Page 127 of Broken Dreams

“I hear they’re not taking your calls,” Shaw says with a cruel smirk. “Sucks to be you.”

That’s the last hammer in my heart that solidifies my realization that they’re the same girl.

“Mak- ah, fuck, Quinn spoke to you?” I ask dumbly. I’m having trouble stringing my thoughts together it seems.

“Aye,” Corbin says. “There are many ways to speak to someone, if you’re willing to listen. Her father, Hudson, is an idiot, and thinks the girl is deaf and mute. Quinn clearly got all the brains in the family from her dear mother, as she allows him to think whatever the fuck he wants. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, after all.”

Shaw shrugs in agreement, and I feel as if I’m losing my damn mind. Why am I here if they’re not going to help me?

“What dues do I need to pay?” I ask, grasping at the straws they’re giving me. Fuck, I’d be willing to do anything to speak to Linus and Quinn.

A part of me knew many of the omegas at Slick Dreams had stage names or ones that were given to them. God only knows where she was before Bret bought her, because I met her sixteen years ago.

What terrors live in your head, Quinn?I ask myself. I don’t want to be another burden to either of them. Should I just turn tail and leave Linus and Quinn alone or fight for them the way I should have from the beginning?

“There’s a shelter that needs interim housing for omegas that need a halfway house as they get on their feet,” Shaw says. “They bought property in a nice neighborhood, but need bodies to build it. An organization called ROWS is encouraging the contractors in the city to boycott all business with Omega’s Haven.”

“Can I just kill the people in the organization?” I blurt out. I’m not a handyman. I’m more likely to stab myself in the eye with a nailgun than figure it out properly.

“If it were that easy, I’d do it myself,” Shaw says, barking out a laugh. “Those bitches are protected by someone, and none of us know who. Emilia Richardson is a fucking menace.”

I’m unsure why, but that name rings bells in my head. I’m going to need to do some research when I get back to where I'm staying.

“I’m not going to be very helpful building a house, but I’ll give it a go,” I sigh. “I sell shit that tends to blow things up instead.”

“Show us that you can be part of the community,” Corbin says stonily. Fuck, he’s not going to budge on this. “In exchange, I’ll begin to invite you to meetings to introduce you to the mafia families. If Quinn happens to be there, then so be it.”

“You can’t act like a fool,” Shaw warns. “I don’t know how you fucked up, but getting back into her life is going to take grit. Allow her to walk away, let her take things on her timeline.”

He must never have done anything wrong in his life to be giving me this advice.

“Please, don’t play poker,” he says, amused. “You’re very easy to read.”

“I typically am better at keeping myself under control and without expression,” I mutter. “My face isn’t the only thing fucked up right now. You mentioned Quinn only. What about Linus?”

“He has nothing to do with the families,” Shaw says almost apologetically. “It’ll simply depend on whether he happens to be where Quinn is for the pack. Pack Kelly has claimed them officially as their omegas, and also changed Quinn and Linus’ last names to match.”

Damn, they didn’t waste any time.It’s yet another stab at my integrity and heart, as well as a reminder of the things I didn’t dowhen I should have. Fuck, I have to move forward, and Shaw and Corbin are giving me an opportunity to do that.

Every callous, busted finger, and curse word uttered will be worth it.

“Alright then,” I acknowledge, “sign me up for house building then. Anything to get a step closer to being able to be around either of them.”

Corbin raises his glass, nodding, “We’ll hold you to that. Someone from the shelter will email you, so be sure to leave me with one you’ll answer.”

My life is surreal. No one would believe this turn of events, fuck, even I am having a hard time with it.

Raising my glass of whiskey, I gaze at its rich color before nodding as well, “Let’s get this done then and then call it a night.”

Every step matters, and I plan to be living proof of that. I just have to hope Quinn and Linus will give me a chance to get to know them.

CHAPTER 25

CALLUM

“Quinnie, want to help me with something?” I ask her.

I’m working for a client but want to get her started on rebuilding her skills as a hacker. This particular client is looking to find patterns in who may be stealing from him, which is tedious work. Quinn doesn’t have to worry about triggering any security within networks for this, and I want to see what she can do.

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