“I deal with it all the time. Doctor-patient confidentiality.”
“You’re a great doctor.”
Doc’s eyes crinkled. “Ask Bruiser where he wants to meet.”
Bruiser gave them an address that had Doc driving through a shabbier part of town, to a five-story building that had seen better days. The building contained several tiny apartments. As they made their way down the dingy fifth-floor hallway, a door opened.
“Oh good,” said someone who wasn’t Bruiser. “I timed it right.”
Only then did Ottis remember—anyone could be tracking the baby-seller’s phone.
Had its owner found them?
12
SECRETS
Doc steppedin front of Ottis. Ottis nearly crashed into his back, twisting to protect Marcie from the collision.
But instead of taking up a fighting stance, Doc sighed. “Zenith?”
“I recognized the address,” said the voice. “This is convenient.”
Ottis peeked out from behind Doc.
A huge alpha stood in a doorway, roughly Doc’s size. He looked younger, with an easy smile and a pencil tucked behind his ear.
“What’re you doing here?” Doc muttered.
“This is my writing retreat,” Zenith said. “I remove all distractions so I can focus on getting work done. Unfortunately, you have given me an excellent reason to procrastinate.”
Doc rolled his eyes. “Get back into your writing cave.”
“Nope. I need some inspiration.” Zenith grabbed a notebook and shut the door behind himself, gesturing for Doc to keep moving. He eyed Ottis curiously but said nothing, falling into step behind them.
“You trust him?” Ottis whispered.
“He’s Ace and Raptor’s brother. He’s also on the alpha chat. Apparently everyone is starving for gossip today,” Doc said dryly.
“Oh!That’s right,” Zenith said. “Your mystery mate. How did you two meet?”
Ottis blushed.
“I kidnapped him,” Doc said.
Ottis’ jaw dropped. Was he really telling his friends...?
Zenith sucked in a sharp breath. But instead of accusing Doc of anything, pages rustled, a pencil scratched. When Ottis looked over his shoulder, he found Zenith scribbling in his notebook.
Ottis whipped his head back around, confused. Only to find Doc grinning.
“You’re going to make kidnapping your next romance plot, Zen?” Doc asked.
“Sounds pretty good right now,” Zenith said distractedly. “I hit a writer’s block on this enemies-to-lovers thing. Not my usual cup of tea, but I was paid to write it.”
“Your employer must have a lot of money,” Ottis blurted. Didn’t books take forever to write?
“Well, it’s your b—” Zenith blinked, and snapped his mouth shut. “Hmm. I said nothing.”
