Page 43 of Tinsel Time Treasure
“Cold?” Max asked, concern lacing his voice.
I opened my eyes again and gave him a weak smile. “No… just forcing the stress down.”
He frowned. “Shall we go back inside?”
I nodded. “That sounds good.”
Kaleb’s apartment wasn’t mine, but it felt almost like another sanctuary… at least for the time being. Part of me hated that we had to use it to try to trap Frederick, but it was probably the safest option for everybody.
There was no telling how he’d react if he knew I was really staying with Max, and the hotel ruse would only work for so long.
I collapsed onto the couch while Max put the stepstool back into its spot near the fridge.
“I’m going to walk around,” Max said as he reappeared. “How about you watch the feed and see if there are any major blind spots.”
“Ok.”
I opened the app and watched as Max moved from room to room, outside, and back in. There were a couple places that I wished we had better coverage, but there were only so many good places to hide the cameras.
The longer we had evidence of any intrusion, the better, especially if Frederick tried planting his own devices again. There was no way that he’d miss the cameras once he started looking for good spots.
After a couple minutes Max took a seat next to me on the couch. I immediately leaned against him and sighed softly when he draped an arm across my shoulders.
“You’re brave, you know,” he stated.
I shook my head. “I’m terrified.”
“You can be scared, and still be brave. Some men might have run—left town for a bit. But here you are, setting a trap instead.”
I closed my eyes and breathed deep his warm comforting scent. “I just hope it works.”
“It will.”
“How do you know?”
“Because from everything you’ve told me, this asshole is arrogant as fuck, and arrogant people think they’re smarter than everybody else. Plus…” he chuckled, “he probably still thinks that you don’t know about the ways he’s tracking you. When people think they’re winning, they’re even less careful.”
I hummed, liking his reasoning—and the way his thumb traced back and forth against my upper arm.
“Shall we get food before heading back to my place?” he asked.
“Yeah…” I replied, standing.
Why couldn’t I have found an alpha like Max?
Chapter 16 - Max
The next few days passed in a blur. I returned to work the day after helping Justin set up the cameras—including one in my front window aimed at his own apartment. However, there was no getting the sweet omega out of my head, even as I led classes and guided trainees through exercises.
He was in my home, alone, with that asshole still out there.
I called during every break, needing to know that he was safe. Hearing his voice was the only thing that could soothe my anxiety.
My alpha side apparently wouldn’t be satisfied until I either beat the other alpha to a pulp for daring to terrify Justin, or until he was secured behind bars. However I was worried that a part of me preferred the first option.
“Go home,” Morgan declared as the last of my students left spin class.
I blinked. “What? But…”
