Page 5 of Sidone

He smirks and reaches over me, then pops open the glove compartment, though I’ve never seen a single person on the planet actually put gloves there. He takes out a clip with green papers they call money and exits the car.

“I will need the advantage of height,” I say.

The man leans his elbows on the window ledge and smiles. I think he thinks he’s got the upper hand. “Translate,” he orders.

I smile back like a toddler at vanilla ice cream.I’m gonna eat you, boy.“The room at the very top of the structure. If not, I will have to disable their security protocols and alarm systems. For humans’ safety reasons, I don’t want to have to do that.”

“You want a penthouse.” He stares at the wad of money in his hands. “Um, I’ll try to get us a comp.”

“You will get us apenthousewhere privacy is guaranteed, and they will guarantee this with their lives.” I dig into my pocket for my own papers and get Raven’s card. My baby Raven. Always makes sure I’m taken care of.

Kade takes it. “This will tell everyone you’re connected to the Hordesmen. Let me just pay for a regular room.”

“A penthouse,” I say more firmly. “Provide them with this card. If they are stupid enough to say something, they are too stupid to live. I don’t believe many humans come to work thinking:I wonder how I can piss off Hunger by yapping about his official business.”

“Good point.”

“Thank you, Omega.”

“You think I’m an Omega? As in Omega man?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“And how can you know?”

I touch my flat-compared-to-his nose. “The scent of your arousal.”

“You can smell I’m hard?”

“Yes.”

He purses those full lips. “And you’re an Alpha woman?”

A female, but I’ve grown tired of correcting the humans on this. “Mm-hm.”

He drums his fingers on the red door. “This is destiny.”

“Maybe. Will see.”

He winks. “You are welcome to stare at my ass.” He chuckles and swaggers off.

Of course, I stare at the fit globes of his behind. “I don’t need your permission to stare,” I whisper.

“The front view is even better,” he throws over his shoulder.

I roll my eyes. This is gonna be a long under cover mission. I hope the Omega survives. Briefly, I contemplate turning him in to Terror. He’d keep him in the house or in the Omega compound now that the Collectors have gone and done their jobs. I reject the thought immediately. If I reached out to anyone, they’d pull me off and send someone else after the shooter.

* * *

The Omega is fast and capable. He rented an apartment on the top floor, and since this is a smaller hotel than the ones I’ve seen in New York, the entire top floor is only two apartments, one of which is vacant and should remain vacant for the duration of my stay. I make a sweep of the layout, checking for cameras and similar intrusive tech. Luckily for the owners, the place is clean. It also doesn’t reek of lavender or other air fresheners that humans find pleasant and I find overbearing. It’s a nice place, and the room’s yellow, beige, and brown décor calms me.

The shower water hitting the tiles tells me the Omega takes care of his hygiene. In the living room, across from a brown leather couch, I sit on a beige sofa tucked neatly into the alcove by the window. The endless Pacific brings color into the room. Today, the sea is more restless than usual, and it reminds me of Ohala, a city on the Red Sea of Regha. I never thought I’d enjoy the beach, but spending time inside the Horde stronghold in Ohala proved me wrong.

I miss Regha. I miss my brother Vemlox. I miss duties, challenges, and even my crazy sisters-in-law. But I can’t leave a mission incomplete. Mr. VP will face me once again and for the last time. It will be on my terms, not his. It will be just the way I imagined it. Him on his knees, facing my justice. Once I complete the mission, I can rest, perhaps take an Omega, perhaps resign myself to a life of solitude, occasionally visiting Regha’s capital for a Beta male who wouldn’t know what to do with me if I hit him over the head with clues. Though with Loven retired, there should be no shortage of general amusement in Ohala, the Regha Horde stronghold.

I smell him before he steps into the living room. Apple-scented shampoo with a hint of peppermint, the scent is mild and not obtrusive to my nose.

“Hey,” the Omega says gently, as if afraid he’ll startle me.

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