Page 141 of The Heat of Us

A grunted whimper escaped from the pitiful lump and I felt his will crumble.

Ben held his hand out for me and I grabbed it, letting him help me up. His gaze swept over me, growing harder as he catalogued my injuries.

“I’m fine.” I brushed him off.

Ben didn’t accept this. “It’s important to me that you’re ok too, Remy.”

His arm remained around my side to keep me steady.

“You can’t take her!”

Aleks was trying to get to Hazel. But her mother was screeching and kicking, truthfully doing more harm to herself than anyone else. Hazel hissed and spat, fighting against her mother’s hold.

“Look at your daughter,” Aleks said, his tone measured. “She needs medical attention. I’m a nurse and Ben over here is a doctor.”

Hazel’s mother snivelled, her gaze bouncing between them.

“We work at St. Elizabeths.” A name tag was produced. “See?”

“I only wanted the best for her,” she wailed.

Aleks nodded sympathetically. “Of course you did. So let us help.”

She finally released Hazel, who skittered away from all of us with a low whine. Aleks crouched low as he approached her, offering her his wrist. She sniffed it suspiciously, but allowed Aleks to slowly move closer until he lifted her easily into his arms. Something in my chest constricted watching her lay her head on his shoulder.

Aleks turned to Hazel’s mother. “We’ll let you know when she’s feeling better, ok?”

Her eyes glimmered with gratitude. “Thank you.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But as Aleks brushed past me, a sea of emotion surged tumultuously behind his blue eyes.

“She is never coming near Hazel ever again,” he promised darkly.

The four of us stumbled out of that house free and alive.

Yet it felt like our nightmare was only just beginning.

50

ALEKS

“He fucking knew where to find her somehow! She said she was calling the omega car service so how the fuck did she end up in his car?”

Remy was insisting that Hazel’s mother and the alpha she was working with had been tracking Hazel. He kicked the tyre of the parked car with a frustrated scream, before zeroing in on the window, hands balling into fists. Ben grabbed him by the collar, holding him against the glass. “Do not injure yourself anymore,” he barked. “Get it together. We need to get Hazel to the hospital. And fuck, we still need to call the police, they can’t get away with this.”

“I’ll get Hazel in the car, Ben,” I called, trying to diffuse the situation.

Remy went still, staring at Hazel’s bag in the backseat. “Her tote. She always carries it when she’s out. Look.”

Ben was very happy to smash the car window in after that. Hazel recoiled at the sound of broken glass, scrambling to get out of my arms.

“I know, I know,” I tried to soothe her, keeping my voice calm. “They’re both idiots, I know. Idiots who care for you but idiots all the same.” I placed her down so I could open the rear door. “In you go.”

Her legs locked and she made a low hissing noise. Shit.

“This has to be it!”

Remy was holding up a nondescript but unfamiliar USB. “What are we supposed to do with it?”

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