“Cookie?” Bird’s purr abruptly breaks off.
I bite my lip not to laugh.
“You smell delicious, sweet thing.” Joker launches himself off the bed, pulling at the sleeves of his green jacket.
“So do you,Honey.” Bird’s gaze sharpens.
Joker stares at Bird like he’s reassessing what he knew about him.
If he thinks that my Omega is a typical submissive Omega, then he’s made a mistake.
Joker is smaller than Bird. If these two were in the same pack, it wouldn’t be my Omega kneeling to the Beta.
A slow grin spreads across Joker’s face. “I like you. I see why both your Alpha and mine were prepared to give up everything, even their lives.”
“So were you,” I point out. “Why? And who was shooting at us?”
“My Alpha told me not to talk to you,” Joker declares.
Phantom is smart then.
Joker strolls back to the bed and perches on its edge.
I arch my brow at him in question. “Like you are now? Sorry to break it to you, but that ship has sailed.”
He winks. “Luckily, the skipper can’t bust my ass for disobeying him because he’s out right now, having a bullet dug out of his shoulder. A bullet that he took to save you, Cookie.”
When Joker glances at Bird, Bird’s eyes widen.
“The Chief Alpha was shot protecting me…?” Bird sits up in the nest in shock.
“Skipper is like that. He has always stepped into the line of fire to save others. He’s a hero.” When a cloud crosses Joker’s expression, I wonder what he’s remembering. His hands clench on his lap. Then he forces a smile onto his lips, before he looks up again. “Anyway, the point is that I don’t follow rules.”
“Why did he save my life, if you’re contracted to kill us?” Bird demands.
“We’re not.” Joker appears offended. “Why did you think that we were?”
Confused, Bird and I exchange a glance.
“When I was in the facility,” I explain, “I was experimented on as a Rogue. They would burn us from the inside. They’re intending to kill us all with poison. The knothead warden, Mr. Baskerville, would threaten us with your pack, making sure that we didn’t fight back or escape because then we would be hunted. He said that there would be a bounty on our heads, dead or alive. And he namedyourpack.”
Joker stares at me. “Fuck.”
“Was the warden lying?”
Joker’s trick of acting the prisoner does work for gaining information. I should have used this one before.
Joker has paled.
He pushes his feathered, blond hair out of his face.
“Phantom and I have this reputation, yeah?” Joker pushes himself to his feet, pacing. “We created it on purpose. We are bounty hunters and contract killers. But we’re not…we’re more than that. I wish that I could tell you everything. But people like that asshole warden use us like the boogey man.”
I know how that feels.
Rogues have been used like that for centuries.
Bird cocks his head, studying Joker intently. “So, whowasshooting at us?”
