Page 62 of Not Ready

“Thanks,” she mutters, waddling away. Seeing her finally in a warm jacket that fits fills my chest with pride. She should be well taken care of, not fitting into too-small items in an attempt to save a bit of money.

The feeling of Holt’s eyes boring into the side of my head has me turning in his direction. I’m not sure what to make of the look on his face. He sees me staring and opens the truck door to climb inside.

This is definitely going to be an interesting trip.

The two-hour drive takes just over that. Vale is an excellent traveler. She sleeps for most of the drive. Holt doesn’t say a word during the trip, but he does continually peek back at the little omega.

The area of town we drive into has my teeth grinding together. No wonder Bishop spent so much time obsessing about her safety.

Holt meets my eyes in the rearview mirror. The same look I feel on my face reflects back at me. “Jesus Christ,” he mutters, turning down the side street for her dilapidated apartment building.

I text Hargrove, asking if there is some safe area where we should park.

His response of lol isn’t helpful, but Vale wakes up, stretching as we stop at a light.

She texted her roommate a bit ago but seemed a bit apprehensive about the entire encounter.

“Oh, we’re here,” she says, looking out her window. “Okay, so once the light changes, go straight. Then the first little alley on the right is going to take you to the lot I used to park in. Wait, does someone have cash? I might…” She stretches a hand down to pat around for her purse.

“We’ll handle that.” I grab her arm. “Don’t fret. How was your nap?”

“Fine, but my legs ache,” she groans. “My ankles feel swollen. Dammit, it wasn’t even that long of a drive. Pregnancy is rougher than I expected.”

“You’re growing an entire human being. I’m sure it is taxing.” I move to pat her thigh.

The light changes, and Holt pulls forward, following her instructions, but his eyes meet mine. His expression says it all, and I agree. I’m not sure taking the drive back late this afternoon is the right course of action.

“Now, take this left, or you’ll miss it and have to circle the block,” Vale says, pointing at an even tinier cutoff to the left.

Good God, this is nothing like the DC I’m used to. There are chain-link fences blocking off both sides of the tiny alleyway and various trash piled up next to overfilled garbage cans.

A stray cat runs across the path, and Holt hits the brakes. My arm flies to keep Vale in place like she isn’t wearing a fully functioning seat belt. My hand lands over her breast, and my eyes widen.

I rip the offending appendage away.

“My grandma used to do the same thing,” she says, like she’s trying to hold back a laugh.

“Sorry about that. Force of habit,” I lie.

The way her eyes sparkle when she’s amused might just be my favorite look I’ve seen on her gorgeous face.

The interior of the apartment isn’t bad. Perhaps a bit dated, but the two women clearly kept it up to the best of their ability. It’s clean but has that dingy, lived-in or aged feel that wouldn’t be washed away, no matter how strongly they scrubbed.

Holt and Merryweather leave shortly after we arrive, but I’m too focused on Vale to give them the third degree they deserve. Holt should be assisting in the packing process.

Vale’s roommate glares at me so thoroughly that I leave the room. It’s obvious she’d like to speak to Vale one-on-one. Which is fine, but I purposely leave the door open, in case there’s any fighting. It’s not my place to intervene unless Kate says something to upset my omega.

The room is small, but it has an attached bathroom. There’s barely walking room around the full-size bed, except for at the end, where her desk is located.

Vale’s scent permeates the air. Although it’s diluted, due to her absence.

My nose tries to lead me to the remaining pillows and blanket left on the bed. However, she could pop in at any moment. Having her see me huff the traces of her smell from her bedding might give the wrong impression. I’m not sure when the urge to scent her became an obsession, but I’d be content to smell her sweet strawberry scent daily for the rest of my life.

And this is how alphas lose all rational thought by allowing themselves to be lost to the fog.

I shake away the haze that comes from being surrounded by her scent and focus on the task at hand. I’ve never been as distracted as I have been since meeting the little omega. The room is so tiny, it actually feels a bit like a nest.

I sigh and take several steps to Vale’s desk. There’s a stack of tote bins in the corner that Hargrove snagged at my request, and I grab the top one to start loading items from her desk into it.

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