Page 76 of Your Wild Omega

I contain my shudder as I sit down, taking a long draft of cold beer as a distraction, and it fizzes across my tongue before the flavor melts away. I fasten my buttons quickly, ignoring Jackson’s exaggerated sighs, but as I do, the memory of a naked Ricky hanging over Zack’s shoulder pops into mind. Jackson here repulses me, but Ricky . . . well, he’s a different matter.

I return my hands to the chilly glass, dragging my thoughts back to business. Career has always been the most importantthing to me, but just sitting here could jeopardize it all. It goes against everything I studied in every legal ethics class, and yet I can’t bear the idea of that fucking bastard walking free. My insides feel shivery at the idea.

I draw myself up straight to face Dodge. “You might’ve heard about the illegal omega trafficking hub that got shut down outside the city a few months back.”

The leader’s eyes narrow. It did cross my mind that this club was involved, but considering how many leads the OCB are tracing, I think I’d know if that were the case.

Dodge catches my eye. “We’d never be involved in hurting omegas, buddy. Don’t even think it.” His other pal shakes his head emphatically.

I hold his gaze. “I’m working on the cases in partnership with the OCB. It involves this one fucker about to stand trial who I don’t think I can put away. He was the only alpha arrested at the scene.”

The second guy, whose hair is going gray in streaks, folds his arms across his chest. “Why are you sure he’s guilty if you can’t find evidence?”

I look down and trace the handle of my pint glass. “Because the omega he did it to is living in my house, and she told me.”

Dodge clicks his tongue. “So what’s the problem?”

“She refuses to testify . . . and I can’t blame her one bit. No one would want to relive what she went through.”

All three of them stiffen as the situation settles into place.

I sigh and tighten my grip on the glass. The words taste bitter in my mouth, and it has nothing to do with the foamy brew. “The OCB seized forty-three vials of haze, all hers, during the arrest. And that’s just the leftovers from one heat. She was there for years, going into heat every two months.”

Even these world-weary men grow pale as the numbers stack up. Hundreds per year become thousands over a decade.Now and then, Red wears a shirt that exposes her collarbone, revealing the needle scars. The tracks march over her skin like a colony of ants, probably never quite healing before the next invasion began.

Dodge coughs into his fist. “You looking to plant evidence?”

I grunt out a negative. I’m not above a bit of shaking down, but my love for the justice system would never allow me to bring false evidence to the courtroom. After shaking my head, I take another long swig. “I’m going to do everything I can to hammer him over the head with the book . . . but if I fail and he walks free . . .” I pause, a lump in my throat growing to an unbearable size. “Well, that can’t happen.”

“Fuck,” Jackson hisses.

Dodge rests a hammer hand on his shoulder to quiet him and nods slowly. “That’d be an injustice, for sure. It sounds like you want him to pay?”

I squeeze my hands around the slippery glass. “I don’t want him walking the same soil as her. That’s all.” Maybe I can’t be by her side, but surely I can protect from the shadows. Doing nothing isn’t an option.

Dodge taps a finger on the wooden tabletop. “If there was someone in some fantasy world who could help, they’d have to verify some facts and get back to you. They’d need a name and then you’d need to buy something. Something expensive.”

I lean forward, holding his gaze.

He waits another long minute, studying me, before he holds out his palm. His silent partner digs into his leather vest and pulls out a little cardboard flip-wallet. Dodge slides it across the table.

I open it to find two sleeves, one with a blank card, and the other with a printed business card. Dodge sets a pen beside my hand with a loud clack, and I write the name on the blank card: Ray Fibbistachi.

A cold chill clutches at me as I slide it back to Dodge and draw the other card. It’s a business slip with the details for a used car dealership. Must be their front. “Which car would I buy?” I ask. “In a fictional world where we both say yes?”

He shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. Just make sure you get the two-year maintenance package with it.”

I nod and slip the card into my wallet. “I’m guessing I was never here, and you never saw me?”

Dodge spreads his hands. “We’re just having a beer. As a lawyer, you must know a half truth is more powerful than a total lie.”

I snort and rise to my feet. I planned to leave right away, but the idea of a black market for personal information still bothers me. The younger man eyes my body without even trying to disguise his interest.

I clear my throat to focus his attention. “Just a passing curiosity, but what does a man have to do to get a subscription to your interesting little app, Jackson?”

He grins, revealing those spots of darkness in his teeth, and rests his hand protectively over the phone on the table. “Nothing a squeaky-clean man like you could ever dream about doing.” Despite his smile, an icy undertone shadows his voice, like I gazed too long into the abyss and now it’s staring back at me.

“I see.” He’s right. I want nothing to do with this lifestyle. Usually I’m the one putting men like him behind bars for a very long time. Might even see them in a courtroom in the future.

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