Page 33 of Manny's Surprise Baby

“It’s not like I want to blackmail the guy. I want to be able to relate to him better. It’s as if he almost likes me one minute, but then hates me the next. It’s really confusing.”

“I’m surprised you’d care. He’s only there until Sunday, right?”

“Yeah. But that’s like four days. It would be nice if we could bond more.”

He chuffed. “Since when do you want to bond with an omega? Especially a male omega.”

Heat filled my cheeks. “Good question.”

Colin’s expression was odd. He narrowed his eyes. “Are you… are you like having feelings toward him?”

“What? Fuck, no.” I had no idea what I felt toward Pierce, and I wasn’t ready to start talking to anyone else about it either. Plus, there was no way in hell I was telling Colin, or anyone, about that weird-ass moment on the porno set.

He looked unconvinced. “It’s no biggie if you are.”

I shifted uneasily. “I just want to be able to get through to him.”

Pursing his lips, Colin sat back and crossed his legs. “You know I wouldn’t judge you, right? I’m best friends with Blade and Wyatt. They weren’t into guys until they were.”

I knew I looked uncomfortable. My face felt stiff and hot. “I’ll admit to some confusing feelings. But that’s not really why I’m here. Okay? I really like and respect Pierce. He’s amazing with Emily. The problem is, I feel like I have to walk on eggshells with him. I don’t understand him. I don’t know what things trigger him.”

Nodding slowly, he said, “Okay. You seem sincere and that’s the only reason I feel like telling you anything.”

“I am sincere. I know there has to be a reason why he’s so closed off with me. If I knew what that was, maybe I could navigate his moods better.”

“I guess.” He sucked in a deep breath. “He’s mostly a loner. He’s been on his own since he was seventeen.”

“When his grandma died?”

“Right.” Colin wrinkled his brow. “After she passed, he got a job busing tables at this little divey Italian place that didn’t care about labor laws. He was doing well too. He rented a room, and he was saving some money.”

“Okay.”

His expression hardened. “Then he met Baxter.”

“Emily mentioned an alpha of Pierce’s who turned bad. Would that have been Baxter?”

“Oh, yeah. If there’s one word that accurately describes Baxter, it’s ‘bad.’” Colin met my gaze. “He pretended to be the perfect gentleman. He treated Pierce like gold and really suckered him in. Maybe an older omega would have known he was full of shit, but Pierce was young and naive. He fell for Baxter, and that’s when his nightmare began.”

I was almost afraid to hear more. The image of Pierce, inexperienced and vulnerable and being taken advantage of, was upsetting. I only knew the bitter Pierce. The guarded Pierce. I’d had tiny glimpses of his gentler side with Emily, but with me he almost always had his shield up. What would he have been like if I’d met him before he changed?

“So what did this Baxter do to him?”

He sighed. “God, Pierce will literally rip my head off if he finds out I talked to you.”

I made a zipping motion with my lips.

Wrinkling his forehead, he said, “Baxter had a stable of omegas.”

“Really?” I scowled.

“Yep. He’d farm them out to lowlife alphas who liked to do kinky shit their own omegas would never go for.”

The blood drained from my face, and a chill went through me. “He did that with Pierce?”

Colin gave a curt nod. “Pierce put up with it for three years.”

I bugged my eyes. “What the fuck? Why?”