Page 104 of Captive Omega

“Fine, thanks,” I say instead.

“You look flushed,” he says, not moving away. “Can I get you something?”

For a split second, I’m almost positive he knows exactly what sort of dream I had and would like nothing more than to make it a reality.

“Uh…”

Vaughn, thankfully, isn’t here. He’d probably have something to say about my red face, and it feels red. All hot, like I haven’t stopped blushing. He stuck his head in the computer room early this morning, saying he had to go to Ever Safe for a bit but would be back for breakfast. That was an hour ago, and I thought he would be back by now.

As if I’d summoned him, the front door creaks open and slams shut. He bellows, “Honey, I’m home.”

I wait for him to appear before I ask him if I’m the honey. He walks into the kitchen, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead. He’s surprisingly calm, considering it’s not a small amount of blood.

“What happened?” Garrison orders, turning away from me.

“Someone took a pot shot at me when I was leaving Ever Safe,” Vaughn says as he walks to the kitchen and grabs the white dish cloth hanging from the oven door.

The kitchen island is granite, but I bet if Garrison were to headbutt it, the counter, and not his head, would be the thing that cracked. His expression is thunderous. “Someone shot at you?” he growls.

I abort my mission to slip my knife out of my pocket. This is not a stabbing situation. This is Garrison worried about Vaughn.

“Why would…” My voice trails off as the answer slams into me.

I know exactly why someone would take a potshot at Vaughn. Wasn’t it only a few days ago that Vaughn saved my life in the alley opposite Ever Safe? What if someone tracked him down, figured out he got me away, and wanted to take him out?

“They know you helped me,” I whisper. “Don’t they?”

Vaughn leans against the counter on the other side of the kitchen island. He says nothing for so long, I imagine he’s cycling through responses that won’t pin the blame on me.

“We don’t know that,” he eventually says.

“Did you see who it was?” Blaine bites out from his usual seat at the far end of the table, where no one can accidentally bump into him.

Vaughn shakes his head. “The door was slamming shut when I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Don’t know what it was, a reflection, metal glinting, something. I dropped. All I can say it’s a good thing Rune, Cian, and Kylian didn’t cheap out and went for bullet proof glass like we’d recommended.”

No one speaks for several seconds.

Garrison grips Vaughn by both arms and squeezes. “And you’re sure you’re okay?”

Vaughn nods. “I dove out of the way and paid for not looking first when I head-butted a sign. Hence the blood. It looks worse than it is.”

“Better a sign than a bullet. No more trips to Ever Safe for now. I’ll speak to the staff down there, warn them about trouble. We can continue to screen applicants for the new sites from here,” Garrison says.

“They know to be careful,” Vaughn says. “John and Bee heard the commotion, and I figured the sooner I left, the sooner whoever took the potshot would leave, too. I called them when I got back here and they said it’s been quiet ever since.”

Garrison frowns. “I’d recommend closing it?—”

“But it’s not necessary,” Vaughn interrupts. “John and Bee know what happened. They’ll warn everyone to stay alert, and we can’t close the doors on Ever Safe when omegas need it.”

I listen to their discussion, and I wait for someone to ask me who I ran from and who would want to shoot Vaughn. This was my fault, even if no one is blaming me for it. I said nothing and Vaughn nearly paid for it with his life.

“It’s Nathaniel Lang,” I say quietly.

All heads swivel my way. “When I escaped, I killed his son. Nathaniel had a security company working for him. Whoever shot at you was probably one of them. If they know Vaughn helped me, then they must know about you all.”

Which means it isn’t safe for me to stay here.

Blaine pushes his chair back from the table.

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