“No hotter than I usually am,” I try for sultry, and Puck starts laughing, letting me know I might have got my intention a bit skewed. But he also cranks the aircon.
Koz digs through the truck’s ice chest to grab a bottle of water. Opening and passing it over for me to drink, before grabbing another one to roll over the back of my neck. “Do you remember being injected?”
“Yeah,” I say between gulps. “It stung like a wasp. Actually, I thought I would feel differently, you know?”
“What?” Puck asks. I twist around to find him, and I stop and stare for a moment. He’s so fucking good looking, and my claim on him looks damn fine too. “Raney, what happened?”
“Yeah,” I say, tearing my eyes away from him is necessary if I want to stay focussed, “Reid jabbed me when I got in the car. I figured it would knock me right out. I think that’s what Reid thought too because I’m sure he said night-night. Anyway, I totally have to thank Omega Hillary for her acting lessons, because I kind of figured it would be better to fake it until help arrived.”
Koz nods encouragingly while he also starts mimicking taking long measured breaths. So I do, too.
I take a couple of inhales, and it helps. More clarity seeming to shine through the sludge of my confusion. “Talon was whistling like a budgie,” I tell them, but Talon interrupts.
“I knew you’d get it, Raney; it was the song we used to laugh about. I needed you to know I was on your side and I needed a little bit of time.”
I scoff and roll my eyes and turn to look at him. “Why?”
He looks serious, but there’s a mix of sweet relief and glittering happiness in his eyes too. “I knew there'd be nothing that would stop them from coming for you. Call me insightful, but I also knew given half the chance, you’d probably punch Reid in the balls.”
“Well, there is that.” I nod my head, agreeing before the mention of Reid stirs up memories of what he said in the car. “You do know what he did, right?”
The blue of Talon’s eyes dulls, a blast of anger dampening his happy vibe. “Yeah, Lolli, I know what he did.”
“He nearly fucking ruined all this!” I throw my hand back in grand gesture and whack poor Hayes in the face. I freeze up, nearly bursting into tears before I swing around and look in horror at Koz. “What is wrong with me?”
“Micina, you’re okay. You’re under the effects of a heat stimulant. Unfortunately, some of the side effects include confusion, erraticness, and mood swings. Because it was done in haste the dosage wasn’t measured, so we’re in for a short but very intense twelve hours.”
“What about my Scorned Girls?”
Hayes rubs a hand over my shoulder, and I know it’s his because it’s tender and sweet. Again, that makes no fricking sense. “Raney, you spoke to the girls while we were waiting for Koz and Talon. They’ve all split up with their security teams and are boarding planes or driving to safety.”
I hum, slowly starting to remember that I did speak with them while I was watching Talon and Koz talking. And I definitely remember talking to Dad.
“Twinkles and Joker got hit,” I tell Koz.
“I know, kitten. They will get the very best care available. And I’m sure the both of them will be back on their feet before the week is out.”
“Not Rhodes. Oh my god that poor man. He didn’t deserve to die.” I turn and pin the accusation at Talon.
“No, Lolli. I didn’t hurt him, I swear. It was Reid.”
“Why are you looking at me strangely?” I ask each of them, and it’s like my recall and memory are little grains of sand in an hourglass, slipping away.
Koz blows his scent in my face, pulling my attention to him again. And as he does it, I keep inhaling his chocolate-cherry scent like it’s a cure for my madness, and it helps. “Micina, it’s been a bit of a crazy day and nothing like we planned.” His finger grazes gently over his claim on my body, and a wave of pleasure burns through my need for answers, making me purr.
“There’s a song like that… nothing like we planned,” I say. The second I say it though I’m wondering what the hell possessed me to say it. Slamming my eyes shut gives me that break from what’s happening in front of me, bringing the chemical taste to the forefront of my frazzled senses.
Honestly, I’m currently giving Dory from Finding Nemo a run for her money.
“I don’t like this. What the hell is going on? I’m feeling and acting like I’m going to go into heat. And even though going into heat wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen, I’m pretty sure they would have told me at Unity if being packed would trigger this. What’s going on?”
“Lolli, Reid drugged you.”
A whirlpool of regret and dark emotion seems to suddenly appear in the centre of the vehicle. It becomes so huge and consuming, it’s almost like another person climbed in our car, and it threatens to pull my alphas from me.
“Stop!” I hiss.
The swirling mood doesn’t let up, it just changes course. I can feel them fighting to stay here with me, while parts of them are struggling. “It’s okay, I’m right here.”
