“I’m texting Cam. He should be here soon,” she said. “The paramedics are on their way. We’ll get you checked out and then you’re coming home with us.”
My face throbbed from where the alpha hit me, but it was tolerable. My headache from earlier, however, had intensified,and it felt like a dagger was being twisted into my skull. I whimpered as I turned away from Josie and vomited.
She rubbed my back soothingly.
“Let me get you some water,” she said.
I grabbed her hand and held on tight. I would fall apart if she left me right now.
“Okay,” she murmured. “We’ll get you some in a minute. I’ll stay right here.”
An ambulance and several police cars stopped in the mouth of the alley. The bright red and blue lights were too intense and I briefly closed my eyes, but then the sound of footsteps had them flying open. Paramedics and police officers rushed towards us, and I stifled a whine.
“They’re here to help,” Josie said, keeping a tight hold on me.
I flinched as two paramedics crouched down beside us and started asking me questions. At least they were both betas, but my heart wouldn’t stop racing as they checked me over.
“Looks like it’s probably just superficial injuries,” one of them said after a few minutes. “You’ll want to ice the bruise on your face and lip. Let’s get you to the ambulance and we can clean the scrapes on your hands and knees and get you an ice pack.”
I nodded and let Josie pull me up. Before we got to the ambulance, a large alpha stepped in front of me. I shied back, holding in my whimper.
“I’m Officer Clinton,” he said, his voice harsh and unyielding. “I need to question you about what happened.”
“We need to finish checking her out,” one of the paramedics said.
The officer fixed him with a harsh glare before turning his hard expression back to me. “I need the omega to answer my questions so I can get on with my other work.”
I’d spent plenty of time with alphaholes like him and knew he wouldn’t back down. I started explaining what happened as quickly as possible. I swayed slightly on my feet, thankful for Josie’s tight grip on my arm.
Officer Clinton waved his hand when I said someone had paid the alpha. “This was probably just a random attack.” He turned off his recording device. “Things like this do happen.”
“But the attacker said this was a job,” Josie protested.
Warmth washed through me that Josie was defending me. The officer was less impressed.
“Sometimes, in moments of panic, we misunderstand what people say. Like I said, this was likely just a random incident, but of course, we’ll take him to the station and question him.”
Just then, Cam barreled into the alley. I didn’t know him well—he wasn’t very social and mainly only had eyes for his omega—but my legs shook with relief that he was here. No matter what, I knew he was on my side.
“Shit, Westin, I’m so sorry.” His eyes were filled with concern as he looked Josie and me over.
“Cam, this officer thinks this was a random attack,” Josie said quickly. “But the man told Westin that he was here for a job. And she needs to finish getting checked out by the paramedics.”
Cam’s eyes flitted to the officer, who was scowling, his arms crossed.
“I’ll take care of it, baby,” he said to Josie. Then he turned to me. “Do we need to take you to the hospital?”
“We’ll just finish looking her over in the ambulance,” the paramedic said. “But she should be fine to go home after.”
I rested my weight against Josie as she helped me to the ambulance. The medics cleaned my hands and knees and then cleared me to go home. We stood on the sidewalk, unsure what to do as police officers ignored us and onlookers gawked.
“Maybe we should go to the hospital,” Josie said. “What if you have a concussion?”
“No hospital,” I said through gritted teeth. I didn’t want to spend a sleepless night in a fluorescent hellscape where the doctors would end up dismissing my symptoms, anyway.
“Here’s Theo,” Josie said, sighing with relief. “Westin’s coming home with us,” she told him.
“Of course,” Theo said. “I’m going to pull the car around. Cam is finishing up with the police.”
