Page 60 of My Omega's Baby
Sometimes the thought of what we could have together seemed worth the risk. And other times it scared me too much to even consider.
Riley and I left the room and headed down to the lobby. Tom waited near a potted fern, looking irritable. When he saw us, some of the tension left his face. “There you are.” He grabbed Riley’s elbow. “Remember, the winner from Orlando is named Theresa, and she’s the one with the dad who’s a senator.”
Riley rolled his eyes and gave an exaggerated sigh. “Got it.”
We walked the long hallway that was lined with giggling girls, pointing and whispering. Riley seemed calm about it all, and he’d stop and sign autographs and take selfies with some of the fans. I had to admire how nice he was to them. If they annoyed him, you’d never have known it. He seemed warm and kind, showing none of the resentment he’d expressed in the limo.
Tom ushered him into a side room where there were three girls seated, biting their nails and looking extremely nervous. When they saw Riley, all three jumped up and gasped. I stood back and scanned the area while they hugged him and talked excitedly.
I leaned against the wall just inside the door, not really listening to the conversation Riley had with his guests. A half hour passed as Riley chatted and laughed with his contest winners.
All in all it was pretty boring, until a tall kid scooted under the velvet rope that was there to keep people out. There was something about his jittery demeanor and set jaw that got my instincts alert.
I stepped in front of him. “This is a private area.” I tried not to sound too intimidating in case he really was just in the wrong place.
He stopped and looked at me, his gaze muddled. “Riley will want to see me.”
I glanced toward Riley, who looked up at that moment. He didn’t seem to have any recognition on his face, so I turned back to the kid. “I think you need to wait outside. I’m sure you’ll get a chance to meet Riley after he’s done here.”
He scowled. “Who are you?”
“I’m nobody.” I spoke calmly.
He blinked at me as if confused. “Well, then, you have no business keeping me from my boyfriend.”
I was positive Riley hadn’t recognized the guy earlier, but the kid seemed so confident, it did make me question if I’d read Riley correctly. I turned to Riley and pointed at the kid with my eyebrows raised.
He frowned and then shrugged. That told me all I needed to know as little alarm bells went off that the guy was not all there. “Look, how about we go outside and talk this over.”
“I don’t want to talk to you.” He stood on his tiptoes, and he waved, yelling, “Riley. Who is this guy?”
Riley’s expression became wary, and he stood up. I was losing patience with the kid as he became more and more agitated. I didn’t want him to fuck up the meet and greet.
“Come on. Outside. Now,” I said firmly.
“But we love each other.”
If Riley was madly in love with this guy, he sure hadn’t shown it just now. Anxiety seemed to come off the kid in waves, and he tried to push past me. “Riley, honey.”
“Look, you need to relax.”
“Relax?” he hissed. “Why are you people always trying to keep us apart?”
I tried another tactic. “Riley’s busy right now. You don’t want him to get mad at you, right? Let’s wait outside and give him a chance to do his job.”
“Oh, you’d love that, wouldn’t you?” His eyes were wide. “Then you could keep me away forever.”
I took hold of his arm. “Buddy, I don’t even know you.”
He laughed. “Right.”
Feeling impatient, I said, “Let’s go.” I pressed against him to force him to back up, and he stumbled slightly and slipped his hand into his jacket. His expression morphed from pathetic to malevolent, and I knew I had a major problem on my hands. I shoved him out of the room and followed, determined to get whatever he had in his jacket away from him. We wrestled silently, his face flushed and angry and me focused on one thing: subduing him as quietly as possible.
A line of fans were about three feet away, and they watched us grapple in startled silence.
“Let me go,” he screeched. “He loves me.”
He kneed my groin and I clenched my jaw, holding back my yelp of pain and still trying to hold his arms down. He managed to slip one arm from my desperate grasp, and he pulled something from beneath his blazer. I recognized it instantly as a handgun.
