Page 4 of Packed Up In Vegas

She dropped her head to the table, taking several slow, deep breaths to try and collect herself.

Whoever this asshole was, he deserved to run out of gas in Death Valley right now. What the fuck kind of person abandons someone on a trip, let alone someone they’d built a life with?

“That’s not even the worst part,” Callie said with another soft whimper that had all of my alpha instincts rearing up.

“What’s the worst part?”

“He got drunk and married someone else last night.”

“Fuck no. You are a hundred times better off without him.”

Callie lifted shiny eyes to me. “It doesn’t feel better without him.”

“Oh, sweetheart. I know it’s shit right now. You’re going to get through this. The universe always provides.”

My phone went off, and I was tempted to ignore it, but then I saw on the screen that it was our headliner for tonight’s show.

“I’m so sorry. I have to take this really quick.” I pushed the call button. “Hey, Stacey, what can I do for you?”

Her response was the sound of someone hurling before a pitiful mewl filled my ear. “Miiiles,” she whined, “I went to a discount seafood buffet.”

“Girl, what, and I mean this with all the love in the world, the fuck?”

“I know. It was stupid. But I have food poisoning and I can’t come tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it. Get your rest. There’ll be another show for you later.”

“Thank you.” The line went dead.

Callie looked at me curiously. “Show?”

I looked between my phone and this weeping, financially destitute omega in front of me. Was I what the universe had in mind to provide for her? Didn’t hurt to ask.

“So, what would you say if I told you I could erase your financial concerns and get you back on your feet?”

“I’d say that sounds like complete bullshit.” She eyed me with suspicion.

“Practical,” I said with a laugh. “No bullshit, though. I happen to do recruitment for a club that provides a very specific service to clients who are willing to pay a lot of money to get what they want. You give me about three days of work and you can walk away with a hundred grand for your trouble.”

I could practically hear her pulse booming. A hundred grand might not fix everything, but it would certainly go a long way to helping her rebuild her life after that asshole fucked it up. She needed the money, and I needed to not have a hundred pissed-off patrons.

Another whimper escaped Callie.

“I take it that amount sounds enticing?”

She bought herself a few moments of silence by sipping on her iced chai. “What would I have to do?”

“Why don’t we walk and talk?”

Her hesitation was easy to see, but the money was too tempting for her to resist. “Sure.”

She whined again the second we stepped out of the air conditioning. “Why is it so ungodly hot? I didn’t even want to come here this time of year, but Jerry insisted because everything was on sale. Well, no fucking wonder it’s on sale when it feels like you’re stepping into Satan’s asshole when you’re outside.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, swinging my arm over her shoulder as we meandered toward the Strip. “I feel the same way. But there’s only so many places where a business like the one I work for can thrive, so I have to suffer.”

“So, spill,” she demanded. “Money like that is going to involve something super shady. Is it sex, murder, or drugs?”

I laughed again. This little cutie had spunk. “Sex. The club I recruit for does live shows. Young, innocent omegas getting defiled by alphas in front of an audience.”

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