“It’s going to be hard at first, but I promise everything is going to be fine,” he says.
If only he knew that I already know about my brother's nefarious plans and that I fully intend to dodge that fate. There’s no way I’m going to go and live with a bunch of men I don’t know and learn to live and adjust to being an Omega.
I squeeze him one more time, I swear there's a gentle press of his lips against my hair before he pulls back and looks at me.
“Just trust me, okay?” he asks, holding my shoulders.
I nod, and he searches my face, concern obviously laced on his, but he eventually lets me go and walks away. I mourn once more for the life I’ll never have.
The house is nearly empty, with my brother and his guys going to his lunch at the Wynn. The plan is simple yet overlycomplicated. I wish I had the cover of night to help me with my little escape plan, but there’s no time to waste.
It’s better to get the hell out of here now instead of ending up with whoever my brother wants me to bond with. At least I know this house like the back of my hand; it’s not the first time I’ve snuck out.
I have two duffle bags packed and ready to go. My brother is going to be pissed when he sees how much money is missing from our father’s safe, but I’ll consider it my share of the inheritance. I don’t plan on seeing him ever again, anyway.
The money is enough to live off of for now. It’s enough to get by until I can make a Plan B if the High Roller doesn’t accept me as an employee.
I’m not romanticizing the club. I know that there will be expectations of me, and I’m ready to explore those, but there might be a small part of me that hopes this turns into a totalPretty Womansituation. Is it wrong to hope that some rich pack sweeps me off my feet and solves all my problems?Probably.
At least for right now, I’ve got to solve it on my own.
And step one is sneaking out of here and catching the Beta Ride I scheduled for a pickup a few streets down.
The security cameras are easy enough to avoid. I’ve known where they are all placed since I was fifteen. The hard part is that Giovanni is working; he’s one of Anthony’s guards who actually takes his job seriously. Luckily, Rocco is older and lazy as fuck; I know he’ll be sitting in the kitchen eating whatever Lisa made for lunch today. Giovanni, however, is so far up my brother’s ass he’ll do anything to prove his loyalty and move up the ranks.
I open my window and toss my shit outside. My plan is to walk around and grab everything on my way out. I just need an hour or two head start before my brother gets home.
I run into the bathroom and fill the tub up, tossing my phone in the bubbling water, before leaving the bathroom and locking the door behind me.
My steps are quiet as I walk down the ceramic stairs and head for the side door. Giovonni is headed in my direction, and I tuck myself behind an alcove as he walks up the stairs, likely to check in on me.
I’m quick, opening the side door and leaving it just slightly ajar behind me. I keep close to the house, as most of the cameras are angled to view the yard. There’s one in the back I can’t avoid, but my hope is that Giovanni and Rocco are too preoccupied.
I grab the backpack and the duffle bags I threw out of my window. I toss the pack over my shoulders and grab the other bags as I haul ass to the back of our property. There’s a small patch of dirt that has an old dog kennel, which I use to boost myself up. I toss the duffle over the fence before climbing over.
I wish I could tell you I look graceful, but I absolutely fall to my ass on the other side of the fence. The sun beats down on me, and I’m sweating from exertion and fear, but I keep moving, I don’t have a minute to waste.
I jog the two blocks to where my ride should be waiting for me. My heart thunders in my ears and my mouth feels dry as I panic over my ride still being there and everything going to plan.
A black sedan is trailing behind me, and my stomach sinks into my ass. I look back, and they slowly pass me by. It’s not my brother or any of his men, so I pick up my pace until I see the beautiful sight of a blue Kia Soul with the correct license plate number. The man rolls down his window.
“Elena?” he asks, and I nod my head. The back door unlocks, and I slide in.
Adrenaline is coursing through my veins as Isaac, the driver, takes us out of the neighborhood, playing low music in the background. I booked two nights at the Luxor, the only hotelthat would take cash the night of. I might be risking my health staying there, but it will have to do. My interview is in two days with the manager at the High Roller.
Once I know whether that is going to work out or not, then I can come up with a plan. I know staying in Vegas forever isn’t an option. But I’ve also never left Nevada. Aside from the few vacations we went on, I wouldn’t know where to start when picking out a new town. There’s no doubt my brother will come looking for me. I’m valuable, just not in the way I wished I was.
I don’t have contacts outside of the family. I’m not familiar or even have a clue of where else I could go, let alone if I could find work or safety in a new state. I have this stupid fucking degree, and I can’t even do anything with it. Omegas are too big of a liability to work in surgery.
This opportunity has to be enough, at least for now. There will be other Omegas there, and I gain some hope with that fact. Maybe I’ll finally find the guidance I’ve always been craving. At the very least, I’ll make enough money to figure out what I want to do next. Or find a rich pack that I hit it off with and never have to work a day in my life. No, we are not going there. This is a job. This is how I figure out my next step.
The ten thousand dollars I took from the safe is only going to take me so far.
My driver drops me off at the Luxor, and I pay for my room, pointedly ignoring all the enticing slot machines. I don’t have Daddy’s money to just gamble endlessly anymore, and I have to make this money last, especially if working at the High Roller doesn’t work out.
I feel uncomfortable as I walk through the casino, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m paranoid or because I’m an unbonded, unattended Omega. I’ve grown accustomed to having a bodyguard with me nearly everywhere I go.
I hold myself with as much authority as I can, giving off a vibe that I’m not to be fucked with as I make my way through the first floor. I also spend my first forty dollars on pepper spray, Diet Coke, a bag of Skittles, and a can of Pringles at the small shop just outside of the casino before heading to my room.
