Lark (Beware Of The Widows #3)

Prologue

LARK

Ten Years Ago, Henderson Estate

I hate clocks.

All they do is tick, tick, tick. And I need more time.

This is a complicated hack, one that’s about to be thwarted by one of Gideon Henderson’s goons. Come on, come on, I think, sweat dotting my brow.

The internet connection is spotty, mostly because I’m running my process through seven different servers. Not to mention the rotating satellite.

Biting my lip, I narrow my gaze and move the device on the windowsill again.

Just a little closer to the edge. Enough to try to—

There!

The bar inches along, making my foot tap. So close, so close…

A door slams, the echo of it causing me to freeze.

I’m wrapped up in Viv’s clothes—a sweater and a pair of jeans that I stole, both of which are too long for my shorter frame. But I needed to mask my scent. And who better to borrow from than the Beta in charge of my torture?

Of course, she doesn’t call it that. She says she’s our “trainer.”

God, this place is a nightmare.

I could have escaped it three years ago by simply giving Gideon my real name. If he had any idea which omega his guys had picked up off the streets, he would have put me on the first plane back to New York City.

But I didn’t want to leave Luna behind. It was her they came for that night. I was just a “bonus omega,” as one of the goons said.

“What’s your name, blondie?” one of them asked as he combed his fingers through my hair, stroking me like I was his personal pet.

I almost told him.

However, I knew he would either knock me out—causing me to lose Luna—or kill me out of fear of me giving his description to my father.

So I simply said, “Lark Black.”

A play on my hacker name.

“No family,” I lied. “I’m an orphan.”

They were giddy as hell, thinking they would score big points with the boss.

And they did.

Points I fully intended for them to lose once I broke Luna and myself out of purgatory, but then I met the others.

Lexi, Silva, Aries, and Briar.

And escaping became a lot more complicated.

We’re almost ready, I think, listening as footsteps sound down the marbled floors of the corridor. I’m not supposed to be in this part of the estate. Hopefully, Viv’s clothes do their job and keep me hidden.

Because she’s allowed to go wherever the fuck she wants here.

Her job is to turn the six of us into the perfect little “Dolls” for a future pack of Gideon’s choosing.

“Now, you must understand that these packs pay handsomely for Gideon’s products,” Viv told Luna and me after introducing herself to us at the beginning of our captivity. “It’s my job to make sure you meet certain… criteria.”

Cooking.

Cleaning.

Entertaining.

Sex.

More sex.

Ugh.

I’m just glad the sex part didn’t require hands-on experience. Gideon likes his Dolls to be “mostly untouched.” I’m firmly in the “never been touched” category, so I’m a little concerned about what that means for some of the other girls.

However, I haven’t asked.

And I never will.

There are just some horrors of this place that deserve to die here.

I wish I could do more than save only us, I think, my heart skipping a beat as I think about all the other omegas being housed in the Henderson mansion. It’s impossible to help everyone. I know that. But maybe we’ll find a way to come back and take Gideon down in the future.

Alas, I can only focus on the present for now.

Which means I need this damn thing to move faster.

I push up the window just a little bit more so I can slide my whole hand and arm outside. It’s not ideal. In fact, it increases the chances that someone will see me.

But it’s nighttime.

And the guards are more focused on the omega wings than on this area of the estate.

Except the one patrolling the hallway, I think, still listening to his heavy footsteps. An alpha, definitely.

Which means he might be able to smell my natural perfume under all these clothes.

My brow pinches, and I push the window open even more, just in case I need to jump out of it. Maybe the fresh air will help conceal my scent, too.

Regardless, it feels nice. I inhale deeply and attempt to control my racing pulse.

It doesn’t work.

The repetitive thrum echoes in my ears, all while I strain to hear those footsteps outside the door. Did he pause? I wonder, suddenly holding my breath.

However, I hear him pass in the next moment, the goon—Viv calls them guards—leaving.

Thank. God.

I’m in a sitting room of sorts, one I found over a year ago after noting the strategic location in the mansion. The windows are exposed to the elements, making it easier to connect to the satellite network overhead, as there’s no roof or overhang to block my connection.

That it happens to also rarely be used is simply a bonus point.

I’ve hidden several “borrowed” devices in here, including the tablet I’m staring at now.

It’s one of the many items I’ve taken from the security room stash.

No one seems to be missing it. But if it’s found, I’ve already programmed a fail-safe to wipe all evidence of my use if the wrong code is entered three times.

Fortunately, that fail-safe hasn’t been needed since my items have remained untouched.

Which means I’ve been able to accomplish almost everything we needed to prepare for our escape.

This is the final step.

The completion of the transfer.

Final payment for all the property deeds…

I just need this bar to inch over one more digit, and it’ll be done. Everything will be settled. The town will officially be ours.

But the others can never know.

Only me and Luna.

And even then, I’ve kept her in the dark on certain aspects. Like whom I’ve taken all this money from. She just helped me with the legal side.

If Luna doesn’t become a lawyer after all this, I’ll be shocked. The omega has a knack for legalese and research.

“What’s that?” a deep voice says outside, causing my eyes to widen.

Shit.

I pull my hand back in and watch the connectivity bars disappear. I was so close. So. Fucking. Close.

I flip the screen off to kill the glow, but it’s too late.

“Did you see that?” the same voice asks.

“See what?” another mutters.

“I dunno. It… it looked like something was in the window up ahead.”

Wincing, I duck down and try to make myself as small as possible beneath the ledge on this side. Being on the ground floor means they’ll be able to look in the room.

And if they peer over to glance downward, they’ll see me and my toys…

Closing my eyes, I count to five, then start to think through my options.

Maybe if I ball myself just right, I can look like a pile of clothes. I’m small. Only five foot two. Viv has several inches on me, as evidenced by her oversized clothing. So it might work if I—

“You probably just saw the curtain blowing out the open window,” the other says, sounding bored.

“Why’s it open?” the first one, whom I’ve nicknamed Deep Voice, presses.

“I don’t know, genius. Ask the housekeepers,” his buddy grinds out, his tone full of irritation. “I’m hungry and not interested in investigating a damn window.”

There’s a pause before Deep Voice mutters, “All you ever think about is food.”

“That’s not all I think about,” the other drawls, the insinuation in his voice making my skin crawl.

Fucking alphas.

I know they’re not all bad. But the ones here certainly give their designation a bad name.

Although, the same could be said about the betas here, too.

Everyone in this organization is evil. Which is saying a lot, given my background and familial history.

Their footsteps eventually echo off into the distance, just like the ones from the hallway, leaving me very much alone in here again.

Thank God.

I fire my tablet back up, along with the cellular device that I repurposed for satellite connectivity. Moving the latter item out the window, I again search for a solid link. Once the bars pop up, I click on the tablet’s internet icon and then watch as that remaining bar slowly loads.

This had better work, I think, nervous that it’s going to make me start all over again since the connection was interrupted.

But after two nerve-racking minutes, I receive the sweetest of messages. 100% Complete.

“Holy shit,” I breathe. “It’s done.”

I check several screens, needing to be absolutely certain.

However, every record shows the right set of names.

We own the town.

Widows Peak is ours.

It’s all legal on paper. All the deeds are evenly dispersed between the six of us. Bought and paid for through means I’ll never tell them about.

Hell, I might not even share the deeds part.

All they need to know is that we’ll be safe there, nestled in the mountains of Colorado.

Gideon and his goons will never be able to touch us again.

Not that I’m concerned about him and his criminal underworld. The one I just stole all this money from is much, much worse.

But they’ll never find out that it was me.

I’m good at what I do.

And it’s not like they’ll miss the funds.

Lazarus Ferraro is rich beyond sin. His organization is constantly moving money around, both legally and illegally. I just skimmed a little… off the top.

It was for a good cause, I think. Plus, it gave me an opportunity to provide some sweet revenge.

The Ferraros have history with my family.

History that I just honored in the best way possible.

Smiling, I shut everything down for the last time. This project is finally done. And next week, we’ll escape.

Widows Peak… here we come…