“Everypack is a special case,” I told him. A small snort of amusement took me by surprise as I added, “Although, this one might be a bit more ‘special’ than most.”
He huffed out a breath of laughter. “Yeah, maybe.” Then he sobered, holding my gaze with unblinking intensity. “You mean it, though? You’d really... want that?”
My throat ached. “I don’t think either of us are very good at wanting things. Maybe it’s time to work on that.”
Apparently, it was my job today to make other people cry. Tony’s face contorted, but before I could stammer out an apology, he’d turned and scrambled into my lap, his lips crashing over mine. I tasted his single sob more than I heard it—but an instant later, it was lost beneath the sea of relief and rightness at having him in my arms.
THIRTY-SIX
Jez
GAGE’S ROOM WAS RIGHTdown the hall from Heath’s. Which was good, because the big alpha was still stumbling around, half-asleep. Meanwhile, all sorts of uncomfortable feelings had started flooding through the open bond.
I wanted Tony to be happy, because I couldn’t be. It made a sort of sense that since he was the good guy, and I was the villain, maybe he could get enough happiness for both of us. I’d liked seeing him curled up safe in Gage’s arms—as though he could somehow stand in for me with this pack that should have been mine, but wasn’t.
He wasn’t an omega, it was true. But I was pretty sure he would have made a good one, if only he’d been born that way. A better one than me, certainly.
I closed the door to Gage’s room and turned to find him looking at me. Most of the fog of sleep had cleared from his expression as he examined my face.
“You’ve been crying,” he said, with a deepening frown. “Did Heath do something? Or say something?”
I let out a ragged laugh. “Heath said plenty. So did I. It was all stuff that needed to be said, and none of it was bad.”
The furrows in his heavy brow deepened. “Then why—”
“Because this could have been so amazing, if I’d only met you three in the right way,” I interrupted. “Because if I’d justdone better researchinstead of assuming that Adrian wouldn’t lie about something like his little sister being taken, none of this would have happened.”
Gage let out a deep sigh and closed the distance between us. He put an arm around my shoulders, leading me to the bed and pulling me down to lie on top of the covers with him. I burrowed against his side shamelessly, feeling like I needed to hoard as much of this feeling as I could get, in preparation for the long years of loneliness ahead.
“First off,” he began, “If you’d run for the hills when Adrian tried to hire you, then you’re right.Noneof this would have happened.”
I pressed my ear against his chest, feeling the vibration of his words.
“We wouldn’t have met you. Tony and Heath would still be dancing around each other. We wouldn’t have found the baby omegas being held at the silos.” His hand stroked through my hair. “And I would never have gotten to see what you look like when you’re making O-faces over fancy chocolate cake in a nice restaurant. And second—why the hell do you think Knox would’ve been safe if you’d turned Adrian down? You think Vozzina would have shrugged and decided to leave him alone?”
I lifted my head, looking down at him in surprise.
He met my gaze and scoffed. “He would’ve found someone else to do it. Another dupe, or just someone with a good rifle scope and a background as a military sniper. And maybe they wouldn’t have missed. Don’t take this the wrong way, kitten—but knowing how you were living before you came to us, it seems real likely that you were just his cheapest option for the job.”
Offense rose up in my chest, building there for a beat before reality set in, and it deflated like a pricked balloon. I flopped back on the bed.
“I wasn’t doing it for the money,” I muttered, heat rushing to my cheeks and ears.
Gage snorted. “Yeah. That much was pretty clear. Sweetheart... you have no idea how much assassins get paid, do you?”
