Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
HUX
“Are we really going to contact Trent? Willingly?” One of the other Omegas asked from their corner of the couch.
We’d all settled into the living room of Shep’s house after dinner.
Milo was a warm weight on my thighs while the rest of him was settled against my chest. From the way his eyelids kept drooping, I knew his energy was almost spent despite our afternoon nap.
The smell of his heat was almost completely gone from his scent, and even with danger lurking, I’d never been so relaxed.
Milo’s relaxation surprised me more, though.
He couldn’t scent that only our people were here.
That there was no one lurking around the house.
Obviously, I’d never been through a heat and didn’t know how taxing it was, but the trust he was showing me had my heart in a vice.
I’d die before I let anything happen to him.
The way he was half asleep on my chest while we discussed the monsters who’d terrorized him told me he knew it.
“I don’t see another way,” Rylan said, pacing in front of the fireplace. Shep reached out a hand to him, and Rylan took it, letting himself be led to sit beside Shep. “But how are we going to do that without it turning into a huge fight?”
Shep looked at me. “What if you and I go to the pawnshop during business hours? Trent isn’t going to try anything in broad daylight. We tell him he needs to connect us with Dormaunt or we go to the cops.”
Sebastian made a noise. Of all the Omegas, aside from Milo, he was the quietest. He was definitely the most shy.
We all went quiet and turned to him. He cleared his throat.
Behind him, Thorn pushing off the wall he’d been leaning against, caught my eye.
He’d been keeping his distance ever since we got the Omegas out of Trent’s warehouse.
I knew he didn’t want a mate bond, but it wasn’t like they were contagious.
“What is it, Seb?” Rylan asked.
“Are—are we not going to go to the cops, anyway?”
Shep’s whole face softened before a wicked smile took over. “Of course we are, but he doesn’t know that.”
Milo stirred from his lounging and reached for his notebook and pen on the side table. I picked them up and handed them to him, earning me a sweet smile. He scribbled something quickly and held it up for me to see.
I want to go with you.
My blood turned to ice. “Milo, no. That’s—”
He cut me off with a sharp shake of his head and wrote something else.
I wasn’t asking permission. It’s me Dormaunt wants. Trent will want to see me before he calls Dormaunt.
I scrambled for a response that wasn’t the vicious growling my bear was doing in my chest. Some of it was rumbling up without my permission, but Milo wasn’t fazed. He watched me. Waiting.
I grit my teeth, pushing down the snarling beast trying to tear out of my skin at the very thought of my mate being anywhere near Trent or Dormaunt. Taking a beat, I let a slow breath out through my nose. “I don’t like it.”
Milo rested a hand against my chest and gave me a tight smile. He didn’t have to write anything down for me to hear him. I know.
MILO
Hux had been tense all morning. Which wasn’t a surprise.
He really wasn’t happy about me going to Trent’s with them today, but I’d held firm last night when we’d decided.
It wasn’t that I didn’t agree with him—it was dangerous—but I also knew that I needed to be there.
Trent was a slimy bastard of a man, but he wasn’t entirely stupid.
He wouldn’t bring Dormaunt into this unless we made him and unless he had proof that I was actually where Shep and Hux said I was.
And it was like Shep said, Trent wouldn’t try anything in broad daylight. With the way Hux couldn’t quite contain his growls as we pulled into the pawn shop parking lot, Trent would have to have a death wish to even twitch wrong.
“Are you going to be able to keep it together?” Shep asked, putting the truck in park but leaving the engine running.
Hux let out one more growl, hand tightening on my thigh. “Yes.”
Shep raised an eyebrow in his direction, but didn’t say anything else. “Okay. Let’s get this done. You ready, Milo?”
I swallowed, looking at the door. Trent was in there.
It wasn’t that I was afraid of him hurting me once we were in there.
Hux and Shep would never let that happen, but just the thought of seeing him again.
Being in the same room with him made my stomach twist. I laid my hand over Hux’s on my thigh and met Shep’s gaze. I nodded.
He nodded back, turned the truck off, and opened the door.
After he got out, Hux still hadn’t moved. I angled my body toward his and touched the side of his face.
He sighed. “I don’t like this.”
I nodded and leaned up, pressing a kiss against his lips.
He kissed me back hard, then pulled back and opened the door.
The air outside was perfect—a cool breeze and autumn sunshine.
There was a time when this was my favorite season of the year.
I squeezed Hux’s hand in mine and thought that maybe it could be again.
Shep was standing in front of the truck with his back to us, giving us a moment of privacy. When we reached him, we all moved in unison toward the door. Shep pulled it open and stepped back, holding it for me and Hux.
Hux went through first, still holding my hand and moving so that I doubted anyone could see me behind his bulk.
The air inside was musty, and a thin layer of dust covered the cluttered shelves to our left and right. The shelving units were only about shoulder high and created an aisle that led to the long counter running along the back wall.
I peeked around Hux just in time to see Trent walk out of the back room. His customer service smile disappeared the moment he locked eyes with me.
He growled and looked up at Hux. “I knew you bastards were lying.”
Shep stepped around us and walked the short distance down the aisle to stand directly in front of Trent with only the counter between them. “You’re going to arrange for us to speak with Dormaunt, and you’re going to stop trafficking Omegas.”
Trent let out a harsh laugh. “Why the hell would I do that?”
“Because if you don’t, I’m going to the police, and I’ll do everything in my power to see you locked up for the rest of your life.” Shep sounded so calm. So in control. I’d only known him a short time, but behind that control I could tell how tense he was just from the sound of his voice.
With another laugh, Trent pointed over at me. “And you really think the police are going to believe a group of sniveling Omegas? That one can’t even talk!”
The low, menacing growl Hux let out made every hair on my body stand up.
Trent actually went pale. I’d never seen him look afraid before.
“I’d watch it if I were you,” Shep said. He reached into pocket and pulled out the digital recorder he’d stashed there before we left the house. “And I think between this and the Omega’s statements, the police won’t have any trouble connecting the dots.”
The look of fear on Trent’s face switched to rage in a heartbeat. That look—red faced and seething—I’d seen a hundred times or more. “My lawyers will tear it to shreds!”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Shep shrugged. “Either way, I imagine your clientele won’t appreciate that type of scrutiny on their supplier.”
Trent was nearly purple now. I could tell he wanted to lash out, but was holding himself in check, gaze darting between Shep and Hux. Through gritted teeth, he asked, “What do you want me to do?”