Page 28 of Pack of Crooks

I tuck my lip between my teeth and nod. Questions fill my mind, but I push them aside for now. It’s rude to pry. “So,” I begin. “Is your name really Bear?”

His emerald-green eyes soften. “It’s Maddox. They call me Mad. You can call me. . . whatever you want.”

“Even kitty?” I tease, hoping to soften the mood.

“Only if you want me to punish you,” he fires back.

I’m not opposed to the idea. . . Killian slips his leg between mine under the table, his calf resting against mine, drawing my attention and a shiver down my spine.

“Is your name really Killian?” For all I know, he could have a fake ID.

“Yup.” He pops the P. “But I prefer Kill.”

I glance at the beta. “And you’re Ezra.”

“The one and only. What about you?”

“Like I said, I’m Amber.”

“Bullshit,” he says with an eye roll. “Amber is for omegas with bright pink nests and nails she’s too scared to break.”

My eyebrows hit my hairline. “Is that so?”

He nods. “Heather is for omegas who clutch their pearls at the sight of blood.” Leaning across the small table, he studies my face. “You, much to our delight, are neither.”

Pulse quickening, I lick my lips. “So what am I then?”

“An anomaly,” he murmurs, reaching up and smoothing his thumb over my cheek, marking me with his scent again. It’s not as strong as an alpha’s, but the simple gesture alone has my heart trembling in my chest.

Why do I feel like they’ve suddenly become my knights in morally gray armor?

I’ve dated before, but I’ve never felt this deep of an instant attraction. Like all I want to do is find a way to make sure they’re mine.Sounds like the trauma to me.

“My name is Hazel,” I whisper.

“Hazel,” he says, voice deepening. “For an omega with shadows in her eyes and holes in her heart.” I wince. That hits a little too close to home, but he continues. “An omega with a habit of taking things that don’t belong to her. She thinks her missing pieces mean she’s broken, but she’s not. In spite of everything she’s endured, she’s stronger than ever. Better than her demons.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m a good judge of character.” He sits back, eyeing Maddox and Kill. “We have a proposition.”

“We want you to be our omega,” Kill blurts.

Maddox and Ezra take a deep breath at the same time and glare at the alpha who can’t seem to control himself. The words stroke down my spine.Be our omega.

Ezra, who I’m quickly learning is a little unhinged himself, shakes his head at his alpha then glances at me. “What he means is, we’d like to court you.”

“And offer you the job,” Maddox adds, tapping his finger on the table in beats of four.

I recognize that soothing habit. He’s anxious. Ezra fidgets with his napkin, and Kill watches me like he’s worried I’ll get up and run. And that alpha just might chase me down.They’re all nervous,I realize.

“Do you ask to court every omega who robs you?”

“We’ve never asked to court anyone,” Maddox says.

“Never?”

“Never,” Kill confirms. “You’re the only one.”