20. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Pete

I nitial checks on the security staff employed at the academy came up clean, as expected. If one or more of them has dirt, it’s been rinsed. The deeper checks are being done now, but those are going to take longer, so now all I can do is wait.

“I ordered you my usual,” Shadow tells me as he sits down.

“Burger and a shake?” I ask, knowing I’m right.

“And fries and those fried pickle things.”

“Frickles,” I correct him.

Fast food usually isn’t something I eat a lot of, but I have to admit to feeling pretty hungry since skipping breakfast, and right now a burger doesn’t sound like a bad choice.

“That’s it! Frickles.” Shadow shakes his head. “I can’t believe I forgot that.”

I can, but I don’t say it. I resist the urge to follow Lana over to her desk.

Sitting down across from Shadow, I take my phone out of my pocket.

We were allowed back into the office on the condition that we don’t disturb her while she’s working, and I’d like to at least attempt to do as she asks.

It’s not easy, but that’s only because it goes against what my instincts are telling me.

I want to be close to her. The need is strong, and it’s only going to get stronger.

I sit down and think back to what Shadow was talking about a second ago.

“You can have all the frickles when they get here.”

“I thought you liked them too?”

I shrug as I unlock my phone, ready to find a mind-numbing game to occupy myself with.

“I’d rather skip the inevitable heartburn.”

I’d also rather keep my breath from being completely reprehensible while I’m around Lana.

Shadow’s cute enough to get away with bad breath.

I don’t have his charm, so I have to be more conscious about what I’m doing.

He doesn’t get it. He’s always been a bit oblivious to the differences between Omegas and everyone else.

“What are you doing?” he asks, glancing at my phone.

Lana’s probably already regretting letting us back in.

I can hear her lightly tapping her fingers on her keyboard.

She really does have work to do, and we need to be as quiet as possible.

“What’s your battery like?” I ask him.

He takes his phone out. “It’s at like eighty percent. Why?”

“Load up one of your favorite podcasts and put your ear pods in,” I instruct him.

He blinks at me before I motion back to Lana.

“We’re guests here, and we’re trying to be quiet.”

He nods, instantly deciding to zip his pretty lips.

Leaning back in his seat, he gets his ear pods out of his pocket and puts them in.

I get more comfortable in my own seat, and I avoid the urge to check my emails.

Those additional security checks are going to take a while.

I think about those locked basement rooms again, but I’d rather go back down there and check them while the security office is unoccupied. It’s unlikely those rooms are hiding anything other than old files, but if there’s the tiniest chance of uncovering something potentially explosive, literally, or otherwise, I can’t ignore it.

I pretend to be occupied with a boring as fuck matching game I download to keep my hands busy, but really, I’m listening to Lana work while I wait impatiently for lunch to arrive and bring another chance to talk with her.

Eating isn’t a big deal for me.

Not like it is for Shadow.

He enjoys food so much, it’s almost a kink for him.

I eat because I need to. Sure, sometimes the food is nice, and sometimes it’s not even really about the food as much as it’s about sharing a moment. I can appreciate it, but I’d skip it for anything more important in a heartbeat.

Doing all I can to protect Lana is my biggest priority right now.

So, I wait in restrained silence for lunch to arrive.

And I think about all the things I want to do to the creep who’s targeting Lana.

As far as pastimes go, it’s a lot more fun than the dumb game I downloaded.