Page 70 of One for the Money
I raise an eyebrow. “How’d it work?”
“Well, they took what they could from my scent glands,” he gestures at the small bandages on his neck under his ears, “but that wasn’t enough. So they had to get it from my sweat glands in my pits, which was a fucking pain. I had to jerk off several times, with the help of some meds to keep my dick hard, and they have this fucking machine that milked my knot and not in a sexy way.”
The idea of a machine on my knot has me crossing my legs with a wince. “You could’ve asked for help,” I hiss, cognizant of the nurse in the room overhearing. “I could’ve made it easier on you.”
He narrows his eyes but doesn’t respond.
The nurse attaches a tube to the IV on the back of Alex’s hand, and the machine slowly starts to pump the pheromones into her. I watch like I expect her eyes to fly open the moment they hit her system.
But of course, it doesn’t work that way.
“Settle in, Alphas,” the nurse whispers as she exits the room. “It’s going to be a long night.”
I jolt awake.After Jude fell asleep, no doubt wiped out from his pheromone extraction, I moved back beside Alex and fell asleep with my forehead resting on the mattress beside her. I wanted to let Jude stretch out on the couch, but I didn’t think I was tired enough to fall asleep sitting.
Apparently, I was wrong.
It takes a moment for me to get my bearings and realize what woke me up.
Sweet chocolate cake. Whipped cream. Cherries. It swirls together in a decadent dessert that tempts my senses and taste buds.
It’s faint, but it’s there. And it’s not tainted by distress like it was in the trailer a few days ago.
Does this mean the treatment is working?
Hope blossoms in my chest, and I squeeze my eyes tightly shut. I don’t pray because, after what I’ve seen and lived through, I’m not religious, but I find myself wishing and hoping that she will be okay. Call it manifesting, call it faith in medicine.
A loud exhale has my eyes popping open, and I watch as Alex’s head turns toward me, her eyelids fluttering.
It takes a moment for the fog to leave her dark eyes, but when it does, she starts to panic. The lines on the heart monitor spike, and an alarm starts sounding. She starts to reach for the call button with one hand and clutches at her chest with the other.
Immediately, I purr, trying to soothe her in whatever way I can. “Hey, Alex, it’s okay. You’re okay.”
“I can’t be here,” she says through a dry and cracked throat. “I can’t be here, I have to go.”
“You can’t,” I whisper. “You have Forsaken Omega Syndrome. You’ve been down for a long time, Alex. You need to be treated.”
“I know how to treat FOS, Dario. You have to get me out of here. They’ll call Rich.” Her voice is getting louder and louder in her panic, and the guys are starting to stir. She doesn’t notice in her panic.
“You don’t understand! He’s my emergency contact still. They’ll have pulled up my file and called him. He’s on his way, he’s on his way.” She clutches at her matted hair, pulling at it. “I’m not safe.”
Her distress has the heart monitor going crazy, and all of the guys are awake now. A nurse comes in to check on the commotion.
“Dr. Shields, you’re okay,” the nurse says. “You’re in the hospital, but you’re going to be okay.” Shift change happened shortly before I fell asleep, and this guy is new. He’s handsome, with kind eyes and flawless Black skin, and even I want to relax when he speaks.
“Did you call my emergency contact?” she asks, sitting up and ripping the electrodes off her chest.
The nurse stutters and begins to type on his wheeled computer. “Ah.. uh. Yes, we did. It says here your emergency contact is Dr. Richard Smith.”
Alex’s face grows cold, like she’s completely shut down. She nods tightly. “How long ago?”
“We left a message. He just called back about two hours ago, and we told him you hadn’t woken up yet.” The nurse takes several steps back, like he’s about to call for help, as Alex pulls her IV out of her hand.
“Please draw up my discharge paperwork,” she says firmly. For the first time since I’ve met her, I see the buttoned-up professional she probably was before she came to the circus.
The nurse shakes his head. “I can’t do that. You’ve only just woken up, you need…”
“I’m going to be discharging AMA, thanks. Please, don’t delay on my paperwork.” Alex throws her legs over the side of the bed, hands bracing on the side as she wrenches her eyes shut. Her lips move, like she’s counting with no sounds coming out.
