Page 167 of Carmichael's Omega

Papágrowls lowly, "Alicia. This is all he could say. He gavemi hijoto this female and never questioned it again."

I hear Diego andMámasuck in deep breaths that steal the stale, tainted air from the tunnel.Papámakes a sound of distress and reaches for her, whispering her name.

"¿Qué es?"I snap.

Diego shakes his head, closing his eyes. "Mi Tia,Alicia. I should have known.¡Chale!"

"What sort of female is this?" the Beta asks Diego.

"A bad one. She's good at procuring sex slaves for the Diamorte Cartel."

My heart shatters. Diego sees my face and gulps, “she gets them for her mate,sí? Males and females. The younger and weaker, the better. A few a year for over a decade."

"He like blondes?" the Beta asks in a dangerously soft voice.

"Sí. How did you-"

Turning on his heels, the Beta grabs Diego by his bad shoulder and drags him from the cells. "Stop whimpering," he snaps. "I beat the shit out of that Punk," he indicates me with a nod of his head, "and I didn't see him whimpering like a pup, yeah?"

He stops at the entrance to the tunnels, where a line of males is standing guard to prevent my mates from entering the mines. Teague, standing taller than the other males, scans the crowd, then pushes through to stop in front of my pretty, blonde mates.

"Like her?" Teague snarls, pointing at Cassie. I bite back the howl of fury to listen to the male's answer.

"Diosa," Diego breathes. "You would be worth your weight in gold to Benito."

"Benito?" the Beta's intense look narrows on Diego.

"Sí, the former Beta of our pack. Benito is Alicia's mate and abastardo."

"Where is he?" the Beta sounds strangled.

"I don't know.TiaAlicia is at hercasa. Benito? His territory is huge. Every time we infiltrate, he disappears,no?”Diego says quietly.

I stare into the distance as the sun rises and my male rubs my shoulders.

"You said her name is Alicia?" I murmur.

"Yeah. You got an idea?" the Beta looks at me.

"Alicia. Alice. The bitch is Alice." I smile. “We know where Benito is. We sold him a little fish.”

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43 - Gone Fishing

Carmichael

"You seem on edge, Punk," the Beta says to me.

I nod once. He's one to talk; he's just as jittery and impatient as I am. The cool, controlled killer wants to be on the road. Enough with the party.

He grabs my shoulder and holds me back from running into thehacienda. In a low, serious voice, he says, "I want to talk to you about my pups."

"My mates," I correct automatically.

His green viper's eyes narrow on me. "Cassie was almost kidnapped by the Cartel."

"I know this," I interrupt him impatiently. I look past him, but I can't see my mates. “This is why we are going to war, no?”

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