Page 93 of Omega Tricked
Hank narrowed his eyes. “No. It wasn’t. But I can guarantee, the second Dylan screams in pain, this prick will spill his guts.”
The image of Dylan being tortured was like a punch to the gut. I almost couldn’t draw in a breath. I could pretend to be objective about him all I wanted, but I wasn’t going to be able to let Hank touch him. I couldn’t do it. I’d rather die than let that happen, and no way could I say any of that out loud. I kept my mouth clamped tight so none of my feelings came out, but I nodded as if I was fine with his idea.
I met Charles’s furious gaze, and I said, “See what you’ve done, Charles?”
“What I’ve done? WhatI’vedone?” he raged.
Through gritted teeth, I said, “Give me the name now and Dylan won’t have to go through anything bad.” I wanted to leap across the bed and strangle the stubborn son of a bitch.
“I can’t,” he yelled, veins bulging in his face. “God damn it, Lex. I can’t tell you. You’re theenemy.”
Hank’s laugh set my teeth on edge. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
I faced him, trying to think of a way out of this nightmare. But nothing came to me. If I protected Dylan, Hank would lose his shit. He was right—the best way to get Charles to talk was to torture Dylan. I’d known that all along, but I’d refused to accept that truth. I couldn’t allow that to happen. I couldn’t. But how the hell was I going to prevent it? I had to stall somehow until I could figure out how to get Dylan out of here. He had to escape this nightmare alive. He had to. I didn’t have enough control right now to keep him safe. I could see Hank was already teetering on rebellion. Was Gabriele on his side?
“Lex.” There was a desperation in Charles’s voice. He was hoping I’d save Dylan because he couldn’t. His eyes were frantic, and he seemed to be trying to send me a message telepathically. “Please.”
“Go get Dylan,” I barked at Hank.
He gave a gloating smile and left the room. I turned immediately to Charles. “I’m going to untie your hands. You have to pretend you’re still tied. Do you understand?”
He looked shocked, and he stared at me in silence.
“Do you fucking understand?” I snapped.
He jerked. “Yes. Yes. I understand.”
My heart hammered in my chest. “Don’t do anything until we’re downstairs. We have to surprise them. I don’t know if Gabriele is on my side or not. If he’s on Hank’s side, we’re fucked.”
He nodded. “What’s your plan?”
I laughed harshly. “I have no fucking plan. When an opportunity presents itself, make a move. Get Dylan out of here. Get him to safety. I’ll back you up as best I can.” I grabbed his hands and sliced through the ties with my pocket knife. “We’re all probably going to die.”
“No.” He shook his head. “We’re not.”
I didn’t have his faith. Maybe because I wasn’t as tough as him, or maybe because I was so scared for Dylan, I couldn’t think straight. What the hell was I doing? I was betraying my own plan for Dylan. I felt nuts. Completely out of my mind. I prayed Gabriele would take my side. I loved him like a brother. I wouldn’t be able to hurt him either, and that was a problem. He wasn’t going to understand what was happening. Odds were, he’d fight with Hank.
I led Charles down the stairs, feeling as if I was heading to the guillotine. Dylan was already downstairs, gagged and sitting in the chair Charles had occupied yesterday. He looked terrified, white as a sheet of paper and his blue eyes huge. When I entered the room, he locked eyes with me. He didn’t look relieved to see me. I knew that was because he thought I didn’t care what happened to him. He was wrong. So fucking wrong.
Gabriele stood behind Dylan, looking uneasy. He didn’t know exactly what was happening, or why Dylan was now in the hot seat. I made Charles sit in a chair across from Dylan, under the pretense I wanted him to see everything that happened to Dylan. Truth was, in that position, Hank couldn’t see that Charles’s hands were free.
I felt light-headed with anticipation, or was it terror? I met Gabriele’s gaze, and maybe he saw something in my expression, because he narrowed his eyes. Was that look suspicion? Reassurance? I had no idea. All I knew was my world had turned upside down the second Hank suggested we needed to brutalize Dylan to get Charles to talk.
Hank held the cattle prod, looking gleeful. “We decided since Charles doesn’t feel like talking, maybe we could give him some incentive.” He pressed a button and a blue spark arced between the electrodes, accompanied by a loud clicking sound. Hank put the prod near Dylan’s face, and Dylan began to struggle wildly, desperately trying to get out of his restraints.
My heart hurt watching him. His struggle was futile. He wasn’t going anywhere unless we helped him. I met Charles’s hard gaze and he gave a tiny nod. I inched closer to Gabriele, needing to be near him in case he tried to jump Charles. Of course he’d try to jump Charles. What else would he do? He had no idea what was coming, and he still thought it was us against Charles.
Hank lowered the cattle prod to Dylan’s chest, and it took everything in me not to kick it away. “Such a pretty face,” rasped Hank. “Can’t wait to see what you look like when you’re in agony.”
Once Hank’s back was completely turned toward Charles, the other alpha leapt up and charged him like a bull. He moved so quickly, it took even me by surprise. Hank and Charles went down with a loud crash, and Hank started swearing and punching.
Gabriele lunged toward the two men, and I said sharply, “Gabriele. Stop.”
He froze, but his face was a canvas of completely bewilderment. “Boss?”
I held out my hand. “It’s okay.”
“But…” He glanced at the two men rolling around on the ground, trying to kill each other.
