Page 25 of Unbreak Me

"I would appreciate it if you didn’t offend my new husband. If you must know, I find him more attractive than the… Darien person. I met the man before, and there was no spark. And I only asked because the guy doesn't fit into the fair or this section. He’s just an odd one out."

"Suuure! Your excuse of an answer is as fake as Stormy’s glowing eyeballs."

The redhead omega growled, "His eyes are natural, soap-dropper!"

The convict shrugged. "Is that a lame attempt at a prison joke? You’re sooo creative, fatty!"

Storm spread his arms wide and growled, "Okay, enough of this!"

Only then did the policeman react. He lowered himself and grabbed the convict’s blue hair, brutally pulling his head back. The beta groaned.

The scene was surreal and shocking—my eyes fixated on the convict: his head thrown back, lips agape, body immobilized…

The sight awakened dark memories I’d buried deep within myself, recollections that resurfaced and made me shiver. The feeling of being overwhelmed, helpless, and brutalized…

"Release him!" I screamed, clenching my eyelids shut. "Release him now!"

"Calm down, mister. I know how to handle guys like Salt," the policeman said, his tone sharp. "He knows how to stir this game, provoke people around; he likes the end result."

"Let him go," I repeated, my voice breaking. I thought I felt Jan’s careful, attentive eyes on me.

"Please, officer, let him go," Jan said, as if wanting to reinforce my request.

Salt giggled, unfazed by what had happened, and snarled, "Oh, I can sense a skeleton in your closet, Scarecrow. I’ve got four in mine."

"You really have a mouth on you, Salt. Don’t make it impossible for people to like you, especially at the fair… I’m not a miracle worker," Storm said harshly, his forehead creased with a vertical line.

The whole scene was getting way too chaotic for my taste.

"We should probably go," Jan said, standing near me, seemingly feeling the same. His voice was warm and comforting, like a soft quilt.

Feeling embarrassed by my outburst, I took a step back. Removing ourselves from the situation was probably the best idea, so I cleared my throat and muttered, "Agreed, we should go."

Jan exchanged a few words of goodbye with Storm and the redhead omega, while I stood there, biting my lips. My gaze wandered toward the laptop’s display.

There, I noticed a tall guy standing in front of Darien’s booth. But he turned away as if leaving, and I could see his face. He had only… half of it!

Even on the small screen, it was obvious he was a victim of some horrible accident.

"Look, Storm!" the redhead omega exhaled, pointing at the screen. "It’s Nathaniel! He came!"

"And right where he needs to be! We should go—"

"No, no! It’s perfect. We shouldn’t disturb it. He can’t know!"

But I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation because my new husband opened the door for me, and we stepped outside.

Suddenly, we were in the corridor.

Alone, Jan and I.

JAN

Once it was just the two of us, I felt momentarily breathless and glanced shyly at Day. He looked back at me, but I still couldn’t read his expression well. As before, he seemed rather distrustful and somewhat annoyed—maybe that was just his default state?

We stood there awkwardly, surrounded by passersby.

Day lightly bit his lip and gave me a strange look. "I’m curious about the last guy Nolan has under his care. His name is Star. He’s an ex-sex worker, young and really beautiful. When I came here, he was in the office with me. I’d love to check if his contract was bought."