Chapter Seven – Rourke #3
“That’s funny. You act like you know what I’m thinking.” She did know, somehow, exactly what I was thinking, but she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in me in that way, as much as it pained me to admit.
And it did. It pained me. My chest ached in an unfamiliar way, my heart actually hurt, like it was constricting on its own. A strange sensation I’d never felt before in my life, all because of this omega and her denial of me.
“Am I wrong?” she asked with a huff.
I ran a hand down my chest as I tried to fight that feeling inside and act normal, like she wasn’t affecting me in such a way. “Maybe you are, maybe you’re not. I guess you’ll have to wait and see if you get any offers tonight, Dryers.”
The last thing I wanted to do was go, but at this point, it was clear there was nothing left to say. She wouldn’t take any offer, not from me, and not from anyone else here. Though she was here in body, she was definitely not here in spirit.
I guessed… I guessed that meant I should go, leave her to her own devices, whatever they were.
Though it was oddly painful to do so, I stood slowly. “I suppose I’ll leave you alone for now. Let you sit here by yourself and stew in whatever self-inflicted misery you brought with you. It was fun chatting, though.”
I walked away from her. It wasn’t easy to act like nothing at all was wrong, like I wasn’t hurting deep inside.
Fuck. I’d rather get shot, rather get a knife in my gut, than feel this…
this thing, whatever it was. It was like my soul itself was ripping in half.
It was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, walking away from that table.
From the omega.
Still, even though I knew I should give her space, I had to pick a table close by.
Luckily the omega and her sponsor weren’t currently occupied by another pack of alphas, so I was able to slide into the seat without having to push anyone off.
Even with how badly I hurt inside, I wasn’t quite willing to put more distance between us.
How pathetic was that?
As I talked to the new omega and her sponsor, got to know them, as I introduced myself, I couldn’t help it. I kept glancing over at the Dryers girl. It seemed she was trying her hardest not to watch me, but every so often our eyes met.
Twenty feet between us, and yet…
My wandering mind was greeted by the omega at the other table itching the side of her head with her middle finger.
That’s when I knew: that omega was perfect for me. She was perfect for me and she didn’t even know it. She didn’t care to know me. None of the other omegas here were worth my time, as nice as they might’ve been.
I wasn’t a fan of nice, but I was a fan of that blue-and-black-haired girl.
“Uh, hello? Earth to Rourke,” Warren’s voice brings me back to the present. He stands and studies me like I’m the body-double to his friend. “Are you in there? Damn. If she was that amazing, why the hell didn’t you put an offer in on her? That’s what you were all there for.”
“Not her,” I say. “She wasn’t. I don’t know why she was there, but… she made it clear she didn’t want any alphas to write her an offer, so I didn’t.”
Yeah, I didn’t write her an offer, and I’ve been losing sleep and my mind ever since. I don’t know her first name, and I can’t get that girl out of my head. She’s there now, and she refuses to vacate the spot she’s taken up in my brain.
“So? If she wanted to ignore it, then she could’ve just ignored the offer. At least then she’d know how to get in touch with you if she wanted to.” Warren sighs. “You’re… you’re like inconsolable. I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“I know.” I can’t stop the dejection from mingling with the words. In truth, I haven’t felt like myself since the night at the Omega Garden. It was like that night, meeting her, everything changed.
But at the same time, nothing at all changed, and that’s what I’m struggling with.
“Maybe you need a vacation,” Warren says. “Have you ever taken one?”
“No.”
“Take some time off, man. Go have some fun and get your mind off that omega—or, track her down and see if you can talk to her again.”
I know what my friend would do. He’d do the latter. Sitting back and staying calm and collected was never Warren’s style. It’s why we got along so well; we both have a tendency to go all in when we’re passionate about something.
“No,” I say eventually. “The last thing I need is some time off.”
He groans. “You sound like Pax did before he got with Raeka and the Chases. Maybe your mom’s right and you need a mate to release some steam.”
When he says the word mate, the only person I can think of is that Dryers girl, the omega with blue and black hair and amber eyes that radiate a coldness that must mask something deep down.
Warren can tell I’m about to argue with him, but right then my phone goes off and I answer it the moment I see who’s calling: Darius Alabaster, not only Warren’s older brother, but the one who’s following in their father’s footsteps to eventually lead the company.
“Darius,” I say. “What is it?”
“Come downtown,” he tells me. “I might have a job for you.” It’s all he says before he ends the call. His words were an order, one I could not refuse.
Hey, a job right now might be exactly what I need.
Warren waits only a few seconds before he asks, “Well? What was it?”
“Darius might have a job for me. He wants me to visit him in his office downtown.” I slide my phone into my back pocket. Guess that’s that, then. With any luck this job will take a while and be so intense I can finally get my mind off that omega.
I fear it might be my only hope. If left to my own devices, it’s more than clear I’ll continue to wallow and spend all my free time thinking about that girl.
“If there’s one thing I know, it’s best not to keep that asshole waiting.
” He breaks out into a grin when he says that.
If anyone else was to say something like that, Warren would have some choice words, backed up by his fists and other various weapons.
He’s only allowed to say that about Darius because Darius is his pack leader and his adoptive brother. “You better get going.”
I nod my head at him. “I’ll see you later.”
After he waves me off, I leave. There are other alphas here who are more than capable of training the newer squads while I’m off on a job, so I’m not too worried about that.
I am, however, beyond curious why Darius would call me specifically.
We don’t often accept solo jobs, so it must be something peculiar.
Once outside of the warehouse, it’s a short jaunt to my car, and then a not-so-short drive to the HQ downtown.
The main office of Alabaster Security dwells in one of the highest skyscrapers in the city, taking up a few floors at the very top.
There is ample parking beneath the building, complete with cameras all around, along with a stationed guard who checks everyone’s identification as you pull in.
I park and head right to the elevators, and soon enough I’m walking out on the correct floor.
I’d like to say it’s been a while since I’ve been here, but when that omega was interviewing alphas for a bodyguard, I was hand-selected as a possible candidate.
She didn’t choose me, of course; she chose Pax, the eldest Alabaster son, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Never thought all it’d take for Pax to get that stick out of his ass would be for him to find an omega. I honestly never thought an omega would give him the time of day, but I guess we’re all wrong on occasion.
Darius has a corner office, which means the room has quite a bit of natural light, regardless of the time of day.
He sits behind his large desk, reading something from a file.
He’s like me, an über alpha, so he’s on the bigger side all around.
Tall and muscular, he radiates power and intensity without trying.
The moment I walk in, his green gaze lifts from the file and he gestures for me to sit down after he says, “Close the door.”
I make sure the door to his office is shut before I take one of the seats facing his desk. “What’s the job?” I ask, getting straight to the point. Now’s not the time to beat around the bush, not when a random job pops up out of nowhere.
Hey, I won’t complain.
“Warren told me you went to the Omega Garden last week,” Darius starts.
My brows furrow as I hold the alpha’s intense stare. “Yeah, what’s that got to do with the job?” Color me confused, although I would never say that much aloud.
“Alabaster Security was contacted late last night about a missing omega—this omega is one I believe you met, if Warren’s stories were true.”
I shouldn’t be surprised that Warren told his brother about my failed attempt at finding a match, but what does surprise me is what Darius says next.
“We were contacted by a beta named Cecilia Dryers. She’s the guardian of a Jessica Dryers, the lone Dryers heir after her parents got into a fatal car crash ten or so years ago.
Cecilia’s husband was a Dryers, but unfortunately he passed away as well a few years back.
Cecilia has been trying to push Jessica to find a match and failing, and now…
now she thinks the omega has taken it upon herself to run away—right before her first heat is scheduled to hit. ”
The more he says, the more speechless I am. Not only do I now know the omega’s first name, but she’s also missing, presumed a runaway. And right before her first heat? Not exactly the best time for an omega to stretch their legs and test their willpower.
Darius says, “This is the omega you met, isn’t it? Warren told me all you got was her last name, that you said she was vehemently against matching with anyone.”
Finally, once it all dawns on me, the gravity of the entire situation, I nod. “Yeah, she said she was a Dryers. She made it clear she wasn’t there to get any offers.” I wondered at the time why she was there at all if she was so against it, and now I have my answer: her aunt.
“Did she reference running away at all?”
“No. She was just… closed-off. Throwing insults as fast as she could.” I rub my jaw as I think back to that night. Not hard for me to do, since that omega has haunted me every waking second of the day.
“Police found her car and her phone in the park. They’re working on gaining access to the local camera feeds, but I.T.
has been busy dissecting her online presence.
Her aunt obviously wants her back before her heat arrives, and I’m inclined to agree.
I don’t know this Jessica Dryers well enough to say whether or not she could survive a heat on her own, or if she’ll end up somewhere she shouldn’t.
We need to find her, Rourke, as soon as possible.
Think you’re up for it?” He closes the file and slides it over to me.
I stare at it for a few seconds before I take the file off his desk. “Why offer the job to me?”
“Warren says you’ve been talking about the omega a lot, and I figured you would do everything in your power to make sure she turns up safe and sound.” What Darius isn’t saying is that he believes I have a personal stake in the matter.
I don’t, not really. I mean, yes, the omega smelled like sex on two legs, but that doesn’t mean anything. So what if I can’t get her out of my head? So what if I’ve been dreaming about her?
“Well?” he asks. “What are you waiting for? Get on it. Find her. Bring her back home. The moment I.T. finds out anything, I’ll have them contact you directly.”
Standing, I tuck the file under my arm. I don’t say a single word more as I leave his office, but my head is spinning.
Jessica Dryers. Not only do I have a name, but she’s missing.
Bad things tend to happen to omegas who go missing, even those who choose to run away.
The world is a dark, dangerous place, especially when you can’t defend yourself.
Being so close to her heat, she’s in so much danger out there, wherever she is.
I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.
I have to find her. I have to follow her trail and find her before something terrible happens to her.
The mere thought of her ending up in an auction house, or an underground omega sex ring, fills me with dread and righteous fury, to the point where all I can see is red. I would do anything to make sure that doesn’t happen to her, that she gets home safe and sound.
She’s not my omega. We didn’t match. I didn’t write her an offer, but… damn it. We both would’ve been better off if I did.