I realized I knew next to nothing about the real Daniel. He certainly had access to every inch of the studio and he’d been working here for as long as I did.
“Daniel, are you Randy?” I asked in a whisper.
Daniel turned his gaze to me and I was stunned by the change in his expression.
Daniel had looked at Marco with nothing but open hostility but the stare he directed at me was one of reverent worship.
“Dave,” he whispered. “I didn’t want to introduce myself to you like this, but no matter. Once I get you alone in our dream house—”
I froze up completely.
“Like hell that’s going to happen,” Marco thundered. “Give it up, Daniel. You’re caught.”
Daniel’s face contorted to one of pure rage. He bit on his lower lip so hard, blood welled. Veins popped out from his forehead like he was undergoing some sort of monstrous transformation.
He looked from Marco to me and sneered.
“I get it now. Marco, you refused my advances the other day because you want to have Dave all to yourself, don’t you? Selfish prick,” Daniel said with a hiss.
“You hit on Marco because you wanted him out of the way,” I murmured as the awful realization dawned on me.
“That’s right. Don’t you worry, Dave? Once I get rid of the competition, we have plenty of time together.”
“I don’t understand. You slept with almost everyone in the studio except me,” I began.
“All the people I’ve had sex with meant nothing to me. Playing the part of the slutty make-up artist is just another act for me. Dave, you’re the one I really love,” Daniel said.
Daniel then whipped out something from his jacket. I almost expected it to be some kind of weapon, a knife or gun maybe. He was holding onto a syringe that contained some kind of clear liquid.
A cold sweat broke out all over my body. Whatever that liquid was, it couldn’t be good.
Daniel was an Omega. He knew an Alpha like Marco could easily overpower him. If Daniel injected Marco with that strange liquid, who knew what would happen?
I shuddered.
Daniel ran at us. Marco tensed, probably readying his body for a fight. At that same moment, Gary, who I thought was unconscious, lashed his leg out.
Daniel tripped, falling face-first into the floor. The syringe rolled away from his fingers. Marco easily kicked it aside before Daniel could retrieve it.
In seconds, Marco was on Daniel. Marco wrapped one muscled arm over Daniel’s neck. Daniel gasped, clawing and punching at Marco to no avail. The Omega’s face started to turn purple.
Daniel eventually stopped fighting him. The other Omega slumped to the floor, eyes closed.
I drew a sharp breath. “Marco is he alive?”
I knew Marco could be overprotective when it came to my safety. My Alpha only acted in self-defense but I was sure as hell worried Marco killed Daniel by accident.
I was already thinking two steps ahead. My aunt Marissa was an amazing self-defense lawyer. If I could get her to defend Marco—
“He’s just unconscious for the moment,” Marco said.
“Oh, thank God,” I uttered.
By that time, a small crowd had gathered behind me. Marco was now tending to Gary. I joined them and knelt right next to my assistant.
Gary met my gaze. “I tried to stop him, Todd. I knew you locked the dressing room before going out for lunch. When I saw him picking the lock and noticed the flowers he was carrying, I knew something was up.”
“Gary, why did confront him?” I asked, a little worried.
Marco was already on his phone. He called for a paramedic, then he phoned the police.
“I wasn’t thinking,” Gary admitted.
“Well, thank you. What you did was stupid but you were also incredibly brave,” I told him. “I’ll be right here until the paramedics arrive.”
“Okay,” Gary whispered, then closed his eyes.
I traded a worried look with Marco.
“I’m no medical expert,” Marco said. “The cut on his forehead looks bad but it's not too serious.”
“I hope you’re right.” I looked over to where Daniel was.
The Omega was still unconscious. Someone must’ve called security, because Barry, the forty-something head of security came bumbling in.
For a second, I was almost worried Barry would misinterpret the situation. To my surprise, Barry slapped cuffs on Daniel.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
Everything was going to be alright after all.
12
Marco
“What happened next, Todd?” Nestor demanded.
I sipped my beer, amused. Todd had finally invited me to one of his family’s mythical weekend barbecues. He introduced me as his mate.
I had to admit, I was a little overwhelmed at first. Numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins had stopped me to chat. They all asked me how Todd and I met.
I could tell right away that Todd’s family was tight-knit. Each one of them cared about my Omega and I was happy to indulge them.
I answered all their questions as best as I could. I’ve already met Todd’s Alpha dad. Vince was quiet and seemed like a private person.
Todd and Aaron took after their Pa. Since Vince didn’t seem to have any objections with me dating his son, I took that as a good sign. Todd’s Pa, Heath, wasn’t here at the barbecue yet.
Aaron warned me that their Pa wasn’t easy to please. Honestly, I wasn’t too worried.
Todd was surrounded by a couple of his cousins in the yard. He held their rapt attention.
“Well, not much. The police arrived and they put Daniel in jail. Marco and I surrendered all of Daniel’s letters and gifts.
Someone took a video of Daniel running at Marco with the syringe. It turned out the syringe contained a deadly formula that could incapacitate and even kill an Alpha,” Todd said with a shudder.
An entire week had passed since the incident. I knew Todd had more or less, recovered from the initial shock. My Omega was just playing his role as a great storyteller for his captive audience.
“With all the evidence stacked against him, Daniel is going to stay in prison for a very long time,” Todd finished.
“I’m really glad you took this job,” said Clark, who joined me.
Needing to get away for a little bit from Todd’s family, I decided to stand under an ancient maple tree. I quietly sipped my beer.
It was a lazy Saturday afternoon and I was honestly getting a little sleepy after all the steaks and sausages I consumed. The Bright family took feeding all their guests seriously.
“I gained a mate in return,” I told my friend. “You and Todd weren’t kidding about your family.”
“Oh yeah. Everyone here is obnoxious and loud.” Clark sounded distracted.
Amazing was the adjective I was looking for. I didn’t have a family to call my own for years but things had changed.
Todd was my family now but in the process of claiming Todd as my mate, I’ve also inherited the rest of his big family.
I followed Clark’s gaze. Clark was looking at his Omega, Dusty, who was trying to get one of their triplets to sleep. Clark’s other two babies were being fawned over by Everett and Nestor.
Clark then returned his attention to me and grinned. “So. Todd’s saying you’re going to propose to him sooner or later.”