Page 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Omen

M y fucking chest gets warm and fuzzy as Saylor smiles around my cock. Her cheeks are rosy, and her eyes are hooded and glassy. I’m guessing she’s dick drunk and still riding the high of her orgasm.

Shaw pulls free of her cunt and rolls over, landing on his side on the other side of the bed. His chest heaves, but he’s got a lazy grin on his face.

I tug my cock free of Saylor’s lips, scooting back enough that I can bend close to her face. She’s still warm but not boiling alive like she was earlier. Her tongue swipes over her lower lip as I study her face.

Dammit.

I’ve never fallen in love before, so I’ve no way to tell if that’s what this is, but I think that warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest might be the beginning of falling in love.

Yeah, it’s quick.

The facility fast-track program from strangers to bondmates to falling in love all before you can blink.

I almost snort but settle for bending close and pushing my lips to hers. Her swollen lips part, and I shove my tongue into her mouth. She tastes like my cum, which soothes some weird-ass urge I have to make sure the world knows I own her.

That thought never held any appeal before. It does now, and I wouldn’t mind everyone knowing she owns me too. Maybe I’ll find a spot and get her teeth print tattooed on my skin. Smiling against her lips, I barely hold back the laugh. I’m pretty sure the only spots I have left are my arse and my cock.

Hmm.

Maybe for an anniversary present a year or two down the line.

* * *

It takes several more rounds of double-teaming the omega before Saylor finally settles down enough to nap. We even got desperate and called Leo back into the bedroom. There’s a high likelihood this first heat will be worse because of the suppressants.

She’s the most beautiful, sticky, well-used mess I’ve ever seen as she lies between me and Leo. She snores like an old man in his favorite recliner on a Sunday afternoon.

And I find it cute .

Christ, I fancy her more than I should after such a short time, but she makes me want to be better.

Somehow, she looks at Valor and me and doesn’t see the sum of our mistakes. She met Amato firsthand—shot him too, which I was bloody proud of—but she hasn’t judged us complicit for being involved in his business.

There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep that fondness in her eyes when she smiles at me. Not that she can do that at the moment.

It only took three of us and more orgasms than I could count to get this wave of heat to settle.

What happens when the heat hits fully?

Will three alphas and me be enough?

Will Ridge be able to keep watch if all four of us are out of commission?

What if the facility really does seek retribution?

So many fucking what ifs. Every single thing that could go wrong seems to cross my mind all at once.

Leo stretches a hand over, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. I’ve been focused on Saylor, but my head pops up to find both he and Shaw are quietly studying me.

“You’re stressing so hard, you’ve got my blood pressure up,” Shaw says in barely more than a whisper. “That shit is not good for your cortisol levels.”

I shrug, shake out of Leo’s hold, and shove my sweaty hair back from my forehead. “You know as well as I do all the things that can go wrong.”

“It’s always a possibility,” Leo whispers, moving his hand to run over Saylor’s cheek. He pulls the hair away from her face and stretches around her to kiss her temple. “But it’s not the only one. I’m betting the facility won’t want any part of tracking us down. One of their benefactors got slaughtered picking up his assets. My money is on them wanting to quietly sweep it under the rug.”

“We can all dream,” Shaw says, chuckling softly. “My luck has never been that great, but we can all say a little prayer.”

I nod.

My luck isn’t good either.

Or it wasn’t before Saylor came crashing into my life.

“If shit hits the fan, we’ll deal with it,” Shaw says, reaching over Leo to shove my shoulder. “Keep an optimistic outlook. I swear, the universe sends bad shit if you draw it to you with your energy. Anyway, I’m starving. I’m going to check around to see if I can find anything worth eating.” He scoots down the bed, but he’s careful not to rock the mattress since Saylor is still asleep.

I hold my head up with my hand and watch as he digs around the floor for something to wear.

He finds a pair of joggers and tosses them over his shoulder. “I’m also taking a shower. I’m covered in cum, and I don’t even know who it belongs to.” He snorts. “Man, my dads sure failed to mention that when raving about pack life.” His bare ass flexes as he heads toward the door. “I’ll send Valor up as soon as he and Ridge get back.”

“Thank you,” I call out, keeping my voice low.

That will be a pleasant surprise for Saylor. She begged for him non-stop once the fog hit.

I focus back on the little omega, and Leo runs his fingers down her side. He’s nuzzled as close as he can get to her back.

Just going off the look on his face…

That man is done for.

He sees me watching and offers a friendly smile. “Have you ever been to the States? I know you mentioned you only had a passport through Amato, but I didn’t want to assume.”

“No, never been.”

“Shaw and I live in Vermont. We’ve got a two-bedroom apartment, but we’re going to have to start searching for a house.” He smiles. “Which reminds me. I know you and Valor lived in London. I assume you planned to end up back there at some point?”

“Yeah.”

“Right,” he whispers, studying my face. “So I imagine, much like mine and Shaw’s apartment, it’s got a lot of shit you wouldn’t want to leave behind. My family pack is still alive, so they still have my baby books and high school yearbooks, but I’m guessing the two of you have mementos you’ll need retrieved?”

“Not really.” I shrug. “I don’t have anything from my childhood. My dad kicked me out when I was sixteen. I haven’t seen him since, even though he’s always been just across the city.” Leo grimaces at my words, but I don’t need his pity. I got dealt a shitty lot in life. It happens. I’d like to believe I’ve risen above all that, anyway. “Last I checked, there was a little less than three hundred thousand pounds in the safe in Valor’s closet. That would hurt to lose, but it’s blood money. Our flat is in the heart of Amato’s territory. By now, there’s a chance they know he’s dead. If not, the rest of his higher-ups will know within a day or two. It’ll be a bloodbath as they fight it out to see who gets to take over in his absence.”

Leo’s eyebrows rise. “That’s a significant amount of money.”

“It’s five years of savings,” I say, moving to study Saylor. Her long lashes rest on her cheeks, and she looks so peaceful that it makes my chest tight.

At the moment, Valor and I don’t have much to offer her. We worked our way up in Amato’s organization, starting as disposable muscle and ending at trusted enforcers.

Amato groomed Valor to take his place.

There’s no way we can show our faces in London to retrieve our belongings. Not without having to wipe out all of Amato’s underlings. They’ll be gunning for us to ensure we can’t make a claim on his empire. The money hurts because it would be something to contribute to prove we can pull our own weight, but I’m more concerned with what Valor will be leaving behind.

I keep my voice low and fill Leo in about Valor’s history. I keep things brief. It’s not my story to tell, but I mention how he was raised by his aunt and that she died when he was a teenager.

Saylor grunts, moving around in her sleep.

We both freeze.

After close to a minute, she begins to snore again.

“Basically, I’ll be fine,” I whisper. “Valor has a few things that will hurt to lose, but I know him well enough to understand he won’t go back for it. He’s got a ring from his aunt in the same safe we kept the money in. There are photo albums and keepsakes that I know are important to him…” I shrug. “Maybe, in a few months, we can check once the dust clears.”

Amato owns our building, so there was never any fear of being evicted while we were in the facility. Valor’s position as Amato’s number two ensures none of Amato’s other lackeys would dare steal our belongings. At least, not while Amato was alive. Once the world finds out about his death, the vultures will circle.

Leo’s hand lands on my shoulder while I’m still focused on Saylor. He gives me a reassuring squeeze, and I fight the urge to shake out of his grip. The one thing I hate more than anything is being pitied.

Valor and I might have started as street rats, but we clawed our way up to the top.

Only to be slammed right down to the bottom all over again.

We’re going to have to find employment and a way to contribute.

I fucking hate feeling helpless.

Leo sends something in the bond, and my eyes fly to his. “Like I was trying to say before you started spiraling all over again,” he says softly. “Come on, you and I need to make some phone calls while our omega sleeps.”

“Why?”

Leo smirks.

I’ve never seen that particular look on his face, but he looks quite pleased with himself.

“As it turns out, I have an old friend that owes me one for something that happened when we were down range.” Leo finally releases me and scoots away from Saylor’s back. “He does security for stupidly wealthy businessmen in London . If anyone is going to get your shit back, it has to be done now. Come on, let’s make a few calls and see if we can make it happen.”

My bloody chest gets tight.

Is this what having a family feels like?

It’s a nice change of pace to have someone outside of Valor to count on.