Page 24 of Not Ready

My fingers push against her foot and move around her ankle to test how severe the edema is. I’m not a doctor. Hell, I wasn’t even a medic in the military, but I’ve learned a few things over the years. I’m much better equipped to deal with acute injuries. I can sew someone up with better stitches than a third-year med student.

“How about your hands?” I ask, turning to face her head instead of her feet.

“They’re a little sore and achy, but nothing compared to my ankles.” Her big blue eyes squint, and I try to determine if it would be rude to ask if her face is also swollen.

Marina comes in with a breakfast tray. Normally, I’d grumble that I’ve never been served on a tray in the living room, but she shoves an unfamiliar cell phone at me.

“Patrick,” she says once I take it. She shoos me away, and I head into the kitchen. One of Marina’s sons happens to be a doctor here in town, but I’ve got no idea what his specialty is.

The consensus after my quick phone call with Patrick is that we need to bring her in. I text and call Bishop and Mercy, but neither answer. Medical clearance is done on site, but it’s in the actual building where Assurance is housed.

I get Vale her missed clothing bags from the car and try the guys again while she’s getting changed.

I finally text Bishop that I’m taking her to the doctor. I’m fairly sure he’s going to go ballistic when he checks his phone, but we have high-priority jobs that are difficult to sideline at times. The case he’s been working is a clusterfuck the new team needs to be updated on.

Vale tries to climb into my truck three times before I can’t take it anymore. She’s wearing a dress with leggings and that same too-small coat. I’m not sure why that bothers the hell out of me, but here we are. My hands land on her hips, just under the bottom of the jacket.

“Oh no, you’ll throw your back out. I can make it.” She brushes at my hands, but I’ve already got her lifted to the step.

I turn her to the side a little, keeping a hold of her hip. “Go on, slide in.”

“Thanks,” she mutters, sounding embarrassed.

I wait for her to get comfortable, eyeing the distance between the dash and her stomach. Hopping up on the step, I push the lever to move the seat back. Before I know what I’m doing, I’m stretching the seat belt around her and clicking it into place.

My nose twitches, breathing in her creamy strawberry scent. It seems like it’s everywhere, likely because my face is only a few inches away from hers. You’d think being pregnant would offset some of that sweetness to her smell, but that’s just not the case.

She still looks miserable, even in comparison to yesterday, but then, she was just scared. It’s clear she doesn’t feel well, and it itches at every impulse I’ve got.

“You’re going to feel better soon.” I surprise the hell out of myself by leaning forward and marking her cheek with mine.

It transfers alpha pheromones, which supposedly helps settle an omega’s system. Hell if I know whether it’s true or not, but she looks so meek that I hope it is.

I climb down, carefully making sure she’s inside before closing the door. I head around the bed of the truck, staring at my boots and trying to figure out what the fuck is going on with me today.

Chapter Ten

Vale

To say my day has been weird would be a vast understatement. I woke up to my phone exploding with calls from Kate. It would also not do the word justice to say she’s furious with me.

To be fair, she probably has every right to be upset. I texted her that the company Bishop works for would be sending over a couple of guys, but then I showered, ate, and fell asleep in his room last night.

So, by the time she saw my message and called back, I was MIA for the remainder of the day. She’s always been super private, but I honestly didn’t expect her to be so angry over having someone looking out for her, especially under the circumstances.

I made it clear that she could tell them to go at any time, but I think she just needed to vent and get it off her chest.

This afternoon, I have to go through my finances and see what I can do about sending her the rent and electricity for this month. I’ll be lucky if my final check from the club is more than a hundred dollars, including credit card tips.

Once I got off the phone with Kate, I realized exactly how crappy I was feeling.

Bishop left a note next to my bed with his number and a very sincere apology that he had to do some type of debrief thing to wrap up his last job. My nose seemed obsessed with trying to sniff out his scent. It felt like it was everywhere, even though he was only in my room to drop off the note.

I finally figured out that I probably smelled like him from the couple hours of snuggling. Which made me feel like I could cry because I missed him.

I’ve always been kind of a typical omega. The world is a scary place. I’ve wanted a pack of my own for years, but it has never worked out. It’s especially hard now because I’m in an unfamiliar place. I appreciate Holt bringing me to the doctor, but I wish Bishop was with me.

During the drive, I put a call in to my normal OBGYN back home and ask that they get my records ready for when the release form is sent over. The nurse seems mildly annoyed, but she eventually promises to keep an eye out.

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