In the meantime, I really needed to come up with a better plan when it came to the Paolo situation. By the time I found out what hospital he’d been taken to, Lorenzo Vozzina would already know. The question was, how far would the man go to get rid of his unwanted trophy omega?
If I was going to get Paolo to testify against his pack, I needed to keep him safe. But I couldn’t keep him safe when I didn’t know where the hell hewas. My mind spun in useless circles, rehashing the same facts over and over while getting nowhere.
It occurred to me that I should open my eyes and check the time, because it had probably been half an hour by now. Unhelpfully, my eyes chose not to cooperate.
Just five more minutes, I promised myself.Five more minutes won’t hurt.
Daylight was streaming in through the window when a small form next to me jolted upright with a loud gasp, dragging me abruptly from deep sleep.
“Gage!” Jez squeaked, her hand hitting my shoulder as she flailed.
A sickening feeling of dread dragged at me, even as Tony stirred, and Heath bolted upright on the other side of the bed. Jez and Gage were mated. If the bond had roused her from sleep, that might mean that he was—
“He’s awake,” Heath said, reaching out a hand to clasp Jez’s shoulder, steadying her. “I’m only getting this secondhand, but it feels like he’s coming out from under the anesthetic.”
FORTY-SIX
Jez
IT WAS ALL I COULDdo to follow Knox’s raspy command to get dressed. Gage’s emotions flailed in my mind like a newly blinded person trapped in an unfamiliar room, and Ineeded to get to him.
Confusion. Anxiety. Pain. Maybe if I had more experience controlling the bond, I would’ve been able to send him calming thoughts. As it was, he was probably getting my own frantic worry mirrored back at him.
“He’s right.” Heath’s hand was a grounding weight on the back of my neck. “Stop for a second. Breathe. Someone will probably be here in a few minutes to take you to him, and there’s no point in walking the hallways with your ass hanging out of a hospital gown if you don’t have to.”
Knox still looked like he’d been run over by a truck, but he blearily pawed through the bags the driver had brought. A moment later, he handed over a T-shirt, track pants, and a pair of sneakers in my size.
I rushed into the bathroom to change, pulling the hospital gown over my head to save time. The scrapes on my hands felt more tender this morning than they had last night, and I felt a fresh burst of protective worry through the bond as the nagging pain flared.
Worry about yourself, I tried to send to Gage, even though the bond didn’t work like that.I’m fine. I’m coming just as soon as I can.
Maybe something about that second part got through, because the tension in the back of my head waned slightly. I pulled clothing over yesterday’s underwear, jammed my feet into the sneakers, and tied the laces hastily.
When I burst out of the bathroom, it was to find Heath shrugging into a white polo. I blinked as the soft material slid down over pale skin stretched across sleek muscle and peppered with bruises.
In the corner, Knox had been slower to get changed. He was still bare-chested, holding a shirt in his hands. I might’ve seen the man convulsing on a bed as his heart gave out, but I’d never seen him bare above the waist before.
He gave an awkward cough and turned his bruised back to the room when he noticed me looking. Helplessly, I met Tony’s wide eyes, and we shared a moment of overwhelmed solidarity in the face of exposed alpha muscles.
It was broken by a rapid knock at the door. I tore myself away from the vision of hot alpha pecs and jogged over to open it.
The nurse standing on the other side looked like she’d seen some shit. She also looked like she’d been on her feet for at least twenty-four hours straight. Still, she was brisk and professional as she took in my appearance and cleared her throat.
“Good morning. You are Gage Huxley’s mate, yes? He’s showing signs of emerging from sedation, and it would be best if you were there when he wakes up properly.”
