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by Alison Aimes
That was true. Olan’s demands on Tasha Lundin had been relentless and all-consuming. No matter how he spent his rotations or who he fucked and knotted, he always expected her to be by his side by the end of the rotation to see to his comforts and demands. He was helpless without her.
“There must be some explanation. Same with Kaiya.”
“There is. They’ve been murdered. Killed by the very Alpha you are so desperate to defend.” Tasha Lundin’s nostrils flared wide, her expression one of disappointment and disdain. “I should have known you would succumb so easily to Skolov’s lies. He’s too formidable for someone like you. He’s cowed you into being his pawn and his puppet.”
“That’s not what’s happening.” Was it? It was hard to think, much less breathe. Everything inside her rebelled at the idea that her beautiful sister was dead.
Nikolai had promised her Kaiya would be safe.
The prime omega shook her head, sending her hair tilting farther to the side. “You are fooling yourself. Alexi Skolov was shot. In retaliation, your sister was murdered. Your precious Alpha has gone after my Alpha, too. There is every chance you or I are next.”
“Stop. You’ve got it all wrong. If anyone is a danger to us, it’s Olan Lundin. He’s impulsive, quick to anger, and brutal. He has struck us our whole lives. He beat Naytalia Skolov and threatened to kill her, too.”
“No.” Her mother swayed on her feet. “That is only what Nikolai Skolov wants us to believe.”
“I saw it.”
Her mother’s grip on the cloth tightened. “I thought you said you had no visions related to the fire.”
“I had one, but it ended before I could get the full picture of what happened that rotation. Still, I saw Alpha Lundin threatening Naytalia. I felt his fury. He was definitely enraged enough to kill.”
“No.”
“Mother, I am sorry. I know you don’t want to believe it.”
“No.”
Her mother was unraveling before her gaze. Dahlia knew the prime omega’s life hadn’t been a particularly good one, but her mother had still clung to it.
Dahlia wasn’t doing the same, was she? Clinging to her Alpha because she was afraid to see the truth? The pain of Kaiya’s death stabbed like a knife with every breath she struggled to take.
“Dahlia, I’m afraid.” Her mother’s fear echoed her own. “None of this makes any sense.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Dahlia had lost everyone else. She refused to lose her mother, too. “I will get Nikolai’s help.” Her Alpha had said he would do what he could for her mother with the Brotherhood. That could not have changed just because he’d grown more distant and more disinterested in her visions. She’d told him she would continue to believe in them, and she would not stop now. “He will know how to fix this. We will hide you away.”
“Like Kaiya?” Her mother clutched the cloth in her hand. “No, there is nowhere I can run. I must throw myself on the mercy of the Brotherhood and ask for leniency.”
“Mother, no!”
Her mother cut her off. “You should do the same. I was not referring to myself when I said I was afraid. I was referring to you.”
“Me?”
“If your gift has returned and you are the key to discovering the truth related to the fire once and for all, you are the one in the most danger.”
A chill passed through Dahlia. “I am fine. Nikolai’s compound is a fortress.”
“But what if he’s the one you need to be guarded from?”
“He’s not.”
Her mother was not convinced. “Maybe we can run together? Hide?”
“No. I am safest here.”
“Fine, but stay on guard.” The prime omega zipped her travel bag closed. “Do not worry for me. I am not without resources. The Stormhart Alpha has always been kind to me. I-I shall throw myself on his mercy. He will help me with the Brotherhood. If my fate is to end with Alpha Lundin’s, so be it.”
“No, please. I don’t want to lose you, too.” Like Kaiya. Like her beautiful, sweet, gentle sister—who Nikolai had sworn would be safe.
What if her mother was right, and she was trusting when she shouldn’t? What if she was falling prey to a will more formidable than her own?
As if she knew her thoughts, her mother’s resolute expression crumpled. “I will contact you if I can. Please, do the same.” The prime omega’s eyes glistened, and for an instant Dahlia saw the connection they might have forged if their mother-daughter bond had not been burdened by the weight of her father and his constant demands on his prime omega. “Let me have a chance for one more good-bye face to face.” Her gaze traveled over Dahlia’s face. “It is more than I got to have with Kaiya.”
Dahlia’s heart bled anew. “Stay safe.”
“There is no true safety for an omega.” Her mother’s screen went blank.
Dahlia stared at the darkness, the hollow sensation in her stomach growing.
Everything she knew, everything she’d begun to believe, was falling apart.
She needed to speak with Nikolai. She needed him to tell her Kaiya was still alive.
She rushed to the door, only to find her way barred by stone-faced Guard One with the spiky hair and scar through his eyebrow.
She didn’t think anything of it—until he seized her arm and shoved her back inside.
33
The crack of bones echoed through the dungeon cell.
The male tied by his wrists to the meat hook dangled in the air, his pale skin shivering in the icy cold. “No more. Please.”
Nikolai signaled Damien.
His brother slammed his fist into the bastard’s ribs once more. Another round of snap, crackle, and pop occurred. The male wheezed, his ability to breathe suddenly restricted. Damien knew exactly where to hit a male to make the pain excruciating.
Nikolai stepped up to the man. “Who hired you to take out Alexi Skolov?”
“O-Olan Lundin.”
Nikolai retreated and let Maxheim take a turn.
Thwack.
Blood spattered the ice of the cell. Maxheim might be slow to ignite, but his rage, once sparked, was savage. Nothing woke the beast inside him more than a threat to those he loved.
“Who hired you to take out Alexi Skolov?”
It was the same dance they’d done with the other two guests stupid enough to let themselves get caught. In the end, they’d cracked. This one would too. Because Nikolai wanted to be absolutely sure.
Plus, since this was one of the hitmen who’d tried to take their brother’s life, suffering was part of the plan.
“No more.” The male’s voice was a desperate rasp.
This time, Nikolai rolled up his own sleeves.
The male’s eyes went white with panic. “I don’t know. I swear it.”
Now they were getting somewhere. “So, not Olan Lundin?”
“I’ll be killed if I tell. I can’t.”
“You’ll be killed if you don’t.”
The male snarled.
Nikolai grabbed his throat and squeezed. “You’re already living on borrowed time. It’s only a matter of how painful you want your last moments to be.”
Fury, then finally, acceptance. The hitman nodded, his gaze pleading.
Nikolai loosened his hold.
The male gasped, sucking air into his lungs.
Nikolai reminded himself that control was essential. Compartmentalizing as best he could, he forced what he hoped was a soothing sensation through the fated-mate bond. The last thing he needed was to overwhelm Dahlia again with the force of his rage and violence.
“You’ll make it fast?” The guy had finally recovered enough to speak.
Nikolai nodded. “You won’t see it coming.”
“Okay. Yes.” Their prisoner sucked down another pained breath. “The truth is, I have no damn idea. I was told to say it was Lundin, but I didn’t speak with the male. I have no fucking clue who hired me, but something about it . . ..” He shook his head. “From the st
art, I knew something was off. We’ve worked with Lundin before. He always contacted us directly.”
“Give my brother the account information used to pay you.” Nikolai nodded in Maxheim’s direction. “Trace the information. We need to know where the payment really came from.”
Their guest rattled off the numbers.
Maxheim typed furiously. “Tracing.” After a few minutes, his scowl deepened. “That’s weird.”
Nikolai braced himself. “Tell me.”
“The payment path leads back to Lundin.” Maxheim looked up, his confusion obvious. “It was done outside the usual Lundin off-galaxy accounts, which was why I didn’t find it before, but it definitely leads back to Lundin in the end.”
“So, Olan didn’t have outside help, after all?” Damien was pacing as usual. “He just did a better job of hiding his money than we thought? None of this is making sense.”
But Nikolai was fairly certain he understood all too well.
He seized the prisoner by the hair and made sure the other male could see the menace in his stare. “Tell me more about the hits and how you were contacted.”
“We’re mercenaries. We take random jobs all the time. We got contacted by an anonymous source and assumed it was business as usual. They sent us these fucking uniforms with the Lundin crest, told us to dye our hair blond and wear the clothes when we did the first hit. Strange, but we’ve dealt with weird requests before.”
Everything inside Nikolai had gone on the alert. “You said first hit. So, you were contracted to do another as well?”
A slight pause. “Yes.” Nikolai saw the uncertainty in the male’s eyes, the question of whether he should try to bargain for his life with the information he realized might be important.
“Don’t bother.” He told the hitman. “There will be no negotiation. I’m only going to ask one last time: was there a second hit?”
The guy sagged in his bonds. “Yes, we were instructed to dye our hair back to black for it. Whoever hired us agreed to pay us an insane amount of money, half when we did the first job, half after the second. I should have known it was too good to be true.”
“Was killing Alexi Skolov the second hit?”
“Yes.” The guy was talking fast now, glad for any moment free of pain.
“And the first hit?”
The guy swallowed hard.
“Tell me who the first hit was.”
“Olan Lundin.”
Though Nikolai had expected to hear it, the words still slammed into him like a kick to the solar plexus. “And did you?”
The guy’s eye darted wildly from side to side as if seeking a last-ditch escape from the hard truth, but there was none coming. Not for any of them.
He nodded. “Yes. Olan Lundin is dead. Our orders were to take it slow. Make it hurt. We did. The bastard suffered, as requested.”
Olan Lundin is dead. After so long waiting to hear the words, the outcome was oddly hollow. No joy. No sorrow.
Mostly because . . . they’d been played.
“Fuck!” Damien slammed the heel of his boot into the wall. He understood the implications, too. As did Maxheim, who gripped the icy cell bars, his face a mask of rage.
Nikolai blew out a slow breath. They’d been outmaneuvered by a masterful opponent they hadn’t even known was in the game.
His comms beeped. Stormhart’s face appeared on his screen. “We have a problem.”
Nikolai already knew what the other crime head was going to say. “Olan is dead.”
“Yes.” The other crime boss didn’t appear surprised Nikolai knew. “Was it you?”
“No.”
“The evidence left suggests it was a Skolov hit, retaliation for the strike against Alexi.”
“Exactly how it was made to look.”
“The Brotherhood is up in arms.” The big male took a deep breath. “They’re coming for you now. All of you.” Stormhart scowled. “I know I said we’d stand by your side, but this isn’t war. This is a reckoning. I shouldn’t be calling.”
“I appreciate the warning.” Nikolai asked what mattered most. “How long?”
“You’ve got an hour at most. I’m sorry, I tried. They’re out for blood and determined to make an example.”
The pit in Nikolai’s gut grew. He’d promised his omega he wouldn’t shut her out. He’d also promised he’d keep her and those she cared for safe. He was beginning to realize he wouldn’t be able to do both, and she was already upset with him. He could feel her pain beating at him through the fated-mate bond.
But he’d do whatever it took to protect her. Even if it killed him.
Nikolai’s comms beeped again and clicked into override—and his stomach dropped.
With a roar, he sprinted from the cell.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Guard One shoved Dahlia onto Nikolai’s bed.
She landed on her ass. “Help!”
To her surprise, the guard added his voice to hers, their shouts blending—until she realized too late that she’d played right into his hands.
The three other guards barreled into the room, prepared to help.
She scrambled off the bed. “Careful! He’s—”
Guard One shot them between the eyes without hesitation.
Her stomach pitched. “You killed them!”
“Such a smart omega.” Whistling, he ripped off his mask and, stepping over the downed bodies, sauntered to the door. The lock closed with an ominous snick. “Now, it’s just you and me.”
She used the time his back was turned to put as much distance between them as possible and arm herself as best she could. Against his gun, however, her odds weren’t good.
Swiveling back in her direction, he pointed his laser at her face. “This is going to be fun.”
She backed up. “Whatever you’re being paid to kill me, Nikolai Skolov will pay more to keep me alive.”
“Your Alpha can’t pay me if he’s dead.”
Her heart slammed against her throat. “He’s not dead.”
“Not yet. But he will be.” Guard One cut off her avenues for escape with every step closer he came. “When they find you shot and burnt to a crisp and Olan dead, your Alpha won’t be far behind. The Brotherhood doesn’t take too kindly to blood feuds carried out when they’ve expressly come out against it.”
“O-Olan is dead? How do you know that?”
Her mother had been right. She tried to push past the shock and the rush of grief for her father she hadn’t expected. Did that mean her sister Kaiya was dead as well? She shoved aside the slam of pain. She had to stay focused, or she’d be next.
“Yes, Olan is dead. Thanks to me.” Guard One looked smug. “Though it’s your Alpha who will be blamed.”
Understanding crashed through her. “You were hired to flame the feud and frame Nikolai, so he looks guilty.”
Guard One’s lips tilted upward, but his eyes remained cold and hard. “Smarter than you look.” His stare dropped to her breasts. “But it’s never been an omega’s mind that interested me. I think it’s about time I got to experience the benefits of a top Alpha.”
She refused to panic. “Who sent you?”
“I’m done with your questions, omega. It’s time for action.”
She darted left.
He mirrored her. His movements too fast for her to dodge.
Her body slammed into the wall, her breath leaving her in a rush as he followed right behind, crushing her.
He dug his weapon into her forehead. “What did your visions reveal to Nikolai Skolov about the rotation of the fire?”
Another wave of understanding. This was why she was going to die. Someone feared her visions. Someone wanted her silenced.
But who? Everything she’d seen so far pointed to Olan.
“Tell me, omega bitch.” Guard One pulled a small torch from beneath his jacket. “Tell me now or it’s going to be a slow painful death. I’m supposed to kill you quick and then burn you. But it doesn’t have to be
like that. I can take my time. Make it hurt.”
“Nothing. I saw nothing. I can’t have visions. My gift died out long ago.”
Crack. Her neck slapped sideways as his fist plowed into her jaw. Pain rocketed through her, her brain knocking against her skull, her thoughts suddenly sluggish as the lights blared and then dulled.
A rough hand grabbed her chin, shook her. “No fucking lies. Tell me what you saw!”
Her tongue worked slowly in her mouth, too big for the space. “G-Go to hells.”
He laughed. “I wish I had time to tear that tiny omega asshole to pieces but I am being paid more than I could ever dream to get this job done fast and make it look a particular way.”
He raised his gun.
With a scream, she launched herself forward and buried the jagged end of the biggest jewel from her necklace into her attacker’s throat.
Alpha’s never expected an omega to fight back. But she was done being underestimated.
Blood splattered. With a shocked gargle, Guard One grabbed his throat, rage turning his gaze blood red.
She raised her weapon again.
Crack. His fist slammed into her before she could stab him.
Her body pitched to the side. Blackness ate at the edges of her vision.
The fall to the floor barely registered as her head rung and his torch flared to life, the promise of horrific death in his stare.
No matter what happened next, she’d never regret what she’d found with Nikolai. It had been worth every moment of the wait.
The door behind her crashed open.
A roar. A blur of movement, and the weight above her disappeared.
“Dahlia!” Nikolai’s anguished face appeared in front of hers. “Tell me you’re okay.”
But the darkness took her before she could assure him she was.
34
Nikolai sat by Dahlia’s med cot, her small hand tucked in his, the doc’s monitors beeping away as she slept, sedated by the doc’s concoctions.