Page 6 of Curvy Quirky Omega

Hopefully, the new mask was as effective as she said it was, because I knew without a doubt that Dane Valor was going to be a fucking mess.

CHAPTER 3

Lucy

The room was just as dark as I remembered with only the light hanging right above Dane to see by. It was dim though and hid most of the damage, but I could smell all the blood and pain.

Surprisingly, there was nothing else, which meant they’d been taking relatively good care of him.

I sat in the chair Liam set up for me and tried to ignore how nervous these three were making me. I didn’t question people often, and certainly not like this, but if I were being completely honest, this was actually easier.

Without all the normal social rules, I didn’t have to pretend. Dane would answer my questions or he wouldn’t, and Frankie would do the rest. We weren’t here to force a confession either, not when I was pretty sure he had nothing to do with Gideon’s death. At least, not knowingly.

Frankie planted her hand on the back of my chair and leaned into me. The new face mask was supposed to help filter out pheromones as well as most smells and, thankfully, it seemed to be working since she didn’t look the least bit green.

Liam and Cas hovered behind me, but they didn’t crowd us. Their presence was reassuring and I crossed one leg over the other before unlocking my phone. Setting it to record, I focused on Dane Valor.

He didn’t look as messed up as I thought he would, but he didn’t look good either. His face was mostly intact aside from some bruising that told me he was hit a few times. His nose wasn’t broken though and the bruises looked a few days old.

No, the fingernails and toes were where all the damage was. It was so bad, I couldn’t even look at it either. I didn’t know who had taught these two to use bamboo shoots like this, and I could confidently say I never wanted to know.

I almost never got squeamish, not like Frankie, but this? I rubbed my thumb over my nails to try to get the phantom sensation of what that might feel like off. Body parts and broken bones and blood were no big deal, but fingernails? Ugh.

Dane slowly lifted his head. Red eyes stared at me through light brown hair, just as dead and lifeless as Liam’s had been only a few moments ago.

“My name is Lucy,” I told him. “This is my partner, Frankie. We’re detectives from the Genesis Private Detective Agency and we have a few questions for you.”

Dane looked from me to Frankie and then back again.

“I have some idea of what Liam has already asked you, and I have no intention of asking the same questions other than to confirm a few things. I’m also going to record this conversation. Do you have any problems with that?”

The alpha chained to the chair in front of me shook his head, eyebrows rising ever so slightly. “Are you an omega?”

I paused, not sure how he’d picked up on that, but then I remembered I took off my scent blockers. Could he tell just from my scent? I suppose it didn’t really matter anymore now that I was bonded.

“And what if I am?”

“Just curious.” Dane kept his eyes on me, patiently waiting for whatever I might ask him.

I didn’t look at Frankie even though I wanted to. She’d tell me everything she was able to glean from him once this was all over.

Tapping my phone, I selected the first question. “The phone you used to message the second party was a burner, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Did you acquire it, or was it given to you?”

“I was given the phone.”

“How did you receive it?” I looked up and waited, trying not to let it show how surprised I was that he was cooperating, unlike the omega he was having an affair with.

Dane sighed and looked down at my phone. “I received the phone two years ago through an express courier when Gideon first asked me to start accompanying him to offsite meetings.”

I could feel Liam’s outrage through the bond and did my best not to let it show on my face. “So, what was the original intention for the phone?”

“Gideon didn’t want Valor to know certain things. It wasn’t really my place to ask questions, but information came through those messages and that’s how I knew when Gideon needed me and where.”

Interesting.

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