Page 1 of Shattered Trinket

Prologue

Jeremiah

Months earlier…

I’m a spirit, an apparition, a phantom, a specter, unseen unless I make it so. My ability to get in and out of anywhere without being caught, vanishing without a trace—despite my size—is how I’ve survived, giving myself the security I’d always needed as a child.

In and out without detection. Guaranteed.

Children aren’t meant to be homeless, to know the gnawing hunger in the aching pit of an empty stomach. They shouldn’t know what it’s like to feel the freezing chill of winter deep in their bones as their too small, threadbare clothes hardly cover their bony frame where they sleep in an abandoned house. They shouldn’t be left alone to fend for themselves because no one in this world wants them.

But when that’s your upbringing, you develop a knack for adapting to any situation. You learn a valuable skill. One that others are willing to pay top dollar for, and you dedicate yourself to mastering it, surpassing all the competition as you grow. Because in the trenches of society, the more efficient you are, the more notable you are. And with notoriety comes financial stability, granting that once alone, terrified, and starved child a sense of stability and security.

The cold, hard truth is that the cast aside, forgotten, and lonely souls that reside in the darkest pockets of society are the only people that can truly attest to and understand that this world isn’t black and white as the rest believe. Which is why I’m comfortable in the ashy gray void I willingly walked into when I got tired of being cold and hungry.

Alone.

In the grand scheme of things, I’ve not only made myself indispensable thanks to how well I do my job, but I’ve also made sure everyone fears me so they can’t fuck me over. Dealing in secrets makes me a dangerous enemy, but a powerful ally, and I’ve made it a point not to be too particular about the jobs I’ve taken over the years for that very reason. Money is money in the end, and with a few exceptions, there aren’t many lines I’m not willing to cross.

Until now.

Victor Travis has been a frequent customer of mine in the last two years. A man used to getting his way. Whatever he wants,whenever he wants it. If I’m being completely honest, I find him completely intolerable, but I’ve taken the jobs he gives me solely for the chance of being able to seeher, if only for a moment.

The shattered omega he’s kept hidden away in his house of despair and anguish, chained and locked in a cage like an animal.

When he first called me to get what he wanted, I didn’t give it a second thought. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked to bring a warm body to someone, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. This was just the first time I’d been asked to procure an omega for someone, but hey, how hard could it be, right? Without a thought, I said it would be done.

In my eyes, if I could give Victor the omega he wanted, then maybe Cozette could finally be safe.

Free.

Yes, I’d be condemning whoever the omega is to take Cozette’s place, but if it meant she’d know more than pain, that maybe she stood a chance at a normal life, then I could live with my conscience on that front. I could live with the demons tormenting me for what I forced on another if it meant Cozette could finally fly.

At least, I thought it’d be that easy.

At our first meeting, my eyes were instantly drawn to her. Victor had her chained to the floor beside him at his desk, a heavy metal collar wrapped around her thin, fragile throat, and all I wanted to do was take her away. To put an end to the suffering that I knew he was causing her, but I couldn’t.

Not then. And especially not now.

Now, I have to disappear like the ghost I am.

I’ve refused Victor, and not only that, but boldly told him I would be taking Cozette with me.

He doesn’t appreciate that, and before I can blink, a gun is pointed at my head.

I’m usually very good at anticipating what’s coming, yet he surprised me this time.

In the end, I have no choice but to leave without her.

It’s only temporary, though.

Cozy ismine.

She’s meant to be with me, and I don’t care if I have to tear the city apart and rip Victor’s head clean from his body when the time comes. I will have her, and no harm will ever come to her again.

I swear it.

One

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