Page 7 of The Sterling Acquisition

Leo’s relief seemed to sober him. “Really? You’d do that?”

“Why not? Besides, I’m curious about your methods. SVI’s approach to personnel management is quite different from what I’m used to.” And he was curious—about Orion, about the tapping, about what made an Omega valuable enough to risk a corporate career over.

“Incredible. Like a cultural exchange!” Leo leaned forward. “So where do we start?”

Dante set down his coffee cup and smiled. “Well, first I’d need to assess the current situation more thoroughly. Observe the subject’s behavioral patterns, analyze the existing protocols, and identify inefficiencies in the current approach.”

“You want to study my inefficiencies?”

“I want to understand the problem before proposing solutions. Very standard consulting practice.”

Leo nodded vigorously. “Makes sense. When do you want to start?”

“How about this evening? After we both get some actual work done today.”

“Perfect.” Leo stood up, already looking more hopeful than he had since Dante arrived. “This is... this could work, Dante. Maybe finally get some progress on this situation.”

After Leo left, Dante sat in his apartment and listened to activities filtering through the wall. The morning routine was in progress: Leo’s cajoling voice, a tray being set down, then almost immediately the crash of dishes hitting the floor.

“Orion, please, just eat something—”

“Fuck your food!”

More crashing. Leo retreating.

Dante smiled. Whatever else Orion was, he was consistent.

Through the wall, the tapping resumed. Deliberate, rhythmic, almost musical.

Dante pressed his ear to the wall and listened. After a moment’s hesitation, he tapped back—three short, precise sounds.

The tapping on the other side stopped abruptly. Then: three identical taps in response.

This time, he was going to figure out what Orion was trying to say.

Chapter three

New Variables

Orion

Orionwastappingoutthe S.O.S pattern on the wall when he heard the locks disengaging. Three short, three long, three short—not because he expected anyone to understand it, but because the rhythm kept him sane. It kept his mind sharp when everything else about his situation was designed to grind him down into compliance.

He’d been at it for two hours, ever since Leo stormed out after their latest “discussion” about proper Omega behavior. That discussion ended with Leo sporting new scratches, and Orion locked back in his room with a missed dinner as punishment.

Same shit, different day.

Except tonight felt different. For the past three days, there’d been someone in the apartment next door. Someone who didn’t belong to SVI’s usual crowd of bottom-feeders and Leo’s drinking buddies. Orion could smell him through the walls—clean, controlled, expensive.Not like the industrial smog and desperation that clung to most SVI employees.

The Gensyn Alpha.

Orion had been thinking about that moment for three days. The way the Alpha moved—fluid, precise, professional. Not like Leo’s clumsy grabbing and fumbling. And the scent...like black tea and cherries with something darker beneath it. He could usually shove down the thought of a mouthwatering scent, but now that the smell was coming through his wall nonstop, it was becoming grating.

Orion set his back against the far wall and waited. His shoulders tensed, muscles coiling with the familiar readiness that had become second nature after a year in the cage that was his room. Whatever Leo had planned, he’d face it on his feet.

The door opened, but it wasn’t Leo who stepped through.

It was him. The Gensyn Alpha. Alone.