Page 57 of Omega Tricked

“You think this will work?”

“I couldn’t do it alone, but with you and Hank? Yeah, it will work.” I glanced around and lowered my voice. “Listen, I want you to rent a place outside of town. It has to be a house, and it can’t have any neighbors for miles.”

“Uh… okay. I’ll start looking first thing tomorrow.”

“Good.”

“You sure it’s safe for you to stay there?”

“Yeah. Dylan is in my corner. He’s not going to stand by and let Charles murder me without making a fuss.” I smiled grimly.

“You sure that Charles guy is responsible for your dad’s disappearance?”

I chuffed. “What I do know is people don’t do shit around here without Charles’s permission. If he didn’t do it, I want him to tell me who did. I want to know what the fuck happened to Dad. He didn’t just disappear off the face of the earth, and finding the license plate proves he was here.”

“True.”

“Charles is the guy in charge, and to me, that means he’s the guy who’s going to pay.”

Gabriele blew out a long, tired-sounding breath. “Whatever you say, boss.”

I frowned at his reticent tone. “You said the men needed closure. I’m trying to give them that.”

“Right. I understand.”

“You don’t sound like you approve.”

“No. I do. I just wish there was a way to know for sure what happened to Corbin.”

“We can ask Charles all the questions we want once we have him at our mercy.” I was going to enjoy watching that smug expression leave Charles’s face when he realized he wasn’t in control anymore.

“How do you know Charles won’t just throw you out and we can’t get near him?”

I laughed. “Because the guyloathesme. I can pretty much guarantee he’ll escort me out through the gates personally, just so he can gloat.”

“And we’ll be waiting.”

“Yes. I’m going to march myself down to his office Wednesday morning for my big confession at 9:00 a.m. sharp. You and Hank need to be up on the mountain before then. It’s a long drive.” I gave him detailed directions about the side road and gate. “Don’t park too near the compound until it’s go time. One of you can stay with the car, and one of you can help me subdue Charles. Once we grab him, whoever is driving can tear up quick, and we’ll get out of there as fast as possible.”

“What if someone notices us beforehand?”

“I don’t know. Bring a picnic basket or something, and say you were going to have lunch in the great outdoors. Use your imagination.”

“Supposing he just kicks you out and slams the door in your face?”

I twisted my lips. “Then I’ll have to wait until he comes out of the compound for some other reason. He has to leave sometime.”

“Why are we waiting till Wednesday? Frankly, I’m getting a little tired of this town. The charm has worn off. Maybe it’s hanging out with just Hank that is making it so unpleasant, but I’d love to get the hell out of here. Can’t you just march down to his office tomorrow?”

I could easily do that. But I didn’t want to. I’d rationalized all day about how waiting was a better idea because it gave Gabriele time to rent a house and for me to plan things out more carefully. But the stupid truth was, I wanted to spend tomorrow with Dylan. This was the last time I’d ever see the kid, and for whatever reason, I wanted to spend the day with him. After the dream I’d had, and talking more with him this evening, I wanted to explore my feelings with him a little bit. He’d awakened something inside of me that I was having trouble ignoring. Accepting even. If I was ever going to explore these feelings, I wanted it to be with Dylan.

“Wednesday will be fine,” I said firmly. “Remember, you guys need to be up near the compound slightly before 9:00 a.m. I don’t think I can handle Charles alone. He’s a tough bastard.”

Gabriele chuckled. “And you’re out of practice roughing guys up.”

I frowned. “You’ll understand when you meet him. Even you wouldn’t be able to subdue this guy without help.”

“Sounds intriguing,” he said softly.