“It seems that there is a possibility of more children, provided the rest of this process goes smoothly. Following the delivery, she will be returned to her role.”
“That’s a fucking death sentence,” I growl. My hands clench on the chair in front of me.
“If so, then she has outlived her usefulness in any case. It makes no difference to me.”
The ice in his tone shocks me, even now. “She’s yourdaughter, Stone.”
He stands. “She is an omega. And you would do well to remember that, Dr. Morgan. 864 is the property of the government, and I am acting on their behalf. There is no room for family in this situation. We are working to ensure the survival of our race, and her sacrifice is appreciated.”
Words fail me.
Midday tomorrow. The two words rotate in my mind. Our plans are for three days’ time.
I’m going to lose her. She’s going to die.
Stone is watching me closely, and I school my face into a disapproving look. “As a doctor, I believe in the sanctity of human life, Stone.Alllife. That is the reason for my work here. Theonlyreason.”
“As do I,” he responds drily. “I am especially interested in making sure it continues.”
I nod, slowly. “I’ll prepare for the handover.” The words taste like ash on my tongue.
“Thank you, Dr. Morgan.” He looks back down at his notes. The dismissal is clear, and I walk out of his room. Ignoring the urge to go back to Ava, I head to the reception desk.
“Check on her every twenty minutes,” I tell Nicole. Truthfully, Ava doesn’t need that level of observation now, but her earlier words have disturbed me.
Grabbing my phone, I walk out of the hospital and across to the sandwich bar on the other side of the road. I get a bagel and drink and walk into the park, casually strolling with my hands in my pockets before ducking into a side path. I cross and turn for a few minutes until I reach a secluded area. Settling right in the middle, I lay out my food before dialing Bastien’s number. From my position, I’ll hear anyone coming.
“Max?” Baz answers immediately.
“We need to move it up.Now, Baz.” My voice shakes, the emotion I couldn’t show in front of Stone leaking out to my packmate.
“What? Why?” I can already hear him tapping frantically, the clunk of his phone being set down as he puts me on speaker.
“Luc and Nikolai are here,” he tells me.
“What’s happened?” Luc demands.
“Stone is flying in a new team and they’re taking her from the hospital to his home tomorrow. Our chance will be gone. We have to move now. I have to do a handover at midday tomorrow.”
There’s silence on the other end of the phone.
“Max.” Luc’s voice is resigned, and I squeeze my eyes shut.
“No,” I push out through the ache in my throat. “Don’t say it, Luc.”
It’s Nikolai who responds, his voice grim. “It may not be possible to go with the original plan, Max.”
“So we need to come up with a new one,” I say desperately. We can do this. Nik is right – the original plan was to set a distraction for the guards and get Ava through the emergency exit. We’re going to need something else. Something more.
“For us to pull this off we’d need to launch an all-out assault,” mutters Luc.
“Not an assault.” Bastien’s words come slowly as his mind gets to work. “A deception.”
“Sorry, Baz,” Niko asks. “But who the fuck do you think we are?”
“Notus,” Bastien sounds exasperated. “I can speak to Devlin.”
“No. Too risky.”
