Page 71 of Vendetta

My fingers tightened in the wire mesh. “Listen, he has guns. He’s dangerous.”

“I know. That’s why we stay out of their way ‘round here. A favor here and there keeps money comin’ into this one-stoplight town. Good folks up there at the winery. Even if they seem to have a bit of a problem with strays gettin’ out.” He went right back to scrolling.

How in the motherfuck… Honestly, I should’ve seen this coming. The first thing my father did when taking over a new territory was to pay off the law enforcement. Fucking motherfucking fucker. This was why I hated criminals.

I wanted to scream and cry and rage, but I’d seen enough of those body cam videos to understand the futility of it, but when those angry beastly headlights broke through the fog and pulled into the parking lot I broke down, bashing against the mesh-covered windows. All it did was bruise up my arms, but it felt better than sitting there doing nothing.

Doug got out and shook hands with the leather-clad, helmeted riders. A flash of green, lit by the headlights, passed between their hands. A bribe, no doubt. I hoped I was expensive.

When the sheriff opened the back door, I squirmed away, kicking at the gloved hands reaching for me, but they latched onto my ankle and dragged me across the slick seats with ease. I fought with one arm and held my hoodie-dress down with the other, but it didn’t do any good. As soon as my feet touched the ground, my knee came up, narrowly missing the crotch I’d been aiming for.

“Shit, babe. Be careful with the family jewels. You might need those one day.” Oliver pulled his helmet off, sending a gust of his maple scent straight to my nose.

I wanted to punch him. I wanted to kick him. I wanted to lick him. His eye was swollen, and he had a bruise on his jaw, but his cocky grin was still intact. I considered asking if he was okay, but also, it served him right. The other two were leaning up against their bikes with their arms crossed over their chests, helmets still on, but who else would it be?

“Y’all have a nice night, ya hear? Best keep those strays locked up good’n tight. I hate havin’ my scrolling interrupted.” The sheriff pushed the door closed behind me and got back into the driver’s seat, utterly no help at all.

“I should’ve known you’d have the cops paid off.”

Oliver set his helmet on my head and pushed it down over my face. “You really should have.”

Bundled in Ollie’s leather jacket and helmet, he helped me onto the back of his bike and drove us home. The alphas kept their distance, but they certainly would have chased me down if I tried anything stupid. Like jumping off the back of the bike, which I considered briefly, but my bare legs and lack of shoes reminded me what a horrible plan that would be.

As we pulled up the drive, there was a new car parked behind the Bentley that hadn’t been there when I ran earlier, and bulky figures shadowed the front porch.

What the fuck else could possibly go wrong tonight?

Chapter 46

Rosalina

And here I thought this place was supposed to be a secret.

Considering the group of alphas making themselves comfortable on the porch as we pulled up behind the newly arrived Porsche SUV, it didn’t seem like much of a secret to me.

The muted light from the sconces cast an eerie glow across the three men. One made his way toward the stairs in a dark suit, his sandy blond hair flashing in the light. The other two looked like hired muscle, their dark hair and casual attire blended into the shadows. I doubted I could run from them any easier than I had from Nico. I was going to have to wait this shitstorm out.

A twisted grin wormed its way across the suit’s face as I shimmied off the bike, trying not to flash anyone, and pulled Oliver’s helmet off.

“I see you got the bitch. She’s just as pretty as they said she’d be,” the blond said, leering at me with an unsavory smile.

“What do you want, Marcel?” Nico asked as he set his helmet on his bike and unzipped his leather jacket.

“We came to see the prize, of course.” The blond in the suit, Marcel, stepped off the porch in a bid to get a better look.

Nico moved first, standing between the approaching alpha and me like a shield. Oliver and Cruz followed, creating a meat wall blocking the wandering eyes of the visitors. I couldn’t complain. Stomach-churning whiffs of black licorice and dirty motor oil wafted to me on the night breeze. There was no chance I wanted to be any closer to them than I already was.

“There’s nothing to see. You shouldn’t even be here. Knowledge of this location is on a need to know basis, and there’s no reason you need to know it.” Nico kept his hands relaxed at his sides, but that stance was all the more unsettling as the moonlight glinted off the steel hidden snug in the waistband of his pants.

Was that the gun he fucked me with earlier? A completely inappropriate tingle trickled up my spine, and Oliver glanced over his shoulder at me with a puzzled look before turning his attention back to the new arrivals.

Marcel held his hands up. “Easy, kid, your dad sent us to bring her in. Something about you recovering from your omega’s heat.” He chuckled and shot a lecherous grin in Oliver’s direction.

Ew.

Nico’s hands flexed into a fist before relaxing against his thighs. “As you can see, that’s unnecessary. Everything is in order. We’ll bring her in tomorrow.”

A whisper of fury thrummed in my chest. Was that an echo of the pack’s emotions spilling over into me? Fucking weird. But also terrifying. The bond was tying me to them one gossamer thread at a time, as if I wouldn’t notice, as if I would just accept this thing he forced on me with no regard to what I wanted.