Page 34 of Fallen Omega

A letter.

From the Council.

I unfold the contents from the envelope, scanning my gaze across the note.

“Ah, fuck.”

“Here.” I don’t bother knocking.

Knight spins in his chair, cockiness back in place. The kind of cocky that always makes me suspicious. Because it’s the cocky he pulls out when he might have done something he shouldn’t have.

“I’ve gotta door, Dante. Right there. You can knock. Andeverything.”

I shove the hard drive and tablet at him, then settle back against the wall and fold my arms. “See what you can find on those.”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

“Cut the bullshit, Knight.” I eye him carefully. “We both know you fucked up.”

He swallows and nods. “That tasty morsel is hard to resist. Especially when she rubs her cunt on you, kisses you, and demands you touch her.”

“Well, glad to hear she’s a villain and you’re the innocent one in this scenario.”

He plugs in the hard drive then looks at me. “I didn’t say I was innocent. I said she’s hard to resist when she’s begging.”

“And you’re meant to be better than that. A girl like her is worse than jailbait. Fuck, she’s Council bait.”

“She’s clean.”

I straighten. “You found something?”

“No, and that’s the point.”

I pull the letter from my pocket and hand it to him. Knight frowns. “He’s like a million years old.”

“That’s what you focus on?”

He waves the paper. “It’s a standard fucking letter, man.”

Frustration rolls over me. “You say she’s clean. How?”

“Clean as in no real history. She’s not registered.” He meets my gaze. “The Council catches the ones who try to live outside their rules. That’s what the letter is.”

“The girl’s trouble.”

“Oh, she’s trouble, all right,” Darcy says behind me. “Dante, come with me.”

I follow her and she takes me into the room with the girl who’s curled up, eyes closed, a blanket over her. There’s an empty glass next to her, and I’m willing to bet Darcy gave her something to sleep.

“Yeah, we have atemporaryproblem,” I reply.

“She’s out until dawn. But look.” Darcy flips her hair from the girl’s throat and I see it—the indent of teeth. A binding mark.

Fury hits, searing me.

“Oh, fuck me.” I stalk out of the room. Darcy follows hard behind me.

I put my hands flat on the wall and force myself to breathe into calm.

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