Page 17 of Omega’s Oath

The question was aimed at him and he nodded. “Yes, she’s fine. She doesn’t know anything about it.”

“You know when she finds out about this and realizes you didn’t tell her, she’s gonna kill you? Or worse, string you up by your balls.”

Lyric let out a little chuckle at that thought and Omega shot him a withering look. “Fuck off, Lyric. What would you know about protecting a woman?” Omega regretted his words the second they came out of his mouth. Lyric paled and Omega reached out his hand. “I’m sorry, man, I shouldn’t have said that. I know you’re just looking out for her, and me, and I was out of line. I’m just freaked and worried. You all know how much she means to me and I know you care for her too. I just don’t know what the right thing to do is and I don’t want to fuck things up, not when she’s finally giving me a chance.”

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have made a joke about it. But for what it’s worth, I’d tell her. She’s stronger than she looks, and she won’t like being kept in the dark.”

Omega did know that and while he was loathe to risk his fledgling relationship with the woman who’d embedded herself in his heart, he was even more loathe to put her health, or that of her baby’s, in jeopardy.

“We need to find out who’s doing this so I can put a stop to it before I have to tell her.”

“Who’s with her right now?”

All of these men were protectors and even Lyric, who was the single one of the group, had that about him. It was what made them good at their job. They had a natural instinct to protect the weaker and more vulnerable. Whether Rose liked it or not, that was her right now and he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.

“Hayden and Mickie are there now, and I know Penny and Mack are seeing her later.” Omega twisted his head to the door as Cruz walked in the door.

“Hey, Cruz. You’re later than usual,” Condor said.

Omega checked his watch to see it was already nine in the morning. Late for him but he hadn’t slept well last night. He’d wanted to be with Rose but hadn’t wanted to push their new peace so he’d slept on the couch so he could be alert for anyone thinking they could get to her.

“Yeah, I was helping Quint with something.” Quint was a Police Officer with the San Antonio Police Department and a friend to most of the men in the room.

“Anything we can help with?” Omega had a shit load to do today with his cold case but he’d make looking into Harlan a priority. He had skills the others didn’t so he could do a more in-depth background check.

Cruz sat down at his desk and tipped his head in thought. “Maybe? A waitress was murdered and her body was found in her apartment this morning. Quint asked me to take a look as a favor.”

Cruz frowned. “It’s weird actually. I felt like I knew her from somewhere, but I can’t place where.”

“That’s the thing with this job, we see so many faces that they begin to blur but become familiar at the same time.”

Cruz shrugged at Condor’s comment. “It’ll come to me, I’m sure.”

Everyone settled and began to get on with their work, but Omega struggled to concentrate, his thoughts never far from Rose. Around lunchtime he’d had enough and needed to get some air. A case had come in and they were flat out already. Dax and Condor had gone to the scene to meet Calder, and he was diving into the background checks, which meant he still hadn’t had a chance to look into Harlan.

Stepping out the front door of the FBI building they used as their headquarters, Omega took a deep breath, enjoying the cooler air on his skin. He’d lived in Texas his whole life and yet he still wasn’t used to the heat. Walking around the corner to the street vendor that had the best beef tacos in Texas, he ordered three with extra hot sauce and sat at a nearby table to eat. Omega felt a shadow fall over him and looked up to see Rose’s old friend Harlan standing before him.

“Can I help you?”

Harlan motioned to the empty seat opposite him and Omega nodded for him to take a seat. He had no idea why the man had sought him out but clearly, he had something to say and it would give him a good opportunity to try and read the man.

Harlan and Omega watched each other silently for a few seconds, each trying to suss out the other. Omega had no intention of filling the silence. He knew the best way of getting information from someone in most cases was to remain silent and let the awkwardness take over. Harlan had the bearing of a man who always got his way and wasn’t easily intimidated but Omega had been dealing with his sort for a long time.

“I’ve known Rose a long time. I felt there was some tension the other night and I just wanted to make sure we weren’t going to have a problem.”

Omega watched Harlan’s face for any tells and found none. The words he was saying were meant to be conciliatory, but he wasn’t fooled; he knew this wasn’t a chance to ease the tension. It was Harlan marking his territory and Omega had no intention of letting that go.

“Knew.”

Harlan’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Sorry?”

“You knew Rose. You haven’t seen her for a long time.”

Omega watched Harlan’s jaw tick in anger and knew he’d scored a direct hit.

“Yes, well I intend to change that. Rose was my best friend and we lost touch but I’m back now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Omega stood and tossed his rubbish in the trash can, wiping the crumbs from his fingers and trying to maintain a façade of calm when all he wanted to do was punch this fucker in the face. Stepping closer, he leaned into Harlan. “Neither am I. And just so you know, I’m watching you and if I get even a hint that you mean my Rose any harm, I’m going to rip out your heart and fucking feed it to you. Are we clear?”

Harlan’s lip curled in a barely contained sneer as his eyes met Omega’s. “Crystal.”

Omega dipped his head and walked away without a backward glance. That asshole had come there with the sole intention of warning him off. But he was about to find out that Aiden Jackson didn’t scare easily.

Making his way back to his desk, he logged back into his secure servers and turned his attention to finding out more about Harlan Goodwin.