Page 27 of Dodging Bullets

Home.Home was with Llew. With Rio and Max.

And I laid another foundation stone to my life.

Fifteen

August

It had been a week since I’d seen the Barrie Pack, and the guys hadn’t been to group therapy at the VA either. I was finding more and more that I missed them. I was getting attached, and that was bad news for me. Cutting off my professional and personal ties would be best, but even the thought made my Omega whine deep in my chest.

Still, when Max messaged to invite me to dinner and to have the birds and bees talk with Paloma, I answered yes so quickly, I was fairly sure it was an out-of-body experience.

Now, I was fussing over what I was wearing, like it would make any difference. Rio had insisted on picking me up again, and I knew he was just being a normal, worried Alpha. I just had to keep reminding myself he wasn’tmynormal, worried Alpha.

As if he was summoned by my thoughts, the buzzer sounded. Walking to the intercom by the door, I checked it was him. “Hello?”

“It’s Rio.”

My heart pattered a little faster at the sound of his voice, but I squashed it down. It would have to get over it. I’d tell him tonight, at the end of this meeting, that I was transferring himto a different support group, and I’d give him more resources for Paloma. Then I’d make a clean break.

Later.

“I’ll be right down.” Grabbing my wallet and stuffing my feet into my sneakers, I tried not to run down the stairs. Instead, I made my way slowly and leisurely, keeping my composure. I needed some professionalism right now.

I stepped out the security door, and Rio was there, eyeing the security cameras with disdain. “These aren’t even pointing in the right place,” he grumbled, and I laughed.

“I’ll let the Super know. Where are you parked?”

He pointed a little down the street, where he’d double parked, his hazard lights blinking. “I didn’t want you to have to walk too far in the dark.”

I raised an eyebrow at the large Alpha. “You do realize I run every day? I also take MMA classes and self-defense refreshers once every month. I’m not helpless.”

Rio flushed. “I understand that, logically.”

Rolling my eyes, I followed beside him to his car. “I know. Alpha instincts and all that. But I promise you, I’m safe and capable.” I kept my voice soft, because shouting at him wouldn’t make the point any more than gentle understanding.

He opened the door for me, and I chastised my preening Omega. He was not for us.Theywere not for us. But just like it was Rio’s instinct to protect, it was my Omega’s instinct to find the biggest, burliest Alpha who would provide security and keep us safe, and Rio had that in abundance.

When he climbed into the driver’s seat of his SUV and pulled out onto the road, I broke the silence. “How has your week been?”

He shrugged. “A bit of a rollercoaster, if I’m honest. She’s so lost. She oscillates wildly between fascination with everything that’s new, and grief at all the time she lost. Plus, she’s beginningto smell sweeter and sweeter every single day. Her heat isn’t far off, so you coming tonight is going to be a relief, I think. I promised I wouldn’t lie to her, and if she’d asked me straight out, I would have told her, but I worry she’ll be scared of me.”

I nodded. Your first heat was scary, even when you were raised knowing what to expect. For it to come out of the blue, and not understanding the emotion involved, it might sound a little like you’d be losing control of your body and your free will.

Rio’s jaw clenched, and it was obvious it had been playing on his mind. I could smell the stress in his scent.

I resisted the urge to squeeze his hand reassuringly. “And how is she dealing with being bonded?”

A small smile crossed his face like the way the dawn lit the sky—slowly, until you were sitting there, suddenly mesmerized by its beauty. “I can’t explain it. Separately, they are two damaged people, but together, they have such happiness.” He cleared the emotion from his throat. “Watching them together heals something in me too. Llew treats her like she’s the only thing in the world that matters, and she gives him strength and normality. There haven’t been any negative effects of their bonding, but we’ve been playing it safe anyway. One of us is always at home, or we take Paloma out with us. I don’t think Llew would hurt her; actually, I’m positive he wouldn’t. But after I got back… Some things would send him into a frenzy, and I don’t want her to be scared either.”

I mulled over his words. I didn’t think Llew would hurt her either. I’d seen him with her. His Alpha was fully hers now. He really would put himself down first.

But damage like the kind the Barrie Pack had suffered was insidious. It festered below the surface, and sometimes odd things could trigger it to rise. It didn’t help that Llewellyn Barrie had been sequestered away all this time, refusing the help that he needed to feel okay again.

Maybe all he needed was an Omega, but putting a patch over it like that, without working on the deeper issues, could be a recipe for disaster.

We pulled up in front of their large house, where I was surprised to see Paloma on the front porch, waiting for us. Behind her stood Llew, leaning against the doorframe, an amused smile on his face.

When we pulled to a stop, she bounded down the steps. “August!”

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