“Everything alright?” Dax asked.
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m good.” Nix nodded; he would tell them when he came back.
When he got near the warehouse, he saw Cal standing up against the building, rocking Jacobi in his arms. He must have felt Nix because he looked up, and their gazes met. Cal’s whole face lit up, and Nix was relieved to see that, but the smile disappeared quickly. Cal looked around and then headed off to another location. Nix looked over to where he went, and he was about to go after him when he saw Cal passing off their brother to a woman sitting on a bench. Cal took two steps towards him then froze. He probably realized he couldn’t seem too pleased to see Nix. So he went over to where Cal stood.
“You came back,” he said in low voice that was somehow pleased, relieved, and surprised. “Here to ask me more questions?”
Nix inclined his head. “If you don’t mind.”
Cal shook his head. “Not at all.”
Nix looked around. Should we maybe get Tre’s approval first, though?” he checked. Then lowered his voice. “We don’t want him suspecting anything.”
Cal nodded. “Of course,” he mumbled. Cal looked around the yard and pointed to where Tre was. Nix nodded and headed over to him. He cleared his throat, and Tre turned around.
“Oh yes … James. We’ve been expecting you. Ready to check out more of the merchandise? Perhaps take one out for a spin?”
“Calliou. The omega from yesterday. Him.”
Tre studied him, head tilted, then said, “Oh well … You can speak to him later. I have another omega in mind.” Tre looked around, and Nix wanted to groan, but he knew better than to make waves. That would be suspicious. Nix didn’t want to speak with another omega. He wanted to speak with his brother. He refused to put Cal or Jacobi in danger, though. If speaking to someone else would deter anyone from catching on, then so be it. “Wait right here,” Tre instructed.
Nix nodded. When Tre disappeared into the warehouse, he turned around and spotted Cal and shook his head slightly. Thankfully his brother got it. Nix stood and waited for Tre to come out with another omega. But he didn’t miss the disappointment in his brother’s eyes as he watched the warehouse. It broke Nix’s heart, but he reminded himself that he would get Cal out here, and they would have all the time in the world to get to know each other. He stopped looking in Cal’s direction as Tre walked back over to him, accompanied by another male omega.
“This here is Sam.” Tre nudged the omega and he stumbled towards Nix, who had to put his hands out to steady him. The omega flinched the moment Nix’s arms went around his arms, and his heart caught. No one should feel like that. Goddess, Nix wanted to punch Tre so badly. He wanted the man to feel everything these omegas did. But he swallowed all that down.
Tre used his chin to gesture to a table just off the side. It looked like one of those areas in a prison for visitors where the guards could still watch you. “How about you two go over there? You can sit, talk in privacy.”
Nix tried not to snort at the idea of privacy. Was he trying to be funny? Because there was a guard standing no more than twenty feet away from it.
Still, Nix bared his teeth and hoped it looked a little like a smile. “Great!”
Tre clapped. “Wonderful.” Clearly, the man didn’t understand sarcasm.
Sam looked scared and didn’t even make eye contact. They walked over to the table and Nix sat down, but Sam just stood there with his arms wrapped around his waist. As much as he wanted to tell him he meant no harm, this was not the time. So Nix pointed to the spot across from him and then met Sam’s gaze. The omega finally sunk down onto the seat, his arms tightly clutched in his lap.
“I won’t take up too much of your time,” Nix started. He didn’t really have anything to say to Sam, this was just keeping up appearances. Nix had a feeling telling him he was here to help wouldn’t do much. Every inch of him screamed fear. And unlike Cal, there was no pull he could draw on to reassure him.
“I’m Nix. How about we talk and you tell me a little about yourself?” he said to the terrified omega. As much as Nix knew he should keep up appearances, he couldn’t treat this man with anything but kindness. He was already broken.
Sam’s head lifted slightly but not enough to meet Nix’s gaze. He waited for the man to say something, but then Sam shook his head and looked down at his hands again. The silence felt heavy. He could tell the omega wanted to be anywhere but there. Nix could feel eyes on him. Tre was watching him. But he didn’t turn around. He kept his full attention on Sam. He took the man’s hand, and he froze. In a low voice, Nix leaned in and whispered, “You can talk freely with me. I won’t hurt you; I promise you that, but we have eyes on us.”
Nix kept his voice soft so he didn’t scare the man and so his words didn’t carry. “I won’t hurt you; I’m here to help.” He murmured even as he pulled Sam towards him.
Nix wasn’t sure what worked, but Sam lifted his head briefly and met his gaze. Nix shook his head and the omega ducked his head again.Good, he needed to look scared still.But Nix could tell Sam seemed to get slightly more comfortable with him. Nix moved in closer so that his body blocked Sam from view. Anyone looking on would assume he was getting up close and personal. Sam looked back up, and his eyes were dark and dim, not bright like River’s were.
“You’re safe,” Nix reassured him, still in a whisper. Nix made sure he knew where all the guards were at all times. And even though he couldn’t see them, he knew his teammates were near.
“If you give me what I want, everything will go smoothly,” Nix made sure this was said softly but loud enough for people close by to hear. Then he leaned and lowered his head so it was at the omega’s ears. “Nothing you say will get back to Tre. I promise.”
He waited patiently, but Sam didn’t say anything. Just when Nix was about to give up, a voice so low he could barely catch it whispered, “I can still feel the pain.”
He wasn’t worried about being overheard. So far, it seemed most of the guards were human. Although he wasn’t sure about Tre, his scent was off somehow. So Phoenix was careful around him.
Nix frowned. “The pain?”
Sam nodded. “The pain. The strap hitting my back.” He reached for his back, “It was two weeks ago.” Tears sprung to his eyes, and Nix pulled him tighter into his body.
“You were beaten?” he whispered.
