"Then what was it like?"
I didn't have an answer that wouldn't make things worse. If I told him Dom was my mate, he'd either pull me off jobs permanently or demand I cut all ties. Neither option was acceptable. "He's an ally. That's it. I made sure we were on the same page about Webb and that there wouldn't be any blowback on our end."
Lorenzo was quiet for a moment before he sighed. "Come straight home, Carmine. We'll talk more when you get here."
"Copy that." The line went dead, and I slowly exhaled. Lorenzo knew something was up and wouldn't let it go until he had answers. But I didn’t have answers to give him.
The airport exit was coming up fast, so I moved into the right lane. All I had to do was take the exit and I’d be on my way home where I could pretend last night never happened.
Just move on with my life. I’d accept another job, travel to another place, and Dom would be a thing of the past. It wasn’t as if I would spend the rest of my days obsessing over him.
My foot eased off the gas as I approached the turn.
Was running away from Dom the worst decision I’d ever made? I'd spent my entire life avoiding emotional connections because they were messy and complicated and dangerous in my line of work. But Dom was in the same line of work. He understood me in a way no one else ever could.
Alphas didn’t want omegas like me, yet when I was in his arms, it seemed like Dom saw me exactly as I was and wanted me not despite of it, but maybe because of how I was.
He wasn't some random alpha. As much as I had been trying to deny it to myself, I was pretty sure he was my mate. The oneperson in the entire world who was supposed to understand me and accept me for exactly who I was.
And I'd left him sleeping in a motel bed without so much as a fucking note.
I flew past the exit and kept driving down the highway and away from the airport. I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going, but I couldn't get on that plane.
Not yet.
Not without at least trying to figure out if this thing between Dom and me was real or if I was just caught up in the aftermath of great sex and a magical knot.
At the next exit, I pulled into a gas station and pulled up his number. All I had to do was call him.
But what would I say?
I leaned back in my seat and considered my options. The logical part of my brain screamed at me to turn right around and go straight to the airport. Lorenzo expected me to get back home, and I couldn't exactly disappear without explanation.
But the rest of me wouldn't listen to logic.
I picked up my phone again and opened a new message to Dom. My fingers hovered over the keyboard while I tried to figure out what to say. Finally, I typed out four words and hit send before I could change my mind.We need to talk.
7
DOMINIC
My phone buzzed in my pocket as I pulled into Cord's driveway. My limbs felt heavy, like I was wading through syrup. The longer I spent away from Carmine, the worse I felt. I almost ignored the ping before I saw it was a text from Carmine.We need to talk.
My chest tightened as I stared at the screen. He'd added his number to my phone before he left, which meant he wanted me to be able to reach him. Or he wanted to reach me.Where are you?
The three dots appeared and then disappeared just as quickly. I waited another minute, but no response came through. Was he second-guessing himself? That made two of us.
Not sure what else to do, I shoved my phone back in my pocket and got out of the car. My bosses were expecting a report, and I needed to give them something that made sense. Even though nothing was making sense at the moment.
All that mattered was that Webb was dead and the omega who killed him wasn't a threat.Hard stop.
I didn't need to mention that I tracked said omega to his motel and spent the night with my knot buried inside him. The fact that he was my mate wasn’t a topic I was willing to discuss.
Cord opened the door to his estate before I could even knock. "Dom. Come in." He stepped aside and gestured toward his office. "Andro’s running late, but he said we should get started without him."
I followed him down the hall and into the wood-paneled office. “Sorry I’m late, boss. I slept in.”
“I bet you did.” Cord dropped into the chair behind his desk and waved at the seat across from him. "So, Webb's taken care of?"
