Chapter Thirty-Three

Taylin

Missing Hollis enough to prevent him from sleeping, Taylin had encouraged his brothers to cram in meetings despite how exhausting it was. It would allow them to fly home Friday evening instead of Saturday, giving Taylin the chance to claim back a little of his weekend. He'd kept quiet and not told Hollis in case something disrupted the plan.

Taylin felt the adrenaline pumping through him, removing some of the dragging tiredness when they pulled up outside Design Detailing & Co's factory.

The place looked no different from the last time they visited over a month ago, except for the car lot outside full of expensive vehicles. Taylin would bet his last cent on none of them belonging to the omegas inside. They had requested, or the subsidiary company they owned had requested, a meeting, insisting all staff be present Friday morning .

Taylin suspected Amatus, because they'd not bothered with a site visit before the purchase, was feeling pretty secure that those who'd bought the company wouldn't be concerned with the appalling conditions. Because who in their right mind bought a business sight unseen? Not anyone who was concerned about the conditions the omegas were forced to work under, he'd suggest.

"Looks like a full house." Rue, the first to speak, cracked his knuckles. His rhino's presence was visible in his eyes when he turned his attention to Taylin and Booker. Jupiter, Silas, and the twins wanted to come today, but other work commitments in Hazardville prevented it. Laken was out of the country and had complained bitterly to be missing out on ‘head bashing', as he called it.

Taylin suspected Popi had stopped Dad from coming after the conversation they'd had on FaceTime last night.

"Looks like," Booker replied brusquely, his interest going to the large stretch hummer that pulled up next to them. "Security team are here."

Booker opened his door and got out, visibly vibrating as he tugged his suit jacket into place. No suit could mask the animalistic nature of Booker's bear, no matter the cut or expense.

"Remember to keep it professional, Booker," said Taylin as he and Rue followed, watching Oakland, a huge tiger shifter, exit the hummer. Exuding power that left no one mistaken that the guy wearing all black wasn't someone to tangle with unless they had a death wish. Taylin could still recall the first time he'd met him ten years before. His coal-black eyes held a predatory danger that warned others to be careful. Taylin never changed his opinion.

Those coal-black eyes swept the area and Taylin figured the man missed nothing when he returned his gaze to the other men filing out of the stretch hummer.

The decision to bring their personal security team had come from Dad. Not that any of them argued when they were unaware of what they were going to face once inside. Keeping the omegas safe was their priority. Despite Booker being more than capable of sorting out a few alphas that stepped out of line, as were Rue and Taylin, guns were different. None of them were invincible to bullets, so they'd brought men trained in arms along with many other weapons.

They hadn't gotten to where they were by being stupid, and as much as the reason they needed the armed men galled them, they accepted it. What was about to go down wouldn't be easy, but it could be quick and without casualties, if played right.

"I've gone over the schematic of the building with my men, having considered what you remember of the placement of those carrying weapons. Holt, Legacy, and Rana will guard the exits. The rest of my team will take point once we have eyes on where the armed men are," said Oakland. Not one for wasting energy, he signaled to his men as he spoke and seconds later, they were all walking toward the factory.

Purposefully early to get the element of surprise, Taylin rolled his shoulders and whispered, "Be prepared for the smell." It was all the warning he gave, inhaling the fresh air before reaching for the handle on the door in front of him .

The smell was worse than last time. Taylin gagged on filth, blood, and what smelled like shit. Voices carried over the sounds of activity.

"Remember, you fucking runts, one word and you'll regret you were born," came from an alpha that Taylin hadn't seen before, who was stationed up on the upper floor watching over the factory floor. Amatus stood at his side, none of the pleasantries he'd put on for them evident.

Both the gun and the vicious look the alpha aimed at the omegas made Taylin's heart speed up at the implication.

An unnerving quiet followed. Oakland's men moved so silently, it took Taylin a moment to realize they were no longer behind him but had dispersed around the factory.

It took several more seconds for the alphas in the place to notice something amiss due to their attention focused on the men working hard and, Taylin suspected, doing their level best to be invisible.

It sickened him and his anger surfaced when he caught Amatus nudging the armed man next to him. The gun was now trained towards them.

Show time.

"Hello Amatus, good to see you again," Taylin snarled, all wolf, prowling closer to the workbenches to be heard.

The omegas close by reeked of fear, stabbing Taylin's heart and adding to the anger morphing into rage. He kept a tight grip on it when these men had more than their fair share and didn't need his, too .

"What… what are you doing here," he snarled back, his voice carrying in the open space, as he moved quickly to the metal staircase that led to the factory floor.

"No pleasantries today?" Taylin's grin was all teeth. "I mean really, is that any way to speak to the new owners of Design Detailing & Co?" He tilted his head, arching a brow. They had previously decided he'd do the talking as the more level headed of the group. Taylin suspected that might have been an error.

He watched as several emotions ran over the other man's face as he stalked across the factory, unaware of the men close by cringing away.

Disbelief won out as he came to a stop in front of Taylin and the tense atmosphere in the factory increased. "What nonsense. I have the emails from Starling Enterprise advising you had no interest in working with us. Your loss," he sneered. "We had a better offer." He came closer to Taylin and spat, "Divergent."

Booker's growl was ominous, echoing in the cavernous room.

"You're trespassing on private property, you need to leave now, before…" At the unspoken threat, an armed alpha came up behind Amatus to drive the point home, lifting the gun in their direction.

Booker's aftershave alerted Taylin to him moving. Booker came to stand close enough to Taylin's side that their suit jacket's touched. Taylin didn't take his furious gaze off Amatus when Rue came and flanked his other side .

"The only people trespassing are you and those fucktards aiming guns at the omegas." Taylin came forward, getting a hit of Amatus's stale breath as he got in his face. "You're all fucking fired, every damn one of you, now get out ."

"Totally professional, bro," Booker muttered, sounding extremely amused.

The alphas didn't move, but the omegas did.

"We don't mean you guys." Booker walked towards the work benches and approached the nearest, trembling man, keeping his voice soft.

Taylin suspected they thought they had no choice. They were dead wrong. "Listen to me. Every omega here, if you wish to stay and work for a company that will take care of you, then you can. No one is going to be forced into anything." Taylin didn't need to see skepticism, because who would believe them after what he could only imagine they had suffered at these asshole's hands. "I know it is hard to believe right now—"

Movement out of the corner of Taylin's eye at a brave omega moving from behind his work station came with a loud crack and something whistling through the air. The following scream stopped Taylin cold.

Barely registering he'd swung to charge in the direction the cry had come from, there was a thwack and cry of, "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Taylin hadn't seen Oakland move. The man had the whip wielding alpha by the throat, dangling effortlessly. One side of his face was swelling up and blood dripped from a cut to his eyebrow down the skin where the bruise started to form. Oakland now held the whip in his other hand, looking ready to attack anyone who moved.

He wasn't looking at the fucker he held but at the tiny omega with matted hair, bleeding from his cheek where the whip must have sliced his skin from bone. "Brier, get the Medi pack from the hummer for me."

A man whom Taylin assumed to be Brier left wordlessly.

"We'll take care of you, little one," Oakland murmured, almost sweetly to the dumbfounded looking omega.

"You will?" he squeaked.

Taylin was as surprised as the omega. Oakland was a badass who never came across as having a softer side.

"Yes," Oakland answered, his gaze shifting to the alpha, who dangled and kicked out, struggling to escape his hold. "Move again and I'll fucking snap your neck."

Ice coated his voice and Taylin felt the change in the atmosphere from that one threat aimed at an alpha instead of an omega. It felt like the omegas all took a collective breath together, then Amatus fucking spoiled it.

"I don't know what the hell is going on here. You can't come in here and threaten my men when they are only protecting the omegas."

"Bullshit," Booker rumbled out.

Amatus raised his hand and made a circling motion with his finger.

Whatever that signal meant, it didn't get the desired effect. Moments later, he spun around looking up, only to come to a stop and make a gasping noise .

Oakland's men were there, their guns aimed at the heads of the alphas, who were minus their weapons.

Taylin reached into his suit jacket and pulled out two envelopes. He offered one to Amatus, who stared at it with trepidation. Yeah, be scared fucker, because he was fucking done and if Taylin had his way, the guy would never get another job. "This terminates your employment effective immediately and that of all the assholes wielding weapons."

"You can't fire us!" he blustered, fear shining in his eyes.

Taylin's toothy grin was back. "You should have read the small print, dickhead. We can and we have. The company buyout contract," he held up the second envelope, feeling a satisfaction at wiping off the self-righteous prick's smile, "gives a large percentage of the profits to the omegas who have worked to build up the reputation of this firm."

Taylin waved it high in the air, ignoring the man going a shade of red that clearly wasn't healthy, who foamed at the mouth in front of him. "We will compensate you all for the distress you've endured while working here. We'll pay your bills for any medical care you require, assisting you in recovery. It's all written here, and I've copies for all of you."

"Noooo," Amatus cried out.

"Yes," Booker replied, grabbing the ass by the throat and lifting him effortlessly. "Just be fucking thankful getting fired is all you're getting today." Booker threw the other man towards the door. He landed in a heap, hard enough to rattle his teeth. "Now get the fuck off our land."

"Oh, and one last thing," Taylin said, his wolf practically purring. "There's something else in the fine print that you should be aware of. It's a standard clause in all Starling contracts, but it's one of my favorites. It's buried in there, amongst all the boring legal mumbo jumbo, but basically it says that if we discover any kind of foul play perpetrated by the previous owner…that would be you…then all monies involved in the deal are forfeit. So, not only are you not going to get a single cent, what would have been your money is actually going to go towards righting all the pain and suffering you've inflicted here."

Almost like the omegas had been unleashed from their chains, whimpers, sobs, and giggles came from everywhere.

Taylin grinned happily at Rue, paying no attention to the protesting alphas. "This is a fucking good day!"

"No, this is a great day."

"Time to clean this place up!" Booker marched to the alpha who'd stood behind Amatus. "You aim that thing at me for a second longer and you'll be wearing my fucking fist."

He snatched the gun from the alpha's limp hold. Booker's hands shifted into great enormous paws and crushed it like a twig, throwing it back at the alpha, who stood dumbfounded. "Scram," he growled.

Protesting voices gave Taylin a boost as he pulled out his phone and, as promised, recorded the alphas' getting their asses kicked and catching the glimmer of hope coming from the omegas as they watched intently what was unfolding before them.

He turned the camera to catch his own grinning face. "Make sure to share this with Frey, Monty and Lennon. "

He stopped the recording a moment later and sent it to Hollis.

"Come on, Mr. Unprofessional," Booker called, shaking his head at Taylin. "There's work to be done, so stop staring at yourself on camera and start figuring out who needs what."

Taylin gave him a salute and, despite the awful smell, took a deep breath, walking to the nearest omega. "Hi, I'm Taylin Starling. What's your name?"

Several seconds passed when the dirt covered omega finally brought a pair of stunning, bright green eyes up to look at Taylin. "Aven," he murmured quietly.

Taylin held out his hand, keeping his movements slow so as not to scare Aven. "Nice to meetcha."

When the work roughened hand slipped into his, Taylin kept hold of his smile, even as he witnessed the scarring on the thin arm protruding from the threadbare t-shirt.

"Same," Aven replied softly. "Will… will we have to stay… in the basement… when you leave?" Big green eyes ate up the tiny face of the omega. "I'm frightened of the dark."