Page 73 of One for the Money
“If I had to guess,” Matteo says stiffly, “it would be the same ones who attacked her.”
“There’s a fucking snake in our grass,” Quinton snarls. “And they waited until all of us were gone to strike.”
They’re talking, making plans for retribution, but I couldn’t care less about that.
My nest is ruined.
My ex is on his way.
And my body is failing me.
“Shh, shh,” Dario whispers again, wrapping me in his strong, lithe arms. “We’ll figure it out, but we need to take you out of here. Where do you want to go?”
“Nowhere,” I hiccup through tears. “Anywhere but here.”
“She can come to my place,” Jude says tightly. “All of you can. I’ve got the biggest trailer.”
Quinton starts to dig through the ruins of my nest. I assume he’s looking for anything salvageable, but I don’t want any of it. It’s all tainted now. When I say as much, he nods and drops the scrap of blanket he’s holding. “What can we get you, then?”
What I need and what I want are contradictory desires that I don’t know how or want to voice.
Thankfully, I don’t have to.
“She needs blankets and pillows from each of our beds,” Matteo tells his Alpha. “But just take double from mine since you hardly ever sleep in your trailer.”
“I don’t know why you insist on keeping it,” Jude mutters.
“I can be a lot. Matteo deserves breaks from me.” Quinton shrugs like it’s the most normal thing in the worldto recognize the needs of your partner and adjust your life to fit them.
Maybe it is, in his.
“You go get stuff from your trailers,” Jude tells the other Alpha. “Matteo and I will get her settled.”
I feel like a passenger in my own life. But what do I say?
Oh no, thank you, I’ll stay here, alone, in my ruined nest?
I’m a doctor. I know I need to be with them.
As I follow behind Jude, I feel hollow.
Numb.
The meadow in my mind is calling me, begging me to open the gate to the paddock and lose myself within it.
But I can’t.
This isn’t the time. I’m not in danger.
If I choose to retreat there at any time, eventually, I won’t be able to surface. I’ll be like one of those Omegas from the fifties who’s too high to function, just floating through life awaiting my lobotomy.
Matteo gently guides me up the stairs to Jude’s trailer, and the big Alpha grips my hand as he leads me through it into his bedroom.
It is significantly larger than mine, with a room big enough for a king-sized bed and space to move around it. The bed is unmade, with black sheets and a plain black comforter balled up at the end.
He only has overhead lights, but he replaced the white light bulbs with a yellow tone that’s a bit easier on the eyes. The wallpaper is cream with thin blue stripes, and the carpet has been completely removed and replaced with vinyl plank flooring.
The smell of saltwater taffy permeates every inch ofthe space, making my mouth water. I can almost feel the candy sticking between my teeth and the sunshine on my face.
