Page 14 of Hired for Research
She eyed him, lips pressed into a thin line before offering the barest smile.
“Very well.”
Jett remained quiet the rest of the time it took her to finish arranging the room the way she wanted. After setting up a little cart with a box of needles and swabs and the other things she’d need to take her samples, she finally announced she was ready to go find the imaging tech.
Since he’d injured his shoulder a few weeks before when he was practicing takedown moves with another Controller, Jett knew exactly where the Imaging Department was. He led her through the halls, turning down the side of the hospital to the far end. The building was shaped like a U, with a garden featuring a path and benches taking up the center space.
Unfortunately, the doors to the Imaging Department were locked and the area empty. Evelyn checked the time and cursed under her breath before looking up at him.
“They’ve likely left for the day. I didn’t realize how late it was.”
A quiet grumble followed her remark, Evelyn’s cheeks flushing pink as she placed a hand over her stomach. Unable to resist, Jett chuckled as he gestured back the way they’d come.
“Well your stomach apparently did. Have you decided about dinner?”
He kept his head straight, watching her from the corner of his eye. He didn’t know why he felt so protective over her when he’d never had the issue with other omegas, but there was no arguing with the feeling. If she denied him he knew he’d end up in knots the whole night, wondering where she was and if she’d made it to her room safely.
“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt since you know Eden. Is there somewhere we could eat that I’d be able to observe groups of alphas without bothering them?”
He smiled down at her. He’d spent most of the time he’d been waiting trying to figure out the best place.
“Absolutely. There are actually a few restaurants I think would work over the next few days since it’s a weekend.”
She gave a sharp nod as they turned back into the room she’d claimed.
“Then we can go once I get the notice updated. It was supposed to be in the local news report for the past few days, but I know most people ignore those, so a special announcement is being sent out tonight.”
He was curious how she’d gotten someone to agree to that. The special announcements were generally reserved for important information that affected all of Eden, like when they’d had a massive storm shortly after he’d first arrived that they’d worried would knock out the power grid.
But the possibility of her research bringing the end of the mandates was a big deal, so perhaps that was why.
It wasn’t long before she was closing her laptop and grabbing her luggage, ready to leave. Luckily the hotel was located in their downtown area where Community was, the restaurant he was taking her to, so they swung by for her to check in and drop off her things before going to the restaurant.
Watching her face as they approached the doors, he didn’t miss they way her brows drew together, and her lips tipped down at the corners. The place didn’t look like a typical restaurant, and that was because it wasn’t. He’d say it was closer to the cafeteria found in every Alpha-Camp, but it was different even than that.
“Is this it?”
She looked from the sign above the door to him, the flash of uncertainty in her eyes making his throat itch with the need to purr for her, but he swallowed it back. Opening the door, he held it for her to precede him inside.
“Trust me, if you want to see alphas interacting, this is the place to go.”
7. Evelyn
The scent of alphas hit her like a slap to the face, stopping her in her tracks as soon as she stepped through the door, but Jett entering crowded her forward. There was a din of noise from the other side of the short brown wall behind the hostess stand in front of them, and Evelyn wondered what she’d gotten herself into.
“Just the two of you tonight?”
The woman on the other side of the stand smiled at Evelyn before her attention slid to Jett. Her eyes grew hooded at the sight of the big alpha dressed in his black uniform, her attitude taking on a whole new demeanor after her gaze moved back to Evelyn and her eyes flitted across Evelyn’s throat.
Taking a step forward and opening her mouth to speak, Evelyn caught the other woman’s scent and realized the perky blonde was an omega and had been looking for a mating mark. For some reason she felt a flush of embarrassment creep up her cheeks as she answered.
“Yes.”
Nodding, the hostess glided from behind the stand, hips swaying as she focused on Jett. Evelyn had clearly been dismissed, and while it wasn’t something she was unfamiliar with, the fact that it was another omega snubbing her made her blood boil.
“Follow me, please.”
The honeyed words made Evelyn want to gag, and she almost refused out of spite. She’d met other omegas before and never had the same reaction, and she wondered if it was because of the alpha pheromones. She had no claim on Jett, yet seeing the other woman clearly flirting with him made her want to claw those pretty blue eyes blinking up at him.
