Page 34 of Bully for Sale

“I understand.” Heath waved it off. “You wanted to see an omega you like. Nothing new about that under the sun. So what happened?”

“Just I got to his da’s apartment, before I could go inside, the building exploded.” Ned swallowed hard, remembering the deafening boom and the way the earth under his feet had shaken. “I was so scared, Uncle Heath.” Ned took a gulp of water, trying to get his voice back under control. It’d gone all high-pitched and tight. “But I ran toward the building, hoping to, I don’t know, help him or someone else, but the police wouldn’t let me in—”

“Thank fuck.” Heath swiped a hand through his hair.

“So I went around the back, looking for another entrance, and I found them.”

“Your omega and his da?”

“Yes. Well, he’s notmyomega, but, yeah, I found them. They were both in shock.”

“I’m sure.”

“Yes.” Ned let out a sigh. “Because of complicated reasonsIdon’t even understand, neither one of them had anywhere to go or any money at all.”

“George Fersee is a cruel man.” Heath frowned.

“I arranged for them to go to a hotel. I paid for their car ride and called to have the hotel’s expenses put onto my credit card, and this morning I called again to tell the hotel to let them stay for as long as they need to, all of it on me. So I’dhopedEzer would contact me. To thank me.”

Heath took a bite of dessert. “He hasn’t?”

Ned shook his head. “No.”

“How rude.”

“I think it’s because he hates me?”

“He hates you.” Heath’s gaze narrowed again. “Why?”

“Well, Braden and Finch…” Ned’s phone pinged again. He jumped to check the text. This one was from his father saying he’d be out late tonight, and not to wait up for him. Which mean Lidell had decided to go gambling, most likely, which meant a lot of other bad things, too.

Ned’s stomach dropped.

Plus, still no Ezer.

“So, Braden and Finch, the peerage thugs,” Heath prompted. “What’d they do to him?”

“They’ve bullied him. Relentlessly. Horribly.” Ned swallowed hard. He wasn’t going to admit to the fact that they’d threatened to rape Ezer. He was still so ashamed.

“Ah.” Heath took a slow sip of his wine. “You didn’t stop them.”

He said it like a statement. Not a question. Because he knew Ned well, and he knew Ned was a coward. Ugh. It should have made him feel even worse, but he already felt so bad about it, that it only made him feel nauseous again. He put down his fork.

Ned nodded. “I didn’t stop them.”

“So the boy hates you for that. It makes sense.” Then his eyes sharpened again. “Or did you participate?”

“I was there. I didn’t stop them. Ezer thinks I participated.”

Heath shook his head in frustration. After a long, humiliating moment, he asked, “You’re set on this kid?”

Ned swallowed hard. “Yes, but right now I just want to make him like me.”

Heath sucked his teeth, contemplated the ceiling for a long moment, and then checked his watch. “You were right. This is a more complicated problem than I’d anticipated, and we may not have time to deal with it all right now. Here’s what I know: Fersee hates his ex-omega. It’s demented and complicated, but if Ezer is staying with his da, that tells me that Fersee has disowned him, too.”

Ned nodded. It seemed probable.

“If Fersee has disowned him, then for most alphas he won’t be good marriage material, because there’ll be no money in it for them, or for you. You’d be left right where you are now.”