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Leaning over her, I bit her scrunchie, feeling the key inside the soft material against my teeth, and pulled it off her hair. Spitting it out, I dropped it into her waiting hands behind her back. “Stab the tape and get yourself loose.”

She didn’t waste any time, immediately yanking the tiny zip open and pulling out the key. “What about you?”

“I’m okay. I’ll wait. Focus on yourself right now.”

As I rested against the wall, breathing deeply to try to ease the relentless pounding in my head, I watched her saw at the edge of her bonds. Pearl didn’t deserve to be here. I was stuck because of years of bad decisions, but she was a good person who worked to help people. How the hell were we in the same shitty situation?

“So, you’re an omega, too, hm?” I asked, once again the king of small talk.

Her eyes flicked up to me. “He wouldn’t have taken me if I wasn’t. I’m guessing you don’t have many omega friends.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Painfully.” She scoffed. “You sayomegalike it’s a curse.”

I raised one eyebrow, looking around the musty cellar. “Have you seen where we are right now? It sure as fuck isn’t a gift.”

“Depends on how you look at it. Right now, I’d say it’s the worst thing to be in the world. But other times…” She finally pulled her hands free with a rip and immediately started on her ankles. “Even though I take suppressants to get through the workday without being distracted by a bunch of alphas, I’ve embraced my inner omega. I love making my nest when I go into heat, and I love leaning into the side of me that wants to feel safe and cared for. There’s nothing wrong with it, and I won’t pretend that there is.”

Pearl’s attitude shocked me. I’d never met anyone so openly proud to be an omega, but it was an obvious thing to hide in my world. Being an omega was seen as a weakness, a liability. But for Pearl, it was an accepted part of her, and of course it was. Alphas didn’t feel the need to hide their designation from the world, so why should omegas be ashamed of being what they were?

Emerson accepted me. Bee accepted me. Maybe I could accept myself, too.

“Wait, go back a minute,” I said, thinking of what she said before. “Do you know who took you? Roman’s client?”

A fierce expression took over Pearl’s delicate features as she freed her legs. “Yeah, and I feel like an idiot for trusting him for so long. I called him harmless. How fucking stupid of me.”

A click at the top of the stairs snatched our attention, and my heart sank. We were out of time.

I quickly whispered, “Give me the key and pretend to be asleep. When he comes to me, sneak upstairs and go for help.”

Pearl nodded, shoving the key into my hands and repositioning the tape around her ankles before lying down with her arms behind her back. Aside from her hair, she looked the same as when I’d arrived.

As the door unlocked and footsteps descended the stairs, I gripped the key in a fist and scooched away from Pearl as much as I could. Hopefully, she’d have enough room to creep out.

Sitting upright against a wall, I waited to greet my captor. Shiny leather shoes caught my eye first, followed by trousers an inch too long in the legs. Emerson was going to be pissed.

Harris quickly zeroed in on Pearl and approached her unconscious-looking form.

“Seriously? You go for the sleeping girl first?” I rolled my eyes with a chuckle. “Roman was right. You really are pathetic without your girlfriend.”

Harris turned to me, slowly stepping away from Pearl. “Oh, good. The thief is awake. Well, at least we’ve found a job for you where you’resupposedto whore yourself out to anyone who asks.”

“You sound jealous. Not been getting any with your girlfriend behind bars?”

He grabbed my hair so suddenly, pulling me inches off the ground, I nearly dropped Pearl’s key. “Why don’t you shut your mouth until it’s ready to be filled, omega slut!”

I shook in his tight grip, unable to get to my knees or get my feet under me properly to take the pressure off my scalp. As I twisted in his hold, my neck strained, and Emerson’s mark burned against my skin—a comforting reminder of him, but still a raw wound on my throat.

“What the—? That bastard fuckingclaimedyou? Oh, of course he did. Emerson gets the promotions, the fancy office. Why wouldn’t he get the omega, too?!” Harris released my hair with a push as he paced back and forth, muttering to himself under his breath.

After a minute of his ramblings, he scrubbed his hands down his tired face and squatted over me. He yanked my head to one side and inspected Emerson’s mark closely, a disgusted sneeracross his face. “Ugh, it’s fine. This is fine. You won’t be worth as much, but the mark’s fresh. After spending a few heats without your precious alpha, the bond will sever on its own.”

My omega prickled at the thought of anyone other than Emerson touching me, especially during a heat, but I held it together on the outside.

“Oh, good. That means you only have to keep Emerson away for a year or so. Totally doable for the obvious brains of the operation like yourself.”

“A year? Oh, little omega. You’ll be going into heat later tonight.” Harris’s eyes shone as he pulled a small vial of red liquid from his pocket. “See this? I forget the full name, but Miranda’s people called itardour. Amazing stuff, really. Just a teensy-tiny injection of this will force your slutty omega body into heat within minutes.”