Page 12 of Dream Girl
I nodded, glad my boss agreed. “Okay, let’s get this rolling. I’m going to get her a snack.”
Chapter Five
Evan
Leaning against the wall, I sighed, looking at my phone.
Jett
Leaving work. I’ll bring that drink. Sorry for the delay, the storm brought down a grid, and this whole day has been shit.
Me
Thanks. This is taking longer than I expected anyway. Love you.
What I truly needed today couldn’t be bought at a coffee shop.
We’d figured out that Rose’s mom had bribed a doctor to use drugs on her teenager, hoping to snag a rich pack and leech off their assets, because their family was having money issues. The police were here and taking statements.
He didn’t even illegally obtain the legal version of the drug, which was highly controlled. No, he used the street drug version, mega-push, that traffickers used. At least this seemed to be an isolated incident. Not that it made things any easier.
For now, Rose would stay in Center housing while she had more tests and went through some basic classes. Eventually she’d go to Finchley, one of the local omega schools, which had a high school program and dorms, so that she could finish her education.
“Some people suck.” Carly joined me, her sugar cookie scent, with a hint of oak, preceding her.
“How’s your day going?” I asked. Carly and I had first met in advocate training. She was also a mated omega.
“I could use a consult for my Jane Doe,” Carly told me.
“Sure. I have some time. Jane Doe? Fundie?” Wow. Most people were in the database. One of the few groups that refused were the fundies. Sometimes we got young omegas who ran away to escape that life, usually ones who didn’t want to be force-bonded to alphas twice their age.
“Something about her doesn’t screamfundie.She also has a concussion and can’t remember her name or address. The police thought she might be an omega, so Detective Lawson brought her here. But the designation tests all came up asunknown. Since she’s gotten basic care, they want us to dump her in ashelter. I understand that we can’t keep her if we’re not sure she’s an omega, but she’s injured and scared.” Carly frowned.
“Unknown? Even after the rare test?” Huh. There were three major designations—alpha, beta, and omega. There were also a handful of rarer, minor designations, like deltas and thetas, which were separate tests.
“Not yet, but we did the full blood workup and not just the prick-test. The lab is having issues because of the earlier grid outage,” Carly said as we walked toward the clinic wing.
Something feltoff.
“Hey, it’s Carly.” She knocked on the open door of the exam room. “I brought my friend Evan.”
All I could see was the back of a Center sweatshirt and short blonde hair.
“I want to go home. The doctors said I’m going to be fine with a bit of rest. I’m just disoriented from the concussion,” the unnamed woman demanded.
“I know you want to go home, Hun. The moment you can remember your name and address, or the name of someone, your alpha, a friend, your pack, your neighbor, anyone we can find–we will get you there,” Carly soothed.
“I gave you every name I remember, and I told you, the only alpha I know is Fade, and they took me from him.” She turned on the bed, hugging herself, eyes teary, as the scent of peach pie with a hint of vanilla ice cream hit me right in the face, along with the tang of burnt sugar fear.
“Who took you from your alpha, Peaches?” My hands fisted. The time I’d spent in the military, and having younger sisters, left me with strong protective instincts, despite being an omega.
Was he the one who hurt her? She was probably in her mid-twenties. Freckles dotted her snub nose. Grey-blue eyes were framed with long lashes. Tiny and wearing center-issued sweats,her peachy aroma was so intense that I wanted to lick her. Bruises covered her face and neck.
“He wasn’t real, anyway. Why do you keep asking me this? It’s all in the past, promise. A childish fantasy. If I’m not on a 5150, then you need to let me go. I have work tomorrow. God, I feel awful.” She curled up on the bed, putting her head on her knees.
Before I could go to her, Carly hauled me into the hall.
“Domestic violence?” I whispered. “Those bruises…”
