“Geesh, let a guy relax first, boss,” I say.
She shoots me a quelling look, but her lips twitch at my sass. I’ll likely get to pay for my snark later. Vee gives the best punishments, so I give her a cheeky grin in return.
Brooks’ eyes dart between us, a look of surprised curiosity as he takes in our brand of flirting. I wonder if he likes sass, too?
Neveah clears her throat, and we all refocus on the task at hand: rescuing our omega.
“I talked to her again on her walk today, tried to gauge how safe it might be for her to sneak out again if another opportunity comes up. I’d like to get her away from there permanently, though.”
“Why not tell her that?” I ask.
Neveah is already shaking her head, though Brooks answers.
“She’s skittish. I think that would scare her away more than anything. Stick with the devil you know, or whatever that phrase is. Sage may not like where she’s at, but she’s learned to survive and bear it. She has no idea what life with us would be like.”
“Which is why we need to show her,” Neveah says.
“What did she say?” I ask Brooks. “About another date?”
“She said she checked her brother’s calendar and they have a party tomorrow night, then another baseball game Saturday afternoon. She doesn’t know how long they’ll be gone tomorrow, but said maybe we could video chat or meet up for a little bit.”
“We can go to her, no problem,” I cut in, and both alphas smile at me in agreement.
I breathe a sigh of relief, happy to have a plan for moving forward. I sneak my phone out of my pocket while Brooks and Neveah keep chatting, finalizing the details. I open up a new chat and message Sage.
I hear I might get to see you again tomorrow
I hope so. I would like that. I do not know when they will leave or get back though.
That’s okay, we can be flexible.
Are you sure you want to deal with this?
I don’t know what you mean by “this” or “deal with” but if you’re referring to courting you, hell yeah. I want to court the fuck out of you, babe.
Oh. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you? I snort. She’s so freaking cute.
I just wanted to be sure I was not inconveniencing anyone.
Now I’m scowling, because seriously, what are those alphas saying to her that she thinks so little of herself?
Put it out of your mind. None of us do anything we don’t want to. And believe me, Sage. We want to spend time with you in any way we can.
“What’s that look for?” Neveah asks, catching me frowning at my phone.
“She thinks she’s an inconvenience.”
Brooks leans back in his chair with a sigh. “Yeah, I’ve gotten that too. We’ll work on it.”
Damn right we will.
Chapter Seventeen
Sage
I’m waiting at the front door, keeping an eye out for Brooks’ truck. He said he’d wait for my message and then park in the same spot as last time to take me to the park where we’re meeting Riley and Neveah. I think he senses I don’t like being around a lot of people, and I appreciate his consideration, but I’m also kind of freaking out about meeting Neveah for the first time.
