Page 64 of Omega in Hiding

Only Sully.

His wording is like knives through my heart. To distract myself from my painful thoughts, I pass a slow moving semi-truck. The car shudders from the air currents created by the big vehicle, and I grip the wheel tight. I feel Connor’s gaze on me, but I don’t look over. I wouldn’t want him to see how jealous I am.

He seems to catch on anyway because he says quietly, “Sully was only helping me, Paolo. We’re just friends.”

“I saw you kiss him.” I swallow hard. “Youkissedhim. Not the other way around.”

He seems surprised. “You were watching me?”

“No,” I lie.

“Then how did you see me kiss him?” He frowns.

“I just happened to drive up. You weren’t exactly hard to miss right out in the open.”

“Paolo, that was just a thank you kiss. He was very kind to me.” His voice is plaintive. “It wasn’t anything romantic. I never felt about him the way I do you. I swear.”

Once more, my ego throbs happily at his words. Then I remember I don’t trust him. How can I believe anything that comes out of his mouth? I don’t feel like I even know him anymore. He lied so easily before, who would know if he’s lying now? “So you say,” I murmur.

“Paolo,” he whimpers.

I glance over and my heart aches as our eyes meet. The sun reflects off of his golden strands, making him appear angelic. His eyes are such a pretty light green, and even with a swollen lip, he looks perfect.

I say hoarsely, “How can I ever trust you, Connor? You’re a Murphy and I’m a Syracuse. We’re at war.”

“No. Our families are at war.” He wrinkles his brow. “You and I don’t need to be enemies. I don’t want that, Paolo.”

“What do you want?” I frown. “What do you really think can happen?”

“I… I don’t know. Just, please, don’t hate me, Paolo. I can’t stand the thought you hate me now.” His bottom lip trembles.

My heart seems to melt looking at him, so I have to pull my gaze away. I’m too weak where he’s concerned. He lied and fooled all of us. I can’t be sure of what his motives were or are. It’s impossible to know forsure.

“We should stop talking, “ I growl, pressing my foot harder on the accelerator. “I have a lot to think about and I can’t do that with you talking.”

He turns away from me to stare out the window. I glance over to see his expression and he looks dejected. His shoulders are slumped and his cheeks pale. He leans his face on the window. and his breath fogs the glass. He looks like he’s in pain. But is he grieving for whatwemight have had, or for Sully? How would I know?

All I know is I fell in love with an omega I don’t even know, and now I have to figure out what to do with him.

Chapter Fifteen

Connor

We drive for two hours straight. I’m heartbroken that Paolo seems to despise me. The way he looks at me now is so different from when we first met. I want that warm, funny alpha I first met to reappear, but Paolo remains glum and surly.

I’m also buzzing with anxiety about my family catching up to me. The entire drive, I’m terrified my father or brother will send someone to ambush us. But no one tries to stop us. In addition to fearing for my life, I’m worried about Sully. That asshole Patrick knocked him out cold. Sully was only at my apartment to tell me that the results of the second blood test were the same as the first.

I’m officially pregnant.

While that should be a dream come true, I’m in a real mess. I’m carrying Paolo’s child, but we’re not together. Judging by how angry and untrusting Paolo is toward me now, we’ll never be together. I’m going to have to raise this child on my own. It’ll be hard for me to work past a certain point in the pregnancy. But I can’t count on Paolo or his family for help. I don’t dare even tell them about the pregnancy. It could cost me my life and that of my unborn baby.

I slide my gaze to Paolo, studying his grim profile. I understand why he’s hurt. I get why he feels betrayed by me. But I can’t stand the idea he doubts what we shared was real. Yes, I lied about peripheral things in my life. But when it came to how I felt about Paolo, I never once lied. The day we slept together was one of the most moving moments of my life. I never felt safer; more cherished than that day in Paolo’s arms. But hedoesn’t believe it was real, and I don’t know how to convince him otherwise.

It’s early afternoon by the time the smoggy skyline of Los Demonios rises in the distance like a grungy popup birthday card. I’m worried Paolo will take me straight to Valentino’s home. He threatened he would. The only thing that gives me any hope at all is that he protected me today. Would he do that if he were just going to throw me to the wolves? Valentino won’t be merciful to me. Paolo must know that. Telling Valentino about the baby wouldn’t help any either. He’d probably just want me dead faster.

When we reach the outskirts of Los Demonios, I expect Paolo to drive into the heart of the city where his family lives. Instead, he turns into the cobblestone driveway of a quaint looking hotel called the Rosewood Inn. His mouth is a grim line as he shuts off the engine and turns to me.

“Are we staying here?” I ask hopefully. If he wants to spend time alone with me, I think that’s a good sign. I might be able to reassure him that I’m exactly who he thought I was. Maybe my name isn’t real, and I lied about who my family is, but the person he knew was the real me.

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