Chapter Five
Abel
When I get the call at work today to meet Adam tonight, I’m super excited. Far more excited than I should be. Then, I google the address and find out it’s an abandoned church. I’m not sure if that’s exciting or terrifying.
I run home after work and change into jeans and tennis shoes. I was wearing a navy pinstripe suit at work today, and that didn’t seem like an appropriate outfit for an abandoned building. I also wanted to get those stupid shoes off my feet. My next job is going to have to be something where I can wear shoes that are more comfortable.
I gave Adam my cell number today when he called my office so he didn’t have to chance calling me at work again. My secretary would run right to Tom if she thought there was even the slightest chance she could get me fired and take my place. Yes, I am a personal assistant. Yes, I have a secretary. I need one to do my administrative tasks. She would also steal my job in a heartbeat if she could.
My phone chirps with a text message right about the time I pull up in front of the church.
Meet me around back. - Adam
When I walk around to the alley, I see Adam standing next to a black and chrome motorcycle, scuffing his boot in the gravel. He’s 100 percent sexy in his black motorcycle jacket and I imagine grabbing it and pulling him in for a long, slow kiss.
“Hello, Abel.” His voice is smooth, like liquid chocolate, and I want to hear him say my name a hundred times. Even that probably wouldn’t be enough.
“Hi, Adam. So why are we here at the spooky old church?”
“Wait just a moment,” he says and slips a key into the back door.
“Yes. Come on in. It only looks abandoned from the outside. We’ve got power and running water in here, thanks to Becks’s awesome hacking skills,” he says and opens the door for me.
“Becks?” I note a tinge of jealousy flopping around in my belly at the prospect of an Omega in his life.
“Rebecca Palmer. A childhood friend, criminal accomplice, hacker extraordinaire, and also a woman,” he says and chuckles.
“I wasn’t... I mean...” Damn, he picked up on my jealousy.
“Sure. Sure. I didn’t mean any harm,” he says good-naturedly. “Follow me. I’d like for you to meet her.”
He leads me towards a set of stairs that descend into the old church’s basement.
“The basement?” I ask apprehensively.
“It’s not so bad. Don’t worry. We fixed it up pretty well. Right now, Becks and I live in the upper part so work has to be downstairs.”
The jealousy comes back when I hear they live together. I mean, I know Becks is a woman, but it still makes me a bit envious. What if Adam likes women too? You just never know.
I cling tightly to the rickety handrailing as I make my way down the dimly lit staircase. When we open the door at the bottom, I’m relieved. The basement is clean, bright, and not nearly the disaster I thought it would be. There are a few computers set up. Some are off, and a couple of them look like they’re running numbers.
A tiny woman is sitting at the one on a desk against the back wall of the space. From what I can tell, she’s dressed in all black and has a pixie cut. Her hair is dyed aquamarine blue, and tattoos cover her arms and the back of her neck.
“Hello,” she says as she spins her chair around to face us.
“Becks, this is Abel,” he says as we approach her. “Abel, this is Becks, the brains of the operation.”
“I’ve been able to find some information on Tom, but not as much as we need. He never mentions the location of his backup hard drive in any of his emails, and his digital calendar is a dead-end,” she says and clicks away at the mechanical keyboard. Rebecca brings up his practically blank calendar on one screen while typing code into another. I’m fascinated by how well she can multitask.
“He keeps most of his appointments in a paper desk calendar. I always thought he was paranoid not wanting his schedule in the computer, but now I guess I know why,” I say, and wish I’d paid closer attention to who his most recent appointments were with. I can remember there were a few names I didn’t recognize but I can’t recall who they are.
“That could contain the clues we need to find the drive,” Adam says urgently.
“I can get you a copy tomorrow. I know he’s got meetings all afternoon, so if you come in after lunch, I’ll be able to make a copy and slip it to you without anyone knowing.”
“Can we go tonight?”
“I wish we could, but they polish the floors on Monday nights. I’m so sorry, Adam.”
“It’s okay,” he says sadly. I wish I knew why he was so emotionally invested in finding this hard drive. “Becks, show us what else you’ve found today.”
She takes about an hour showing us the ins and outs of the money transactions in the accounts that feed Tom’s central fund. Becks explains how she can tell when something is suspicious, and then what she does to flag the activity to examine later.
“You should be doing my job. You’re better at tracking Tom’s business than I am,” I say, and I’m genuinely impressed.
“No thanks, brother. I hate this stuff. I’m only doing it for Sophie.” She looks like she just let all the cats out of the bag, and Adam shoots her a severe warning look.
“Sophie?” I have to know.
“It’s nothing, Abel. It’s just a code name for one of the interested parties. Look, thanks for all your help so far. I’ll come by your office tomorrow for the schedule, and I’ll make sure to text you first. Becks and I have a lot of stuff to do so we’re going to have to call it a night,” he says and it’s obvious he wants me to leave.
“Okay. Well, glad I could help.”
Adam walks me out to my car. It’s another unexpected chivalrous gesture.
“I just want you to know I’m not upset. The Sophie thing is pretty sensitive, but maybe sometime I’ll tell you about it. Sorry for being short with you in there,” he says and stands dangerously close to me. I can smell his scent, and it’s an intoxicating mixture of soap and mint. The mint has to be his Alpha scent. It immediately makes me feel at home. I’ve never had an Alpha’s smell affect me so much.
“It’s okay. I understand how stressful this is. Well, I guess I can’t really because I still don’t really know why you’re doing it, but I’m trying to understand.”
“I want to tell you more. I do. I will. Just not yet, okay?” Adam says and brushes a strand of my hair out of my eye. It sends a chill down my spine.
“I accept.”
“Good,” he says and kisses my forehead gently. “Text me as soon as you get home. I want to know you’re safe.”
Before either of us can say anything else, Adam turns and quickly disappears back around the building.
I get in my car fast, because this neighborhood is super scary when you’re out alone at night, and drive home.
Brutus, my cat, chastises me as soon as I walk in the door. “I know, buddy. Sorry,” I say and bend down to stroke his sleek black fur. “Let’s get you some dinner. Oh, and let’s get me some dinner too.”
I feed my beloved and crazy cat before going to the kitchen to decide what I’m going to eat. My fridge is pretty stocked so I pull out chicken and vegetables to make a stir-fry. I’ll need lunch tomorrow too, so I make enough for two meals.
While swirling the ingredients around in my wok, I get a rush of excitement. I don’t know why Adam is doing all this or why I’ve gotten myself involved, but I’m basically a spy. That’s pretty badass. I think. It’s certainly the most daring thing I’ve ever done. I mean, I stayed up all night reading once during my junior year in college, but I’ve never been very adventurous. Keep your head down and keep your nose in a book have pretty much been my two biggest rules in life.
Once my food is done, I eat my dinner while Brutus sits on the floor next to my chair and stairs at me. I never feed him off the table, but that doesn’t stop him from trying at every single meal.
Before bed, I decide I want to read a spy novel but I don’t have any. I never read on my Kindle, but tonight I’ll make an exception. I power it up and find an exciting-looking spy title.
The next thing I know, my alarm is going off. I’ve fallen asleep in my chair reading. Again. I’m fairly sure Adam is saving me from being the most uninteresting guy that ever lived. He’s also preventing me from becoming a crazy cat Omega at the ripe old age of… never mind. Let’s just say it’s north of twenty and south of forty.
Usually, on Tuesday, I get up, go to my closet, and pull out my black “Tuesday” suit. That’s right, folks, I have an outfit I wear almost every Tuesday. Today, I’m going to see Adam at work, though, so I want something a little more eye-catching.
I have no idea what is going on between us, or why I’m mysteriously fine with it, but I do know I want more. When he kissed me on the forehead, it made my heart skip a beat. Not in an oh my God get me to the ER right now kind of way, but more like an oh my God the cutest Alpha in the whole class just kissed me kind of way.
I never got to feel that way about guys when I was in school. Correction, I never let myself feel that way about the guys in school. Plenty of them tried to get my attention but I wasn’t interested. Tom Hunt had been the first time in a very long time that I let my guard down with a man, and it turned out horribly. If I hadn’t met Adam, I know I would have convinced myself that I was right about men all along.
What if Adam proves me right too?
I’m not going to think like that right now. There is something very real and very electric between the two of us, and I, Abel Ross Banks, am just going to let myself enjoy being a corporate spy with a gorgeous man for the time being. It’s not like another opportunity to live this kind of adventure is going to fall in my lap.
My closet is full of outfits I bought, but I’ve never been daring enough to wear. I put on the same few classic suits every week but I dream of being the kind of Omega who wears something a little more fashionable. I’ve told myself numerous times that if I don’t start wearing them, I need to donate them to the shelter. Maybe a little of both? I’ll wear this brand-new pair of fitted wool pants and give a few of the others to Angela this weekend. I know she’s working with a few families where the Omega is looking for a job. A new suit might be the thing they need to turn their lives around for good.
Let’s hope this outfit is what I need to turn myself around too. I laugh because the tags are still attached. I bought it two months ago when I saw the dark wool fabric in the shop window. It’s daring, bold, clings to my ass, and completely unlike me. Until today.
After my shower, I slip into the new pants and check myself out in the mirror. A pair of black Italian leather shoes complete the look, and I’m amazed. An entirely new Omega is standing before me.
I look like a spy!