Page 17 of Captive Omega

At least, not yet.

Two bodies in an alley is definitely going to cause more of a scream than a gasp.

“Which way?” I speak out of the side of my mouth.

“We don’t need anyone connecting what happened in the alley with us. This way, beautiful.”

We cross the street.

Stepping down onto the road from the sidewalk is killer on my feet. But stepping up on the other side?

My eyes water as my feet scream. I’m approaching the point I wish someone would roll me down the street so I never have to take another step again in my life.

Just get through tonight, Resa.

“I can carry you,” he offers, but he doesn’t push.

“I’m fine,” I lie and start walking again.

That’s why a beta will always be preferable to an alpha. Alphas bulldoze, betas know how to listen.

“What happened?” he asks, nodding at my feet.

“You wouldn’t believe me.”

I feel him look at me, but he doesn’t ask again. For that, I’m eternally grateful. Trying to focus on conversation as I hobble down the street is not easy.

He overtakes me, turning right into a parking lot, and leads the way toward a black jeep. As he digs a set of keys out of his pocket, I ask myself what the hell I’m doing following a man I don’t know into his car. Yes, he’s a beta and not a predatory alpha, but he’s a stranger. A literal stranger.

Feet from his car, I stop.

He peers over his shoulder, his lips curving into a smile. “Ah. I forgot to tell you my name, didn’t I? It’s Vaughn. Vaughn Potter. You ready to get somewhere safe?”

That safe place was back down the street. “I was going to Ever Safe.”

I’m still not sure I can find true safety in a free heat clinic with owners who profess to give a shit about omegas, but it has to be safer than climbing into a strange man’s car. Right?

He nods, not rushing me when he should be. He just shot two men in the head. Hanging around can’t be a good idea for either of us. Yet here we are, standing in a dimly lit parking lot in the middle of the night.

“It’s not safe.” He pauses. “At least, not for you right now.”

I don’t know why my safety is so important to this beta when I’m as much of a stranger to him as he is to me. Which is when something occurs to me now I’m no longer staring down the barrel of a gun. Or two, in my case.

I thought Vaughn was on his way to pissing on me. I stepped aside, but he stumbled right into me, and I can only think of one reason he would have done that.

“You were protecting me with your body,” I realize.

His expression is serious as he peers down at me. “They had their weapons pointed at you. Yes, I could have maybe taken them out before they got a shot off, but my way meant you wouldn’t wind up with a stray bullet taking you out first.”

So instead, he put himself in the firing line. Literally.

Then I hear it. The sound is faint but unmistakable. Police sirens approaching.

“Where is the safe place you had in mind?” I ask.

His cheek dimples. “You see, beautiful, I happen to be in the security business, and my pack is the best in the city.”

“I don’t believe you.”

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