Page 17 of Pack Favero

She takes the paper slowly, eyes darting from the paper to my eyes before she nods. “Only if it’s not any trouble.”

“Not at all,” I promise, winking at her and loving the way her blush deepens. I’m positive she perfumes that time, her scent thickening and sweetening, and I swallow hard as mymouth waters with the need to take a bite of the delectable scent. I’ve never had such a visceral reaction to anyone before, certainly not omegas, and I can’t explain why my body is waking up at the mere scent or look of the omega seated in my car.

Waving the paper at me, Zira nods and smiles a little softer then says, “Then I’ll call when I’m done.”

Just as she reaches for the door handle, Mac chirps up, “Before you go, is there a specific phone you’d like?”

Zira blanches and shakes her head. “Uh, no? I mean, I have an older model, so the same one will be fine. You don’t need to spend more than necessary.”

Mac frowns. “How old is the older model?”

Zira looks embarrassed again, but not in the way I’ve quickly started to enjoy. Her blush is one more of shame than anything, and I decide there and then that I don’t like that look. She swallows hard and mutters, “I think I’m about seven models behind the newest phone, but it’s fine. It does what I need it to.”

Then she flashes a smile and shakes herself out of her embarrassment as though she’s had plenty of practice doing just that.

“Anyway, I should get going. I don’t have a face for milk cartons. Thanks again,” she mutters quickly, leaving the car before I have a chance to stop her again.

The moment the door closes and she hurries away with her flowers tucked in the crook of her arm and her small but slender legs swiftly walking up the long drive of the facility her mom is currently residing in, I turn to Mac. “We’re getting her something better than that, right?”

“Obviously,” he answers instantly. “But we’ll have to be careful about it. If she iced Barnes and Laz out for paying medical bills in a misguided attempt to help, then it’s safe to say those money issues she mentioned before run deep.”

“You’re right. Jump in the front and let’s go buy a newphone. We’ll go home and ask Laz to set it up for us while we catch an hour of sleep before Zira calls,” I agree, making a plan of action that Mac agrees with instantly.

As soon as he’s seated beside me again, he’s pulled his phone out and is looking into cellphones we can get Zira. There isn’t even an ounce of hesitation in him, and I find myself grinning as I drive us to the nearest store. Oh yeah, he’s a goner, too.

Chapter 6

Cormac

I’m clock watching by the time we’ve showered and Laz is putting in all the bells and whistles on Zira’s new phone, his usually calm demeanor back in place as soon as we explained the encounter we had with Zira after they smelt her on us the moment we stepped through the door. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so severe and worried, but it’s no surprise the omega we finally met would have that kind of effect on the man. We’ve all been obsessed with the girl without ever seeing her, knowing her name, or ever meeting her. Her scent has always been enough to trap our thoughts and obsession. Now that we’ve met her, it almost seems worse.

I can definitely see why Barnes held off from introducing us all, because I’m practically chewing my nails away while I impatiently wait for Zira to call my brother for a ride home.

Ford, sleeping soundly on the couch beside me, rolls until he’s snuggled into my side and I relax a little. I throw my arm around him, almost head locking him in place, while I continue to watch the hands on the clock tick by with a slowness that’s bound to drive me crazy.

“Watching the clock won’t make time go by faster, love,” Laz informs, dressed down in a pair of sweatpants and a loose gray shirt. His glasses sit low on his nose as he focuses on the phone, and I chew on my lip as I watch him instead of the ticking hands that aren’t moving fast enough. “Watching me won’t speed things up, either. Why don’t you try to sleep? You’ve had a long flight, you’re likely jetlagged, and you’re burning a hole in my forehead.”

He looks up suddenly, his gem-like green eyes findingmy gaze instantly, and I huff a laugh at how aware of his surroundings he is.

“I can’t sleep. I tried,” I admit, shrugging a shoulder, and he nods before peering back down at the phone. “What are you doing on there, anyway?”

Laz continues to press the screen of the newest model of Zira’s phone, and explains, “I’ve added our numbers to her contacts, as well as her mother’s after Barnes texted it to me. I’ve also downloaded a tracking app and I’m sharing the location with you all. In turn, Zira will be able to track us, too. It should clear up any scenarios like this morning.”

I flash him a small smile, loving the way Zira had him so out of control that he was damn near shouting when we came home, demanding to know where she was. The man, as patient and laid back as he is, has a fierce streak a mile wide for those he cares for. Seems he cares a whole lot for the beautiful omega we happened to run into today by chance.

“I’m also adding a couple of apps I think she might like,” he finishes, his body language relaxed and languid, his ankle propped on the knee of his opposite leg while he holds his chin in his hand as his elbow leans on the arm rest of his chair.

“Very thoughtful,” I mutter, grunting when Ford accidentally elbows me in the ribs as he sleeps.

Rubbing his back to soothe him, noting the bastard is wearing my hoodie, I drop my head back and stare up at the ceiling as Laz says, “Just thought it might symbolize an olive branch and stop the scathing looks she sends me when I try talking to her.”

Ah, yeah, that.

Smiling at the ceiling as though I have a secret, which I do, I nod and hum under my breath. I don’t bother explaining to him what Zira told us in the car, because that isn’t our business. It also seems like poetic justice, withholding the fact that Zirahas plans to apologize to them, since he and Lazarus hid Zira and their spendings from Ford and me until they couldn’t anymore. That was a fun conversation, though I can’t say I was all too mad. After all, they were trying to help the omega, while also trying to respect Barnes’s wishes not to overwhelm her too much. Something about being skittish around men, though I find that hard to believe based on a single car ride. Zira looked more than comfortable enough to be seated in a car with two alpha males without so much as a sour note of stress in her sweet scent.

Keeping that tidbit to myself, I sigh and shut my eyes, hoping to catch at least a small amount of sleep. Enough to ease the jetlag currently plaguing me, at least, the trip from Tokyo back home having caused havoc on my body.

I’m only just relaxing when Ford’s cell rings, and the bastard springs up from a dead sleep like Dracula popping out of his coffin after a century spent asleep. I take an elbow to the ribs, grunting at the point of contact with a puff of pain, and snicker as Ford scrambles off the couch and to his cell phone he’s kept charging since we got home.

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