13. Riley
Mathew Page is an Omega. Mathew fucking Page, a man feared for his ruthlessness, is an Omega .
I stare at the two men in front of me, not sure how to react as they’re somehow being very awkward and cute together.
It does clear up a lot of the confusion I’ve had all evening. Why I felt so attracted to Mathew. Why I kept wanting to touch him. Why Jorge looked so happy. It all makes a lot more sense.
But there’s one thing that doesn’t make sense. “Why can’t I smell your pheromones?” Even the strongest suppressants usually leave some trace, but I didn’t notice anything all evening.
Mathew eyes me, tugging on one of his lip rings with his teeth before he answers. “I barely have any. And I use products to make sure they stay hidden.”
Then he looks at Jorge’s arm, the one with the cut, which is still around his waist and the comfortable ease —from years of being together— is so clear. “Let’s go home so you can get stitched up.” He leans to Jorge and kisses his cheek, making Jorge smile goofily.
Then I realise why Mathew got so angry with Jorge at the start of the evening, when I told them I’d known Jorge for years. Of course, if we’re all scent matches, then Jorge has been hiding us from each other for years.
I guess I’m going to have a chat with Jorge later…
“Are you still here?” A gruff voice comes from the hallway and one of the people from what I assume is Mathew’s security team comes over to us.
“We’re just about to leave.” Jorge grins, going over to Vera and Caleb.
“Get your arm checked out before you lose so much blood you need to go to the hospital,” the security guy calls after Jorge, before sighing and looking at Mathew. “What’s the plan?”
“I think Riley is coming with us?” Mathew eyes me, a slight nervousness in his gaze.
“Yeah.” There’s no way I’m going to the hotel right now. I’m pretty sure there’s a target on my back and I’m not getting myself killed all alone in some hotel room.
The security guy holds up his hand to me. “If you give me your keys, we’ll get your car to the house. You can go with them in the van.”
Ooookay? Bossy much?
I want to tell him to mind his own business, but when I meet Mathew’s gaze, I let out a deep sigh and take the keys from my bag. I know that after the evening we’ve just had, driving isn’t the safest thing to do, and I’d rather be with Mathew and Vera than be on my own right now.
“It’s a rental. Try not to get it too dirty, they tend to ask questions when you return a car with blood stains.” Sadly enough, I can speak from experience on that.
“Will do.” He jabs his thumb to the end of the alley. “There’s a van waiting for you. We’ll make sure everything here is sorted out.”
“Thanks.” Mathew nods, and he eyes me. “Let’s go home. I really would like a shower.”
“Same.” I smile, somehow feeling quite calm around him now I’m no longer confused why I keep wanting to be near him.
I tug on Caleb’s much too large shirt as I stare out over the night garden.
Luckily, it’s a brand new shirt that he’s not worn before, so the main discomfort is that it doesn’t fit me, it’s not because his pheromones are all over it or anything like that. Which would have been much worse.
He’s the only person whose clothes I somewhat fit into, since Vera, Mathew and Jorge are all shorter. And no matter how muscular Mathew and Jorge are, even their wides shirts would not go over my tits.
I really hope I can drop by the hotel tomorrow to pick up my suitcase so I can wear my own clothes, since the dress I was wearing got ripped and really needs a deep clean before I wear it again.
The door to Mathew’s office opens and Caleb’s woodsy scent fills the room and spills out the door towards me. It’s a good scent. It’s much stronger and heavier than Jorge’s, but it suits the tall Alpha. Matches his rough exterior.
“Is the size okay?” He steps through the door, and sits down on the chair next to mine, letting out a long groan as he stretches his legs. “I really should not have done that last move. I’m going to be so bruised tomorrow.” He lets out a deep laugh that relaxes me and makes me smile too.
“I’m pretty sure getting shot is going to hurt more than some bruises.” I glance his way.
Despite his size and looks, he’s pretty unassuming most of the time. He’s able to blend into his surroundings and not make you notice him much.
But the few times he’s used his Alpha powers, they were very strong. Knowing that I’m part of his pack makes that make some sense, but it doesn’t explain all of it. He naturally has a lot of power.
“Are the others still in the shower?” He glances back inside.
Mathew, Jorge and Vera decided to share the upstairs bathroom, probably to fuck each other senseless, while Caleb and I took showers downstairs.
While joining them was tempting, I needed to mentally sort through what happened this evening first. Also, I’m not interested in sharing my Omegas with other Alphas during sex, so Jorge being there made it less appealing too.
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure they’re still upstairs. I have a feeling, they might take a few hours.”
“Probably, yes.” He chuckles, but then goes serious as he turns to me. “Erika and the gang say ‘hello’, Whisper.”
My heart stops for a moment as I stare at him, my hand wandering into my bag that I’ve got next to me, reaching for my gun.
“I thought it was curious, someone in the same line of work as Mathew suddenly coming here to ‘meet new clients’ even though you’ve never been here before. Especially after Erika had been so bummed that Vera and I couldn’t check out the area ourselves.”
He pulls up a shoulder, appearing way too calm, but the tension in his muscles is clear if you know what to look for. He’s ready to fight if I show any signs of aggression.
“At first, I thought it might have been a coincidence, until you reacted so strongly when Mathew asked you about the Suits Syndicate.”
“Who are you?”
There are very few people who know that I work for Erika from time to time, usually when it aligns with other things I’m doing. And he’s right that she sent me here, to check out the area. But she wouldn’t reveal that to random people, not even if they also work for her. She’s smarter than that, or she wouldn’t have lasted this long.
“I’m Erika’s ex-boyfriend, from before she met her pack.” He takes his phone and shows an old picture of him and Erika together, at what looks like a college party or something like that.
Her ex-boyfriend ? This guy is her ex ?
“You can ask her if you’re not sure. I know you can do a lot with modern technology, so if you don’t trust me… Feel free to check with her.”
“I might later.” I probably should, though he seems trustworthy.
“Good.” He leans back in the chair. “Was Erika the person who wanted to introduce you to the group of people today?”
“No. It was through a different client. I did give her all the names I knew ahead of time, but there were more people at the restaurant than expected.” Which, looking back, was kind of suspicious.
“Hmm.” He looks at the night sky. “The Hearts are up to something. We’ve found connections with the Hearts through the pack Vera was supposed to marry into. And now there are Hearts at your ‘friendly’ networking dinner. In both cases, it wasn’t revealed until later.”
He pulls up a shoulder. “And both cases ended in death, but I’m not sure that’s relevant here.”
Honey pheromones surround us as quiet footsteps reach the door. When I look up, Vera sticks her head around the door, her face red, her pheromones drenched in orgasmic bliss. She’s wearing a thin night dress that makes my mouth water with how it hugs her curves.
She looks at us both and her blissful pheromones ease as she steps outside, looking more serious. “I’m tired of waiting. I’m tired of being scared. I’ve been running for way too long. I want to fight back, take the fight to them.” Her jaw is set, her eyes dark.
“It’s not that—” Caleb starts, keeping his pheromones calm, but she glares at him.
“I know it’s not easy. Nothing is ever easy. But we have to try. I don’t want to wait for them to make another move. We’ve been waiting and running for years. I’m fucking tired of it.” Her voice hitches for a moment. “I’ve finally got a pack. We’ve finally started a family. I don’t want to be scared anymore that it could be taken from me.”
I take a deep breath, trying to calm the emotions that her words and pheromones are stirring up in me. “Taking down an organisation as large as the Hearts isn’t going to be easy. It’s much too big for a small pack like us.”
“We don’t have to start at the top.” She seems much more focused now. “We start at the brothel that used to hold Mathew. They’re probably the ones who are threatening him anyway.”
I glance at Caleb. If he’s aware what Erika’s organisation does, he knows how dangerous of a task that is, how big of a task that’s going to be.
It takes Erika months or years of work and hundreds of people to take down one brothel or other location and deal with the aftermath of it. How are we supposed to manage that with just a handful of people?
Vera’s pheromones change, taking on a spicy edge. “They threatened us. They hurt Jorge and the others. We have to get rid of the Hearts.”
I’m surprised by the way she’s changing, how this soft and sweet Omega turns murderous when people she loves are in danger. I’ve seen this change in her before, earlier this evening, but that was in very tense situations, this time, she does it without being provoked.
This isn’t just something she does when there’s danger, this is who she is, this is a side of her that’s always there, and that’s attractive and a little scary at the same time.
The scary part is mostly that I know that if she points, I will kill for her, without a doubt.
She’s my Omega, I’ll do anything for her.
That includes murder …