Page 75 of Alpha & Omega

We stopped talking when a large group came in with several orders.

It was close to ten at night, and it was nearly time for me to wrap things up when our hostess came up to me.

“There’s a young man in front who says he knows you. He says he’s from next door and is a friend of Kingston, and he has an important message for you.”

My gut clenched, and my heart suddenly raced when my eyes instantly pinged to the front door to see the young man in question with dark, curly hair. Nacho. All my instincts screamed at me that something was terribly wrong.

“Thank you, Jess,” I said, trying to be calm and not jump to conclusions.

I stepped up to Terri. “Can you finish up here? I have to deal with something important.”

“Sure, we got you, boss.”

“Thanks. You’re the best.”

After washing my hands and yanking off my apron, I headed toward the man waiting. The closer I got, the more my gut twisted. His dark eyes were red-rimmed, and his hands were fisted. Something was definitely fucking wrong.

“Hi. Nacho, right? What’s going on?”

“Hey… yeah. Uhm, so… ah…”

“It’s okay. Take your time and breathe.”

Hell, I needed to tell myself that because I was holding mine.

Nacho took a deep breath and let it out. “We just got a call from a hospital in Virginia. Alpha’s been in a serious car accident, and…”

Tears suddenly slid down his face, and he held his body with his arms, making my own eyes leak.

No, no, no, no…

My worries are worse than I could’ve imagined.

“Is he…” I asked, unable to finish my question.

“He’s alive, but… he’s in the ICU. They’re not sure he’s going to make it.”

Nacho let out a sob, so I led him outside for some privacy and held him. God, he was so small and slight. He gripped me and cried until he could calm down, while I tried not to pepper him with questions and controlling my own emotions.

“Sorry,” he said, wiping his nose with his hand.

“Don’t apologize.”

“We want to close the bar, but Alpha will be upset with us.”

“How busy is it over there?”

“Not really busy. It’s Thursday, but it’s still early for us.”

God, if they shut down Alpha’s even for a night, it could be a big loss of money. But his family deserved to know what was going on and to be there for Kingston.

“Can a few of you handle running the bar? I can take the rest of you to the hospital to wait for any information.”

He looked up at me with wide, dark, soulful eyes. “You would do that?”

“Of course. I want to be there, too. I need to know if he’s okay.”

Nacho had no idea what turmoil and worry I felt as I tried to be calm for him. I’d done this so often for Hudson, putting on my ‘dad hat’ to be the strong, confident one while Hudson felt safe to break, even if I was shattering on the inside.

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