Page 20 of Shattered Omega

“What is going on?” I asked the moment he picked up. “If they get a pack member, there’s a risk they’ll lose the scent match?—”

“This guy is not going to join their pack. It’s a front.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“His name is Mord Sato, and he’s not an alpha you want to fuck with if you can help it. I’ve crossed him once or twice back in the Gritch. He’s bad fucking news.”

“Hold up,” I said, mind racing. The Gritch District was the much less well-off part of town that saw much higher crime rates than anywhere else. “They hired him? Like… protection?”

“Best money can buy—and that’s not all he’s doing. Listen to the audio. It’s from the bugs in their apartment this morning.”

I tapped out of the call screen to listen to what he sent. It had transcripts over the top which was good because the volume was faint. I squinted at the sound of the door opening and footsteps.

Then I heard Flynn Lincoln’s voice.

“You can have the room at the end of the hall, probably still smells like orange?—”

“Shut up.” A low, rough voice that I didn’t recognise cut Flynn off.

There was a pause. “Excuse me?” Flynn sounded affronted. “I’m not paying you to speak to us like?—”

“I said—” The second voice was sharp this time. “—Shut. Up.”

To my surprise, Flynn listened.

The audio ended, but it was followed by another text from Decebal that read: ‘this is a few minutes later.’ Then I heard some loud rustling, a high-pitched noise, and the static on the feed cut off into silence.

I put the phone back to my ear, mind racing. “He found the bug?”

“Not just one,” Decebal said. “He disconnected all three in the first ten minutes of arriving.”

“Shit…” That meant the Lincoln pack now knew we were listening. That wasn’t information we wanted them to have.

“Yup.”

“Where did they find this guy?” I asked. “Can we pay him out?”

“Not a chance. I’ve never seen him flip on a client.”

“A client…?” This was fucking madness. “He’s what? A mercenary?”

“Yeh, and fuck me if I know where he got so good. Ex-military—that’s my best guess? He wasn’t anywhere near the Harpy’s, that’s for sure, but I don’t know a single one who’ll cross him if they can help it.”

I knew Decebal had ties to the Harpy gang growing up, he and his pack mate were well versed on the underbelly of New Oxford. If Decebal thought this guy was trouble…

Fuck.

“Tell me about him.”

“He’s efficient. Gets jobs done quick and clean and he covers his tracks. The Lincoln pack must have offered him a lot for… well, whatever the fuck they told him this was. That, or it was their connections—they aren’t exactly known for staying on the straight and narrow, so maybe they called in a favour.”

“What do you think? Did they hire him for protection?”

“Would be a waste of good money to hire a guy like Sato and only use him for that. And finding the bugs?”

“Yeh. That was wishful thinking.” I rubbed my face. “What the fuck do you think they told him this was?”

“I don’t know. But my advice—I’d carry from now on—I don’t care if it’s to the cafeteria. And don’t let her out of your sight.”

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