Page 28 of Shaken Knot Stirred

Lana gasped. Her eyes went wide. Beg momentarily shifted into neutral. No one probably talked to him like this, especially not an omega.

“You have a lot of debt to work off. Don’t make me choose an option you won’t like.”

Lana was stock-still, but her aura was going off like popcorn. A twist of rage ran through me. What the fuck had he done to Lana?

“You can start as a host in Vig. I’m sure Lana can find you something slutty enough to wear to rake in the tips. Though I don’t think you can squeeze yourself into any of her dresses.” Delight bubbled through Beg’s aura like he’d scored a point.

“That’s what you’re going with? Fat jokes? Every woman knows that’s the first sign of a man’s weakness when you’ve got nothing more and have to insult girls’ weight.”

He was on me in a blink, his fingers digging into my neck. I choked on a breath, trying to pull air in.

“Manners.” His voice was oily with menace.

“You’re getting off on this, but it leaves me dry,” I coughed out, as his scent filled my mouth.

He snarled, giving a final squeeze before pushing off me. I scrambled to my feet just as fast, shedding the cocoon of the blanket. I wasn’t going to lie there like a victim. His eyes roamed up and down my body in the leggings and black lace bra.

“I get why Nico hit you now.”

With that, Beg stalked out of the room, leaving the door wide open. Nico put his head in his hands and massaged his temples. I kicked my bag over to the couch and dug for a t-shirt to pull on.

“You’re going to get yourself killed.” Lana was as white as the jolts of fear streaking her aura.

“Yeah, people keep saying that,” I muttered, wiggling my arms through the shirt.

“This is not a game you can win, Moxie.” Nico still hadn’t looked up.

I zipped the duffle with frustrated moves. “What the fuck happened to you, Nico, and how the fuck did you end up with Beg Knightbridge?”

Nico leveled me with a stare. Suddenly, he seemed to remember that I could see his aura. He did his best to level it out, make it neutral so his orange haloed him. If an alpha was self-aware enough, he could control his emotions, and that reflected in his aura.

“You.”

Nico delivered that gut punch and followed Beg out of the room, gently closing the door behind him.

Chapter 16

Alistair

I didn’t know whythey’d given me so much grief when my aura presented and my scent emerged. My brothers, all three of them, ragged on me for smelling like a coffee shop during rush hour. If this was what I smelled like, it was fucking delightful.

The paper cup waited obediently for me as it cooled to a temperature just under lava. I wished I was half as stoic. Anxiety was hitting me hard. I gave serious consideration to breaking into my stash of rut suppressants. The last thing I wanted to do was admit defeat and go get some Xanax.

The bell on the door jingled its perky tune and let in a hulking alpha. Tall, broad, and right out of central casting for a security guy. He was rocking a business casual look, but sneakers gave him away. Total cop. Or a former cop.

He strode right toward me with barely a sweep of the room. Either he recognized me from the society pages, or he was good at his job and knew his employer’s birth pack by sight.

As he approached, he gave me a look that could peel your skin back. If he had been a cop, I wouldn’t have wanted to be in an interrogation room alone with him.

“Houston…” I said, hoping he would fill in his last name. Or his first name.

“Just Houston,” his New York accent was definitely present.

When he didn’t say anything further, I filled in the dead space between us. “Did you find anything about her?”

I spun the paper cup and tapped it once before taking a sip. It had only been a day, and I immediately regretted sending him on this little mission. I was in stalker boyfriend territory, and I wasn’t even her boyfriend.

“Before we go any further,” he said, “I need to know why.”

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