Page 25 of Packed Up In Vegas

“We should let them rest for a bit,” said Diego.

“No, she needs a bath. And Mr. First Bond over there isn’t going to get anything fucking done while he’s in that state.”

Diego sighed. “Okay. Let me try.”

Miles stood at my side. “This is all a fucking mess.”

“That’s basically what a mate does to a life,” I snapped. “They’re like a bomb going off, and all you can do after is sift through the rubble.”

Miles frowned, his eyebrows pinched together. “That’s not very fair.”

“But it is accurate.”

“Callie, precious,” Diego crooned. “Why don’t we get you in the bath? We can order you some room service.”

I wasn’t sure what else he said, but it took a few minutes of pandering to the two of them on his knees before Kai finally let her go and Callie allowed herself to be scooped up.

I went into the bathroom ahead of them and turned on the water so it was lukewarm, carefully stripped off Callie’s robe, and helped Diego set her in the bottom of the tub.

She stared at me with wide eyes, shivering as I got down on my knees and grabbed one of her ankles, angling the foot into the stream of water. Callie hissed at the contact.

“Yeah, that’s what fucking happens when you sprint barefoot down the Boulevard. You should’ve stayed with Kai. What spooked you so hard that you ran off?” I dipped the bar of soap under the water and scrubbed it gently over her feet.

“I don’t belong here. That became painfully clear while I slept. I know it was stupid…”

“It was,” I agreed. I rinsed her foot and repeated the scrubbing process until it was clean and tiny cuts and gouges were visible.

“I can’t be a mate. I can’t even be a fiancée right.”

“First off, anyone who abandons anyone in a fucking strange city is an asshole. You might be a beautiful pain in the ass, but I haven’t seen any good reason for running off on you.” I scrubbed up her other foot, focusing on it instead of the plaintive and pitiful look on her face. “And second, you don’t have to do anything right. Kai is your mate and we are his pack. That means something, and it’s not something you can run away from.”

That only got her crying again.

Christ, I was not good at this. Luckily, I was saved by Diego coming in with a plate of snacks and a bottle of water.

“Drink this,” I ordered, passing her the uncapped bottle.

She sniffled her way through consuming it, and then I filled the bath with water just on the warmer side. She was already going through a heat and didn’t need anything to raise her temperature, but I didn’t want her shivering.

I didn’t like seeing her like this. Not because she was my mate, but because she was a fucking person. Her fiancé had hurt her and her financial situation had driven her to us before she’d had time to grieve and heal. Unfortunately for her, she would have to do that while navigating her way into our lives.

“Kai,” I called out. ”Get your ass in here.”

Once he was in the water with Callie, I turned it off and left the two of them to tend each other.

“You saved her,” Diego said quietly.

“Someone had to.”

“You could’ve woken us,” he pointed out.

“I wasn’t going to give her any extra seconds to be out there. Who knows who the hell could have found her if I had waited?” Huge swaths of the city weren’t particularly safe even if you knew where you were going. A heat-high omega panic-fleeing would have found trouble sooner rather than later. All it would’ve taken was one car pulling over with an alpha who had shit motives. She’d have been dragged into that car and we’d have never seen her again. Just the thought of it made me nauseated. Too many people out there couldn’t be trusted in general, let alone when it came to the vulnerable.

“Thank you.” Diego pulled me into a hug. “I know you don’t love the situation but Callie is lucky to have you in her pack. We all are.”

I shrugged and slipped out of his embrace, heading over to the tray of food that had been delivered. Most of it was scooped off the buffet downstairs, but they also kept trays ready at all times so we got our food as quickly as we needed it. That was the helpful thing in working where we did. Even though our jobs were usually part of the underground in most places, this city had such a thriving underbelly that anyone could get whatever they needed in short order.

Miles dropped down onto the couch, looking like he was one inconvenience away from a full-blown crisis. “I don’t know what to do,” he said.

---