Page 43 of Vendetta

The caged omegas stared, wide-eyed, quiet, reverent, but I felt the weight of their judgment on my shoulders.

The hush of panicked breathing whispered in my ears. Murderer.

I was, and I felt numb to it. She had to die so that everyone else could live. Once the shock wore off, it might be crushing, but for now, I was still here, alive.

The gunshot would’ve alerted anyone on the property, and Nico had taken my pistol. I was vulnerable alone out in the open, so I hurried after the two alphas, careful to stay clear of the still twitching body lying by the doorway.

As I made my way down the crumbling brick steps, the night air came alive with shouting from inside. Two massive alphas burst out of the rickety back door. Their eyes locked on me up the hill, glowing like a beacon in the moonlight. I couldn’t tell if they saw the dead woman lying in the dirt behind me, but that didn’t make the snarl that issued from their mouths any less terrifying.

I considered running, but they were alphas, there was zero chance I could outrun them, even if I tried. So instead, I held their stares, defiant, as if I didn’t even care that I’d just killed that crazy old bitch. Fuck her anyway for trying to traffic me, or whatever this was.

With the alphas’ attention locked on me, Nico and Cruz had no problem slinking out of the shadows and putting a bullet in each of the scowling alpha’s heads. They didn’t appear to be having the same issues with murder that I’d had and stepped fluidly over the corpses now blocking the door.

Who the hell were these assholes? I remembered not so very long ago when I’d worried about getting Nico involved in a world he wouldn’t survive. Little did I know he was just like the men I grew up with. And Cruz was anything but your average omega babysitter. The idea of escaping this life with one of them was laughable now. They were just as bad as all the others; they just smelled better.

They moved with the confidence of trained killers, striding systematically from one room to the next, checking behind doors and under beds. Each crack of a gunshot was followed by a sickening thud, and I tried not to think about what that meant.

Once the silence of the night returned, I picked my way around puddles of blood and mounds of what were once alphas, deeper into the house. Pots were steaming on the kitchen stove, and the smell of cooking filled the air in a sickening miasma of food and the metallic tang of blood and viscera. I passed through dark, wood-paneled halls to find Nico and Cruz in some sort of office, going through stacks of printed ledgers. There was no one left alive in the house.

Nico approached me, green eyes flashing. “You’re lucky there weren’t more men here. I should spank your ass raw.”

His strong fingers wrapped around my arm and not-so-gently dragged me through the house, out the front door, and down the driveway.

“Should I have let her shoot us?” I gripped, tugging my arm, trying to pull it out of his iron grip. “We can’t just leave the omegas here.”

“We can, and we are,” Nico said in a quiet growl.

I dug my heels in. “They’re alone and scared. They need medical attention, food, water…”

“You can walk, or I will drag you.” He started back down the road.

I stumbled, tripping over my slippered feet, but Cruz steadied me as he caught up to us, carrying a computer and a stack of papers under one arm.

Nico watched me from the corner of his eye. “Not that you deserve an explanation, but the backup I called will be here in twenty minutes. I’m not inclined to take advantage of the helpless. There’s no challenge in that.”

“Not inclined to take advantage of the helpless,” I mocked. “No, not the helpless, just a defenseless, half-dressed omega desperate to escape an abusive fiancé. That sounds so very challenging.” I rolled my eyes, not that they could see it in the moonlight, but it made me feel better.

The shadow of the car rose from the gloom, and Nico popped the trunk. “Get in.”

“No, and I still haven’t peed yet.” I tugged away from Nico, and he let me go this time.

In the darkness, I could only imagine both of their eyes on me, but I felt it. It was like the velvet sandpaper of a cat’s tongue prickling over my skin. “I’m not going to pee with you looking at me.”

I didn’t wait for a reply before I scurried off the side of the driveway, batting bushes and weeds out of my way. They didn’t move to stop me, but they were still watching. Why were they so intent on keeping me? I’d already proven to be more than the average amount of trouble, and yet, here we were in some hillbilly, back road omega farm peeing behind a tree.

“Stay in sight, Rosa. Don’t do anything stupid.” Cruz said from beside the car.

I did my business as quickly as I could and glanced around at the foliage. Normally I’d drip-dry, or use leaves, but I didn’t think those impatient pricks were likely to give me the time to attempt the first option. In the dark, these leaves could be anything. It wasn’t worth risking poison oak. I tore a bit from the hem of my dress to clean up with. It was a lost cause anyway, and with all the other rips and tears, no one was going to miss a scrap of fabric from the tattered edge. That gave me an idea.

All cleaned up, I had a decision to make.

Did I run for it and hope to disappear into the shadows wearing a highly reflective white satin gown, or did I get back in the car and find out what this was all about?

There were questions I wanted answered, and running was probably futile, but if I got caught, I’d end up in the car, anyway. Might as well try to save myself first.

Fuck it.

YOLO.