Page 31 of Absolute Devotion

twenty-eight

BEAR

Victor’s laugh echoes through the club, loud and grating, as he leans back in his chair, his gun trained on us without a hint of hesitation. Beside him, Eugene, Thomas, and Kaden sit with an air of smug confidence, their hands relaxed around their own weapons. I glance at Xylo, who’s tense but keeping his face composed, his hands raised to show he’s unarmed. I know him well enough to see the restrained anger beneath his calm exterior, and the same fire pulses through me.

“Montgomery’s gone, boys,” Victor sneers, his voice dripping with mockery. “And if you think he’ll make it back in time to stop any of this, you’re dead wrong.”

I grit my teeth, resisting the urge to leap across the table. “You don’t know Montgomery,” I reply. “He’s going to be back before you even realize what’s happening.” Montgomery isn’t coming back but I don’t need him to. The agents outside don’t want any blood or evidence that this organization or any other exists.

Victor only chuckles, glancing at his associates as if this is some grand joke. “Oh, we know exactly what’s happening. And your dear friend has walked straight into our trap, leaving the two of you here. But let’s not waste time on him when we’ve got more pressing matters.”

Thomas leans forward, his gaze narrowing. “Let’s make one thing clear: Nala doesn’t belong to you,” he says, his voice low and menacing. “She’s ours.”

Xylo’s eyes flash with barely contained fury. “She’s not a possession. She’s a person.”

Thomas snorts. “She’s a contracted Omega, registered under Redland Academy. Every Omega there is spoken for, as per their terms. Packs have paid a lot of money for the younger ones and Omegas like Nala fetch the highest price. And now she’s trying to slip out of that contract. Not that she's aware that she's been sold, I guess. Being bonded to you makes this all a bit more complicated.”

I clench my fists, keeping my voice even. “So, you’re not part of POCA? Not that it matters. She’s ours, a woman who is not up for sale. None of those Omegas should be.”

At that, the four men burst into laughter. Victor actually doubles over, wiping a fake tear from his eye. “POCA? You think we give a damn about them?” He shakes his head. “They’re old news, Bear. You’re out of your depth. We work for the highest bidder, and Nala’s already been bought and paid for as I said. That overpowered scent of hers will come in handy during the cages on game nights. She'll be an attraction. The little escape she pulled was an inconvenience, nothing more.”

I can feel the blood pounding in my ears, but I try to keep a level head. “So, you’re trafficking people under the guise of these ‘contracts.’ That’s illegal, and you know it.”

Thomas’s gaze hardens, and there’s a gleam in his eye that makes my stomach turn. “She’s not a ‘person’ as you keepsaying. She’s an Omega. Nothing more than a hole to fill, and she’s been filled by enough—”

Before he can finish, I lunge across the table, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him down onto the polished wood. The table groans under the impact as I press my forearm against his throat, cutting off his words.

“You don’t get to talk about her that way,” I growl. He struggles beneath me, his hands fumbling for his gun, but I don’t let up, adrenaline and rage giving me strength. His eyes widen in panic as I press harder, determined to make him feel every ounce of fury I’ve held back.

“Bear!” Xylo shouts, but it’s lost in the chaos. Eugene stands, raising his gun, and I catch a flash of silver as he aims. Before I can react, a gunshot rings out, reverberating through the room. For a moment, everything stops—the noise, the movement, my own breathing.

I glance over and see Xylo standing beside the table, his hand pressed to his shoulder, blood seeping between his fingers. He dabs at it, his face unreadable, before letting out a low, menacing growl.

The next second, the door to the private room bursts open, and agents flood inside, their voices booming over the noise. “FBI! Hands up, everyone!”

In the confusion, I feel someone grab me, tearing me off of Thomas and pulling my arms behind my back. I struggle for a moment before I realize it’s an agent, and I catch sight of Xylo, who’s been forced back against the wall, his gaze still fixed on the other men.

Just outside the room, the other patrons of the club are screaming, ducking under tables, while agents swarm Victor, Eugene, Thomas, and Kaden shouting commands as they wrestle them into cuffs.

Victor is yelling something, but his words are lost beneath the chaos. One agent keeps a firm grip on my shoulder, pushing me down until I’m sitting in a chair, hands in front of me. Another agent steps in, leaning close as he checks my wrists and looks me over.

“It’s all taken care of,” he says, his voice even. “You don’t need to do anything else.”

I glance over at Xylo, who’s still watching the scene with a hardened expression, and he lets out a derisive snort. “All taken care of?” he scoffs, glaring at the agent. “You really think hauling them out of here solves anything? What about the organization backing them?”

The agent gives him a tight-lipped smile, clearly unfazed. “That’s not your concern,” he says, his tone clipped. “We’ll handle it from here.”

“Right,” Xylo mutters, his tone thick with sarcasm. He’s still holding his shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers, but he waves the agent off when he tries to examine it. “We don’t need any of your ‘handling.’ We need to get back to our Omega.”

The agent’s eyes narrow, and he holds up a hand, motioning for us to stay seated. “I’m afraid that’ll have to wait. We have a few questions for you first.”

A spike of suspicion runs through me. Our Omega’s fear trickles through the bond, the need to get home growing. “Questions?” I repeat, glancing between Xylo and the agent. “You’re holding us here while there’s a man headed for our home as we speak. We need to leave.”

The agent doesn’t flinch, his expression unchanging. “We understand the urgency of your situation, but we need to understand everything that transpired here tonight. This isn’t something we can ignore.”

My jaw tightens. This feels wrong—deliberately wrong. It’s as if they’re trying to delay us, to keep us from getting back to Nala.I exchange a look with Xylo, who’s obviously thinking the same thing.

“Victor invited us to a meeting.,” Xylo says, his voice hard. “They were here to take someone who doesn’t belong to them. We were doing what we had to, to keep her safe. You need to let us leave.”

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