Page 67 of One for the Money
Chapter 24
Quinton’s legbounces so rapidly in the truck beside me that I worry he’s going to kick a hole in the floorboard.
“Baby, you have to calm down,” I say softly, grasping his knee. “They’re going to take care of her. She’s going to be alright.”
“It should be me in that ambulance.” His voice is strained, like he’s holding himself back from crying. “Dexter doesn’t even like her. Why is he the one holding her? Her Omega marked me. She needs me. Not him.”
Jealousy coats his words like tar. Usually, my Alpha is as easy-going as they come. This selfish attitude is unlike him, and I have to force myself to swallow my chastising words and give him grace.
These are extenuating circumstances, and getting onto him isn’t going to make it any easier.
Jude grunts from his position behind the wheel. “She’s his Omega, too. I’m sure he’s got some confusing feelings right now.”
“I’ll bet he does,” Quinton snarks. “He doesn’t want her. He’s wanted you to get rid of her from day one. And now, suddenly, he’s being the Alpha she needs? It’s not right. She deserves more than that. Better than that.” He leans forward, grabbing onto the dashboard. “Can you drive faster?”
Jude gestures wildly in front of him. “The ambulance is right there! Do you want me to outpace them?”
My Alpha groans and throws his head back. “I need to see her. Need to touch her. She’s been gone for days and..”
And I didn’t sound the alarm.
She was texting me, and then went radio silent. I should’ve let someone know long before I did.
Why didn’t I?
I can tell myself I just assumed that she was done talking to me, but part of me worried the entire time that I was missing something. It seemed strange that she could go from being receptive to my questions to just ignoring me.
Yet I let it go. I pushed her out of my mind and tried to convince myself she was just done talking to me, even though a part of me knew she wouldn’t just ghost me like that.
If something happens to her because I ignored that feeling, I don’t know what I will do. Quinton would never forgive me. He can love me as much as he wants, but if our Omega is harmed because of me…
Jude throws his truck into park right outside the ER, as they’re pulling Alex out of the back of the ambulance. She’s hooked up to oxygen and an IV, with Dario and Dexter each holding one of her limp hands, and the three of us jog to meet them.
The female EMT is informing the nurse at intake about what has happened and what she observed during the ride. The nurse looks at the five of us, her expressionstern. “Are we going to have a problem treating this Omega?” she asks bluntly. “I do not have time for Alpha posturing. I want to take care of her, and I can’t do that if you’re all growling and snarling at me. If you cannot handle me and theAlpha maledoctor touching her, you need to stay in the waiting room.”
“We’re fine,” Dexter grits, squeezing Alex’s hand. “Just fix her.”
The nurse gives us a final once-over and nods, directing the EMTs down the hall.
“Here’s her paperwork,” she says, handing it to me. I snag it from her, knowing this is one of the reasons why Betas are a part of a pack. We can keep our level heads more than an Alpha in an emergency. “I need her information and whatever medication she’s on.”
“She’s on heavy-duty suppressants,” Quinton tells her. “Like, can’t even scent her heavy-duty.”
The nurse wrinkles her nose. “Any idea of the brand? Or how long she’s been on them?”
“Two months, that we know of. Probably longer,” Jude says cautiously. When the nurse gives him a confused look, he shrugs. “It’s new. But you know how it is with scent matching, I’m sure.”
“She had the flu,” I tell her as I’m scribbling the few answers I know onto the form. “She was vomiting a lot, and the suppressants ran out of her system. That’s how we scented her. Then she went back on them, but was still sick. She was found unresponsive today.”
The nurse makes a clicking noise with her tongue as she grabs a computer on wheels from the hallway. She begins to type, recording what I said and making notes of her own.
“I’m going to order a few blood tests. I need to knowhow much of the suppressants are still in her system, and her hormone levels. The doctor will be in soon.” She holds her hand out to me for the forms, and I hand them over.
I filled out what I could with the little that I know about her. How can I know so little about this woman and yet feel like I’ve known her forever?
Quinton climbs onto the foot of the bed, kneeling in front of Alex. He looks so out of place in his cutoff denim shorts and black t-shirt that reads, “My bite is just as bad as my bark”, his brown hair sloppy and falling into his eyes.
But he’s whispering something to her, his hands gently tracing up her legs, with a reverence that makes my chest ache.
