Page 32 of Wild Omegas
Brooks types away. He’s looking through several databases which turn up nothing as far as I can tell. Then, finally, he points to the screen at a file icon with‘Locked’over it.
“So, most of the information around this case is locked,” Brooks explains. “That’s the bad news. Whatever happened involved her designation as an omega so the NYPD locked the case. I can’t dig into that without authorization which I won’t get.”
My brow creases tight. “Something happened because of her designation?”
Brooks bites his cheek and shakes his head. “Not necessarily because of it.” He flips tabs. “It looks like she was involved witha fire. We know she owned a bakery. It burnt down. Whatever happened with that is why the case is locked.”
A sticky feeling churns my gut. “Is she in witness protection or something?” I realize how stupid a question that is the second it’s past my lips. “Nevermind, she wouldn’t be at her family ranch with her real name if she was.”
Brooks nods his head. “That’s correct. But there’s nothing saying she’s not under some informal order to stay out of sight.” He sighs. “I can put in a few calls, but I think it’d be best if Josie never finds out we had this conversation. She needs to tell us what’s going on herself.”
“And if it’s too late?” If something happens to Josie, I will never forgive myself. We’re her pack. We protect our own and we’ll sure as fuck kill to protect our omega.
The intensity of that strikes me.
I’ve never thought about killing anyone before. But I know for a fact I would for Josie.
Love, scent-matches, pack bonds… it’s all dangerous as hell. And no less dangerous than any consequences from a torched bakery.
Brooks takes a long moment before replying. Several heartbeats thud as I wait for any wisdom he has to offer me. But there is none. Either we step across the line to protect her, or wait for her to tell us everything. Both are bad options for alphas with an omega to protect.
I shake my head and head for the door. “Make those calls, Brooks.”
“Where are you going?”
I glance at him over my shoulder. “To find our omega.”
I check the whole house for Josie and she is nowhere to be seen. Maybe it’s the conversation Brooks and I just had, or maybe it’s an overactive imagination, but terror strikes a chord through me. I rush past Carson’s gardening shed without findingher and out past the sheep fields to the horse barn, and finally find Josie at the far side. She’s playing with a foal and I can just hear her say, “One second, I’ll get you some more hay.”
I swing through a few gates and head into the barn. Seeing her from a distance, knowing she’s okay, allows me to breathe again. The clawing anxiety in my chest melts away at the sound of her voice.
The foal trots around happily, no doubt waiting for Josie to return, but she’s disappeared up into the hayloft. And it feels like she’s out of sight for far longer than it should take to grab some hay.
“Josie?” I call up to her as I enter the barn. A thick wall of her scent encompasses my entire existence, far stronger than it’s ever been. Just instant florals and honey andJosie, even with her on another floor from me.
Her footsteps pad around up there on the old boards. Dust filters through the small gaps in the boards. She’ll be down in a minute no doubt. I settle down on top of a barrel and cross my arms waiting for her.
That’s when the floorboards above crack open and Josie shrieks as she falls.
CHAPTER 17
Josie
I’m not entirelysure what went wrong. I’ve been dizzy all day, sure. But it’s come in waves. One second I’m climbing upstairs in the barn to grab some more hay for the foal. Not that Luke hadn’t set out enough but the foal was just so cute and I thought… Thought what? I’ve been at Wild Skies Ranch for basically no time at all. I have no business coming up here without Luke.
A point proven when the floorboards—old and possibly rotten—give way beneath my bad ankle. They crash to the ground below and so do I.
I see a blur of something dark as I fall and then land hard in a set of muscular arms. Wood debris lands around us along with bits of hay.
Luke’s chest rises and falls quickly, his eyes wide as I stare up at him, his arms cradling me.
“Are you okay?”
I hesitate for a moment and scan my body. There’s no stabbing pain or blood, but my hands and arms shake a lot. “Yeah, mostly.”
“What happened?” He’s still not let me go and given the firmness of his hold, I don’t think he’s going to. It’s enough to tellme that I was close to hitting the ground. As shaken as I am, he might be worse.
I reach for his face and hold it. His breath stills. “I don’t know what happened but I’m okay. I think those boards need to be replaced.”
