Chapter 11 #2
I used to be a country boy, grew up on a farm in a small town in Georgia. I miss it.
Finishing my smoke, I take one last drag before tossing the butt onto the ground and snubbing it out with my foot.
Smoke spills past my lips. I cock my head to the side when I see a blonde woman through the white haze head into the bakery.
I wonder.
She is a pretty little thing, though.
Aiden
I know Sloane is right. The approach we’ve been taking isn’t going to work, point proven by the town Sheriff giving us a warning.
That still doesn't help the impatient need to find her from creeping up my spine. We’re so damn close I can taste it.
Confirming she's actually here, in this town, has me even more on edge.
We’ve spent so many years trying to find her and her sister, even though everyone told us to give up, to let it go.
We couldn’t, something inside us told us to keep going.
I’m glad we didn’t stop. When we were made aware of this lead, I let this light inside me burn to life, one that was just holding on, ready to be blown out with one strong breeze.
Sloane calls Lexi our girl, and while I do fight him on it, trying to stick with the logistics and rational parts of this situation, I’d be lying if I didn’t feel in my heart that Lexi belonged to me. To us.
It’s crazy because we’ve never met her before. We don’t have a single clue about her. Yet, she still takes up residence in my mind. More than what is deemed healthy.
My order should be ready by now, so I finish up in the bathroom and wash my hands before heading out to get it.
I’m halfway down the little hall in the back of the bakery, where the washrooms are, when I hear something that gets my attention.
“Hey, Lexi. All good to go.”
Lexi? Did that person just say Lexi?
My heart starts to race, and my feet move faster.
“Oh,” the voice laughs. “Thank you so much. Have a good day.”
“You too!” The woman behind the counter says. “I’ll have more freshly baked for you tomorrow.”
I make it to the front of the bakery just as I see a blonde woman in a hoodie making her way out.
“You really are the best,” she calls back, pushing the door open with her back.
“What was that woman’s name?” I ask the girl behind the counter.
She looks at me with wide eyes. “Excuse me?”
“The blonde girl who just left. You said her name was Lexi, right?”
“I...” she blinks. “Umm. I don’t feel comfortable answering that,” she murmurs. “Your order is ready.”
I want to demand she tell me, but I know if I do, it’s just going to get us kicked out of this town.
“Thanks,” I mutter, taking the coffee and pound cake from her before rushing out the door.
I look both ways down the road, but I don’t see her. Fuck!
“What’s wrong?” Sloane asks as I jog back over to him.
“Did you see her?” I demand.
“Her who?” He frowns.
“The blonde girl.”
“The one that just left the bakery?”
“Yes, her.” My eyes widen. “Where did she go?”
“Babe, what's going on?”
“What way did she go?” I growl.
“That way, why?” He points to his left down the street.
“Come on.” I open the truck door and place our stuff on the seat before closing it.
“Aiden, if you get us kicked out of this town before we find Lexi, I’m going to kill you,” Sloane grumbles, following after me as I jog back across the street.
“That’s the thing, I think we found her.” My pace is quick, not wanting to lose her with the head start she already has on us.
“Wait, what?”
“I was on my way out of the bathroom when I heard the woman behind the counter say the name Lexi. When I got to the main part of the shop, there was a blonde woman leaving. A blonde woman named Lexi.”
“Okay, okay. That's a good thing,” Sloane says, sounding a little more hyped up. “But there could be more than one Lexi in this town.”
“True, but this is a start.”
Sloane comes to my side. “So what, we just stalk the poor girl? Because that's going to go well for us.”
“No,” I mutter, shooting him a glare. “We ask for a moment of her time. I’m sure if I can get close enough to her and get a good look at her face, I’ll notice if she exhibits any similarities to the photo we have.”
“A photo of her at eighteen, though. She’s older now.”
“Yes, but most people don’t change their looks much, they just grow older.”
“Unless they’re you and go from a baby face to a gruff, sexy man.” Sloane winks.
I roll my eyes because right now is not the time to flirt.
“Focus, Sloane,” I growl.
“Yes, sir,” he purrs.
My heart nearly stops in my chest when I see her. Off in the distance is the blonde girl. She looks over her shoulder, but doesn’t see us, then pulls her hoodie up over her head.
“Ah, babe, I think we’re scaring her. She looks suspicious.”
“Shit.” I hiss when I see her turn the corner. “We’re going to lose her.”
“Fuuuck,” Sloane groans as I start to jog. “We’re going to spend the night in jail, I just know it.
“Shut up,” I hiss, slowing down when I get to the corner she just went around.
Thank fuck.
I see her halfway down the alley. We didn’t lose her.
I’m going to need to say something soon, or we’re going to be drawing too much attention by following her.
“Aiden,” Sloane whispers in a hiss as I round the corner, heading down the alley too. “I don’t think that's a good idea.”
“Hey!” I call out, hoping I’m giving her enough notice not to scare her. “Wait up.”
“Yup. Night in the slammer it is,” Sloane sighs as the woman drops something in her arms.
I’m right behind her now. She hasn’t stopped. Maybe she had headphones in? I need to get her attention, so I reach out to tap her on the shoulder. “Hey, I just wanna ta–”
I don’t get the chance to finish my sentence when something hot and wet gets tossed into my face.
The burning pain hits me instantly. I scream in pain, my hands going to my face. “Fuck!” I shout, wiping at my face. “What the fuck was that for?”
“Don’t approach women in alleys, you sick fucker!” the woman screams and goes to hit me, but Sloane gets her around the waist.
“Whoa there, little lady.”
“Get off me!” she shouts, struggling to get out of his hold. “I’ll fucking kill you, I swear to god.”
“Would you calm down?” I growl at the feisty woman, chest heaving as what tastes like hot chocolate drops down my face. “I just wanted to talk.”
“You can eat shit, asshole,” she snarls. “Let me go, or I’ll scream.”
“We’ll let you go.” I hold my hands up as Sloane loosens his hold on her. “I’m sorry, I’m seeing how stupid it was for us to approach you like this.”
“You think?” If looks could kill, I’d be dead. Her blue eyes are swimming with fury.
I know those blue eyes. They’re the same ones I’ve looked at for years.
“Lexi?” I whisper, chest heaving as my heart races, head spinning.
Her eyes widen in fear, giving me the answer I need.
Face morphing in anger, she lets out a battle cry, spinning in Sloane’s hold, enough to bring her knee up and slam it right into his dick.
Sloane goes down hard. “Oh fuck,” he squeaks, the air knocked out of his lungs.
Lexi spins around and bolts out of the alley.
I don’t follow, even though everything inside me screams to go after her and never let her go.
“I think I’m dying.” He’s on the ground in the fetal position, his hands cupping his cock. He looks up at me, pain swimming in his eyes, but still manages to smile. “I also think I just came in my pants.
“What?” I gape at him.
“And I think I’m in love.”
“She just kneed you in the balls,” I scowl.
“I know,” he laughs. “It was so fucking hot.”
“Get up, you crazy bastard,” I growl, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and yanking him to his feet.
“You’ve fucked up.” Sloane laughs like a madman. “Real bad, baby.”
“I know,” I grunt. “Don’t fucking rub it in.”
“No,” he laughs harder, shaking his head. “You don’t get it. That’s Lexi.”
“I know.”
“That’s fucking Lexi.” He’s grinning like someone who should be locked up.
“How hard did she hit you? Did you hit your head when you fell to the ground? Because I think you lost a few brain cells.”
“That’s Lexi, Aiden!” He grabs my shoulders, shaking me.
“I fucking know. Shut up.”
“And...” he gets in my face. “Our fucking scent match.”
“What? What the fuck are you going on about?”
“Didn’t you smell her? Fucking hell, Aiden. Peaches and cream. My mouth is watering, cock leaking. She smells like heaven. Our sweet little Omega.”
“She’s your scent match?” I whisper in disbelief, heart breaking.
“Not just mine. Ours,” Sloane says.
“No.” I shake my head. “I didn’t get the feeling.”
He rolls his eyes. “Probably because the face of hot chocolate is masking it.” He chuckles, then the fucker licks up the side of my face. “Yum, caramel.”
“Stop licking me like a damn dog and tell me what you mean? How do you know she’s my scent match?”
“Because...” He shrugs. “I saw the look in her eyes when she realized I was her scent match. But just before you said her name, I felt her body tense. I’m going to guess that's when it clicked for her.”
“You can’t be sure.” I shake my head, running my hands through my hair, cringing when I feel it’s wet and sticky.
“Here.” He grabs me by the back of my head and shoves me down, pressing my face into his chest. “Sniff.”
“Sloane!” I growl.
“Smell me, fucker!” he barks.
I’m about to beat his ass when I breathe in.
My body stiffens, and so does my cock. Everything inside me shifts, and I know deep in my soul that Lexi is my scent match, too. My Omega. The girl whom I’ve been looking for for years, the one I’ve always felt the pull toward, is mine.
Not just in my own head, but in reality.
“Oh fuck,” I groan, gaping at him in horror.
“Oh fuck indeed, my dear lover boy.” He claps me on the back. “You’ve gone and fucked up with our girl. She probably thinks we’re creepers or serial killers. I mean, the killer part is right, but she doesn’t need to know that... yet.”
“What do we do?” I feel like a piece of shit. She was clearly afraid. Damn it! I was so focused on finding her that I didn’t think about the best way to approach her when I did.