Page 106 of One for the Money
I click on it.
A news story loads, and I hold my breath when a pretty blond interviewer holding a microphone smiles solemnly at the camera.
“Good afternoon, I’m Jill King, with Alpha News 1, here with Doctor Richard Smith. His scent match and pack mate, Doctor Alex Shields, has been missing for weeks. Richard, could you explain to everyone what happened?”
Rich looks handsome, his hair neatly styled and his clothing tightly pressed. I used to do that for him. I wonder who is ironing creases into his slacks now? His face is sad, looking every bit the part of the grieving Alpha. I can see the newscaster, Jill, eating it up hook, line, and sinker. Idon’t blame her. If I were anyone other than myself, I would be, too.
I’ve fallen for him before, after all.
“Alex and I have been together since our medical residencies, and we have a wonderful relationship. I came home one day, and she was gone without a trace. At first, my pack and I thought she left us, and while we were devastated and blindsided, we would have accepted that it was her right as our Omega.”
I can’t hold back my snort. What a fucking lie. There is no way they accepted my leaving.
I have the scars from the first, and only, time I tried to leave them before this that beg to fucking differ.
“But two days ago, I received a call that she had been admitted to the hospital with Forsaken Omega Syndrome. I know how dangerous that is, and how much an Omega needs their Alpha to help them recover, so I dropped everything to meet her at the hospital. By the time I arrived, she was gone, and the staff said she had left with her Alphas. Of course, that isn’t possible, because it was not my pack and I. Now we know that she did not leave on her own, but was instead kidnapped by a pack of rogue Alphas.”
“That must be terrifying for your pack.”
“It is, Jill. I don’t have to tell you how rare a female Omega is, and while our pack cherished her for the diamond she is, not all will. Alex is a doctor, but she has always been too trusting and easily manipulated. I worry that she will be tricked into instigating a bond with them. I just want my Omega back. If yousee this, Alex, please know we love and miss you so much, and can’t wait until you return home.”
I slam my laptop shut and run to the bathroom, dry heaving.
He’s put my name and face out there and said that I was taken against my will. If anyone sees me, they’re going to call in a tip, assuming I’m being held against my will, and he’s going to find me.
It seems silly to think, but it’s almost like I’m more trapped now than I was before.
It’s unlikely that Greg and Tripp care this much about their favorite punching bag being missing. I’m sure they could rope someone else into falling for their charm, but since I’m Rich’s scent match, he could start to Rot without me around.
I hope he does.
Maybe that needs to be my new plan. Hide out in the circus long enough for the Rot to take him out.
Between the cryptic text and this news broadcast, I’ve swandived past hopeless and into despair.
Why did I ever think I could find a normal life at the circus of all places? All I’ve done is make my life more complicated. I haven’t even had time to unpack the baggage that I earned last night, and now another emergency is on my plate.
Namely, what will happen to the men of Cirque de Mordu if I am found here with them?
Should I run? Pack up all my stuff and sneak out while they’re performing?
That way, if I get discovered or picked up by someone, they don’t get arrested for “kidnapping” an Omega. There isn’t much worse of a crime to commit in this day and age, and with the prejudices people have against “carnies,” there is no way their side of the story would be believed over that of such highly respected members of society like Rich and Tripp, whose father is the governor.
But what is the likelihood of someone noticing me and reporting me if I’m hiding out in a circus? If I barely leave my trailer?
There is no way I am of a clear enough mind to make any major decisions right now. The symptoms of FOS are pretty much all gone after mainlining Alpha pheromones last night, but I’m still weak and tired from my battle with the flu.
I’ve been saving my salary since I started, and it’s more than I escaped Rich and the pack with at first, so that’s a good thing, but there are still many other factors that will weigh into my decision to stay or go. I would need to have a place to go, for one, and a means to make more money.
And I need to get back on suppressants if I’m going to run. I can’t draw the kind of attention I would as an unsuppressed Omega to myself right now.
No, I need to wait and make a plan. I can’t run off half-cocked and hope that it turns out okay. I know I can’t stay here and finish out my contract, even though my inner Omega is starting to scream for me to consider it, but a few more days so I can put together a solid plan won’t kill me.
My trailer jolts to a stop,and I know we’ve reached our next destination.
It’s been two days since I saw the news story about my supposed kidnapping, and I can’t shake the feeling that Iam running out of time. That I am living in borrowed, stolen moments.
I haven’t seen Dexter since the rut incident. I’m not surprised, but I’m also inexplicably upset about it. He didn’t strike me as a hit-it-and-quit-it type of guy, especially since that was his first time, but it seems I misjudged him, because he’s back to ignoring me.
