by Eva Leon
“Well, maybe you don’t have to go yet. We’re about to head to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. You should totally join us.”
Xavier looked at Caspian, and Cas returned a yes nod. He decided to go along with whatever was happing. Partially because he had to know how the gorgeous Omega had ended up in a fishing net in the ocean, and partially because he had to know Caspian. It was as if a switch had flipped inside him the moment he laid eyes on him. He’d never felt such a strong pull toward an Omega before, and Xav had to know where his meeting with Caspian would lead.
“Sure, I’ll go.”
“Great!” Vince said. “Cas, you might want to go upstairs and put on something else,” he said, eyeing Cas’s coveralls.
“Sure, I’ll be back in a flash.”
The three Omegas and Xavier made small talk about the weather while Cas went up to his hotel room to throw on cargo shorts and a t-shirt. He didn’t spend much time picking out his clothes because he didn’t want to leave Xavier alone with his friends for too long.
Xavier fielded questions about how long he’d lived on the island and what his favorite restaurant was while Cas was gone. The Omegas stood in rapt attention and listened to his every word. Xav was used to that from the Omega tourists, though. Life on the fishing boat had left him with long, lean muscles and a perpetual golden tan.
Caspian reappeared after only a few minutes. Xavier thought he looked adorable in his concert t-shirt and shorts, but he couldn’t get the image of the Omega’s naked body out of his mind. He felt himself starting to grow hard and decided it was time to find a place for breakfast before he ended up with a huge erection.
“Where did you guys want to eat?” he asked and turned to look out the doors of the hotel. He’d completely forgotten they’d said they wanted to eat at the hotel.
“Well, we were thinking of just eating at the hotel restaurant. Did you have something better in mind?” Nick asked.
“There’s a place up the street that serves cornbread pancakes and chorizo that’s to die for.”
“That sounds amazing,” Caspian said. He hadn’t wanted to eat anything heavy the day before, but he still felt a little hollow after his swim in the ocean. A big breakfast actually sounded good.
“Let’s do that then,” Vince said.
They left the hotel and walked the three blocks to the pancake house. As they approached the diner, Caspian noticed the man who’d been following him standing in the parking lot. He wasn’t sure what to do, though, so he just ducked over on the other side of Xavier and kept walking into the restaurant.
Once they were seated, Xav asked him why he’d acted that way in the parking lot. “What was up? Why did it look like you were trying to hide behind me outside?”
“There’s this guy I keep seeing. I think he might be following me. I’m not for sure, though.” Cas was for sure because of the confrontation on the beach the night before, but he couldn’t really tell Xavier or his friends about what had happened.
“Well, I’ll keep an eye on him. If he comes any closer or is still out there when we leave, I’ll say something to him.”
“My hero,” Caspian said in an attempt to keep the mood light.
A waiter came and took their orders. Caspian and Xavier both ordered the cornbread pancakes and chorizo. The other three Omegas looked at them like they were strange and ordered various other incarnations of pancakes and sausage. When the food came, all three of the others looked like they knew they’d missed out.
“We’re coming back here tomorrow,” Vince announced. “I have to try that.”
“You’ll want to eat breakfast here every day once you try these,” Xavier said. “I do. I always eat here when I’m on land.”
“That’s right,” Nick said. “You work on a fishing boat. How long have you done that?”
“Since I was fifteen. My father needed the help. He owns a fleet of boats. I’m technically the captain of the Christina.”
“Fifteen? Wow. You’ve worked full-time since you were that young?” Caspian asked.
“Yep. I didn’t drop out of high school or anything, though. I finished early. I was born in August, so I was always almost a year younger than the other kids at school. I did zero hour and took summer school to get my credits in.”
“Why push yourself through so soon?” Nick asked in between shoveling blueberry pancake drenched in strawberry syrup into his mouth.
“Like I said, my father needed the help. There’s not exactly a huge pool of labor here on the island. One of his crew quit and it was easier for me to step up than have him try to find someone. I wanted to be a captain anyway. So, why not get started as soon as possible?”
The Omegas all nodded in agreement. Caspian looked over his shoulder out the restaurant window, and his good mood was shattered by the man still standing in the parking lot. A woman had joined him, and both people were staring at Caspian.
When Xavier noticed Caspian looking, he turned his head. The slightest stain of red colored his cheeks as his anger rose up. He still wanted to protect Caspian, and the more time he spent around the Omega, the stronger the feeling grew.
“I’m going out to talk to the guy,” Xav said and stood up.
Xavier rushed out of the restaurant and up to the man and woman in the parking lot. They moved to get into their vehicle but not fast enough.
“Wait a second,” Xavier called out as he reached out for the man’s car door. “I need to talk to you.”
“What is it?” the man asked. “As you can see, my wife and I were ready to leave.”
“Oh yeah? Then why have you been standing outside the entire time my friends and I were having breakfast? Why have you been following Caspian?”
“I wasn’t following anyone.” the man said with a huff. “We were simply waiting for another couple to meet us for breakfast. I just got a text message saying they can’t make it, so we’re going to go to another restaurant. One my wife likes better. Now, get out of here before I call the cops and have you arrested for assault,” the man said.
“Sure, whatever,” Xavier retorted with an eyeroll. He didn’t believe one word the man said, and it only confirmed that he was following Caspian.
Xavier raised his phone and took a picture of the man before the guy could slip the rest of the way into his car. He sent the photo to his friend, Jaden, who was good at finding information.
Xav’s phone rang. It was Jaden calling him. “Can you identify this creep?” Xavier asked.
“I’ll give it my best,” Jaden said with a chuckle. He loved a challenge. He’d just gotten done hacking a senator’s email for a well-paying client.
“Thanks, man. Get back to me when you know something.”
They disconnected the line, and Xavier turned. The Omegas were coming out of the restaurant. He was upset because that meant they’d paid for their breakfast, and he’d intended to take care of the bill. Hopefully, he thought, he’d have another chance to make it up to them.
“So, there’s a party on the beach tonight. Some friend of a friend of Nick’s. Will you join us?”
“Sure,” Xavier said. “I’ll be landlocked for a bit. I’d love to go.”
Chapter Four
Jaden
Jaden did a Google image search of the dude in Xavier’s picture and didn’t come up with anything. At first, that put a huge smile on his face. It was going to be harder than he thought, and that made his skin prick with excitement. He cracked his knuckles and dug in.
Hacking into law enforcement was dangerous, but that’s what made it fun. Jaden was thorough in his search. He did the usual state police data base and found nothing. Next, he moved on to the FBI.
It was there that Jaden got his first hit. What was more interesting than that the FBI wanted Conrad Roe for several felonies was that he was wanted for international crimes as well. So Jaden ran the picture through the databases of several foreign countries’ law enforcement agencies as well.
What he came up with
proved the man Xavier had been curious about was dangerous. Conrad was wanted in several countries for everything from embezzlement to far more violent crimes.
Jaden was a mix of concerned and intrigued, so he dug deeper. After a few hours of searching, a few cans of Mountain Dew, and half a pepperoni pizza, Jaden found a connection between Conrad Roe and Dr. Andrew Halston. That name sent a chill up his spine, but he wasn’t sure why. Jaden knew the name, but he couldn’t put his finger on why it was so bad.
A few more cans of Mountain Dew and the other half of the pizza were gone by the time Jaden stopped his search. He knew enough at that point to be worried for his friend. He thought about calling Xavier, but what good would that do? His course of action would be the same either way.
So Jaden hacked into his favorite airline and got himself a first-class ticket on the next flight out. Halston had been implicated in several disappearances, but authorities never seemed to be able to make the charges stick.
Jaden didn’t think Halston would be after Xavier, but he could only guess that Xav had met an Omega who was in trouble. There was a buffet of young rich Omegas that visited the island, and many of them had powerful fathers. The same kind of people that found themselves involved in kidnappings. That meant Xavier might have put himself in the crossfire. He’d never listen to Jaden over the phone, though.
He packed a bag as fast as he could and raced to the airport. He’d be cutting it close but waiting for the next flight out was out of the question.
A few hours later, his second flight touched down on the island where Xavier lived and worked. He’d almost skipped out on waiting for the next flight and taken a speedboat out to the island, but the ominous black clouds in the distance made him nervous.
Jaden got to the island in time to watch the storm blow past. It didn’t hit the island, but it did churn up the seas around it. He was glad he decided to wait for the plane.
Once he was on solid ground again, Jaden hailed a taxi and gave the driver Xavier’s address. He was pleased to find him at home, and Xavier welcomed him inside.
“You want a beer, man?”
They’d been friends since childhood. Both of their fathers were in the Navy. Despite the fact that they lived so far apart, the young Alphas had kept in touch. They visited often too, since the plane trip was only a few hours and Jaden could get free tickets thanks to his hacking skills.
“Sure. You’d better get one for yourself too. I don’t know who the Omega is that got you into this, but he better be fine as hell.”
“How do you know this has anything to do with an Omega? I didn’t tell you what it was about.”
“You sticking your neck out like this tells me it’s an Omega. You don’t know how deep you’re into it yet, but trouble like this always leads back to an Omega.”
“You’re going to be single forever if you keep that attitude,” Xavier laughed.
“Fine by me, man. Fine by me.”
Jaden sat down on Xavier’s worn beige sofa. Xav kept the place tidy, but it was pretty obvious his father didn’t pay him well. Jaden had offered to help him out with some small bank transfers from a lot of big accounts, that’s originally how Jaden made his money, but Xavier had said he didn’t want to steal.
“They stole the money first, Xav,” Jaden had told him. “Trust me, I don’t take money from good people.”
It hadn’t convinced him, and Xav seemed happy to live a frugal lifestyle. He was generous with his beer, though.
Xavier came back into the room and handed Jaden a cold bottle of Corona with a lime wedge stuffed in the bottle neck.
“You’re lucky I had time after I got back today to go to the store for limes.”
“You’re lucky that I’m here to keep your ass from getting killed,” Jaden said and took a long draw of the beer.
“I think you’re being dramatic.”
“I’m not, though,” Jaden started. “That guy you took a picture of is a bad dude. He’s wanted in several countries for a variety of crimes, Xavier. And he’s got ties to this guy named Halston who has been implicated in several disappearances. That could mean kidnapping or murders where they just couldn’t find a body.”
“Fuck,” Xavier said.
He had the sudden urge to go out and find Caspian. Except the Omega probably wasn’t at his hotel, and Xav had no idea where to start looking for him. He knew he’d be at the party later, but other than that, Cas hadn’t shared his plans. All he could do was hope that Caspian would be okay until the party. He didn’t like the helpless feeling that gripped his gut. If anything happened to the Omega, he’d never forgive himself for not sticking by his side. He was being followed for fuck’s sake; why had Xavier left him?
Those were the thoughts Xavier beat himself up with while he tried to think of a way to break the news to Caspian.
“We should call Tate,” Jaden said.
“You want to drag Tate into this?”
“Well, he knows all that fighting shit,” Jaden said and took another swallow of his beer.
“That’s true. Maybe we should call him.”
Despite the fact that they were all Alphas, Xavier thought Jaden might have some feelings for Tate that went beyond friendship. Xavier couldn’t blame Jaden for feeling that way. Tate was an Adonis in the flesh.
It wasn’t completely unheard of for Alphas to have relationships with each other. Xavier was pretty sure that Tate only liked Omegas, but you never knew. Besides, it wasn’t really his business, so he didn’t ask.
They called Tate and were pleased to find out that he was only a couple of hours away in Mexico. He said he’d be on the next flight and arrive in time to go to the party. Xavier gave him the address, and they agreed to meet up outside the party first.
Chapter Five
Tate
Tate’s taxi pulled up at the beach front mansion where Xavier and Jaden were waiting for the Omegas. He looked out at the beach and saw that there were tons of scantily clad Omegas dancing and drinking beer around a massive bonfire. There were a few who had braved the ocean, even in the dwindling light. The sound of their splashing and laughter was music to his ears.
Moments later, another cab pulled up and Caspian and his friends got out. Instantly, Tate forgot about every other Omega at the party. Caspian was the most gorgeous Omega he’d ever seen, and his scent was enough to get Tate’s cock standing at attention.
At first it annoyed him that Xavier, and Jaden too, seemed to feel the same way about Caspian as he did, but how could he blame them?
When the other Omegas realized that Caspian had the attention of all three Alphas in their presence, they gave him a little wave and took off for the beach to prowl for dick of their own.
“Nice friends,” Jaden grumbled almost inaudibly. It was rude, but Tate could understand why his friend felt so protective of Caspian. He felt the same way about the Omega.
“They just want to have fun,” Caspian retorted and then looked down at his feet as if he were embarrassed for speaking up. The act of submission made Tate’s already-hard cock throb a little. Omegas didn’t have much choice about submitting to their Alphas, but it was more fun for Tate when they wanted it.
“I’ll get you a drink,” Jaden said, and Tate felt his hackles rise a bit.
“Thanks.”
“So, Caspian, you’re here on spring break?” Tate asked. He was intrigued by the Omega and found himself wanting more of his attention.
“Stay here with Caspian,” Xavier interrupted. “I’m going to go look around and make sure that Conrad guy isn’t lurking around.”
“Sure thing,” Tate said.
“Yeah, I’m here on spring break,” Caspian said shyly. “I’m majoring in bioinformatics.”
“No way,” Tate said. “That’s so weird. So am I,” he said and held his hand up for a high five.
Lightening coursed through his veins when Caspian’s hand made contact with his. Tate watched as a heat flush spread across Cas’s cheeks and he knew t
he Omega had felt it too.
He couldn’t believe he’d met such a sexy Omega who was also studying bioinformatics. “So what field are you interested in going into?”
“Oh, most definitely genomics. I want to build software to help track the evolution of animals,” Caspian said. “Probably sea life,” he threw in almost as an afterthought.
“That’s awesome.” Tate was genuinely interested. “I’m thinking about doing genomics too, but I’m more interested in the genetic editing side of things.”
“That’s cool too. Hey, we might actually end up working together on something someday. You editing guys often need us evolution guys.”
“That would be amazing,” Tate said. He found himself as excited as a kid on Christmas morning at the thought of working with Caspian. Tate wasn’t even trying to play it cool anymore.
Jaden reappeared with three beers. “Here you go, man,” he said to Tate cheerfully.
Tate hadn’t expected the kind gesture from his friend, and it helped ease some of the jealousy he felt when Xavier and Jaden were near Caspian. Still, he thought it would be heartbreaking if Caspian chose Xav or Jaden over him. That notion scared him a little because he’d never even considered that an Omega could break his heart.
Xavier came back a couple of minutes later. Jaden looked more than relieved. Tate and Caspian had been discussing genetic engineering the entire time, and while he understood the computer programming aspects of it, the biology stuff was practically lost on him. Needless to say, he hadn’t been able to contribute much to the conversation and had begun to feel like a third wheel. Tate thought that perhaps Jaden should have wandered off to find another Omega to party with, but what he didn’t know at the time was that Jaden felt that same magnetic pull to Caspian. There was no other Omega at the party as far as he was concerned.
“I didn’t see him anywhere, but I think it’s important that we keep a close eye on Caspian,” Xavier said. “In fact, maybe we shouldn’t even be at this party.”
“Come on now, Xav. You can’t expect Caspian to spend his entire vacation cooped up in his hotel room. What do you want? You want him to go home?” Jaden asked, but even suggesting it made him feel a little queasy. Not only did he want the Omega by his side, but if Caspian went home, who would protect him?
