Page 96 of Heat & Deceit
“But?” Javi asks, the question full of bite and betrayal.
“But,” I scowl a warning at Lycus and step away from him, “she came to me for heat suppressants.” Javi curses. “Before I knew she was an employee,” I add. “She said she was buying them for her sister, and that’s usually how these things work. Betas buying pills for someone they know.”
“You knew about this for weeks and didn’t tell us?” Javi’s fingers curl into fists.
“I told you I didn’t know she was an omega until tonight. I had suspicions once I met her at Tranquility. And when she came to me for pills again, I was out.”
“You knew she needed them and let her suffer?” Lycus lunges for me, but Javi is there in a flash, catching him and tugging him back. His fist smashes through the air in front of my face.
I stare into Lycus’s murderous brown eyes. “I was fired, Ly. I didn’t have access to the pills anymore.” I shake my head and look at Javi. “You know how he would have been if I told you my suspicions.”
“It’s her,” Lycus snaps. “She’s the one I want.”
Javi releases a harsh exhale. “She ran away from us.”
“Because she’s scared.” I search his face. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed the way she flinches. I did a background check on her. According to that, she’s a beta. We know that’s not true now. Carmine’s hiding something.”
His eyes narrow. “You’vebeen hiding a lot.”
“Be pissed at me if you want, but we’ve been searching for an omega for so long, I wasn’t about to lead us all on if I wasn’t sure.” And I didn’t want to hurt Carmine.
“I don’t care if she’s a beta or an omega.” Lycus struggles in Javi’s hold. “Do you know what you just fucking did, Rome? I know you know. Your parents make the fucking pills. You know how bad this heat will be for her. She’s out there, suffering.”
“I know where she lives,” Javi says softly. “I drove her home in your car.”
“Then, why the hell are we standing here?” Lycus rips himself out of Javi’s hold and glares at me. “If she’s hurt, this is your fucking fault.”
Shame and guilt gnaw at my insides as he storms toward his car. I glance at Javi and scrub my hand over my face.
“I’m sorry, Javi. I was only trying to make sure before I told you guys. There was no sense in ruining her life if she ended up being a beta.”
“I’m pissed, but right now, I’m more worried about her. Lycus is right—wherever she is, she’s in pain. We need to find her.”
“And do what?” I ask with a laugh. “You said it yourself. She ran from us. Even if we find her, I’m not letting you or Lycus fuck her. She’s not even in her right mind. What are we going to do if we find her?”
Why is no one else asking this question? What the fuck do we do now that we know she’s an omega?
“I don’t fucking know, Rome,” Javi snaps. “We just need to find her.”
Lycus’s car roars to life, and we turn, watching him tear down the driveway. Javi groans.
“Her address is in his GPS.” He jogs toward the garage, and I keep pace with him.
I slide into the passenger seat as he starts the car. “Fuck. You better hope we make it there before he does. If he so much as touches her—”
“I get it, Rome. Fuck.” He smacks the steering wheel.
Javi doesn’t like to lose control. Heneedsto be in control, so much so that, if Carmine, by some miracle, wants to be our omega, she’ll be tied up until the ropes leave pretty patterns all over her skin. He’ll accept nothing less than her full submission and trust.
“Maybe I’m a bastard for not telling you my suspicions, but I was trying to protect her.” I stare out the window. “Now that we know for sure, maybe she’s the one.”
“This isn’t exactly how I wanted to find an omega. You should have told us she came to you for pills.” He reverses out of the garage, fast enough that my body jerks to the side, and then shifts into drive.
“I was protecting her.”
“And look where that’s gotten us,” Javi snaps.
* * *
