Page 44 of Stolen Omega

Stepping into the dark area, I find the warm-up band is still sitting around, but they don’t look like they’ve been watching the show. They’re drinking and chatting quietly amongst themselves.

“Oh, hey, Zelena,” the lead singer says. “We were just talking about how amazing you sounded out there. You bring it like one-hundred and ten percent, every night.”

I give her a smile. “Thanks. Did you guys see anyone watching the show? Like, from over there?”

I point back to the spot, and she shakes her head. The quiet red-haired drummer raises her hand.

“I saw him,” she says. “He left before you came off stage.”

“Where did he go?”

“Um, I don’t know, but it’s okay. It was one of your guys.”

“One of my guys?” I ask, taking a second to connect the dots after my mind goes straight to Russ, and his Alpha.

“Uh, yeah,” she says, her skin turning a little red. “Your security team, I guess?”

“Oh,” I murmur as Anna appears at my side, holding my heels.

“You’re losing time,” she tells me.

“I needed a second,” I admit. “And I need to use the bathroom …”

“So, let’s hurry up and get you to the bathroom before your next big costume change.”

The warmup band’s singer snorts. “Keep your panties on, okay? She’s the star of the show.”

I don’t need to look to know Anna’s glowering at her. I shoot her a smile.

She smiles back and shrugs. “That audience would wait as long as you needed. Take your damn time, superstar.”

She’s … kind of right. I turn back to her red-haired band-mate. The girl isn’t looking at us anymore. She’s looking down while she picks at the label on her bottle of cider.

“Um, do you know which of my guys it was?” I ask them.

“He had dark hair,” one of the identical brunette twins says. “I’m pretty sure.”

The other twin rolls her eyes. “It was the head of security. The Alpha. I noticed him the second he walked back here, and the rest of you did, too.”

The first twin nods after a second. “Ugh. Alphas.”

“They’re impossible not to notice,” Red adds.

“Well, I didn’t notice him,” the singer says, shooting me an apologetic look. “But I am kind of drunk. We don’t usually hang back here for the entire show, but it’s my birthday, so I really wanted to listen to the whole thing.”

“Oh, happy birthday!” I exclaim, wishing I’d known sooner. “I hope you’ve been having a good night.”

“Thanks! It’s been pretty great,” she says, lowering her voice to stage whisper and putting her hand to the side of her mouth for the next part. “Don’t let that B-I-T-C-H tell you what to do. She’s here because of you, not the other way around.”

Huh. Another good point.

I like her. I seriously need to make sure I get to hang around with this band before the tour is over.

“Bathroom?” Anna asks, sounding pissed off.

“The closest one is this way,” I tell her, before I take the heels from her and put them back on.

If there’s one place I’d never go without shoes, it’s a public bathroom.

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