Chapter 92: Bounty Hunter Arc: Three
Daniella jumped out of her car after she parked it in the restaurant’s parking lot. She slammed her door shut and ran to the entrance, bargining in like some kind of maniac. The people in the restaurant, the customers and even the wait staff looked at her. Viewing her like a crazed woman she was at that moment.
The Omega ran toward the kitchen where Lacy was sending plates to the window. She ran up behind her friend.
"Lacy, we need to talk," she said, frantic in her voice.
"Can’t it wait?"
"No," Daniella took hold of Lacy’s shoulder, forcing her to turn around and look at her. "There’s a bounty on you." Lacy was perplexed by this. "Lacy, Samantha and Salmona, I’m assuming placed a bounty on you!"
Lacy’s eyes widened. She dropped the plate she was holding. It shattered on the floor. The restaurant over heard it and looked toward the window where the food was coming out. The wait staff began to do damage control, informing the customers everything was okay and in order.
Daniella grabbed Lacy’s arm. She pulled her toward the back door. Lacy didn’t resist. Her face was pale. Her hands were shaking, unsure of what to say to her friend. The lead chef took over for Lacy as she went outside to catch her breath. The fear in her eyes said everything.
"Where...where did you see the bounty hunter?" Lacy asked.
"At work. He interrupted me fucking an Alpha while on my lunch break. He shoved your picture in my hand!"
Lacy’s dark skinned practically turned white. She placed her hands on her knees, her head feeling light headed. She wasn’t ready to leave. She didn’t want to go back to Hoshimura.
Daniella grabbed Lacy’s hand, pulling her towards the back alley. She could see the fear in her friend’s eyes. She knew how much Lacy loved this job. She knew how much she loved being in the kitchen. She also knew how much Lacy loved her new life, not having to submit to Alphas, no more beatings, no more pain. Here in Ashley and in all the province of Hinami, Lacy was free.
"Hey Aurora, you wanna see Mommy?" Samantha asked her daughter. Her daughter ran to her and jumped into her lap, giggling and clapping her hands.
"Yes, pwease!"
Samantha pulled up the laptop and placed it on the coffee table. She pointed at the screen and looked at her daughter. "See that, that’s your mother." The image was of Lacy at her new restaurant in Ashley, standing in front of it with her arms crossed and the brightest smile on her face.
"Her skin color is my color!" The little girl said smiling at her sire.
Samantha nodded her head. "A very beautiful color. You’re beautiful. Don’t let anyone tell you different, okay?"
"K!"
Samantha hugged her and pulled up more images of Lacy on the computer.
"Will I be able to see her?"
"Yep, she was missing but is now found. We will be seeing her very soon!" Samantha answered.
Salmona sat at the dining table with a water bottle in her hand. She watched the interaction with her sister and their daughter. Hinami! All along Lacy was in Hinami right next door. That’s how close Hinami was to the province of Takamire, that close less than two hours away. The Alpha shook her head, upset by the thought.
"When Mommy gets here, will I have a baby brother or sister?" Samantha and Salmon exchanged looks.
Salmona choked on her water while Samantha did her best to conjure up some bullshit answer.
Two whole years....two whole years.
Daniella didn’t speak. She just yanked Lacy’s arm harder, dragging her past overflowing dumpsters reeking of rotting vegetables and stale grease.
The alley narrowed, walls closing in like a trap. Lacy stumbled over cracked concrete, her chef’s clogs scraping loud in the sudden silence. Daniella scanned the rooftops, the fire escapes, the single flickering bulb above a rusted service door. Her grip was iron on Lacy’s wrist.
"Where are we going?" Lacy asked.
Daniella looked around. "I was afraid that bounty hunter may have followed me. I didn’t want him to see that I came to you."
Lacy shook her head. To her, there was no point in moping about it. She looked at her friend. "Listen, if my Alphas come for me then so be it. I gotta get back my restaurant." The Omega finished.
Daniella looked at her friend. "I know. But we need to be careful. That bounty hunter is dangerous." She paused.
Lacy looked at her friend and shrugged. "I’m not running away anymore. When I get off, I’ll go to Ms. and seek her advice on what to do. But right now, I gotta get back to my customers."
Lacy went back inside and placed herself on the line. The kitchen was able to hold it down while she was out with Daniella. It was horrible news she got but at the end of the day, she loved living in Hoshimura and she wasn’t going anyway.
She picked up her knife and started chopping onions. The sizzle of the grill filled the air, the clatter of plates from the dining room a steady rhythm.
She focused on the precision of her cuts, thin, even slices that dissolved into the hot oil with a hiss. Each movement was deliberate, grounding her in the familiar ritual. The sharp scent of garlic and ginger bloomed in the steam, wrapping around her like armor.
Samantha packed her clothes after reading the text from the bounty hunter. They were going to get her and bring her back home. For two years, they were without her. Their daughter, Aurora, was without her. Samantha smiled to herself.
This was it. They were getting back the Omega she loved so much, she was so excited to see this woman. This woman she fell in love with when they had first played their video game way back when.
Samantha wanted to make things work. She wanted to do the best she could to get her and the family back on track. Things were going good with work and with the child, it was time.
She closed her suitcase and carried it to the living room with the other suitcase belonging to Salmona. Sasha was in the living room with Aurora. She got up and looked at her sister.
"What if she doesn’t want to come back?"
Samantha froze mid-step, suitcase handle digging into her palm. Sasha stood silhouetted against the living room window, back rigid.
Aurora’s soft breathing came from the couch where she’d fallen asleep clutching a stuffed rabbit.
The silence stretched, thick with everything unsaid between them, the late-night arguments whispered behind closed doors, the way Sasha always lingered a second too long when handing Aurora over.
Samantha ran her fingers through her hair. She placed her hands on her hips and leaned against the wall. That was a question she had difficulty answering.
"I mean," Sasha started. "She ran away for a reason."
Samantha didn’t answer. She just stared at the worn tile pattern beneath her feet, tracing a loose thread with her toe. The only sounds were Aurora’s soft snores and the distant buzz of the crickets outside.
Outside, a car door slammed somewhere down the street. Sasha shifted her weight, the floorboard creaking under her worn sneakers. Samantha finally looked up, meeting her sister’s anxious gaze.
Her own expression was unreadable, a mask smoothed by years of practiced control. She pushed off the wall, the movement deliberate, and walked past Sasha without a word, heading towards the kitchen. The soft click of the light switch echoed in the heavy quiet.
Lacy sat in one of the booths of her restaurant, just thinking. In just a few days, this could all be gone because of her evading her Alphas for two or so years. She bowed her head, shaking it. A nightmare to think she may have to give up her restaurant, place she loved and admired and replace them with beatings at the hands of her Alphas.
She sighed, looking around. The restaurant had been a safe haven for her for two years. It was a place she could escape to when her Alphas began to beat her and when she was sent to that mental institution. Here she was able to create a new life with new friends.
Tap, tap!
Lacy looked up and saw a man. She sighed, automatically knowing it was the bounty hunter. She got up and walked to the door, unlocking it.
"Lacy?"
"Yes," she said with another sigh.
"Your Alphas have been alerted," the Beta said.
She rolled her eyes and stepped back into her restaurant, not bothering to invite him. He followed her inside.
"Do you have help?"
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Your Alphas...Hinami has resources for Omegas who are escaping their Alphas. Once they get you back in Takamire then that’s it," the bounty hunter said.