Page 91 of No Escape

Rolling to the side I think the bathroom is on, I end up face-planting into Leo’s bare chest. At some point while we slept, he turned to face me.

I have no choice but to give him a solid shove. He rolls over onto his back, waking up as I crawl over him. My feet hit the floor, and I run for the bathroom in a weird, staggering crouch.

My entire body burns. I’m just not sure if it’s from the fever or the aches and pains that come when my system freaks out about not having the suppressants.

I’ve felt run down all day, but worrying about Valor and Omen, combined with excitement about seeing Leo and Shaw again, were decent distractions.

I thought the worst was behind me.

I was wrong.

I’m not even able to get the toilet seat up before I heave.

Leo makes it into the bathroom a second later, and he wraps his hand in my hair, helping to hold it back from my face. He braces my hip with his free palm, which helps because I’m wobbly as hell.

“Fuck, Saylor, you’re burning up,” he whispers.

I can’t even respond with how violently my body attempts to purge everything from my stomach.

I’m really over this. It feels like the universe has it out for me, and I’m not even the one who made the choice to go off the suppressants.

“You’re okay,” Leo coos in a soothing tone that makes me feel like I’m about to burst into tears. “I’ve got you, sweet girl. Just get it out. You’ll feel better.”

This tracks with how my life is going. I’m trapped in a cell with two guys I’ve had a crush on for years, and they’re getting a front-row view of how unglamorous it truly is to deal with an omega.

ChapterTwenty-Eight

Shaw

The military might be to thank, but I’ve got a pretty solid internal clock, even if we don’t have access to one in the cell. We went to bed somewhere around eleven. Saylor joined us within an hour or two. I’m unsure exactly how long the three of us managed to sleep before she woke up sick as fuck, but it couldn’t have been long.

Leo and I haven’t slept more than an hour or two since she was taken, and I’m exhausted both mentally and physically. At the same time, there’s no way I can sleep with how ill Saylor is.

After several bouts of intense vomiting, I bring them a bottle of water, and Saylor tells me where to find the thermometer. By the time Leo takes her temperature, she’s pushing 109, which is fucking terrifying.

Omegas can handle temperature spikes that would kill a beta or an alpha, but she’s not giving any of the cues that would indicate she’s in heat. Well, not outside of the fever. She whimpers as Leo helps her rinse her mouth after brushing her teeth.

My fists clench, and my head shakes. I want to help her. I just don’t know what to do. There’s hardly any room with the sofa pulled out into a bed. Getting around it requires walking sideways, and you’re always three seconds away from stubbing your toe.

Leo has always been a caregiver. He also manages to set Saylor at ease in a way I’ve never been able to mimic.

It’s frustrating.

I’m easygoing, the one most likely to crack jokes and keep everyone smiling. But my relationship with Saylor has always been different from how I interact with the rest of the world. She’s never opened up to me like she does with Leo, and it tickles each and every insecurity that I’ve got.

Why doesn’t she trust me the way she trusts him?

Does she like him better than me?

Now isn’t the time for this bullshit.

Leo guides Saylor out of the bathroom as she clutches his forearm for dear life. Sliding around the end of the pullout sofa, I come to a stop in front of them and point at my partner.

“You haven’t slept in longer than I haven’t,” I say, stretching out an arm for Saylor. “Come on, princess. You’re with me for a while. Leo needs at least a three-hour block of sleep, or his organs are going to start shutting down.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Leo mutters, frowning as Saylor lets me pull her to my chest with a hand on her hip.

I nod to the loft the beta normally sleeps in. “I’m on first watch. You can take over after I’m no longer afraid you’re delirious from exhaustion.”

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