Because we were banned from the hospital. Stopped from getting anywhere near her, even as we almost lost our minds over it before everything came out. Charles told us it was what she wanted, to leave her alone.
The last time we saw Kennedy was her sitting in the front of Brett’s truck as he pulled off that morning. Until this week.
“He wouldn’t lie about it.” Theo is still staring at the paper. “What would the point be?”
That’s a question I’ve been wrestling with myself.
“None of it makes sense,” I say quietly. “And the more I look at it, the more the pieces don’t fit together. So I looked up those hikers, matched the names in the directory, and I left them a message asking them to call me.”
“You’re trying to find another explanation because you don’t want to believe she’s capable of doing that.” A thread of anger enters Theo’s words. “Brett wasn’t an angel, but he would neverhave hurt her. Never. And she confessed, Oz. She told Max and Jake everything. I don’t see the point in chasing down ghosts.”
I shrug, folding up the paper. “It can’t hurt. Maybe it’s a false trail. Maybe not.”
Max and Jake exchange glances. Theo taps his hand on the table. “I need a fucking distraction.”
Climbing out, I lean against the booth and watch with a growing frown as he crosses the diner. “What the hell is he doing?”
“Fucking up,” Jake says quietly. He gets out too, then Max. All of us watch as Theo leans in, murmuring into a delighted-looking Kristen Edwards’s ear. She titters, flicking platinum blond hair back and away from her face before leaning in and placing her hand on his arm. Theo gestures toward our booth, and she gets up to follow him.
For fuck’s sake.
I force a smile as she beams at us. “I’d love to join you.”
Theo waves a hand. “Sit between me and Oscar. I’ll get you a drink.”
Scowling, I slide back into the booth. Kristen follows me, pressing a little too close for comfort considering Theo hasn’t even sat down yet. Her perfume makes my nose itch. Some sort of spice.
But it’s not cherries and chocolate.
It doesn’t make me want tobite.
Theo is at least smiling when he gets back, even if it doesn’t reach his eyes. He avoids my stare as he drops the drinks down on the table. “There we go.”
Kristen laughs as he slides in beside her. There’s not enough room, so I stretch my arm out across the back of the booth and try not to grimace as she brushes against me. Her giggles grate on my fucking ears. “This is cozy.”
Across from me, Jake and Max wear matching frowns. But she doesn’t seem to notice as she launches into conversation with Theo.
This is a bad idea. My eyes flicker to the door that leads to the staff area. This isn’t going to solve anything, but our omega has a tendency to act first and talk later. Even Theo’s eyes shift to that door before they dart back to Kristen, a small, insincere smile on his face.
Bad. Fucking. Idea.
Kennedy
Ihave forty hours left.
And I’m choosing –voluntarily- to spend seven of them locked in a stuffy kitchen, scrubbing pans and plates until my hands feel raw and the smell of grease covers up my own tainted scent.
If I didn’t already know I was losing my mind, this would confirm it.
I’d choose this any day over sitting alone in the trailer though. One of the chefs hums along to the radio in the background, and I listen to their conversation, drinking it in as I pick up the towel and begin drying.
Mick calls over from where he’s examining the orders. “That’ll be it for a few. Take out the trash when you’re done.”
I double-bag for good measure, trying not to gag at the smell before carrying it out through the back and tossing it into the garbage.
Brushing off my hands, I wander up the alley to the main street, glancing up and down. As I turn, my gaze catches on the window, brightly lit like an advertisement.
And right there, sitting in full fucking view, are my mates. All of them.
