Page 29 of Unhinged Omega

I resist the urge to roll my eye and swallow the groan building in my throat. This isn't just one of his histrionic fits. It's one of hisobsessions, and that's so much fucking worse.

The last one was Nikolai Vlakov.

And it damn near killed us both.

"Alright," I say, winding around my desk and dropping into the battered leather chair that's perfectly worn out. I reach for my key and unlock the desk drawer—he's probably got a copy of that somewhere, too—and pull out my not-so-little black book. "Tell me about this 'moonlit goddess' of yours and we'll find her."

"All I know is that she was with Monty Filch in the Alpha's Alpha," he says, sitting up abruptly. All business now. "At least, I think she was."

"Monty Filch? You know he's?—"

"Dead, I know," he interrupts with an impatient wave of his hand. "Courtesy of theGhosts."

The way he spits their name like a curse, I take it things didn't go well when I sent them his way. Can't even remember what they wanted now. Something about omegas. A lot of people come to me with a lot of bullshit, but the particular brand of bullshit the Ghosts peddle is one I like to shoo out the door as soon as possible.

"Yeah, no shit. They took out the entire Council and half of Reinmich's tin soldiers," I say, folding my arms. "I hope you're not trying to tell me the Ghosts took your mystery woman, because if that's the case, you're shit outta luck. If you haven't noticed, they're a little beyond the pay grade of gutter trash like us these days." I snort at the thought and mutter, "If I'd known one of them was the fucking crown prince of Surhiira, I would've charged."

"Speak for yourself," he hisses. "I don't give a shit if that pretty boy germaphobe is the king of the entire fucking universe. Iwillhave her. With or without your help."

I stare at Raven, trying to gauge if this is just another one of his dramatic performances. But there's an intensity in those blue eyes I've rarely seen before. The playful, flirtatious mask has fallen away completely, revealing something raw and desperate underneath.

Fuck.

He's actually serious about this.

Which means he's gonna get himself killed.

The thought causes a dull twinge in the pit of my stomach I haven't felt in long enough it takes me a second to recognize it for sadness.

Huh. Guess I did get a little attached to the flamboyant psychopath after all.

"Okay," I say casually, snapping my black book shut with a decisive thud. "Without me."

The effect is immediate. Raven's face crumples, his bravado crumbling like a sandcastle hit by a tidal wave.

"What?" he croaks, voice cracking. "You can't! Geo!"

I push myself up from my chair, already regretting not kicking him out the moment he stumbled into my bar. But Raven latches onto my arm, clinging to me like a barnacle as I try to make my way to the door.

"You're friends with that serial killer from Vrissia!" he whines, his nails digging into my arm in desperation. "You have an in that I don't!"

I snort, shaking my head. "Saying I'm 'friends' with Valek is a stretch."

But Raven isn't listening. He's in full meltdown mode now, literally hanging off me as I try to leave my own damn office. I stagger under the unexpected weight as he plants his feet onthe cheap tile floor. For someone so lean, he's surprisingly heavy when he wants to be.

"I'll doanything," he pleads, his eyes blown wide. "I'll payanyprice."

I've seen that look of frenzied desperation before. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was an addict desperate for his next fix, and I guess he is. He just happened to pick the most dangerous substance there is.

An omega that belongs to someone even more dangerous than him.

"I make plenty of money, thanks," I growl, trying to pry him off my arm. But he's like a fucking cracked out octopus, all limbs and desperate grip.

Raven pauses in his assault, his eyes darting around the cramped office. Even upside-down, I can see the judgment in his gaze. "And you still choose to live likethis?" he asks, doubt dripping from every word.

Annoyance flares hot in my chest. I've worked my ass off to build this empire from nothing, carving out a place for myself in the unforgiving wasteland of the Outer Reaches.

So it's a shithole.

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