chance it might please the underboss.
“New Beginnings?” At the time, Thorn had foolishly thought the alpha had been referring to his cleared debt, but now…
“Let’s start over, omega.” Baal snapped his fingers, and one of the other men standing by the window stepped forward.
He extended an arm, holding out a holopad, which Thorn tentatively took.
“What is—” His brow shot up the second he read the first sentence, his entire body going cold.
A breeding contract.
He wanted Thorn to sign a breeding contract?!
“No.” Thorn would have tossed the device to the ground, but held himself back, tearing his gaze off the screen.
He could practically feel his cheeks flush when he locked eyes with the alpha once more and saw the same heated intensity from last night written across his devilish face. “I won’t do it.”