Page 32 of The Runaway

Perhaps it was poor manners to be issuing orders to someone else’s bonded omega, but given the circumstances, no one was inclined to make an issue of it. “At once, sir,” Dante said, striding away towards the house. Simon waited with his arms folded until Dante came back, then, as he offered the paper to Gabriel, Simon snatched it up instead.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll write the bill myself,” he said. “Don’t want you trying to sneak anything past me.”

“Fair enough,” Gabriel said. Antoine could read, Connor knew well enough, as could Dante. He assumed Gabriel could, though he’d never been told for certain, but either way, Antoine would no doubt read the document thoroughly to make sure it didn’t contain anything it shouldn’t.

Simon crouched down and began scrawling out a bill. “What’s your name?” he asked at one point. A legal bill of sale had to include the names of both the seller and the buyer, along with the name of the omega and the full details of his brands, for the sake of proper identification.

“Gabriel Calvet,” Gabriel said. But as Simon kept writing, Gabriel gave a subtle nod to Antoine, then sidled over to Cirroc and Connor.

“Go and saddle two horses,” he said to Cirroc, keeping his voice low. “And be as quick about it as you can. I don’t trust these men any further than I can throw them, and I’m going to see them safely off the property. Then I want you to send Albert to town to fetch a tattoo artist. I want Connor tattooed with the Calvet brand as soon as possible.”

“You think they’d come back for him?” Cirroc asked, sounding worried.

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Gabriel agreed.

Cirroc nodded, then hurried away, waving Albert to follow him as he headed for the stable.

Gabriel returned to Simon, waiting silently while he finished writing and signed the bottom of the page. “There you go,” Simon said, when he’d finished. “Three hundred francs. The fucker’s all yours now.”

Gabriel took the bill and read it, then handed it to Antoine, who took a moment to scan the details. Satisfied, he handed it back. Gabriel signed it, while Simon emptied the purse onto the ground. He counted the coins quickly, seeming slightly surprised when they tallied up to the required total. He stood up, tucking the bag into his waist. “Pleasure doing business with you,” he said, a sneer on his face. “Come on, Grant. Let’s get out of this shithole.” They both mounted their horses and headed for the gate. The entire estate watched them go, until they’d rounded the corner at the top of the hill and disappeared from sight.

Then Antoine turned to Gabriel. “Not that I’m complaining, but that’s an entirely daft thing you just did. Three hundred francs? That’s a hell of a lot of money.”

“I can afford it,” Gabriel said. “It’s not like I’ve got much else to spend my money on.”

“Well, yes,” Antoine said. “But even so…”

Beside him Dante snorted out a laugh, and Antoine turned to him quizzically. “You’re one to talk,” Dante said, with a grin. “If I recall, you once did the same thing for me.”

Antoine’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“You paid far more than the asking price for a slave who was never going to amount to anything. Much to your father’s consternation.” There was a knowing smirk on Dante’s face as he said it, so Connor took no offence at the description. Dante was referring to himself as worthless, not to Connor, and given where Dante had ended up, the irony was striking.

“Well, I, for one, would say you’ve got your money’s worth,” Max said, a grin on his face. He, along with the other omegas, had finally dared to come closer, now that the intruders were safely away. “Did you know this little scamp can read?”

Both Antoine and Gabriel looked shocked, and their gazes swung around to land on Connor. “Are you serious?” Antoine asked. But far from upset about the declaration, he sounded quite delighted.

“Um… yeah. I guess so,” Connor said. Why would Max just blurt it out like that? Some masters would assume that by learning to read, Connor was being arrogant, trying to rise above his station.

But Antoine just grinned. “Well, aren’t you full of surprises,” he said to Connor. “I’d say that was money well spent, then.”

Gabriel just shrugged, as if he didn’t care one way or the other.

Cirroc came out of the barn, leading one of the geldings behind him, while Albert was leading the mare. Gabriel wasted no time in mounting the horse. “I’m just going to make sure they leave,” he said to Antoine.

“Good idea,” Antoine said. Gabriel set off at a fast trot, with Albert close behind.

“Well then,” Cirroc said, clapping Connor on the back. “Looks like you’re a Calvet now. How does it feel?”

How did it feel? Connor was lightheaded, and he wondered if he might faint from pure relief. “Pretty good,” he said, a dazed look on his face. Nicole rushed over and embraced Connor in a fierce hug.

“Thank God,” she said, beaming at him. “I’ve been worrying like crazy for days.”

That seemed to be a signal to the rest of them. The other omegas crowded around him, hugging him, patting him on the back, broad grins on all their faces. Connor felt his face flush red, completely overwhelmed by the warm concern. These people wanted him here. They cared about what happened to him. He’d never felt anything like it before in his life. He’d found a home at last, and he swore to himself that he would do everything in his power to make sure he never had to leave.

???

It was mid-afternoon by the time the tattoo artist arrived. Gabriel had come back about half an hour after he’d left, seeing the two men heading east at a rapid pace, and then they’d had a tense couple of hours while they waited for the tattooist to arrive. In that time, Connor hadn’t been allowed out of the main house, no one prepared to take the slightest risk that he could be snatched away before the tattoo was done.