Page 121 of Fallen Omega

“But—”

“I don’t like insubordination,” he says, his tone silky steel threads that whip against my skin with every word. “I do like punishment. So, think about that next time you want to talk back. Get the fuck out and wait. Now.”

I clamp my mouth shut, my heart slamming against my ribs, fear making all my extremities ice, and I fumble with the curtain, then the door, and I stumble out into the floor of the bar.

Every eye is glued to me as I try to slow down to get across. But I can’t. My chest is tight with the horror of him killing that man, for what? Touching me? It’s still swirling in my head.

I don’t understand my reactions. Yes, there’s horror, and I get that. But the thrill and the need and the way I ache for Dante? That I don’t get. My vision waivers, and I almost fall into someone’s lap. But a hand grabs me. It’s firm but not biting, and I look up.

Darcy.

I can’t even speak. She leads me through and into the back and shoves me on a chair in a small office.

Not his office though. This is one where the main staff come and go, where someone can watch everything on a bank of screens.

My breath hitches.

“Dante k-killed him.”

“I’m aware,” she says, as she leans against the plain desk, and she crosses her arms over her black dress. “What the fuck were you thinking? You dumb bitch.”

What was I thinking? “I thought I could make some more tips.”

She sighs, straightens, and picks up some whiskey. Then she pours some in two glasses and hands one to me.

“Drink,” she says. “You can’t be that naïve. The men here will eat you alive, think you’re offering yourself for sex. They all think that in those rooms. The trick is to handle it and notupset them. And you, kid, will end up having sex every single time. Whether you want to or not.”

“I—”

“Dennis touched you, didn’t he?”

I lift the glass with both hands and drink it down, the warmth of the burn doing little to help.

Putting a name to the dead man makes him more real. And…I swallow. “Yes.”

“Of course he did. The guy was a total douche. So no one’s going to miss him. He’s married. Fucking beta asshole, treats his wife terribly. He brags about it, but he spends big, and he has a lot of gamma and delta friends. A few alpha acquaintances. So, I bet he knew what a prize you are.” She shakes her head.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”I didn’t mean to get someone killed.

Even that man, who turned out to be way worse than I thought. But he kept getting bolder, kept telling me how to get closer to him or he wouldn’t pay, to show more skin. And he undid his pants and?—

I tried my best to ignore that, tried to be cute and sweet and not give him everything he wanted. After all, it was just a dance. Right?

“You’re too fucking young to be in here. Dante should know better. The Unholy Trinity have a lot of businesses. A lot of pies. Some of them are legit. So, they should’ve put you in something like that instead of…shit. Instead of here, in the middle of it.”

“The Council wants me.”

Her face turns hard. “And put that together with Knight marking you…” She blows out a breath. “I’m sick of this so-called law-abiding society who allow people to order others around due to what they are when they’re born. Do you want a life of being a homemaker and baby factory?”

“No.”

And I think I hate myself more because this man who was killed fades in my little blossoming moment. Darcy’s treating me almost like a friend, and I’m hanging on to it all, hugging it close.

If I could choose a friend, I’d want someone like her. Maybe not quite so scary, but then again, I like that about her. She’s smart and fierce, things I want to be, too, and she loves Julien, who’s even scarier in size. But he’s always been nice to me.

“My dad didn’t want that, either. He kept us away from the Council’s reach, homeschooled me. I wish you could have met him.” I stop. That sounds weird. “I mean, all of you. He was good and respected in the Hollows.”

Darcy looks at me and starts laughing. She refills our glasses. “Oh, man, kid. I think I would have. And, I think I like you, too. Anyone who speaks about someone being respected by the Hollows and says it with absolute pride, is a fucking badass in my eyes.”

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