Page 59 of Roulette Rodeo (Jackknife Ridge Ranch #1)

They file out into the rain, their squeals and complaints fading as they rush to his car—something low and expensive that growls to life in the parking lot. I watch through the window as the taillights disappear into the storm, red eyes blinking out in the darkness.

The coffee shop feels different now. Emptier. Quieter except for the storm's fury against the windows.

I get up and lock the front door, flipping the sign to 'CLOSED' even though the shop was supposed to stay open until ten.

The owner, Mrs. Chen, had left an hour ago, trusting us to lock up when we were done.

She'd given me a spare key last week after I'd helped her reorganize the lending library, saying I was the only omega she trusted not to steal anything.

The overhead lights flicker as thunder crashes again, closer this time. The electricity holds, but I can feel its tenuous grip. I turn off the main lights anyway, leaving only the small lamp by the reading corner. If someone's watching, better they think the shop is empty.

I settle into the corner furthest from the windows, back against the wall so I can see both exits. Old habits from the casino—never sit with your back exposed, always know your escape routes, trust no one who smiles while they circle.

My phone buzzes: a text from Rafe.

Rafe : Roads are flooded. Can't get through. Stay put. DO NOT accept rides from anyone else.

I type back quickly.

Red : Already locked in the coffee shop. Luca tried to give me a ride. I declined.

The response is immediate.

Rafe : Good…don’t trust the prick.

Red : Wasn't planning on it.

There's a pause, then:

Rafe : Storm should pass in an hour. I'll come as soon as the roads clear.

Red : I'm fine. Have my book and coffee. Take your time.

Rafe : Lock the doors. Stay away from windows.

Red : Already did. I'm not stupid, Rafe.

There’s a pause, the typing button showing on and off.

Rafe : I know you're not.

It's the closest to a compliment he's given me twice in one night. Progress, even if it's happening during a crisis.

I settle deeper into my corner, book open but my attention split between the story and the sounds outside. The rain hammers against the roof like it's trying to break through. Wind howls through the streets, sending things clattering and crashing. But underneath it all, there's something else.

The feeling of being watched.

It's the same sensation I'd get at the casino when a high roller had decided I was going to be his entertainment for the night. That prickle at the back of my neck, the way the air feels heavier, charged with intent.

Luca hadn't left I bet…

Or maybe he dropped the girl’s down the road and came back to see if I was still here. If he’s obsessed with the ida of grinding Rafe’s gears, maybe the idea of him having a new Omega bothers him? She wouldn’t be surprised, especially if he’s trying to test my loyalty.

Or just enjoying the thought of me trapped here, alone, or better yet, afraid.

I have to try not to laugh at the idea of it all. I'm not afraid. I've been alone in worse places with worse men. At least here, I have locks between us and the knowledge that my pack will come for me.

Eventually.

I think about those three omegas, probably already home by now, Luca having played the perfect gentleman savior.

They'll tell everyone how wonderful he was, how he rescued them from the storm.

They'll never think about why he was out driving in this weather, why he just happened to show up at the exact moment when we were most vulnerable.

Predators always know when to strike.

They have an instinct for weakness, for isolation, for the perfect moment when their prey has no other options.

But I'm not prey.

Haven't been for a long time, even when I had to pretend otherwise.

My phone buzzes again, this time the pack group chat.

Shiloh : You okay, little cherry?

Red : Reading in the coffee shop. Waiting for the storm to pass.

Talon : Heard Luca tried to play hero

Red : More like tried to play predator. I didn't bite.

Corwin : Good girl. We're leaving the medical center now. Roads are bad but we'll figure something out.

Red : I'm FINE. Seriously. Got coffee, a book, and a locked door. Living my best life.

Talon : Your best life is being stuck alone in a coffee shop during a storm?

Red : My best life is making my own choices about who I trust. Even if that means waiting alone. Besides, I can fight.

There's a pause, then Shiloh again:

Shiloh : That’s our Omega.

Those words that warm me more than the coffee I'm nursing.

The book draws me back in, the omega protagonist now executing her revenge with careful precision. She's not violent about it—she's smart. Uses the alpha's own arrogance against him, lets him think he's in control right until the moment she destroys everything he values.

It's satisfying in a way that makes me think about Marnay, about all the alphas who'd tried to buy me over the years. About how they'd never seen me as a threat because omegas aren't supposed to be dangerous.

We're supposed to be soft, delicate, helpless…

Like those three omegas who'd rather insult me than see me as someone who might understand their frustrations.

Like Sophia, who everyone seems to think was too perfect to have had any agency in her own fate.

Like whoever that poor omega was at the medical center tonight, pushed so far she'd tried to escape the only way she could imagine.

But we're not all soft. Some of us are sharp enough to cut anyone who tries to grab us wrong.

The storm continues its assault on the building, and somewhere out there, Luca is probably still watching. Waiting. Planning whatever game he thinks he's playing with my pack, or with me.

He thinks I'm isolated, vulnerable, an easy piece to move on whatever board he's constructed in his mind.

He's wrong to underestimate someone like me.

I may be alone in this coffee shop, surrounded by storm and darkness, but I'm not vulnerable.

I'm not a pawn in his game or anyone else's.

I think about Rafe's fear that history will repeat itself, that I'll end up like Sophia—broken by them or by the life they lead. About Corwin's gentle warnings, Talon's protective hovering, Shiloh's fierce need to keep me safe.

They all think they need to protect me. From Luca, from their past, from the darkness that follows men like them.

An opportunity will come where maybe those threats will need protection from me.

A woman who's already been broken and reformed herself with her own hands.

Who knows what real predators look like and how to avoid their teeth.

Who can sit alone in a coffee shop during a storm, doors locked and back to the wall, and feel more free than she ever did in a casino full of people and a world that enjoyed benefitting from using her.

Luca can circle all he wants. He can play his games, drop his hints about Sophia, try to use me as leverage against Rafe.

But I'm not playing around, at least to the tune of the game he’s trying to brew.

I'm creating my own, with my own rules and my own objectives.

And the first rule?

Trust no one who smiles while they're hunting.

The second?

Never let them see you as prey, even when you're cornered.

And the third?

Sometimes the best weapon is patience, letting them think you're helpless while you're actually learning their every tell.

Thunder booms again, rattling the windows, but I don't flinch.

I just turn the page and keep reading, a small smile on my lips.

One thing no one really knows about her is her intrigue when it comes to problem solving. She observes to see what the problem is, and that’s when her curiosity piques, desperate to learn the depths of the rooted cause of the hidden chaos everyone’s too much of a coward to see.

He'll learn eventually that I'm not a pawn to be moved or a prize to be won.

I'm not Sophia who enjoyed being a marionette that was pulled in every direction that she thought would benefit her mirage in this game of life. I'm not those three omegas who need someone else to save them from a storm.

I will not be used as a weapon against the men who are becoming what I dare admit is feeling a lot like home.

I secretly vow it…