Page 23 of Filthiest Of Them All

“Why? I don’t understand what the fuck just changed.”

“What changed our minds is you telling the truth, and Omen knowing that you don’t use your body to get your way swayed him. Omen hates every female because our stepmother raped him.” My eyes widen and I gasp as remorse thrums through me for him. “Let him save you, he needs some form of redemption and helping you will give him that.”

“Redemption from what?” I whisper.

He takes a shuddering breath. “For killing my mother.”

* * *

I haven’t allowed myself to relax for a single second. I was waiting for Pope and Omen to declare this was all a joke or drive me to Alex so he could kill me but they didn’t. True to their word they dropped me at the airport with all my bags and wished me well. The part that shocked me to the core was Omen inputting his number into my phone and telling me to call him if I ever need anything or I’m in trouble. I cleared security and kept checking over my shoulder. Even when I found my seat on the plane I started to get anxious, but my row was empty.

I finally take my first full breath as the plane evens out in the sky and I actually allow some of the tension to flee my body.

I did it!

I escaped. I actually fucking did it and I’m still alive to tell the story. I close my eyes and rest my head back against the headrest, inhaling the sweet scent of freedom. I’m heading to Chicago and it may be one of my least favorite places to visit, but right now I’m so fucking excited to be surrounded by buildings because it means I’m far away fromhim.

Jesus, why the fuck does my chest constrict when I think about him?

Nope, I close off that train of thought and focus on work. I pull my laptop out and place it on the tray in front of me and start reading over the reports the contractors have sent. I may not have gone to college or even have a degree, but I’m smart and I know how to read through this type of shit and spot when they are fucking us over. Which is why I can already see these assholes in Chicago are deep in the shit right now with all this red tape.

I make note to read through all the legislation in regard to opening a hotel and sex club in the city and find out why we are being hard-balled at every turn. I get so lost in reading over everything and catching up on the shit I missed that I don’t realize we're about to land until I’m asked to pack away my computer.

I’m bone tired and still sore from Alex fucking me like a crazed man. I shiver and I hate to admit it but it isn’t from disgust. The way he took what he wanted while still making sure I felt good was so unexpected but utterly addictive. I’ve never wanted a man as badly as I wanted Alex, and that notion frightens the fuck out of me. I follow the crowd off the plane and collect my luggage, then head out the front to meet my Uber. I didn't organize a driver thanks to my impromptu escape. The drive to the hotel passes by in a blur and by the time we arrive, my movements are sluggish and I’m practically falling asleep on my feet.

After checking in, I head to my room and nearly weep at the sight of the bed. I dump all my belongings on the desk in the corner, pull the curtains shut, then turn out the lights and climb into bed. A sigh escapes me when I get comfortable and close my eyes, ready for sleep to claim me until my fucking phone starts ringing. I want to cry and debate ignoring the call but if it's a work emergency I’m the person they call. I reach for the fucking thing blindly then hit answer without checking the caller ID.

“Yeah?” I croak out.

“Do you know what it's like to be hunted by a predator?” My eyes snap open and I bolt upright in bed. Suddenly the darkness that envelops me starts suffocating me as I panic that he is hiding in the darkness.

“Leave me alone, you got what you wanted.”

“Hmm, see the thing about that, Miss Lawson, is that now that I have satisfied one craving tonight, I realized that I crave the taste of your blood on my tongue.”

I shudder. “Fuck you.”

His dark chuckle fills the line and I start panting. I hate my body's reaction to just the sound of his voice. “No one escapes me, Tatum, never forget that.”

“Go to hell, Alex,” I snap, then end the call. My heart is racing and suddenly I’m so fucking wired I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep now thanks to that Aztec fucking god and the memories of how good he felt inside me.

How can you hate someone yet crave them?

Alexander

“You two ever pull a fucking stunt like that again, I’ll do more than smack you fuckers around,” I snap at Pope and Omen, who both stand in front of me with their fists clenched at their sides and dark looks in their eyes. When I returned I expected to find Tatum hiding somewhere but then those fuckers told me they let her go. I lost it and laid into them. Halo and Vat tried to stop me but they couldn’t, so they resorted to fucking tasering me!

“You have lost focus on what we are doing here ever since you started stalking that girl,” Pope snaps.

I cock my head to the side and study him. “I’ve never lost focus. She was our way to finding that cocksucker, and thanks to her giving up that phone we can finally track the snake,” I shout.

“You fucking used her like a cheap whore,” Omen bites out. I cringe. I know this shit is hard for him to understand given his past, but he needs to see that Tate isn’t Rosalina. I didn’t take advantage of her, she wanted me as much as I wanted her.

“Omen, I never used her. Yes, I had planned to take the phone from her but what happened between me and her wasn’t me asserting my power over her. She wanted me and you’re just gonna have to take my fucking word on that.” He opens his mouth to argue but I push on. “We have bigger things to worry about. Desire De Santis is making moves behind Carnage’s back. We need to find out what she is up to and why she is coming after us now after all this time.”

I can’t figure out why she would be making a move now. For five years the De Santis Cosa Nostra has left us alone, but even before I got released from prison there was some stirring in the water. We played it off until I got out, then they became bold and made their presence known. When I went to Hollow Hills to Vivian’s masquerade night at her club, I bailed on her because Omen alerted me to the fact we were being tailed.

“She mentioned Nexus Valerian,” I mutter aloud.

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