16. Twenty-one
Twenty-one
Taryn
I liked the rain. I liked it a lot more when I was watching it from inside rather than schlepping two huge garbage bags out to the dumpster amidst Agua-geddon.
Which led to me standing behind the counter, damp and shivering in the air conditioning, loose strands of wet hair curling around my face and sticking to my neck.
Still, as I watched the clock eke closer and closer to half past two, my spirits rose.
Sure enough, right on schedule, Lin burst through the front door of the shop, the bell nearly ringing off its stand as he rushed in out of the rain, his suit jacket pulled up over his head.
The door closed, and he lowered his jacket, shaking out his dark hair and peeling his soaked button-up from where it clung to his sculpted torso.
Okay, rain, I forgive you.
Ten days had passed since our first magnificent date night.
Between all our hectic schedules—well, Brea’s, Lin’s, and Brooks’ hectic schedules—we hadn’t been able to all gather again since then.
Brooks and I had texted a bit and snuck quick chats and kisses in between his comings and goings, but I didn’t think Brea had seen either of them at all.
This morning, Lin had texted that he planned to stop by in the afternoon, that he needed a pick-me-up after a particularly mindnumbing financial meeting. The hopeful part of my brain thought maybe he just couldn’t wait three more days to see me.
Lin continued toward my spot at the counter, looking down at his drenched suit with disgust. “Last time I trust Brooks to check the weather,” he muttered to himself.
“So it’s the beta I have to thank, then.” Lin’s head popped up at my teasing. “Good to know.”
He was silent a moment, his own gaze tracing down my body. “And who do I have to thank for that ?”
I plucked at my thick black apron—thankfully dry, as I’d thought to take it off before venturing into the maelstrom. “This is canvas, baby. May as well be lead. There’s no way you’ve got a peek of anything happening under here.”
“Ah, but I did have a peek. Therefore, I can superimpose what I know is happening underneath ”—His hot gaze slid down my frame again before meeting my eyes—“anytime I want.”
I leaned forward, balancing on my elbows on the counter. “I do appreciate a man with a good imagination.”
His chuckle bordered on an amused growl. “Oh, darling, you don’t even know how good my imagination is.”
Heat coursed through my limbs, coloring my cheeks. The way he looked at me, the way I’d seen him look at Brea—it was enough to set me on damn fire.
Maybe this Sunday night, we’d finally get a real look at these two beautiful men. Brea and I planned to broach the idea of them passing my heat with me, which had the potential to spin off into a repeat of Spire Night.
Despite how well things had gone thus far, I was a little nervous.
I still didn’t fully understand their dynamic with Caine—would he be opposed to his two packmates shacking up (albeit temporarily) with the omega downstairs for a days-long orgy?
We didn’t want to cause strife among them, even if I still held a bit of a grudge against the reclusive alpha.
Hence why the conversation needed to happen sooner rather than later. Better we knew ahead of time if we needed to book with certified heat attendants. But, god, I hoped we didn’t.
Three. More. Days.
“Excuse me, miss?” A beta man stood in line a few feet behind Lin, having entered while we were caught up in our conversation. “In a hurry.”
I stood up sharply, clearing my throat. “Right, yes, sorry. What’ll you have?
” Lin simply stood to the side as I took the beta’s order, then two more who rushed in from the downpour as well, including my acquaintance-slash-protest-buddy Sheyna.
All three sat near the front windows, clearly waiting for the weather to pass.
Only then did I allow even an ounce of my attention to return Lin.
“You’re going to get me fired,” I whispered through a smile.
“Which would mean taking off the apron and bringing my fantasies to life. I’m failing to see the downside here.”
I chuckled, wiping down the mild mess from the orders I’d just handed out. “Downside being then Brea and I go broke, can’t afford rent at your fancy sex-stablishment anymore, and move into those grungy gross apartments across town. What would you do then?”
“I’m sorry,” Lin said, closing his eyes. “ Sex-tablishment ?”
“What else would you call your own in-house fun bunnies?”
“Preferably something that doesn’t make our building sound like a literal brothel. And also,” he added, exasperation lighting his features, “ fun bunnies ?”
It took everything in me to not smile. He really was such an easy mark. “Friends with benefits, F’s with B’s, fun bunnies. It’s clear as day. Catch up.”
Jennie breezed by from the back room, blonde ponytail bobbing and her long turquoise raincoat rustling as she passed by behind me.
“No cats, no bunnies. No dogs, ferrets, turtles, or snakes either.” As she rounded the counter, she caught my eye over her glasses.
“Pet rocks are acceptable, so long as they’re leashed.
” And then she carried on, grabbing an umbrella from the stand by the door and exiting into the rain.
The laughter would no longer be contained. “You totally saw her coming!”
“I didn’t!”
“My dirty puns are for the partners of my choosing! No general admission here!”
“I swear I didn’t see her coming!”
I gave him a faux-suspicious look and hummed my disagreement. “Well, I should probably actually do my job before I don’t have one anymore. What’s your poison?”
He eyed the menu board for a moment. I knew the second he saw what he wanted, as the corner of his mouth twitched up. “Iced pomegranate tea,” he said, meeting my eye. My flush deepend as he added, “and a shot of cream too, please.”
Pomegranate and cream. A bit of Brea, a bit of me.
My omega fucking beamed as I made the drink, squeezing a shot of the—admittedly, delicious—vanilla cream into the tea. “Here or to go?” I asked over my shoulder as I finished up.
A reluctant sigh. “Alas, to go. I have another bank meeting at three.”
“Ew, gross,” I said as I snapped a lid onto the plastic cup. When I turned to hand it over, my omega absolutely shimmied with contentment at the hungry look still in his eye. “My condolences,” I added as I handed the cup over.
Lin made sure to brush his fingers along mine as he took the cup from my grasp. “Bye, Taryn.”
The next few hours passed much more slowly. The rain slowed from a downpour to an off-and-on drizzle. The sun even made a shy reappearance in the offs, weak and low in the sky, but sunshine nonetheless.
Brea was meant to meet me at the shop around six for the walk home. Hopefully the rain would have let up entirely by then and the walk home wouldn’t be a swim.
By five o’clock, with an almost empty shop due to the on-again rain, I made my way through the end-of-shift checklist. My attention was fixed on wiping down the frother machine when the bell over the door chimed and footsteps squeaked toward the counter.
“Be with you in a sec,” I said as I finished up. I sighed with satisfaction as I finished wiping up, standing and turning toward the sink to wash and dry my hands before returning to the counter. “Now, what can I g—”
Fuck. Fucking fuck fuck.
Heath Torrington stared at me. I stared back at Heath Torrington.
Heath Torrington. Here. In Farendale. Which was supposed to be Heath Torrington-free.
My brain kept repeating the name. Trying to process the presence right before me.
I hadn’t seen this man since Brea and I fled Pockston over two years ago.
It wasn’t so much that I hadn’t expected to see him, as it was that the moment we’d been free, I’d done my very best to delete Heath Torrington from my mind.
But there he stood. Too tall, too solid, right in front of me. Heath. Fucking. Torrington.
My heart sped as I wiped my hands nervously on my apron. “Hi,” I said, anxious. “Wh-what can I get started for you?”
Heath said nothing. Simply stared. I didn’t repeat myself, afraid to.
I watched him, studied him. His dark blond hair was mostly dry, thanks to the umbrella hanging from his hand that puddled the floor.
He looked…normal enough, I supposed. But something about those wide blue eyes, locked on me, put every hair on my body standing tall.
It suddenly felt like what it must’ve been like centuries ago.
Alpha, predator.
Omega, prey.
I swallowed, sick to my stomach. “Heath?” I whispered.
Hearing his name must’ve ripped him from his stupor. His normal garlicky scent turned burnt. Those wide eyes narrowed, hatred overtaking the surprise there. “Fucking figures,” he muttered beneath his breath.
“Heath—”
He didn’t say another word, turning on his heel and practically sprinting from the shop, back out into the rain without opening his umbrella. A blink later, he was gone. The only evidence he’d been there at all was my racing heart and the slip hazard in front of the counter.
“And he didn’t say anything? Nothing at all?” Brea asked for the third time as we turned the corner to our block.
Brea had arrived to the shop a few minutes past six, thankfully in another lull of the rain.
Even if I’d been able to hide the stress in my face, she’d have noticed it in my scent, acidic and bitter.
I hadn’t been able to shake the unease that had plagued me from the moment I recognized Heath.
It was silly, but I needed my alpha by my side to soothe my omega, who paced restlessly beneath my skin.
“Not really,” I said again. “Something like, ‘that figures,’ and then he bolted.”
Brea’s hand in mine was cold, her grip like iron. “So much for leaving the past in the past,” she said with a humorless chuckle.
Our apartment building came into view as dusk bowed out to evening, and I quickened my pace. I wanted to be inside. I wanted to curl up in bed under the covers with my alpha surrounding me on all sides. My inner omega paced faster, whining.
We were crossing the parking lot when the sound of squealing tires screamed in my ears, making me flinch.
A fancy silver sports car with a foreign name I probably wouldn’t pronounce correctly sped through the lot before swerving to park longways over the sidewalk, blocking our path into the building.
Dread sank in my stomach like cement shoes.
Heath—more disheveled, hair mussed and eyes bloodshot—stumbled out of the driver’s seat. “Oh, look who’s here,” he slurred before slamming his door shut. “My ex-fiancee and the cunt she left me for.”
It had been just over an hour since running into him. How’d he get this trashed so quickly?
Brea pulled me behind her, alpha energy building as she faced off with the drunk alpha ambling ever closer. She didn’t say anything, only shielded me from the irate alpha looming over us. Fear flooded my body, paralyzing me behind Brea.
“What, nothing to say? No smart retorts?” His volume rose, his scent giving me a headache as my body trembled. “Fucking piece—”
“Whoa, whoa.” Lin jogged over from the building side of the car, clearly having spotted trouble and come to investigate. “I need you to take a step back and breathe, man.”
Heath threw a scathing look over his shoulder before returning his attention to us. “Fuck off, asshole.”
Lin quickly worked his way around so that he stood with Brea, blocking me from Heath’s view. My omega should’ve felt some minute relief at the respite from Heath’s ire. Instead, I couldn’t quite fight back the whine that worked its way up my throat.
Without turning, Lin extended a hand in my direction, his eyes still glued to Heath’s imposing figure. “You’re okay, Omega. Just stay right there.”
A harsh scoff of a laugh came from Heath as he looked between Lin and me. “What, finally decided you’d rather dick after all?”
“Enough.” Lin’s voice was sharp now. “You need to leave.” He placed a flat palm in the middle of Heath’s chest and gave a soft push toward the car blocking the walkway.
“Get your fucking hands off me!” The air seemed to shimmer with the intensity of Heath’s rage. He seemed to grow bigger, even. Eyes bulging, lip curling, biceps flexing as he advanced. “That alpha-hopping whore deserves whatev—”
Lin’s fist collided with Heath’s hateful mouth. Chaos erupted. Heath and Lin unleashed hell on each other. Brea pulled me away from the brawl, making a break for the building.
But Heath was single-minded. He sidestepped another swing from Lin and lunged for us, his hand wrapping around my arm and pulling me roughly back toward him. “No one takes what is mine,” he snarled in my face. “ No one. ”
Brea stepped in, shouting and grabbing my wrist that he held and jerking it upward, where his thumb wrapped around my arm, to break me free of his grasp.
He reached for us again, fingers tangling in my hair.
He snapped his hand backward, and suddenly all the air left my lungs.
And my head felt fuzzy and foggy all at once.
The sounds around me muddled together. Heath still screaming vitriol.
Brea and Lin fighting to get him under control.
The whir of sirens and more shouting coming from all around us.