“I can’t accept that,” Harlan grunts. “Neither will my brother. He’s going after your sister, because the best way to get answers is to divide and conquer. Fuck, if you could only see yourself right now. I bet if you had a gun you’d kill me dead for threatening her, huh? I don’t know why, but that’s so damn hot.”
“You’re disgusting,” I snarl. “You want to know, fine. There’s a man who tracks when omegas come into their designation and decides if they’ll be missed or not. When I escaped the Fieldings with Lexi, they found us squatting in an abandoned house. I was trying not to attract attention, but missing twins are hard not to notice.
“They broke into the house and kidnapped us, and we ended up at a mansion. This isn’t a Cinderella story, so don’t get it twisted. He?—”
“You’re not going to give us names, are you?” Isidro asks.
“I can’t,” I sigh. “It violates my promise.”
“Tell us what you mean by that before I decide you’re working with a trafficker,” Harlan says. “You’re the law, Syrus. Are you not pissed off about this?”
“Nope,” he grunts, standing. “I trust Silva. Whatever she has to do to survive is enough for me.”
“Conflict of interest much?” Kyren scoffs.
“You wouldn’t get it,” Syrus says. “You don’t know her. Silva weighs every option before making a decision.”
Wow. Filling my lungs until I can’t anymore, I release my breath. I don’t know why I worried so much. Syrus fucking gets me.
“We were being groomed,” I finally say, ignoring everyone but Sy. “Everyone was really nice, we ate regularly, but there was always this air of feeling like everything could be taken away if we acted out. I can’t handle not being able to make sure Lexi is safe, and they used that against me.
“The mansion was huge, and there were different groups of omegas being kept there. I was with five other omegas, and we became close. Just after we all turned twenty-one, there was this air of excitement with our handlers. We were told there would be a party in our honor, where we would all be sold to an alpha. We couldn’t freak out, but we did make a plan.
“Getting sold meant we’d be split apart, and that was unacceptable. Lexi is my best friend and my sister, however these girls mean a lot to me too.”
I drop my eyes down to the ground, gathering my thoughts.
“A few days before we were sold, I was able to run out and hide the items that we’d need. The security is insane there, and we had to time everything really well,” I explain.
“If the security is so good, how did six young omegas get out?” Kyren asks.
“I swear they’re house trained,” Isidro mutters.
Staring at them, I say, “One of us is incredible with computers. Security cameras, hacking into networks to make us disappear, all of it. We wouldn’t have made it out without her. No, I won’t tell you who because you can’t be trusted. After the ball, we all changed out of the ridiculous gowns, tried to forget the way the alphas there stared at us as if we were lambs to the slaughter, and escaped to our meeting spot.
“There was someone that was supposed to come collect us after the money cleared. Under no circumstances could any ofus still be there, that doesn’t mean there weren’t hiccups once we escaped. We ran as far as we could go, until we got to Widows Peak. Someone from our group found that this area had been abandoned after the initial building craze. The satellites, building permits, and blueprints showed that this was the perfect place to start over.
“The problem is, he found us.”
“So why are you standing here and not on your back playing fuck toy?” Harlan asks. “What? My wording may be crass, but she’s fucking holding back information that could help those she left behind. That’s it, right? You got your group out, but there were still people in that mansion?”
“Yes,” I whisper. “We couldn’t get everyone out, and when he found us, we blackmailed him for our freedom. As long as we never let the information on his organization hit the light of day, he’ll leave us and this town alone. Do you have any idea how many omegas live here that are sitting ducks if we go against him?”
“Fucking coward,” Harlan sneers, practically spitting in my face from across the room. “Look at all the good you could do, and yet you sit in comfort and your silence.”
“Harlan, that’s enough,” Isidro says, turning toward him.
I can feel shame and sadness pressing down on me, yet I let myself sit in his disdain. He’s not wrong. We could have done things differently, but the truth is that the six of us were exhausted and scared out of our minds. We were practically kids at the time.
“Are you done?” I ask, forcing strength into my words.
“Not yet, darlin’,” Kyren says, his lips pursed as he stares at me. When he glances at Syrus, his gaze becomes more calculating.
“What?” I ask, not liking that.
“Hacking isn’t an exact science, but it does uncover a lot of information when you deep dive into a person’s previous life,” Kyren says. “After Harlan was punched in the face by the sheriff over here, I decided to take a look.”
“I’m not a dirty cop,” Syrus scoffs. “Go fuck yourself.”
