Page 26 of The Surrogate Omega, Part Two

I shake my head. “Only you. I just got it. My partner had to run out. Her kid got sick at school. She’ll be back in about an hour, so she hasn’t seen it yet.”

Sergeant Ramsey grunts. “Ok. Fuck. Do you think this is real?”

I purse my lips and lean back in my chair. I’m gonna need one of those cups of coffee as well. “I couldn’t tell you for sure until the techies do their thing, but it sure as hell seems like it.”

“Yeah, that’s my thought too. You know we’re gonna have to turn this over the feds, right?”

“I know. But sarge, do you think I can still be involved in some way? I know cases shouldn’t get personal, but this one did.”

“Nah, screw that. There are always gonna be cases that are personal to you. If none of them matter besides getting another solved case to your name, then you should no longer be a cop. There’s a fine line, sure, but if you feel nothing, then you ain’t in the right headspace for this job.”

This is why I always respect sarge. He truly gets this job. “Ok, so what’s the next step? I don’t think we have a lot of time.”

“No, these kinds of things are always time sensitive, and until we can get a time stamp from the techs, we have no idea how old this footage even is. You go get this over to one of the analysts so they can start working on it. Maybe they’ll be able to trace where it came from or, fuck, give us something. I’ll talk to the captain.”

Sarge eyes the captain’s office. The door is closed, but we can see the man is on the phone with someone and not looking happy.

“He looks busy,” sarge remarks casually. “Maybe I should get my own coffee and some lunch and ask him when I get back. I think I’ll go to that little café down the street. You know that place is always crowded; it might take at least two hours.”

I hide my smile with my hand. I know exactly what he’s doing. I get two hours to do whatever I can with this information before he tells the captain. The captain is obligated to tell the FBI, but I know the man well enough that he’ll probably also find a way to stall. It’s not much, but hopefully I’ll get something.

“Thanks, sarge.”

He just grunts. “Well, you best get going. I’m sure you’ll hear from the captain . . . eventually.”

Taking the hint, I thank him again and run off to find my favorite tech, Raine. I know she can work wonders and maybe even get me something before the FBI shows up and takes my case out from under me.

I’m tempted to contact Lake through that untraceable burner number he left with Ev and me the other day, but I stop myself. I know he must be busy, and I don’t want to distract him with this. Plus, I don’t know enough about his job to know the legal implications if he helps me analyze this without reporting it. And if anyone ever found out in the precinct, my ass would be fired so fast, my head would spin.

No, I won’t contact Lake, yet. If I get desperate, I may take the risk. After all, a kid’s life is in danger. For right now, I’ll continue to follow procedure and hopefully get answers soon.

FIFTEEN

Evander

Iquickly change tabs on my laptop as I hear the front door open. Logan doesn’t say anything, but I know it’s him by the sound his boots make on the floor. We moved into our new apartment last week. We were hoping that Lake would be back before the move, but it didn’t happen. Nearly three weeks have passed and we’re still not sure when he’s coming home.

The calls have been less and less frequent, and the last few times, Lake sounded strange, distant. It’s hard not to start worrying as time goes on. It’s really affecting Logan even more so than me. On top of that, I know something is going on at work with Logan, but he won’t tell me what. I know he’s struggling with it, though, and barely sleeping.

And sex. Yeah, that has been nonexistent for the most part since Lake left. Sure, Logan jerked me off a couple times and even gave me one memorable blow job, but that’s it. He won’t let me reciprocate at all and will do nothing penetrative. Hell, I’m not even sure if he’s jerked off on his own since the night he knotted Lake. Whenever I bring it up, Logan just brushes me off and says he’s tired and stressed about the case and he’s worried about Lake. Which are all valid. I can understand how those things will mess with your sex drive. I just feel like it’s more than that.

I still haven’t figured out a way to bring it up to Logan, but shortly after Lake left, I started to do some research and came across a group for those with the Alpha or Omega gene. There’s a website with some basic information, a Q&A section, and even group chats for those with the gene to talk to each other. There are three separate ones: one for anyone with the gene or partners of those with it, a group specifically for Omegas, and one for Alphas.

When it became clear Logan was struggling, I joined the main group and explained my situation. It turns out Logan isn’t the only one who’s knotted, and he’s not the only one who’s struggling with the changes in his body. I’m a little surprised by Logan’s reaction, but he’s going through so many changes, including finding out he’s not as straight as he thought, in a very short period of time. It’s understandable he might get hung up eventually.

I found that the group was very supportive and helpful. Of course, an occasional troll sneaks through, but overall, there’s no judgement, and I found talking to these guys has really helped me get through these last few weeks.

I know I need to tell Logan about it and hopefully get him to join. I think it will really help him realize he’s not a freak and that he’s not going to hurt either me or Lake by knotting. It might be new, but it’s going to be our new normal as well, and I want him to be comfortable with it. I just don’t know how to bring it up.

I’ve never, ever, kept things from Logan before. We’ve always shared everything. But anytime I even start to mention it, Logan shuts me down. “Can we not talk about this whole Alpha, Omega thing right now, babe? Once Lake gets further along with his pregnancy, it’ll be in our face 24/7, so I’d like a break from it right now.”

I know I’m a coward, but I let him change the subject and I eventually stopped trying to bring it up. But as Logan shuffles into the room, looking exhausted and stressed, I know something’s gotta give, and soon. If we keep on like this, the three of us aren’t going to make it, fated mates or not.

“Hey,” he says gruffly as he gives me a perfunctory kiss on the lips. I smile and try not to show how much it’s breaking my heart. I refuse to give up and lose this before it truly begins.

“Hey, baby. Another rough day at work?”

Logan grunts as he collapses on the recliner, not next to me on the couch, keeping our distance. I swallow around the lump in my throat and struggle to keep my expression casual. “Yes, you can say that again. I got more anonymous videos with Rory on them. The captain couldn’t stall anymore, and the feds came in and took every fucking thing. Cap tried to get me to be the liaison between the departments, but he was brushed off. They told him they’d contact him if they had any follow-up questions. Fucking assholes.”

---