Using my sleeve, I rubbed my eyes, trying to dislodge the wetness enough to see clearly so I could grab the stupid cord without injuring myself.
Leaning deeper into the car, I finally managed to hook my finger around the edge of the cable and pull it up, but as I did, my finger grazed one of the pieces of glass with a sharp sting.
"Fuck!" I yelled, more in shock than in pain, and pulled it back towards me quickly.
I stood at the edge of the open door and turned on the car’s battery before I plugged in my phone, waiting for it to turn back on. Upon inspection, it seemed like there was just a small slit in my finger, a single bead of blood appearing between it. I stuck it in my mouth as my screen powered on, and I was able to get into it.
With a few taps, I was dialing Tara. God, this was so stupid. Not five minutes ago, I had been ecstatic about potentially finding a place for my studio, but now it seemed I was going to have to replace my fucking car, and it hadn't even broken down.
As Tara's voicemail played, I couldn't stop the continuing barrage of tears. I opened my texts and started scrolling through. Should I call Jason? No, I didn't really want to deal with him right now.
My fingers hovered over Joon's name. I could reach out to him. Would it be awkward? Sure, we seemed to work things out, but calling for something like this seemed like it was too far.
This probably wasn't better, but I quickly added Indi, Joon, and Cameo into a group chat and sent one big message. Then they could ignore it if they wanted.
lombardi pack gc
hey, so my car got broken into, and I'm stuck. I tried to call Tara, but she didn't answer, and I didn't know who else to text.
I stared at it, figuring it would take a while to get a response. But the typing dots cropped up almost instantly.
Joon
OMG are you okay?
INDI
we're at home but we can pick you up. Send me your location.
With a few taps, I sent a pin.
Stalker
I'm already out and close. Be there in a few.
I blinked in surprise. I hadn't expected Cameo to be the one rushing to help, but I did feel warm all over that he was.
Someone was coming.
Admittedly,it felt a little cruel to walk away from Eva while she was crying in a parking lot. But I needed to go grab my car, and I wasn’t exactly keen sure as fuck wasn't going to park it here of all places.
I’d already been walking towards her. It took me a little while to figure out where she was going, but once I watched her park and go in, I decided to find a spot to park my car, awatchedspot.
Surely she knew this wasn't a nice neighborhood… right? Well, I mean,obviously, she didnow.
I went to the valet parking I'd chosen, handed the attendant the slip, and waited with a tap of my foot for him to collect my car.
My omega was waiting for me. My omega needed me.
Needed us.
She could've asked anyone for help, but it was our pack that she reached for when she needed it.
And that meant something.
Or, at the very least, it meant that Charlie's beach vacation was going better than he hoped in that they'd actually managed to get on the plane. I wouldn't call the alpha a workaholic the way I would with me, or even Marcus, but he certainly wasn't afraid of late nights when they were called for. Something he'd reduced once he'd bonded with his pack, but couldn't escape entirely.
Not with Scent CX doing so well.
