Page 167 of Captive Omega

He has everything from carbs to meats to dessert covered. I’ve never seen so much food laid out like this before.

“That—” Vaughn presses his hands on my shoulders and guides me to the dining table chair I sat in for breakfast, “—is the dinner. He likes to surprise us with it.”

“He did it for me when I came home from the hospital.” Blaine takes his usual seat and for one second everyone stares at him. I’m not sure why until he catches my eye and says, “We don’t talk about that time much.”

Right.

“So. This is Lex’s way of showing he cares,” Vaughn explains.

“But why is he wearing an apron when everything looks like it came from a restaurant?” I ask, confused. “And why is he holding a wooden spoon like that?”

“None of us knows.” Garrison takes his seat with a sigh. “I think he wants us to believe he cooked it all.”

I point at the overflowing trash can. “But you can see all the takeout boxes.”

Lex’s head whips around. “So that's how you always knew,” he breathes.

“Yes.” Vaughn takes a seat and picks up a spring roll that he thumps onto his plate. “Though we always pretended not to.”

“Why didn’t you ever say?” Lex says, joining us at the table.

Vaughn picks up a dish of rice and serves himself. “You looked so proud waving your little wooden spoon around.”

“And we’ve ordered some of these dishes before,” Blaine adds. “So there’s no way you could have made them.”

As they talk, they pass plates around, helping themselves, offering dishes to me and pointing out what they think I might like.

I’m more interested in watching them than eating.

I knew they worked together and were a pack, but I hadn’t really seen them as a family until now.

“Resa?” Garrison is holding a dish of orange chicken toward me.

I take it. “I still don’t understand why you call it the dinner. Why is it different from any other dinner?”

“Because this one is special. Means we came home safe at the end of a big job. Everyone is safe, and everyone is home,” Blaine says quietly. “Lex said his mom used to do something similar when he was younger.”

“Though she cooked it all,” Lex confirms. “But it’s how it made me feel that’s important.”

“In our line of work, things don’t always end well, so we always appreciate the dinner,” Garrison says.

Violet.

No one says her name, but they must be thinking of her.

“So, this is because of you?” I frown at Garrison, though I don’t see what he did to deserve this spread.

“No. You got the all clear at the doctor,” Garrison says, smiling at me. “This is for you.”

Chapter 47

Resa

It’s late, and I’m tired, but I have plans.

Yawning into my hand, I pad downstairs in a pair of pink silk PJs, hair down, relaxed and more than ready to sleep.

Garrison is in his usual seat, elbow on one knee, with his dark hair brushing his forehead, bending over a puzzle.

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