Prologue

Iroll over, realizing I'm not in my bed. Rubbing at my aching skull, I spend the next few seconds seriously regretting my life choices.

It's all kind of a blur, but I vaguely remember texting my boyfriend last night. I was supposed to be breaking up with him. This is the third time I've tried and, apparently, failed.

I had a glass of wine to settle my nerves before coming over, and bad decisions seem to have spiraled from there.

Did I take my anxiety meds after drinking that wine?

God.

That never ends well.

But it does sound like something I would do.

Dammit.

I was supposed to learn my lesson with that after the last time I lost an entire night of memories.

I focus, massaging my temples.

I remember arriving out front in a cab…

And then really hot sex, and everything is kind of hazy.

Will's scent is everywhere, and still, I'm not surprised to see I'm alone. He might pretend like he wants a relationship, but in reality, he just wants to sleep with an omega sometimes, then not have to bother with any of the cuddling or coddling that comes along with my designation.

I'm so disappointed in myself.

I swore, no matter how uncomfortable things got, I would cut the cord. We've barely seen each other these last few weeks, and before last night, we hadn't had sex in over a month.

I'm definitely not perfect, but I have continually put in effort to see him. He just never makes it a priority to see me. Thinking about it now, it feels a whole lot like he just wants to keep me on the back burner for when it's convenient for him.

Long golden-brown hair falls around my shoulders as I sit up, holding the sheet to my chest.

Ugh.

I failed mission "break up with Will"so hard.

My stomach rolls with discomfort, which could be from drinking too much last night, or maybe it's a physical reaction to how disgusted I am with myself right now.

I peek around, spotting my dress tossed over the top of the dresser.

It's time for an early morning walk of shame.

This sucks.

When I first met Will, I had no idea what kind of work he did. Back then, I thought he was in business, like more than half of Chicago, but during the last few months especially, I've had to overlook a lot of questionable things.

I think I let myself be so oblivious for so long because, if I didn't, I would've had to acknowledge some stuff I wasn't ready to admit.

Walking out of the bedroom to find a mountain of coke on his dining room table, along with three men I don't recognize, is definitely a new level of shady. It looks like the guy on the end is counting pills, and the one closest to me has a pile of cash he's dividing into stacks.

My eyes bug as they slide to the side. There's someone bound, gagged, and tied to one of the dining room chairs.

Flashes of us having really hot sex all over that table last night spin through my mind, making my thighs clench.

Damn.

I've heard breakup sex is hotter than relationship sex, but I never realized how true it could be.

My entire lower half is sore, and my throat feels a little raw, now that I think about it.

A lovely replay of those smoking-hot memories runs through my mind once more. I wish I could remember our goodbye fuck clearly, especially since the sex has never left me feeling like I do this morning.

Maybe I could overlook a few questionable business endeavors to feel this satisfied on a daily basis?

No, that's ridiculous.

There's still a person with a cloth bag over their face, and from here, this looks like a whole bunch of drug distribution felonies and a possible kidnapping charge.

Here's hoping they sanitized the table before getting started.

It seems Will's entrepreneurial nature won out, and he's expanding his business again.

This is my sign from the universe that I can't ignore this crap anymore.

It's safe to say the three men spot me at the same time. One of them reaches into the waistband of his pants at his back, ripping a gun out and striding toward me.

"Ohmigod." My eyes widen, and my head bumps against the door as I stumble backward in last night's choice of high heels.

Couldn't I have picked a nice flat?

Or even sneakers?

Why don't I ever do myself any favors the next morning?

He snarls something in a language I don't understand.

I raise my hands, palms out.

"I was just leaving. Is Will here? We really need Will. I don't know what you're saying." I swallow thickly as he continues to growl at me in words I can't comprehend. "I'm just going to go. I didn't see anything. Nothing. Just the door over there calling my name. That's all I can see." My hand flies up as I point at the hallway that leads to my exit out of this penthouse.

My crossbody purse bounces against my stomach as I stride forward, pulling a hand up to cup my face. It blocks the table and the other two guys from view as I stumble toward the front door like a newborn giraffe.

My heart races the entire way, but if I can't see the illegal activity, then it doesn't exist…

Right?

I am so done with this relationship that's not an actual relationship.

Dating is seriously disappointing these days.

I'm an omega, dammit!

Where is my pack of stunningly sexy alpha protectors? Why doesn't anyone want to court me?

I don't look back as I continue moving.

It's clearly a big mistake because the man behind me grabs my shoulder when I'm only a few feet from the hall that leads out of the penthouse. He shoves me hard against the wall, putting the gun to my forehead.

A whimper escapes as his hold tightens.

"I-I k-know how to k-keep my mouth shut," I stutter out. "I w-won't say a w-word."

The man's dark eyes sparkle, like he's enjoying my fear. He says something I don't understand, but at this point, that's a given. I don't even recognize the language. His warm breath fans over my face as his other hand lands on the edge of my thigh and starts to move under the hem of my dress.

My entire body trembles, and the scent of my fear floods the air.

My system wars with itself, trying to decide if I should pee myself or knee him in the balls.

Isn't that what they say?

If you're about to be sexually assaulted, you pee?

I think that's what I heard.

Ohmigod.

Why didn't I pay better attention to those public service announcements?

"What the fuck are you doing?" Locke growls. His voice is so familiar that my eyes pop open as I search for the friendly face. He stomps into the room from the hallway that leads to the guest bedrooms.

He's one of Will's friends.

Maybe they're associates who do illegal stuff together.

He's around a lot.

I think he might be Will's personal security, but also a friend…maybe?

He's never given me a creepy vibe, and he's always been kind and respectful. Sometimes he's even playful and friendly, but that's more of a rare occasion. He seems very serious and stoic by nature.

Locke's long, wavy black hair falls over his face as he snarls something at the man.

The dick with his hand up my dress releases me, but the look on his face conveys his feelings on the matter.

My chin tilts in the air because this jerk doesn't deserve my fear.

It's a giantly fucked-up world we live in when we have to teach women things like urinating on ourselves to deter an attacker.

Locke slams his fist into the man's face with so much force, the guy bounces out of my way.

He holds out an arm for me as I glance between him and the guy he just punched, who has a freaking gun.

Does Locke have a gun?

If so, he should probably whip it out.

His dark eyes narrow slightly as I get myself together, shoving off the wall and slinging myself right against his chest.

He continues growling at the guy, but my senses are focused on one thing.

I don't think I've ever been close enough to catch strong hits of Locke's scent, but he smells delicious.

It's citrus based, but there are tinges of bergamot.

It's kinda like Irish Spring soap.

It's manly and delicious, but also fresh and delectable. It's strangely comforting, to the point my instincts scream to melt into him so that I can rub that smell all over me.

His hand flattens on my lower back, and despite the chaos, he makes me feel safe.

"Are you okay?" Locke's dark wavy hair falls past his shoulders, and it slides against my cheek as he twists to see my face. "Did he hurt you?"

The man who grabbed me growls something.

Locke growls in return, pointing at the man.

"I'm fine," I say, because the last thing I want is any more trouble than I've already stumbled into. "I should go." That's the understatement of a century. I'm still so confused. "Why would Will leave me here to see this?"

"What?" Locke's dark eyes narrow as his jaw tenses.

"Unless, maybe I broke up with him after the really hot table sex?" My head shakes as my cheeks heat. "I meant to give him the talk. It's what I came here to do."

"Jesus Christ…" He continues cursing under his breath. "You don't remember anything that happened last night?"

"I mean, some flashes of stuff. Why? Do you know?" I run a hand down the front of my dress and try to breathe through my mouth to offset how potent his scent is.

Oh. My. God.

Did Will tell him to kick me out this morning?

Locke stares at me with his eyebrows raised for so long that I squirm against his chest.

He's a potent alpha.

So extremely commanding that I can't seem to look away, despite the chaos still unfolding in the room.

He finally sighs, shaking his head. "Come on. I'll walk you out."

He uses his arm around my hip with his hand on my lower back to guide me toward the exit.

We make it to the front door of the penthouse apartment, and Locke gives me a small shove out the door before stepping into the hall with me.

"You really shouldn't come around here without Will."

"He was with me when I fell asleep," I say, and my cheeks heat.

I'm pretty confident about that, anyway.

I mean, Locke can look at me and tell I didn't decide to pop over at eight in the morning in a club dress.

"Are you sure about that?" He pauses, studying me with a look I can't decipher. "Be careful, Laken. Look out for yourself if he doesn't have the decency to do it for you."

"Yeah," I agree, swallowing thickly. "Thanks for the save. I guess it doesn't matter, anyway. I've failed to break up with him three times in person. I'm going to text him once I get back to my apartment. This was too much to come back from."

His jaw flexes as his lips push together.

"I'll deal with those idiots. Get home safely." The growl in his command makes my knees weak, which is awful because he chooses this exact moment to release his hold on my hip.

My face burns, but I nod, spinning around and escaping down the hallway.

None of this was okay.

Not even a little bit.