Page 152 of Lost
“I think you need to rethink bad mouthing my best fucking friend,” Lars growls.
Okay, that was sexy.Lars snorts, and I hold back my blush because he heard my thoughts. Oh well, it doesn’t make it any less true.
“This is so incestual,” Nico mutters, making me roll my eyes.
“Yes, let’s harp on the dynamics of my pack and not the fact that your father paid to rape me,” I say, tired of his shit. “Let’s also ignore the fact that you watched me play the piano or cello with broken fingers multiple times and didn’t say boo about it. I was abused for years right in front of your eyes. Some fucking alpha you are.”
Nico bristles, but I’m tired of not pushing back. I don’t want an apology, I want to see actionable evidence that he’s willing to change things. I guess therapy is helping me after all.
“And another thing,” I growl, taking a step forward. My pack makes a sound of discomfort since it puts me closer to Nico, but they don’t attempt to pull me back.
Not yet anyway.
“Yes, Little Omega?” Nico asks, almost amused.
“She has a name,” Tyde says. “Fucking use it.”
“What are you going by these days? Nova or Maree?” Nico asks less than innocently.
“Did you know that your father had me kidnapped?” I ask.
“I didn’t as a child, no. I found out as I began to take up the reins of the family business with my father’s death. Your sister ripped away the wool I’ve had over my eyes about my father as well. I’ve also managed to uncover things over the last few weeks that have made me physically ill. I wouldn’t say that I have a weak stomach, but knowing that my father actively ran an auction and sold our people’s children to Turbis pisses me off,” he says.
Nico hasn’t bothered to draw a gun, his arms now crossed in front of his expansive chest. His dark hair is well maintained, as is his facial hair. I’m surprised by the scruff he has since his father was against it. Maybe we all have moments of rebellion and this is his.
I don’t care enough to ask though.
“If it’s any consolation, I did notice that you always had a pinched expression on your face when you didn’t believe anyone was looking. I thought that it was because you thought you were too good for us,” Nico adds.
“Why would I think I was too good for you?” I ask. “I was scared of my own damn shadow for most of my childhood.”
“You always seemed out of place to me,” he shrugs. “As for my father, my brothers and I told him multiple times to wrap it up because we were tired of him bringing home stray children. Pablo is our step-brother but he’s managed to grow on us.”
Nico’s private smile makes me wonder about their relationship, but it’s none of my business. I remember when Mr. Domino briefly remarried, but his wife was killed by a drunk driver two years into their marriage. I wonder now if it was done on purpose.
“And the auction house?” Caleb asks, pushing for information. I’m grateful for his intervention because it really is freezing.
“Closing down the Remano Auction has hit a snag,” Nico grunts, making a face. “I wanted to ease you into this information, maybe apologize for everything that happened due to my father’s actions first.”
“I don’t need those,” I say, shaking my head. “You have no idea how bad my life was or what it’s taken for me to be able to stand here today. I hope that you’re a better alpha than your father is one day.”
“In case you missed what my omega is trying to say, you’re a pretty weak impersonator of what an alpha should be,” Caleb says. “I’m going to need to agree with her.”
Nico takes a cleansing breath before accepting the verbal abuse with an incline of his head.
“I deserve that,” he murmurs. “The death of my father has left a lot to be desired. I’ve been trying to tie off loose ends with my brothers, and it took longer than I expected. There’s also a clause in my father’s will that says I need to get married or the business will go to someone else. Therefore, I’ve also been trying to figure that out.”
“Maybe you should talk a little faster, because telling us you may be entering into an arranged marriage isn’t going toingratiate us to you,” Lars says. “This is everything that Hollis fights against.”
“Fuck me, you’re a tough crowd,” Nico sighs.
“Why should this be easy?” I ask. “Your father is responsible in some way for most of the nightmares I have.”
“Merde,”he curses. “You’re fucking killing me, you know that? The auction house was a ghost town when I got there. There wasn’t a single person there, and all the cages were taken as well.”
I feel faint at the thought that someone just picked up where Domino left off.
“Could this be Emilia?” I gasp. “She attacked my sister after her organization came under FBI investigation. They found so much evidence of her guilt that I wouldn’t be surprised if she skipped town.”
