Page 48 of Queen of Spades

Her nose is red as she steps back enough that I can see her face. It’s not helping settle my instincts at all that she looks like she’s about to burst into tears.

“I’ll be fine. Thanks, Ward.” She stretches a hand back to unzip her dress.

I nod and move to exit the bathroom. Making it to my bed, I strip off my guns, shove them into the bedside table, and toss myself down on the edge of the mattress.

What the hell kind of vendetta could the Andrettis have with that little omega?

No matter how hard I rack my brain, I can’t even fathom the answer.

Cas has some explaining to do, but that will have to wait for when he’s done talking to the other two.

The omega comes out less than ten minutes later with a red face and wet hair. Her curvy frame fills my white T-shirt out to perfection, and I can see the tops of her creamy thighs, since she skipped the sweats.

Steam billows out of the bathroom around her as she stands in the open doorway, dragging her toes against the carpet.

“Did you enjoy your shower?” I ask, leaning back with my hands behind me on the bed and my feet on the floor.

A little whimper escapes her puffy lips, and she bolts toward me. She climbs right onto my lap, kneeling with her knees on either side of my hips. Her face ends up buried in my neck, and I bring a hand to her lower back to steady her.

It’s been quite a lot of years since I had contact with an omega at all, and those were my mum and sisters. I grew up watching my dads comfort my mum, and thinking they spoiled her rotten.

And yet, my instincts are trying to convince me to go to war with one of the largest crime families on the East Coast.

If that’s not what or who is bothering her, then I’ll need to obliterate that problem too.

Gone is the feisty woman from Spades who held her own and declined Cas’s advances. She seems especially breakable. Like she’s hurting on some deep level that I can’t fix because I don’t have all the information.

“Grady lied to me,” she says, like she can read my damn mind. “I’m pretty sure he did it to protect me, but my whole life, men have lied to me to keep me safe.” My fingers drag up and down the soft material of the T-shirt she’s wearing. “On one hand, I really should have seen it coming. On the other, I’m just hurt.”

“That sounds complicated.” I nuzzle my cheek to the top of her head. “Do you think you can forgive the lie he told?”

“It wasn’t just one. It was so many. Like a shitload of mistruths.” She sighs heavily. “It was a fabrication, then all the necessary lying to keep up that facade. And at the same time, it’s weird. I feel like I should be angrier than I really am. Mostly, I’m grateful to have him, no matter how I got him. You have no idea what I’m rambling about.”

I chuckle and pull her closer. “Not exactly, but I get the idea. I’d say Mr. Wells isn’t who he said he was. I wouldn’t even be shocked if the man is a career criminal.”

“Takes one to know one?” she asks.

“Maybe a little.”

She nods. “My heat is coming and everything just exploded. Yet, all my impulses want to do is cuddle and nest, but I don’t really have anywhere I could do that.”

“You’re safe here,” I assure her. “The property guards let you pass because they were expecting you. But make no mistakes, this place is secure.”

“Yeah, but that never seems to last. Sorry, I really am exhausted. Maybe I could take a nap somewhere? My adrenaline just crashed.”

I nod, toeing off my dress shoes and sliding backward on the bed. Once we’re deep enough on the mattress, I twist and roll us both on our sides. It takes some effort to avoid crushing her leg, but she moves with me, making the process easier.

I run a hand over the back of her head. “Do you prefer to go by Annika or?—”

“Sparrow is technically my real name, but I haven’t gone by that in years. It’s hard to feel like her because she’s been dead for so long.” Her nose wrinkles as she wiggles her head up to rest on the pillow. “I didn’t hate the name back then. It’s just got a whole bunch of feelings wrapped up in it.”

“Annika works for me.” It also keeps things simpler.

She runs her finger over my chest, right where my heart is. “You could’ve shown me to one of the guest bedrooms.”

“I think we’ll both feel better with you resting in my bed.”

“Yeah,” she agrees, tilting her head until she meets my eyes. “Thanks, Ward. I think I was about to have a panic attack before you pulled me out of that little meeting.”

---