Page 75 of Omega Tricked
“Because you murdered my dad.”
He didn’t respond right away, and a thick silence fell. I found it interesting he didn’t immediately deny the charge. Eventually, he said, “Why do you think that?”
“Because my guess is nothing happens in here without your okay, and the last time anyone heard from him, he was hanging around the compound.”
“So you just have a hunch he was here.”
“No. I have proof he wasinsidethe compound.” I kept my voice steady as I delivered that news, watching every tic and twitch of his features.
“What kind of proof?” he asked quietly.
“The personalized license from his car.” I narrowed my eyes. “Care to explain how that would end up here if he wasn’t also here?”
He held my gaze, his face impassive, but then he snarled, “I knew it was you who broke into the auto body shop.”
“That’s right.” I smirked.
He looked like he wanted to strangle me. “You didn’t just happen to meet Dylan, did you?”
Now it was my turn to look uncomfortable. “I did what I had to do.”
“You’re a piece of work. Did you… did you orchestrate Dylan’s kidnapping?” He scowled, his face flushing red with anger. “God damn you if you did.”
Guilt nudged me, but I pushed it away. I had to focus on getting Charles worked up. He needed to be so mad he wasn’t thinking straight when he escorted me out of the gates. “An opportunity presented itself, and he was my ticket inside the compound.”
He stood, scraping back his chair. “You’re a fucking asshole, messing with that poor kid. I’d like to snap you in two for hurting him.”
“I didn’t hurt him,” I hissed. “Isavedhim, remember?”
He came around the desk like a charging bull, and I rose and backed away. But he was too fast, and he grabbed me by the shirt and threw me across the room. I crashed into the wall and bounced off it, landing on my ass. I was stunned and not quick enough to escape him when he grabbed me again and hauled me to my feet.
“Dylan has been throughhell. What he didn’t need was someone toying with his emotions like that.” He yanked me hard and pushed his furious face close to mine. “I should break your neck.”
“Is that how you do shit around here? Kill people when you don’t like them?” I rasped, tasting blood on my lip. “Is that what you did to my father?”
“I didn’t touch a hair on your father’s head,” he growled.
“I don’t believe you. Why hide his car, then?” I wiped at my mouth, seeing the scarlet smear on my skin.
“I’m not telling you shit, and your time here is done.” He dragged me out of the room and toward the front door of the building. “It’s going to break Dylan’s heart when he finds out you’ve been using him. You’re a fucking heartless monster.”
“And you’re a murderer,” I hissed, struggling in his unyielding grasp. I prayed to God that Hank and Gabriele were on the other side of the gates. No way could I handle Charles on my own. The man was a beast, and I was like a rag doll in his hands.
He tugged me roughly out of the building, not even bothering to close the doors. There was a small gate cut into the walls of the compound so that people could come and go, without having to open the big gates. That was where Charles was dragging me. I pretended to struggle, just to keep him distracted, but my heart was pounding so hard I felt light-headed. If Hank and Gabriele weren’t waiting for us, I’d have to start at the beginning again to figure out a way to grab Charles. I couldn’t exactly go to the cops with the license plate. Odds were they’d be on Charles’s side and arrest me for kidnapping Dylan.
We reached the smaller gate, and Charles unlocked it, his grip never loosening from me. This was the moment of truth. If my guys weren’t waiting, I was screwed. He yanked open the door, and I was relieved when he didn’t just shove me out, but he dragged me through. His attention was 100 percent focused on me. His gray eyes were filled with hatred, and I was almost afraid he might shoot me on the spot.
When I saw Hank behind him, pressed up against the wall, relief washed through me. Too late, Charles spotted him out of the corner of his eye, and he tried to retreat back into the compound. Hank was faster though, and he grabbed him from behind and smashed the butt of his gun against Charles’s head. Charles immediately went slack, and for a second I was worried Hank had killed him.
Gabriele came screeching up with the car in a cloud of dust, as someone up above us started yelling over a speaker. I assumed that the voice was coming from the guard shed perched atop the wall. I prayed they’d be too worried about shooting Charles to open fire on us. I opened the car door, sweat running down my face as I helped Hank toss Charles in the back seat.
“What’s going on?” a frightened, familiar voice came from behind me.
I stiffened in horror when I recognized Dylan’s voice.Fuck. Turning, I found him running toward me, looking confused. When he reached me, his eyes widened in terror as he looked past me. I glanced behind me to find Hank advancing on him. Before I could say anything to stop him, Hank had Dylan by his scruff and was dragging him toward our getaway car. In shock, I followed, not sure what to do. Grabbing Dylan wasn’t part of the equation, but security guys were now piling out of the gate and advancing toward us. I stood frozen next to the car, trying to think of what to do.
“Lex! For fuck’s sake, get your ass in the damn car,” yelled Gabriele, gunning the engine.
His voice jolted me out of my daze, and I dove into the front seat of the car. Gabriele revved the motor and threw the gear into drive, and we tore off in a giant cloud of dust and exhaust. I could hear Dylan yelling in the back seat and Hank swearing at him to shut up.
