Page 42 of The Surrogate Omega, Part Two

I shake my head. “Not yet. I’m not sure how much good it will do.”

“If he didn’t think you could do something, he would have never risked sending this to you. Raine said there were coordinates, right? He sent those for a reason.”

I sigh, suddenly feeling so fucking tired. I just want to be home with my mates. I want someone else to give a damn about Rory and help him and all those other people get out of there. There is no one else though. Rory’s dad washed his hands of him at the very least and is complicit in his kidnapping at worst. The Ruiz family is focused on mourning their child and getting closure. The government is willing to sacrifice him for the bigger picture. That leaves me. Well, me and my mates. Fuck. What am I going to do?”

“I feel so lost, Ev. I’ve never felt like this in my career before. Missing Persons has always been a catch-22. Whenever we find someone alive and safe, it’s the most amazing feeling. I’m doing something rewarding. Something worthwhile. But for every person we find safely, another one is never found, or their body washes up in the Hudson a few months later. I’ve accepted it. The ones we find make it worth it. But if we don’t get this kid back . . . I don’t, Ev. I just don’t know.”

Ev doesn’t say anything, but now he’s the one comforting me, which always seems to be the case. Since I was a kid, Ev has been my rock.

“We’ll figure this out, ok. All three of us. We’ll find a way to save this kid, Lo. I swear we will.”

Even though this isn’t something that Ev can truly promise, I grasp onto his words like they’re gospel. Because, honestly, I don’t want to think of the alternative.

TWENTY-THREE

Lake

“You’re willingly allowing those people to die!” I snap at my boss as I pace his office. He looks like he’s two seconds from kicking me out but hasn’t yet. I understand this isn’t his fault, his bosses are the ones who made the decision, but he didn’t fight it either.

“Simmons, you need to let this go. This isn’t the first time we’ve had to make a sacrifice for the greater good. You know this. I don’t get why this one is affecting you so much. Is it because you’re carrying now?”

I don’t bother to fight the eye roll. That has been his go-to every time I question any of his decisions in the last 6 months. And maybe, yes, I’m a little more outwardly emotional as my pregnancy continues, but I’m still perfectly capable of making rational decisions.

“I’m going to ignore the blatant misogyny in that sentence.” He opens his mouth to interrupt, but I keep speaking. “And don’t tell me it’s not misogyny because I’m a male. There’s not a current term for bias against a pregnant male Omega, so I’m using the most relevant term. I believe it would suffice if I happened to have a record of every little snide remark or outright bias I’ve experienced from you since you found out about my pregnancy. Fortunately for you, that’s not my biggest concern right now.”

Oh, his face is beet red. I wish I could take a picture. Logan would get a kick out of it. He never likes how my boss speaks to me. The man is still sputtering, so I continue.

“Back on topic. You speak of sacrifice. What sacrifice are you making? You aren’t the one who’s going to get killed if they don’t get sold to a buyer by the end of the night.” Which is a worse fate? I don’t want to consider either option. My feelings about this are way too close to the surface. “You aren’t their family members who have no idea where their loved one is or what’s happening to them. You’re not even the field agent who’s being forced to not only step aside but likely kill some of these victims for your greater good.”

That’s why Specialist Donnelly called me while we were at Eric’s house. He’s young and new to the agency, but brilliant. He picks up on more things than most seasoned analysts, and I have all the confidence in his career. While I didn’t share all the details, or the fact I’ve been sending information to the NYPD, Donnelly did know I had been keeping an eye on this mission despite no longer being directly involved. He was aware I still had alerts set up and was trying to get a location on the victims that were scattered.

Our agents got eyes on the youngest ones, those under eighteen, and realized they had been sent to a small island off the coast of South Carolina. Earlier this week, I finally got confirmation that Rory McNally was one of those children.

I have a fairly close working relationship with one of the undercover field agents. I’ve been his second pair of eyes many times and have helped him out of many hairy situations. When he found out his orders, he sent a message directly to me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there, but Donnelly intercepted it before the bosses saw it. Basically, the agent had reached out to his handler when he found out that the heads of that region were panicking and wanted to let loose some of their inventory. Their words, not mine. Anyone not sold by midnight tonight was getting killed.

The agency decided not to move, stating that we weren’t ready. That taking down this small region before we were prepared to take all the regions would cause everyone else to go to ground. They aren’t wrong, but the field agent wasn’t comfortable with his orders, especially after discovering the traffickers were putting him on kill duty. He’s afraid they are questioning his loyalty and if he doesn’t go through with it, they will likely kill him.

Even so, the agency refused to retract him. They say he’s in too deep and needs to do whatever it takes to not blow his cover. And that’s how I ended up in my boss’s office, my back killing me as I pace the room, trying desperately to get anyone to see reason. The baby has been kicking intensely all day, and while it’s not painful, it’s starting to make my stomach, not to mention my bladder, feel uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure he feels my stress and this is his way of reacting to it. I press on my belly right where his little feet are slamming into my insides.I’m sorry, little one. I hope this will be over soon.

“I’m sorry, Simmons,” my boss eventually says, exasperated. “There’s nothing I can do. I’m not willing to lose my career over this. If you are, I won’t stop you. In fact, please do so I never have to deal with you again but leave me out of it.” He turns back to his computer, a clear sign of dismissal. Fine with me. I’m done with him anyway.

A plan starts to form in my head as I walk out, but I know it’s risky. I keep thinking about Logan, though, and what it will do to him if this boy dies. Especially since he knows I know about it and have done nothing. I won’t do that.

I head back to my station. The only one around is Donnelly. Good. I do one last double check to make sure I’m alone and no one is monitoring my computer and quickly send a coded message to the undercover agent. His check-in is not for another two hours, so I don’t expect to hear from him yet, but that part of the plan is in motion at least. Of course, it’s all hinging on him being willing to help me, which isn’t guaranteed. We all know what’s at risk if he does.

Once that’s done, I send Logan a message on my secure phone. It’s short and to the point, and I’m sure he’s not happy with my cryptic messages and half-truths, but it’s the best I can do at the moment.

Next check in is in two hours. Be ready to move.

The three little dots appear. And then disappear. And then appear again. I smile to myself, only imagining what Logan is writing and then erasing. I’m sure it’s not complimentary.

Logan:

I need more than that, Little Bird. I know that’s not all he wants to say. I’m proud of him for his restraint.

I’m sorry. I can’t, not yet. I love you.

This text comes much quicker.

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