I was sitting on a plastic armchair, my skull throbbing. Everything had happened so fast. Edward had hit me over the back of the head, knocking me out cold before I could blink. The fucker had snuck in through the back door, and I hadn’t even know he was there.
The next thing I knew, I was groggily waking up in a hospital room, my omega by my side after she had been brought to the hospital in a different ambulance. She had been in a wheelchair herself, the doctors concerned about the baby after the amount of smoke she had inhaled. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually she agreed to accept a bed in the same room as me. She was adamant she didn't want to leave my side, and I could tell that separating us would only increase her stress, so I had implored the doctors.
I had been giving a clean-ish bill of health. With strict rest and monitoring instructions, I could go home, but there was no way I was doing that without Hailey.
Our omega was currently curled up on the hospital bed, clutching a large pillow to her chest as she slept. Several wires were attached to her, monitoring her and the baby. She had inhaled a significant amount of smoke, and the doctors wanted to keep a close eye on her for a few days to ensure the stress hadn’t put her at risk of premature labor.
We hadn’t left her room for a moment. Even when the nurses had tried to convince me to go home and sleep, I refused.
So, we were all piled into Hailey’s room, sitting on those crappy little chairs, watching over her.
“No, like I said, the last thing I remember was meal prepping the pasta, and the next it was lights out,” I growled, running a hand through my hair, wincing when it touched the considerable bump at the back of my skull.
The fucker had been too cowardly to face me from the front.
“We should have gotten his name—maybe the police could tell us?” Nolan said. “I was so distracted getting Hailey to the hospital, I didn’t eventhinkto question his presence.”
“That’s understandable. We were both distracted making sure Wilder and Hailey were okay. Hasshesaid anything about who pulled them out?” Merrick asked, nodding toward the sleeping Hailey.
I shook my head. “She’s been too busy fussing over me.”
Now it was our turn to fuss over her while the doctors monitored her for a few days.
“We will figure this out,” Preston grumbled in frustration from where he was against the far wall, watching Hailey intently. He had dark circles under his eyes. “I can’t fucking believe we weren’t there for her when she really needed us.”
“She’s safe now. That’s what matters,” Nolan reassured him.
Preston was beating himself up, that much was obvious.
“I should have known Haskins wouldn’t go quietly,” he muttered as he paced the room.
“Dude, you had no way of knowing,” Nolan insisted.
He shook his head. “No, I should have known my work put our omega at risk. How are you being so calm about this?” he thundered.
“Because she's not an idiot. She knows that there are risks associated with our jobs,” Merrick said. “She won't be angry at anyone other than Edward for being a degenerate piece of trash.”
“You should be mad at me. The house that you freaking restored is gone!”
Merrick shrugged. “It's just a house, we can build another. Also, I have amazing insurance. Everything that's important is in this room.” As he spoke, he looked down at Hailey, who was snoring lightly.
“If anything had happened to her….”
“She's fine. The doctors gave her a clean bill of health. They just want to monitor for a while,” Nolan insisted.
I hated watching Preston do this to himself. I got the impression that it would be a while before he forgave himself.
Walker wasn't much better, either. He felt like it was his fault for not getting Edward arrested sooner. He had been visiting regularly. Sunny had wanted to visit as well, but because she had a young baby, they had been avoiding coming to the hospital, as it was a cesspool of germs and sickness.
“How is she doing?” a deep, eerily calm voice said from the doorway.
We all turned to look at the hulking alpha in the doorway. I didn't recognize him, and judging by the confused looks on Merrick’s and Nolan's faces, they didn't either.
Preston, on the other hand launched, himself at the alpha. “Hudson! What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, embracing him with enthusiasm.
“You’ve been so unavailable, after not hearing from you in so long, I made some inquiries and decided to check on you—fucking good thing I did! When I heard you had been in a convict firefighter camp, I thought it best I come here just to see what was up. Went to your house, and well…you know the rest.”
Preston rubbed a hand over his face before turning to us. “Guys, this is Hudson. He was part of my smoke-jumping crew a few years back.”
