Page 29 of Captive Omega

I want to ask her how much they paid her to give me that speech. For them to live in a mansion must have a lot of money, probably as much as the alphas who treated me like a piece of meat.

“What kind of work do they do?” I ask instead.

I don’t trust her, but I could learn something important. If she says anything alarming, I’ll be out of the window at the first opportunity.

“You should ask them. I’m sure they’d be happy to explain,” she suggests.

I’ve spent the last two years learning I cannot trust a single person around me. This doctor seems nice, but is she really? And my falling in with supposedly the best security in the city. Was that just coincidence or a set-up?

“Vaughn said they do some work for the Council.” He told me no such thing. But I watch her closely. Will she tell me what I want to hear, or will she tell me the truth?

Her smooth forehead wrinkles. “Really? I hadn’t thought they did. I just know about some of the personal security they do, like surveillance and finding missing people.”

Missing people… okay, so that confirms what Garrison was saying before about Everleigh asking them to find me.

She didn’t step into my trap. Time to try something else.

Before I can test her some other way, she rises. “Garrison mentioned you were pregnant. I could do a more detailed examination at my private clinic, but if you want to lie down, I can give you a quick one here.”

Everything in me rebels at the idea.

I would tell her to get out, but this is for my baby. I know I haven’t been pregnant long in the grand scheme of things, but every day since I first discovered I was pregnant, I’ve been getting more and more attached to this life growing inside me.

The first part of making this world into one I’d want my baby to grow up in is ensuring they survive to see it.

I get up and hobble over to the bed, sitting on the edge. Maybe the fact I no longer have shards of glass in my foot is why the pain levels have reduced so much. I glance at the tiny pile of colored glass on the bedside table, and struggle to believe shards so small could cause so much agony.

“I’ll start with a basic examination, okay? Your pupil response, heartbeat, temperature. Nothing scary. Then I’ll need you to lie down so I feel your bump and lift your dress to check for any sign of bruising. How does that sound?”

Not as terrible as I thought. “Fine.”

She shines a light into my eyes, briefly blinding me, then moves on to checking my pressure with a blue inflatable wrap she ties around my arm.

“Everything looks good. Your pressure is a little on the high side.”

“It’s been a stressful day.” I recall my suicidal leap. “More so than usual.”

She sets her stethoscope aside and lifts her hands over my belly. “Time to check on the baby now. Are you okay with lying down for this part?”

This isn’t the first or even fifth time she’s dealt with a wary, trying really hard to hide it anxious patient. She speaks gently, but confidently, as if she knows what to say and, more importantly, what not to say.

“Do you know how far along you are?” she asks once I’m flat on my back.

I don’t know. But I should. Don’t all women know?

Embarrassed, I lie. “Uh, three months.”

Maybe.

Sadie nods, continuing her examination. She says nothing about my bruises on my arms, legs, or on my inner thighs. She doesn’t ask why I’m suddenly so tense, but she must know—or at least suspect—how those bruises came about if she’s a doctor.

The checkup is over in under ten minutes. If I’d known it would be as straightforward as this, I might not have fought so hard against seeing her.

Finished with her examination, she takes a step back, smiling. “All done.”

I slowly sit up. “Everything is okay?”

“As well as it can be. I would like to get you to my clinic and do a scan.” I open my mouth to complain. “But I won’t push, so I’ll leave you my card. You’re in good hands here. If you want to talk or have that scan, give me a call and we can do that. In the meantime, I can get some prenatal vitamins delivered here and when you’re ready, seeing someone for a prenatal checkup if you’d like?”

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