“What else did he send you?” My brother demanded.
Feeling like a guilty child caught doing something wrong, I pulled out the rest of Randy’s letters. I hid them inside an unused drawer in my dressing room, hoping to forget them. I didn’t even bring them home.
I sat back down and watched Arron go through all of Randy’s letters. My twin turned sheet white as he read the contents.
“Dearest Dave, today I repainted our dream house and bought a new bed for us. I’m planning to outfit our love dungeon next,” Aaron said. “I’ll use my salary to get us all the toys we need.”
Love dungeon?
Dreamhouse?
Toys?
I briefly scanned all of Randy’s letters, never really processing them. Hearing Aaron read Randy’s notes out loud, gave me the creeps.
Aaron had a point. My stalker was deranged.
“Jesus, Todd. Why haven’t you gone to the police?” Aaron asked, shaking his head.
“I told you. I didn’t think it was that serious,” I answered defensively.
“This has always been the problem with you, Todd. You think you can deal with every little thing by yourself. What if I didn’t examine these chocolates? What if he put poison in them? You were about to eat them, weren’t you?”
Poison?
I must admit the thought never occurred to me. Suddenly I felt unsure of myself. I was grateful my brother found out about Randy.
I’d kept this little secret to myself, thinking I was the one being paranoid. Talking to Aaron made me realize what a real threat Randy could be.
I let out a weak laugh. “I doubt Randy wanted to poison me. Can we get out of here? I need a drink or two.”
“Yeah. Okay, but we can’t leave this alone, Todd. If you don’t want to go the cops, can we at least discuss alternative options? Please?” Aaron’s worried tone made me look at him.
My brother and I were the family jokers and pranksters. We were known for never taking anything seriously but seeing my brother show genuine concern made me uneasy.
Genuine fear festered in my gut.
I disliked asking for help. I was stubborn that way, but I knew I couldn’t handle this situation alone.
“Fine,” I grunted. “What other options do I have?”
“What about hiring a bodyguard? Clark has a friend who works in security.” Aaron suggested.
Clark was a cousin of ours and the only Alpha my gigantic family managed to produce.
Clark could also be super protective of all his Omega brothers and cousins. I groaned.
“Do we have to drag Clark into this?” I asked.
I was complaining but truthfully, I was grateful for my brother and the rest of my family.
I knew everyone had my back. They were always there if I needed them.
We left my dressing room. Most of the other actors and staff had gone home by now.
It was dark and quiet in the other actors’ dressing rooms. Unease knotted in my belly as we passed the set.
I started to hurry. Aaron did the same.
Just nerves, I told myself.
We were nearly at the exit, much to my relief. As we emerged into the cold night, Aaron started for his car. I followed him.
Was it my imagination or did I glimpse a shadow lurking in the alleyway?
Goosebumps appeared over my arms. My paranoia rose a notch higher. I imagined a guy in a hoodie coming at me from behind, shoving a chloroform-doused cloth over my mouth.
I shivered. Nothing like that was going to happen. I might be a soap opera actor but real life was nothing like fiction.
Right?
“Hey, Todd?”
It took me a second to realize Aaron had called out my name three times. I must be really out of it. Exhaustion and fear made for a terrible combination.
“Yeah?” I asked, hating how dazed I sounded.
“Get in the car. Stop spacing out.”
Grateful to Aaron for taking charge, I slid inside the car. Aaron got behind the wheel and patted my arm.
“We’re going to figure this out, bro. Everything’s going to be alright.” Aaron reassured me.
I only hoped my brother was right.
2
Marco
I knew this bodyguard gig wouldn’t be easy. Celebrities were a piece of work.
I should know because my last job had involved keeping a famous underwear model safe from his tenacious ex-husband.
That turned out to be a full-time nightmare. My employer had been nothing but insufferable.
He acted more like a spoiled teenager who would throw tantrums whenever he could as opposed to an adult man.
I would be better off refusing this job but Clark was the brother I never had. He always had my back. Clark helped me out in a tight pinch once. A client’s ex-boyfriend had a gun on me.
Luckily, I called Clark for back-up before I confronted the ex-boyfriend. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve landed myself in a hospital or worse, ended up dead.
That was why I was sitting in Jo Jo’s Diner on a hot afternoon. I agreed to meet Clark and his cousin Todd. I didn’t watch soap operas but I did a little online digging on Todd Bright last night.
According to the news articles I’ve read, the show had been receiving average ratings until Todd became a full cast member. Then the ratings skyrocketed.
Curiosity prompted me to watch one episode last night.
Who was I kidding?
I binged-watched the entire first season. I didn’t sleep until 4 am. I could’ve started on season two, but I was dead certain if I did that, I wouldn’t get my ass off my couch.
The show was that addictive, although I’d never tell Clark or my future employer that.
“Hey, Marco. Thanks for coming,” Clark said, interrupting my thoughts.
The other Alpha slid into the booth opposite mine.
Clark looked so much better. The last time we had a video call, the other Alpha was in the dumps. Clark lost his boyfriend and his job at the same time.
He’d been mopey and irritable. Privately, I was glad Clark broke it off with his ex Simon because I never liked the demanding Omega.
Clark was now happily mated to a loving Omega and even had triplets.
A complete shocker, I know. I never pictured my friend as either mate or fatherly material. I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet his mate Dusty or his kids.
I wasted two years of life, working for that spoiled underwear model.
“It’s been a while, huh?” I asked.
“It has. Sorry for being late. The triplets were being rowdy and Dusty went out grocery shopping. Which reminds me, have you seen a picture of my cute babies?” Clark asked
I took a sip of my coffee and shook my head. A waitress stopped at our table to take Clark’s orders. He asked for coffee and a ham sandwich, then whipped out his wallet.
Clark showed me photos of his smiling mate and kids.
Who the heck was this stranger?
I hardly recognized my friend. Two years ago, Clark didn’t look ready to settle down. I was in the same boat.
Relationships took a lot of work. I’ve fended off plenty of jealous boyfriends and psychotic spouses from my clients.
Love made people do ugly things. In my opinion, it wasn’t worth the effort.
Still, hearing Clark passionately talk about his family filled me with unfamiliar longing.
What would it feel like, to come home to a noisy and big home?