Page 54 of Stolen Omega

The lid won’t even lift a fraction of an inch.

When the engine starts again, I return my attention to my phone, waiting to see the signal bars re-appear.

They don’t come back, not one single bar.

I turn the phone off and on, but there’s still no signal, and as a bonus I find out my battery’s almost dead. Panic swells inside me as I try to send messages and they keep bouncing back as unsent.

I don’t know what the hell is going on, but it’s not okay.

Turning the phone off, I wait in darkness while the van takes me farther and farther away from the place I’m supposed to be.

I can’t do anything while I’m trapped back here.

I’m completely helpless.

Chapter Nineteen

Russ

Anna doesn’t look anything like Zelena, and a long wig and dark glasses do nothing to convince me otherwise. She’s thinner and paler and there’s nothing behind her cold eyes. I don’t know how this decoy shit fools anyone, but I’m glad that it keeps Zey safe.

“I’m ready for my closeup,” Anna says, as she slips on the designer sunglasses that belong to my true mate. The trench coat is overkill, but she needs the glasses. No one in the world would believe she was Zelena for a single second without them.

“You’re cool with this disguise?” I ask Archer. He can’t be seeing what I see if he is.

My Alpha draws me a look. “It’s no different than usual.”

He slows some of his words, so I know he’s not speaking about the outfit.

Subtle, big guy. Thanks for the reminder.

“Are you having a stroke?” Anna asks him, taking the glasses off and narrowing her eyes at him.

I cough to cover up a sudden burst of laughter, and Archer glowers at me before he looks at this fake version of our mate. I know he can see what I’m seeing now. It’s obvious in his stare.

“Put the glasses back on,” he tells her. “Your fans are waiting out there.”

We get moving down the hallway, flanking Anna and behaving as if she’s Zelena.

She doesn’t need to fool anyone important. The crowd out there is mostly drunk, and she’ll be too far away in the darkness for anyone to really know that it’s not her.

It’s only bothering me tonight because Zey’s mine now.

That’s what’s making me pick at everything, like Archer does.

Fuck. I’m trying to make sure things are perfect. That’s an Archer thing. It’s not me.

I’m definitely going to end up spending too much time with him while I can only see Zey in her hotel suite. This is going to be the result. I should get used it because it’s not changing anytime soon.

The venue’s security let us out of the building and lock up the exit behind us.

I can see the crowd of fans gathered at the other side of the wire fence as we step out across the parking lot, toward the tour bus. Anna waltzes toward it with her hands partially in the trench coat pockets, which makes me wince more than the screaming that rings out from the crowd when they spot her. She turns and waves as if she can only move her wrist one way, which is really fucking weird. Then, she blows a few kisses before she lets us usher her onto the bus.

Thankfully, she doesn’t try to yell to the crowd.

If there’s one quality about Zey that no one could ever mistake, it’s her voice.

Getting onto the bus is a relief, but when I sit next to Archer behind the driver, I notice the van that takes Zelena to the hotel is already gone.

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