Page 145 of Broken Dreams

Aiden looks properly abashed, and I can feel my lips twitch with amusement. The different dynamics in this room definitely won’t make this as boring or painful as I thought it would be.

“My understanding from talking to Quinn is that she has a bone to pick with her father,” Theo says. “Now, while you’d think as Aiden said that we wouldn’t get involved in personal relationships, sometimes it’s necessary.”

“Like when they’re proposing putting a bullet in said father’s brain,” Everest says. “Mafia men gossip more than any other group of people, Christian. Information is an exchange of power, which just makes it sound better.”

Aiden snorts, shaking his head. “You make us sound like old women talking over our knitting.”

“If the shoe fits,” the other alpha snarks.

“Simmer down,” Corbin growls, rolling his eyes. “Typically, I wouldn’t say that patricide is a viable option, but Quinn believes her father will find a way to sell her to another buyer to get rid of her.”

“You’d think it would be easier for her father to just kill her instead," Theo grumbles. “I’ll go along with the majority even as I complain, but truly, this all feels very dramatic. How do we corroborate what Quinn’s told us?”

“As the odd man out, may I share with the class?” I ask. I’m getting more comfortable as I cross my arms across my chest and contribute to the conversation.

I was nervous of being shut out for being an outsider, but that’s not what is happening at all. I doubt it’ll be like this with everyone I meet and I still need to earn my place amongst them.

Cian may be a harder sell because he still looks as if he’s constipated and the only cure for it is to make me eat his gun.

Fuck, my brain isn’t my friend tonight. The longer I’m away from Quinn and Linus, the more twisted up I become.

“How do we know Hudson actually sold her as a kid?” Theo asks. “It just seems bizarre that she would appear all of a sudden.”

Ignoring Cian, I glance at Corbin who shrugs. I guess he’s given me all the help he’s willing to give for now.

“What’s her story then? Pretend I have zero knowledge of any of this as a newcomer,” I suggest.

Theo rolls his eyes but launches into a dinner Hudson had to welcome his daughter back into the fold. I ask a few pointed questions to help give me a better understanding of the situation. It all matches what Corbin told me when I first met him, while allowing me to give the illusion of needing to be brought up to speed.

Too bad I’m going to destroy that.

“Slick Dreams is an actual club,” I drawl. “I know the owner, and I’ve been a patron for a lot of years. Before you decide to pass judgment on me for that, hear me out. I went once because I was young and bored, but kept going back when I found my scent match there.”

“Well that’s unlucky,” Theo mutters.

“It was. A month ago, she was rescued from the club. I was able to track her down to Minneapolis, found the club she’s working at, and unfortunately was punched in the face by my other scent match,” I explain, shrugging. “I have amends that need to be made, but?—“

“It’s difficult to do when they don’t wish to see you,” Cian grunts. “You don’t deserve them.”

“Now who is being a hypocrite?” Aiden asks him. Raising his hands when Cian glares at him, he adds, “I don’t make the rules, sir. I will continue to call you out on your shit, now that I’m marrying your daughter.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cian says.

“I may not deserve Makayla, who I’ve been informed recently is Quinn Hughes, but I want to,” I interrupt them. “Which is also why I can tell you that her story is completely true, Theo.”

“Was there a girl there named Alisa?” he asks, his chest heaving.

“The last time I went in, I remember that Bret didn’t want to let me see Makayla,” I say, shaking my head as I realize how I’d shoved that interaction to the side in my excitement to see them. “He wanted her to dance, and he offered me one of his newer girls, whose name was Alisa.”

“Did you ever see what she looked like?” Theo asks.

The questions are asked with pain in his voice, and I gentle my voice.

“She was standing next to him,” I say, though I refuse to mention the collar or lingerie she wore. This could be someone important to him, and I refuse to bring that kind of pain to anyone. “Most of the omegas there had stage names, but she had chestnut brown hair, was curvy, and had dark eyes. That’s all I remember. Did you lose someone?”

“My daughter,” Theo sighs. “Quinn mentioned her name, and I kept telling myself there was no way it could be her. The truth is it’s possible, and that’s what’s been keeping me up lately.”

“It’s been making you a right bastard when it comes to Quinn,” Corbin mutters.

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