Page 228 of Stolen Omega

Dale moves over to him. “Hey, Mr. Rodriguez, are you okay?”

Dad takes his hand, and Dale helps keep him steady.

“No, son. I am the furthest thing from okay right now.”

“If you want to come with us, we’ll explain everything,” Dale tells him.

“The police …” Mom breathes out, as she pulls back. “They convinced us you were dead. After a few days, after a week, they said there was no way … No possible way you could still be alive.”

“I know,” I tell her, wiping at my eyes. “It’s a crazy story, but I’m here now and you’re here, and I think we should go sit down somewhere and talk.”

She nods. “Is there still an old café round the corner?”

“I think so.”

“Let’s go sit down. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

Zane gets out of Cam’s car and helps my dad walk over.

“You said she was alive,” Dad says.

“I did,” Zane admits. “I heard her sing, and I knew it was Zoey.”

“We didn’t believe him,” Mom tells me. “Oh, God. We should have listened. He was always so … They’re your true mates, aren’t they? Zane and Dale.”

“They always were,” I admit. “I have a few more, too.”

“Oh my goodness,” Mom says, wiping her tears and glancing into the car.

“And you’re going to be a grandmother,” I add, starting to blurt a little nervously.

Her eyes widen. “A grand—Oh, baby. I am so glad we didn’t ignore that call.”

“You were going to?”

“Your father thought it might be a prank. This place isn’t worth anything. Silver Grove has been going downhill for years. I told him we didn’t have anything to lose coming back out here.”

“I’m glad you came. Let’s go find that café.”

I open the car door and let my mom into the backseat. Zane and Dale bring my father closer, and I hug him tight before I let him go.

He gets into the backseat with Mom, and I turn to Dale.

“I’ll ride with Cam and Zane,” he tells me, taking my hand and kissing it before he goes to Cam’s car and gets in the backseat.

Zane smiles at me. “This street was pretty great back in the day.”

“It was,” I admit. “I kind of loved it here. But home is where my mates are, and that’s not here anymore.”

He leans in and kisses me. “It can be here again for a while.”

I guess it can.

He goes into Cam’s passenger seat, and I get into Archer’s backseat with my mom and dad.

Dad points at Archer. “That guy’s name is James. I knew it was a James I spoke to.”

“That doesn’t matter now, hon.”

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