Meg and Desi, who have been walking together, part, with Desi dropping back off the trail, while Meg jogs to the front. I watch her talk to Bonnie.
I hadn’t even remembered her name. I never bothered watching the news or following the fallout. To be honest, it served her right for ambushing us on the red carpet in front of the press. I was a bitter asshole back then. Right now, I’m wondering what I missed out on.
I like to think I might have cared more if she’d approached us somewhere else, but probably not. Truthfully, I had no interest in a scent match back then. I was young and full of violent tendencies that an omega in white and frills would never have been able to handle.
But she’s different, in a way, she’s like this wild park. Mysterious, dangerous, and strong.
This place is really beautiful, but we chose it for its remoteness. No service and having to unplug from the corporate world was the second most important reason. No phones.
No way for anyone to escape, certainly not our target. When we go home, someone will be leaving in a body bag. We’ve worked it all out, narrowed it down, and we know our target, or at least the three suspects left. After all these years, it will finally be over.
“Fuck off, Quincy, I need to talk to my boy,” Cyn says and falls into place beside me.
My alpha grumbles and adjusts his bag. Quincy lets out a meep and takes off. I’m not sure why it’s Cyn that scares the crap out of the beta, but it is. My sunshine boy with his glorious movie star looks and smile that practically melts panties off omegas is troubled, and he gets really hard when he knows people are afraid. He’s like a bloodhound, snorting up those pheromones.
“She’s here!”
“She?” I say mockingly.
“The omega!”
“What omega?”
“DAYKOHTAH!”
I smirk to myself as he stretches the syllables of my name into a hundred pieces.
“What, Cynsel?”
His scowl darkens. “Say that again, and I will trot back to the cars and call an ambulance for your broken leg.”
I shove him; he launches at me; we tumble off the path and into a tree. Things are just starting to get interesting, when I hear a twig snap.
“Knock it off!”
The whip-crack command cuts through my amusement, and I find myself looking up into furious green eyes.
When she’s mad, her cheeks get red, and her eyes glitter. Good to know.
“Sorry, Bonnie,” I say, relishing that I get to say her name. I look for a reaction, but there is none.
Her lip curls. “We’ve been walking for ten minutes, and you two are already causing trouble. If you want to go back to the cars and go home, by all means, go. But, from here on out, this is serious. Show everyone else who wants to be here at least that much respect.”
I press my lips together to stop the teasing retort from slipping out. Vale shakes his head in warning, and I swallow it just to make sure it doesn’t.
“I was just teaching him how to fall,” I say innocently.
Her expression transforms to bored. “I think the world knows how you fall already, Alphas. No one needs a demo.”
My interest flashes, and I get to my feet, towering over her. She does not back down at all. Why can’t I smell her? It’s so frustrating. Her hair glints in the sun, turning to gold.
“Have you been following where I put my dick, Miss Omega?” I purr and reach out to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. She catches my hand and throws it away before I can get close.
“Your attempts to keep the Centers for Disease Control in work made headlines in papers, online, and on television. Though, to be fair, it took coming out here just to stop hearing the bets on whether you were going to knock someone up first or end up with a mutant virus that makes your dicks drop off.”
I scoff. “Are you calling me easy?”
She smiles sweetly. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” Her smile drops. “The media, on the other hand, has made it clear that you get more ass than a toilet seat.”
