Page 105 of Broken Dreams

“I saw Caleb recently, and he told me her name was Alisa,” Adira says.

Shutting my eyes, I struggle to breathe. There’s no fucking way it’s the same girl as Bret’s new playtoy, right? The universe would seriously be fucking with me if it was.

Most of us use a stage name at Slick Dreams, but Linus didn’t. It’s clear in the way he introduced himself that it’s his real name. Also, it’s possible that Alisa didn’t either.

I’m just having such a hard time after making the connection after she threw me under the bus in order to gain some respite. Every omega under Bret’s tender “care” has had a rough life, but she was vicious.

My ass gives a phantom pain, and I sigh. Fuck my life and the full circle of karmatic play. I can’t stay silent about this, or I’m no better than she is.

“You’re shaking. Quinn, what did I say?” she asks.

“There was a newer girl named Alisa at Slick Dreams,”I explain. “A lot of us used stage names or our previous masters would change them to hide us. I don’t know if it could be her, but she’s in her early twenties.”

“Holy shit,” Adira mutters. “Don’t say a word to Theo about this. But I think you need to meet Caleb and Lars.”

“What are you not saying, Quinn?” Cian asks, sounding worried. It’s the sound of someone who's a decent father, and good at reading the room.

God, I hate speaking badly about someone who clearly had few choices at the time. Bret used Alisa hard, forced her body to betray her with toys while he worked her like his little whore. He rarely closed the door, which meant everyone could see her body writhing as she worked thick, knotted dildos into her pussy.

Sometimes, your body can no longer tell if it wants something. As long as there’s a heated stare, alpha pheromones in the air, you’ll slick for their pleasure. I think it has something to do with survival for omegas as well.

Taking a deep breath despite not needing it to speak, I write out my thoughts.

“Alisa was Bret’s playtoy,"I begin. “He always has a favorite to fuck, and that omega always has a rough time ofthings until he moves on. She needed a break, so she told Bret I was being lazy.”

“And?” Adira asks, her voice a touch shrill.

“He punished me in front of the entire club using one of his guards, because he would have killed me. Then, he invited others to hit me with the various impact items that were out,”I explain. “It got worse afterward. Linus got in Alisa’s face later. I remember thinking how I would never consciously hurt someone like that.”

The car is silent as we pull into my father’s driveway.

“I have a feeling things were worse than you described,” Adira rasps. “I wouldn’t think less of you, Quinn, if you wanted to pretend you didn’t know her. How you behave in your worst moments is a reflection of your character. I truly believe that.”

Evan remains seated in the driver seat, showing no hurry to get out, as I contemplate that. While there’s some truth to that, long-term misery can corrupt a person’s soul. There are many variables to the human condition.

“It’s one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had while at Slick Dreams,”I admit. “A lot of the omegas disliked me because Bret protected his cash cow. If he knew things were going to be rough at the club, he’d have me dance. Having me accidentally killed during an alpha’s rut would have been unfortunate for him.”

Evan finally twists in his seat, and I can see the anger in his eyes.

“Unfortunate for him, huh?” he growls. “I want to fucking kill everything right now. This is just absolutely insane to me. Aisling had some trouble with a pack after they were doxxed as sex traffickers to their employers and lost everything, and I thought that was bad. This is monstrous.”

“It is,” Cian sighs. “It’s why Adira and I are trying to make the mafia families realize this could happen to anyone. The old menwe deal with think it’s only omegas who are out late at night, but Quinn is living proof that it isn’t.”

“Even if it did happen twenty years ago and was planned,” Adira mutters. “I was beaten up while on my way home from work. Did I deserve it because I was out late?”

“Absolutely not,” Cian grunts. “We’ll force them to give in to our plans. Groups of four or five people patrolling isn’t a bad idea.”

“Why would people give up their time for that?”I ask.

“Because it could easily be anyone they know instead,” Cian answers. “Let’s get this shit show on the road, Evan.”

As if being pulled by strings, he turns around and gets out of the car. I can see the front door opening as if to see what’s taking so long, and my father’s lumbering shadow appears in the driveway. It gives me a feeling of foreboding, which I immediately attempt to shake off.

I need to be at my best.

Putting away my tablet, I follow everyone out the same door when Evan opens it. I could wait, but I want to stay as close as possible with everyone. Fuck, the anxiety feels like an infection as it claws up my veins. I can’t let it win.

“Took you long enough,” Dad growls as I rise from the sedan. Ignoring him, I walk with Cian and Adira toward the front door.

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