Chapter Four #2
In this case, it meant helping to sell the story about the three alphas being scouts from out of town. That included this house with a paper trail that would sell their story of being associates of slavers in the eastern parts of the country.
“Do you think she’ll show?” Kyle asked.
“She will,” Trent said from where he stood, staring out of the window.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I know that look in her eye.”
“She looked scared to me,” Kyle said, his voice softening. Then again, did any of them enjoy scaring women?
Maybe in some situations, but only when it’s consensual.
“The idea of her being scared of us after what she did to us doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Daniel pointed out.
Trent shook his head. “You two don’t get it. You’ve been dealing with the problem instead of the person for too long, and it’s always made you miss things. That girl is stubborn as fuck. She’s afraid, sure, but that sort of steel? She’ll be here.”
Daniel ran his fingers through his hair before broaching the topic none of them really wanted to address. “We haven’t done this in a long time.”
“We’ve never gone undercover as slavers,” Trent said, purposely missing the point.
Daniel used his best ‘I’m trying to be delicate, you idiot’ voice. “We haven’t co-topped anyone in a long time.”
At that, Trent turned, his expression pinched tight as if he were trying to hide whatever was going on there. “We aren’t co-topping shit. We are pretending to train a slave. That’s it.”
“And in pretending, we need to look like we’re doing what we did together for a long fucking time,” Kyle chimed in. He didn’t sound happy about it, but were any of them?
It brought back memories—a lot of really good ones—of back when the three of them had been together, when they’d shared omegas, when they’d worked together to take apart a willing female. It had been a good life, no matter how it had ended.
And here they were, sharing one again. Sure, it was all make-believe, but that didn’t change that the action would be the same. They’d still need to play the part, and that part was way too close to home.
Trent turned toward Daniel. “I can keep it professional. It isn’t like we are actually going to be fucking her.”
Daniel nodded. Sex wasn’t needed for what they had going on. They’d need to deal with getting comfortable, with getting her comfortable, with how she needed to behave, but that didn’t mean they actually had to indulge in what had once been such a large part of all of their lives.
Which made Daniel think back to the last time, just for a moment, before it had all gone bad.
The woman had been a beta—they tended to like betas since they were less complicated—and she’d had long red hair. It had curled at the ends, and the dim lights had brought out the freckles on her face. Her flush had looked lovely against the collar around her throat.
Daniel shook his head, trying to push back the thought. That had been a different time, when they’d been different. That had been back when they’d trusted one another, when they’d thought they could trust each other.
They’d grown since then, changed, learned the truth. Even though Kyle and Daniel had still taken women together, they hadn’t indulged in the same sort of play.
It hadn’t seemed right with just the two of them, as though something important were missing.
A knock on the door made Daniel stop and turn his head. It had to be her.
A small part of him that recalled the old life seemed as if it stretched and woke, a thrill for things he’d missed, that he’d denied himself.
It’s all pretend, he reminded himself.
If only his damn cock would believe that.
Alison shifted her weight from foot to foot, trying not to look nervous.
Not that anyone could blame her. Who wouldn’t be nervous about going to live with three alphas she didn’t know, to pretend to be their slave?
She’d gotten no real information from them, just an address and an assurance of her safety.
No one can ensure anyone’s safety. Besides, that was why she’d become as tough as she was, so she could make herself safe.
Still, she’d stood on the doorstep for at least two full minutes before knocking. Only fear that they knew she was there, that they knew she was fighting with her nerves, made her knock at all.
The only thing worse than being a coward was for others to know she was one.
I can do this. She’d seen slaves for years, had grown up watching them, knew how one should act.
It won’t be that difficult to pretend, will it?
The door opened and Alison’s stomach plummeted. Somehow, seeing Daniel there was the worst. Trent, Kyle, they both had a bit of that rough edge. Kyle might mask it with humor, but there was a bite to his words. Trent didn’t hide his aggression beneath anything.
Those two she understood, could deal with.
Daniel, though? Already he seemed to look at her with those honest ‘I really want to help you’ eyes.
She curled her hands into fists, her duffel bag over her shoulder. It dug in, heavy, but she’d packed what she needed.
Daniel smiled—which made her feel all the worse—before he stepped backward so he didn’t crowd the doorway.
The house, even from the street, had loomed, standing out like something that didn’t belong.
Even with the other expensive properties surrounding it, this one seemed to be on its own level.
The large white double doors at the front would open wide, making for an impressive entrance.
The driveway was cobblestone and prefect, winding up a short hill from a gated road.
The house itself was classic, without the big modern windows.
Instead, it reminded her of the old southern style, a wide balcony on the upper floor.
Inside, a huge entryway stood, showing off a spiraling staircase that screamed money. Alison had never been in a place like this, at least never when invited.
“I wasn’t sure you’d show.” Kyle had his arms crossed, and the light streaming in from the high windows highlighted how dark the bruising on his face was.
It started at the center, where he had a bandage covering the bridge, then spanned out like starbursts around his eyes.
He eyes narrowed. “You’re smirking. Don’t think I really like that look when you’re staring at what you did to my face. ”
The little exchange helped Alison settle. Somehow the reminder that she wasn’t weak lightened the burden for her. She’d made the choice to be here. She wasn’t actually a slave, wasn’t putting herself in the hands of strangers.
I’m playing a part. Nothing more.
“Where should I put my things?” Alison let Kyle’s comment stand, not wanting to address it. If he was expecting an apology, he was going to be disappointed. If he doesn’t want girls to break his nose, he should try not abducting them.
“Up the stairs. Second door on the left,” Daniel said. “But that should wait.”
“For what?”
“We should sit down, have a talk.”
Alison straightened her back. “What is there to talk about?”
None of the three alphas answered, but the looks on their faces said it all.
They were getting ready to play a rather dangerous game, one that would require a lot of trust.
Trust was one thing they wouldn’t get from her, though.
Alison shifted and shook her head. “I don’t think anything really needs to be said. We know the job, we know what we’re supposed to do. We don’t need to do”—she waved her hands between them all—“this.”
Still, no one seemed to give in. There was no slumping of shoulders, no softening of expressions.
“That isn’t how this works.”
She blew out a long, slow breath. Not five minutes in this house and they’re already treating me like a slave.
The reasons it was a horrible idea were mounting.
Her gaze roamed toward the front door, toward her escape route. She could turn around. She could tell them to fuck off with their stupid idea.
I already found out more than they have.
Except, what had her way gotten her? Some information, sure, but also a lot of wasted time and a few situations more dangerous than they’d needed to be.
Besides, Anne couldn’t wait for her to fumble around. She was running out of time.
“Why don’t you go set down your things in your room and take an hour or so to settle in.”
Alison turned to meet Trent’s gaze, his words helping her to pull in a full breath.
A moment to rebalance herself, to remind herself why she was doing it, would make everything better.
Not to mention, just to hear the alphas listen to her, to give her an out, helped remind her that she wasn’t a slave and they weren’t her masters and, more importantly, they knew it, too.
Maybe Trent wasn’t so bad.
“After that, however, we will talk,” he tacked on.
So much for liking him…