by Jayce Carter
She worked hard to not learn much about her clients, because when dealing with criminals, she’d rather not know. Money was money, and she did what she had to. She had no one else looking out for her.
The door to the room opened, and she turned to find a face she’d missed. Well, almost no one looking out for me.
Liam wore a suit so fancy he might almost pass for harmless. Almost. When he cracked a familiar smile, though, Kara saw him for who he’d always been to her. “How many times have I had to save you?”
Kara stood, dangling the cuffs on a single finger. “From a police station? Never.”
He chuckled, catching her chin between his fingers and lifting her face toward him. Anyone who saw it might think he was about to kiss her, but she knew better. That wasn’t them.
They’d had sex before, but it had never been serious to either of them. If anything, it had been a favor to her. So, she wasn’t shocked when he used the grip to twist her face and check for injuries.
“You sure? I recall having to help you out of handcuffs before.”
“Those were recreational handcuffs, thank you very much. I learned how to pick them after that.”
He released her chin, stepping backward once he’d satisfied himself that she wasn’t hurt. “You are impossible.” Liam removed something from inside his coat, shaking it out. “Lucky for you, I’m always prepared.”
Kara laughed as he pulled the item around her—a jacket. It was her size. Hey, I think it might actually be mine. A quick look in the mirror hanging on the back of the door showed the plan. Dressed in the fitted gray blazer, she looked like anyone else. A second item had her rolling her eyes, but Liam ignored any complaints as he brushed his fingers through her hair to push the bright blue strands back and hide them beneath the black wig.
“I hate this thing,” she groused.
“Well, I think the blue hair is a dead giveaway, kid, and this is all I have.”
“Why do you even have a woman’s wig? Are you and your twin into some weird roleplaying shit when you double-team girls?”
Liam yanked softly on the front of the wig to seat it at her hairline, hiding her trademark neon tresses. “Even if I was, we both know you’d out-kink me. Now, head up and use all those skills I taught you. The detective who brought you in here is up a floor, so we should be able to slip out, no problem.”
Kara tucked the cuffs into her blazer pocket, and when Liam lifted an eyebrow, she shrugged. Handcuffs were expensive. Waste not, want not, right?
He stepped out first, his attitude instantly transforming into that of a man who had shit to do and not nearly enough time in which to do it. Kara didn’t pull that off, and in women, it tended to make people pay attention. Instead, she grabbed a notepad and pen off a file cabinet just outside the room she’d been kept in, holding them and scribbling as she made a point of struggling to keep up with Liam. They made the perfect image of a high-powered lawyer and a secretary trying her best not to get yelled at.
It irked her to play the part but, fuck it, better than landing in jail. Not just being held in a conference room because men felt bad for omegas and assumed she’d been roped into her little indiscretion, but real-life metal bars. It was much harder to break out of jail.
Not that Liam, his twin and their cousin wouldn’t break her out of there, too. In fact, a part of her thought it sounded like a hell of a lot of fun. Plus, she could see the frown of Liam’s cousin when they managed the breakout, when he lectured her calmly on making better choices while knowing damned well she’d never do it.
No one gave them a second look as they walked through the police station. That was the benefit of being outed as an omega, she guessed. No one had expected much of her. It meant that instead of planting her ass in an interrogation room or a holding cell, they’d put her in a meeting room with nothing but a pair of cuffs on and no one watching her.
It’s almost insulting.
At least it made for an easy getaway.
The elevator doors closed, and Kara breathed in relief.
Liam hit the button for the third floor. “I trust you can manage to find your way out from here?” He flashed her a wide smile, one full of all the mischief they’d gotten into over the years. “As long as you don’t run into any good-looking alphas on the way, at least.”
Kara tugged at the wig, trying to ignore how it made her scalp itch. “Well, at least I won’t have to worry about that problem while you’re still around.”
Liam laughed as the doors opened. He left her, and that gained him extra points. Just one night of having people treat her like a useless, fragile omega had her grateful that Liam didn’t think twice about letting her get herself out the rest of the way.
The elevator closed again, leaving Kara on her own. The shiny doors let her catch a glimpse of herself in the ugly wig, which was too similar to her natural color for her liking.
It had been at least a year since Liam, his twin or his cousin had needed to step in and rescue her. Not that she ever asked. The eldest of them, Torrin, always kept tabs on her. It meant that as soon as she’d gotten herself arrested on this job gone south, she’d known someone would show up even without her asking.
The button for the second floor lit up, and Kara didn’t bother to hold in a groan. The odds of anyone recognizing her were slim, but she still didn’t need any sort of slowdown. The longer it took to get out, the better the odds someone would notice her missing and send up alarms.
The elevator rumbled to a stop, and Kara dropped her gaze to her list, pretending to be highly engrossed in the scribbles there.
Three men entered the small space, but it wasn’t their size—large as they were—that hit her first. Nope, it was the unmistakable, mouthwatering scent of alpha.
When was the last time she’d indulged in an alpha? Months, at least. Alphas tended to get territorial and possessive, neither of which she needed in her life. Sleeping with betas was safer. Every once in a while, though, she’d give in. She’d let herself drown in the scandalous touches, the lust, the scent of an alpha that nothing else could replicate. Hell, that bone-deep need to dominate they had could make the most restrained of omegas beg for a taste. Not to forget, of course, the way they stretched her when the knots at the base of their cocks swelled.
So when the three alphas crowded into the small elevator, so close that the waves of heat their bodies threw off warmed her in places that had grown far too cold, she didn’t bother to disguise how she drew the scent into her lungs.
A soft laugh from one pulled her gaze up, and she realized she’d zeroed in on the way his built chest showed through the white of a button-up shirt beneath a black suit jacket. “You know, you’re writing gibberish.”
Kara found she had, in fact, been writing random letters, too busy ogling to make sense with her fake note-taking. “So I am.”
The alpha twisted fully to face her as the elevator moved. “Distracted?”
“By what?” She tried for flippant.
His dark eyebrow cocked up toward his long chestnut hair. It reached just past his shoulders, the messy waves of someone who had wanted to be in a band at seventeen and hadn’t ever let go of that spark of craziness. His lips looked soft, and lines beside them hinted that he smiled often. “Why don’t you meet me tonight? Harbor Hotel, nine o’clock, in the bar on the bottom floor. We could have drinks, or we could skip that entirely.”
How she wanted to… He was amazing, with the sort of body she could spent hours exploring. Each dip between his muscles, only hinted at by his conservative clothing, made her tongue thick and eager to trace them. She could picture herself flicking each button of his shirt open and tasting every new inch revealed.
And beside him? The other two alphas, while silent, mirrored the want in his hazel eyes.
To his left stood a man who seemed the same age—late thirties or so. He had his light brown hair buzzed at the sides and longer on the top, pushed back and gelled into place. The lines between his eyeb
rows said he frowned. A lot.
Lastly, the odd one of the group, the youngest alpha, stood to the right. He couldn’t be more than twenty-one and must have gotten carded without fail whenever buying alcohol. Black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, the sort that made him look brilliant and caused his deep brown eyes to appear even larger. His short and messy hair was so dark it would’ve appeared black if not for the bright elevator lights. He was thinner than the other two, but she’d never call him small. Due to the hormones in alphas, they were rarely ever small, and they tended toward fit, even when they didn’t work at it. The strap across the young alpha’s chest that connected to a laptop case told her what she’d already expected—tech guy. Not that she cared. Even tech guys had working cocks, and given his age, she’d bet he didn’t tire easily. Stamina for the win.
The casual alpha with the long hair released a playful growl, setting his hand above her, caging her in with his body without touching her. “You smell delicious,” he whispered. “I really wish we could blow off this meeting and take you back to our suite right now.” He made no secret of the way he inhaled—slowly, as if savoring every last molecule of her scent.
“Meet us later?” This from the green-eyed alpha, the words less of a question and more of a demand. He struck her as the type who would prefer orders to requests. I bet he gives great orders.
The shake of the elevator woke Kara up. She’d met them in the police station she was currently escaping from. They had a meeting there, meaning that while they weren’t police—she could spot a cop a mile off—they had some connection to the law. The last thing she needed was to meet them anywhere, to risk them opening their big mouths and pointing the finger at her and getting her caught.
There is no shortage of dick, Kara. Keep it in your pants and move along.
When the doors slid open to the lobby, Kara twisted down, beneath the alpha’s arm, toward freedom. “Sorry, boys, but I’ve got plans.”
The first alpha turned as she moved, as though he couldn’t stand the idea of not having her in his sight. “We’ll make it worth your while.”
We’ll. Oh, that sounded promising. She could almost see the way they’d work together, how exhausted she’d be afterward, how sated. She’d never given that particular deviancy a try.
But no matter how their offer might tempt her, Kara wasn’t stupid. She was reckless a lot of the time, impulsive and short-sighted, but no matter how much she wanted to give in, meeting those alphas would be horribly, irrevocably stupid.
So Kara gave them her best smile and tossed a playful, teasing wink. “I’m sure you’d try, but I’ve got more bite than most of your playthings. Good luck, though.”
She left them as she turned and headed for the front doors, their gaze predatory and wanting and making her feel like the prey she’d just claimed she wasn’t.
Too bad she’d never see them again.
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About the Author
Jayce Carter lives in Southern California with her husband and two spawns. She originally wanted to take over the world but realized that would require wearing pants. This led her to choosing writing, a completely pants-free occupation. She has a fear of heights yet rock climbs for fun and enjoys making up excuses for not going out and socializing.
Jayce loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website details and author profile page at https://www.totallybound.com