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“New regime. Most of our guys are still in place, but there’s a handful of new faces.”
“And the rest?”
Rey cleared his throat, giving it all away with a single glance down at Devin’s bowed head.
“Over here, Mr. Kahler,” Rey murmured, leading them all to a massive shipping container situated on the faded boards beside the dock proper.
The screech of metal grinding against metal crunched through her teeth. It drew her gaze as a wave of fetid air tried to knock her over. Devin sucked in her lips, biting down hard. Fingers clawing at Rey’s back, she twisted the soft material of his shirt as she tried to unsee what little the weak lights illuminated, to not think of what else could be in the container.
It was an impossible feat. Not as the clank of chains rattled through her bones, their pitiful whines and tears cutting right to Devin’s soul. Dozens of Omegas in various stages of damage and undress. Rows of them lying on the cold metal, staggering in tight circles at the end of their shackles. Packed in the container like refuse.
“Looks light,” the man named Kahler murmured.
“Ten short of our promised,” Rey said in agreement, squeezing Devin’s neck all the harder. Trying to turn her horrified eyes away from the sight unfolding before her. “Marcus said he can top it off when he gets these.”
“And now I will owe him. Why are we short, Daniel?”
“We lost a lot in the bad batch of suppressants. It was too damn public. Others are poaching in the areas we shop in, but we’re handling that. Shouldn’t be a problem again.”
“You better make sure it isn’t.” Kahler gave a quiet chuckle and a shake of his head, two careless fingers waved at the hulking metal box. “All right, close it all up, get it out of here. I want you to see to the inspectors personally next month. I’ll be otherwise engaged.”
“It surprised me you decided to come this time.”
Kahler grunted, a terrifying smile sliding over his lips as he turned back to Rey in the shifting shadows. “It can’t all be fun and games, Daniel. There’s always work to be done.”
Rey waited until Kahler and his expensive car were well out of sight before he released a ragged breath. Turk and his men were loading the last of the crates before Rey relaxed his bruising hold on Devin’s nape. He watched until the lumbering ship eased away from the dock out into the open water of the bay, its lights spilling gold onto the rippling water.
Then he rounded on Devin. Picking her up by the shoulders and shaking her hard enough her brains rattled around her skull. Snarling and growling, he hissed curses at her. Telling her how lucky she was Kahler hadn’t put her into the container, how he would have let it happen for her stupidity. Berating her with every step back to the car, he launched into another tirade at the state of his seats.
“Clean it up,” Rey yelled, dumping Devin amid the greasy remains of her meal beside the open car door.
Lower lip trembling, Devin did as she was told. The faces of all those men and women swam in her watery gaze as she picked sesame seeds and crumbs from the fine stitched leather. The smell of their unwashed bodies, the soured sweetness of their sheer terror and the chemicals being pumped into them to keep them quiet and pliant.
He would let that happen to her. Had watched on as Beau did much the same. She’d let this man touch her, comfort her, and he would throw her away like so much trash.
Devin spun on her knees and vomited onto the cold ground.
Rey voiced a roar that flattened Devin, cowering before the power of it until he shoved her up into the seat. Vicious threats of what would happen if she threw up in his car followed her in before he slammed the door on her. Devin buckled her belt as fast as she could, fumbling with the latch as her hands shook. She didn’t want him to touch her, to come anywhere near her. Her shoulders hunched to her ears as he growled his displeasure at her actions.
The silent drive back to his apartment was fraught with so much tension, Devin wondered at the fact she didn’t get sick again. It pounded against her temples, twisting around her spine. Threatening to dissolve her into tears at any moment, only the fear of what he would do kept her from collapsing. He snapped at the people working in the lobby, snarling at the man who did nothing more than push the button of the elevator.
Throat dry, she tried to swallow back the scream clawing at her throat as he shoved her into the apartment and locked the door. It escaped in a worthless croak as his hand slapped down on her shoulder. Whirling her around, she stumbled against him, lifted into the air before she could get her bearings.
The crush of his lips was painful, refusing to be denied.
Dangling in his arms as he assaulted her with teeth and tongue, his sure steps carried them to the bedroom. Devin closed her eyes and prayed.
Chapter Four
When Rey flung her onto the bed, Devin twisted to her belly. Scrambling on hands and knees to the far side before he caught her ankle in his sure grip, she shrieked and kicked as he dragged her down the center of the mattress and flipped her over. The sheets and blankets torn free of their immaculate position by her clawing hands, she stared at him with chest heaving under the paralyzing hold of her terror when he covered her with his shadow.
“You need to understand your place now, girl,” he said on a low growl, wrenching his shirt from his slacks.
“Stop, please. Don’t do this,” Devin stammered out, an ineffectual hand held palm out to the man looming over her. “I didn’t mean—”
“You never mean it, do you,” Rey demanded in a hushed roar. “How are you so damned naïve?”
“I’ve been asking myself that for a while now,” Devin said in a broken whisper, dropping her hand to slap against her thigh. She couldn’t stop him. There’d never been a moment when she could fight off either of them. At least Rey didn’t hurt her before. Perhaps if she didn’t fight him…
