Page 76 of Omega Tricked
“Was I ever glad to see you two,” I said, wiping perspiration from my face with shaking hands. “Anybody following us?” I did my best to block out the fact that Dylan was upset in the back of the car. I felt shell-shocked at the idea I might have to dispose of Dylan. I wasn’t sure I had it in me to give that order. Much better not to think about that just yet.
“I think we caught them off guard,” Lex shouted above the engine. “There’s nobody behind us.”
I prayed he was right. I was already uneasy about how fast he was driving. I didn’t think my stomach could take a high-speed chase. I heard a choking sound, and I turned to find Hank with his arm around Dylan’s throat. Dylan’s eyes were wide with panic, and he was clawing at Hank’s beefy arm.
“Hey! Let him go,” I shouted, and Hank obeyed, releasing Dylan.
“He wouldn’t shut up,” rumbled Hank.
“Find another way to keep him quiet,” I snapped.
Slumping, Dylan coughed roughly, clutching his neck. His breathing was more of a wheeze, and I was worried Hank had crushed his windpipe.
“Are you okay?” I asked, touching his leg.
Dylan jerked away, gasping for air. “Don’t touch me.”
“Dylan—” I started.
“What the hell are you doing? Why did you hurt Charles?” he growled, glancing at the still-unconscious Charles. “What the hell are you doing, Lex?”
Gabriele muttered, “He’s a distraction we don’t need, boss.”
Hank gave a cruel smile. “I’m happy to shut him up.”
I hesitated. I didn’t want Hank touching Dylan, but it was important I didn’t look sympathetic to Dylan either. Dylan would be safer if I treated him like I would anyone else. But that wasn’t going to be easy because he wasn’t anyone else.
“Shall I knock him out?” Hank asked, leering at Dylan.
Dylan cringed away and swallowed hard, looking like he was about to faint.
“Let’s give him a minute to grasp the situation.” I emphasized each word as I met Dylan’s angry gaze. “Youneedto sit quietly.” I gave him a cold, warning look. I didn’t want him to miss my meaning; if he didn’t shut up willingly, Hank would do it for him. He needed to understand that.
Dylan paled, and he sank back against the seat even more. He held his bruised neck, giving me a look of pure hatred.
My heart hurt as I held his loathsome gaze. But he had to hate me. There was no other way this could go now that he knew the truth about me. From here on out, it was only going to get worse too. When we started questioning Charles, Dylan was going toreallyhate me.
I turned back around and faced forward. In the rearview mirror, I could see Dylan watching me. He looked like he wanted to cry. I felt like the lowest asshole in the universe making him look like that. Just last night we’d held each other, and I’d had his complete trust.
Now, I was his worst nightmare.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dylan
I couldn’t believe what was happening. It had to be a terrible dream. It had to be. Lex wasn’t a monster. Lex was the kindest, nicest alpha I’d ever known. I was falling in love with him. There was no way he was this hard, cold alpha calling all the shots. I couldn’t be wrong again about an alpha.
Wake up. Wake up. Please let this be a dream.
I’d ended up in this situation because I’d gone down to the security building to lend moral support to Lex during his interview. Then I’d stumbled upon that horrible alpha Hank attacking Charles and Lex. At first, I’d thought Lex was trying to help Charles against the would-be attackers, but it had suddenly become clear, he was one of them. I couldn’t wrap my head around that. Lex was a bad guy?My Lex?
All the way down the mountain, I kept hoping the security team would chase us. But they were nowhere in sight. It seemed Lex and his crew had caught them completely off guard, and without Charles telling them what to do, they’d fumbled the ball.
When we reached the bottom of the hill, the omega named Gabriele had another car waiting. We abandoned the first vehicle and continued into town in the new one. Charles was still out, and I was really worried for him. His breathing was jagged, and there was a big bump on his forehead where Hank had struck him. If he died, I’d never forgive Lex. I’d never forgive Lex anyway. I felt foolish for trusting him. He’d known that pig Hank this whole time? What kind of alpha was Lex if he was friends with a man like Hank?
My mind was spinning as I tried to put together what few pieces I had. Gabriele had the same build and sounded exactly like the man who’d fed me during my kidnapping. What did it mean that Lex knew my kidnapper and my would-be rapist? I didn’t want to accept what that meant, but I had to. Lex had been pretending to be kidnapped. But why? Why had he wanted to befriend me? To get into the compound? For what reason? To grab Charles? That made no sense to me. Was this just some sort of personal grudge against Charles? I knew Lex and Charles hadn’t gotten along, but if this was all about resenting Charles, why would Lex have faked a kidnapping? They could have just grabbed Charles if he went into town. They must have wanted to get into the compound, and Lex had used me to do that.
I’d hoped we’d stop somewhere in town, where there was a better chance of getting away. But that wasn’t what happened. Instead they drove us way out of town to an old ranch house on acres of deserted land. Having a place ready to go reinforced how premeditated all of this was. As we pulled up in front of the big sprawling home, Charles groaned and started thrashing. Gabriele parked, and Hank dragged me out of the car, then went back for Charles.
