Page 46 of Pack of Crooks

“That asshole?—”

“Can live to see another day,” Ezra cuts Maddox off. “Besides, we’re not here to make out?—”

“Maybe you aren’t,” Kill mutters. I chuckle, Ezra rolls his eyes, and Maddox looks like he agrees with the other alpha.

“You’re here to shop?” Ezra asks, ignoring Kill.

“Sort of.” I pick up my forgotten bags, pausing as a realization washes over me. These guys have no idea I’m Tristan Kain’s daughter. “But I have to tell you something.”And I really hope they won’t hate me.

“What is it?”

“So you know I got the job.” They all nod. I breathe in, nodding too. “Right, well.” Grimacing, I rip the Band-Aid off. “Tristan is my dad. Or at least, that’s what my mom always told me, I’ve never actually met him.”

The guys are freakishly quiet. They trade looks. Kill’s features pinch together. Maddox’s jaw tightens and Ezra is frowning.

“You’ve never met him?” Ezra asks.

I laugh. “Trust me, if I’d known where to find that man, Lottie and I wouldn’t be living in our shitty one bedroom.”

He considers this. “And. . . how do you feel about working with us to take him down?”

I shrug. “I won’t lie and say I’ve never thought about what it would be like to know my dad, but if you’re asking if I’m on his side.” I shake my head. “Bubblepop told me what he did to her business, about her friend. I’ve read some articles about Kain Industries. As far as I’m concerned, Tristan and his company are bad news.”

The three of them trade looks, silently wondering if they can trust me, and I pick at my nails, hoping that my honesty hasn’t ruined everything. Kill and Maddox seem to defer to Ezra for this decision, which has me curious, but his next words change my focus.

“If you’re certain you’re on our side and this development hasn’t changed things, then I think we’re all grown up enough to move past it.”

“What about the sins of the father and all that?”

“You don’t know him. You aren’t him and you don’t get to pay for his crimes. He does,” Maddox says. “And we’d still like your help.”

“And you still want to court me?” I ask to be certain.

Kill laughs. “Silly omega, we’re only courting you because it might be too aggressive to mark you right here and now.”

I widen my eyes and a flush stains my cheek. “Oh, um.”

Ezra clears his throat. “Ignore him. He reads a lot of dark romance. What he meant to say is we still want to court you. . . and if?—”

“When,” Kill says with a wicked smirk.

“Ifand when you’re ready, we’ll claim you.”

So they’re all in? That’s. . . more than I can process, but my heart is giddy and little tingles of excitement run from the tip of my toes to the top of my head.“Okay, well, I still have to shop. I hope you brought sticky fingers.”

“Ooo, theft, my favorite,” Kill says, dropping his arm on my shoulder. “Should we hit the register, too?” And just like that, it’s as if I never dropped the bomb about Tristan being my dad.

“What? No! Too far.” I give him an incredulous look. “I need new clothes, not a jail cell.”

He drops his head back and groans, mumbling about how everyone ruins his fun. Ezra and I trade exasperated glances. Maddox rolls his eyes and nudges us forward.

“Move before people start paying attention.”

“Solid point, kitty.”

He squints at me and I know I’ll pay for saying that. With a pep in my step, I stride inside, three men with questionable sanity following after me, apparently ready to help me rip the store off.

What more could an omega ask for?