Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Rylan
There was a lot I could handle emotionally, but I was reaching my limit. Why did the universe decide that it wanted to shit all over us?
I truly felt like an absolute idiot and a lame excuse for an alpha for not protecting Kayla. There had been so many red flags, yet we’d ignored every single one of them from the second Kayla walked through our door.
Brian pressuring us to finally find an omega and insisting it be Kara.
Kayla telling us she’d opted-out of matching.
Brian putting her down and claiming he got Kayla and Kara mixed up.
Kayla’s heat coming fast and hardcore.
If it had been any other pack telling me the woeful tale, I would have told them that there was no way they could have known someone in their inner circle would deceive them. Brian made good money, but apparently not enough if he was betting on us.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Kane said, opening the passenger door for me.
I hadn’t even realized they’d gotten out of the car, my thoughts spinning and trying to distract me from the lead ball sitting solidly in my stomach. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” He pulled me into a hug as I got out.
“Gnomes! Do you have any comment about Beckett being carted away by police and then passing out in the backseat of their cruiser?” A reporter with a cameraman came right up to us by the car, shoving the camera and microphone in our faces.
“There have been reports that Beckett tried to run off with the omega who was seen with N’Pact, is that true?” Another reporter with just a phone came from out of nowhere.
How did these people find us so quickly, and where the hell did they get their news from? Did people seriously believe everything just because it was written on the internet?
“We’re coming to you live from Ocean View Medical Center, where Beckett Thomas has been rushed after LAPD took him into custody following the Killer Gnomes’ championship win. Nazario, does this mean the Killer Gnomes days are over? Will you be kicking Beckett from the pack?”
Rio growled at the reporter, and she jumped, backing up a step. “Get out of our way,” he barked.
I would have given him a high-five if it wasn’t such a precarious situation. I fucking hated paparazzi and news reporters that didn’t respect that this was our lives they were intruding on. And for what? To have the breaking news story?
We walked in a solid line of alpha to the emergency room entrance. There were several security guards out front keeping reporters back. If one of them really wanted to get in the hospital, though, it wasn’t like security could stop them if they lied and said they were sick.
One of the guards lifted his chin at us as we passed by. The emergency room was busy, and the clerks and nurses behind the reception desk look frazzled.
We got in the line to wait our turn but one of the nurses behind the desk recognized us immediately and gestured for us to follow her.
She led us to the elevator and scanned her card.
“They just took him up to a private room on the fourth floor. As soon as you step off the elevator, make a right and the nurses’ station will be right there. I’m not sure what room.”
“Thank you,” we said in unison as we got on the elevator and pressed the button.
I leaned heavily against the wall, my adrenaline crashing and my body feeling like it weighed two times as much. “No messages from the lawyers yet?”
Rio glanced at his phone. “No. They said they’d deliver the video recording to the appropriate people, but it might be a few hours.”
The elevator dinged to announce our arrival on the fourth floor, and we followed Kane off and to the right. The smell of food wafted from somewhere, and my stomach growled. It was just after five in the evening, but after playing as hard as we did, I was starving.
A male nurse swiveled around in his chair and saw us approaching the nursing station, his jaw dropping open at the sight of us. He seemed to have forgotten how to speak as we stopped in front of him.
“We’re here to see Beckett Thomas. The nurse in the ER said he was just brought up.” Rio knocked on the counter with his knuckles, which immediately snapped the man out of his trance.
“Oh, shit. I mean… crap. Oh, man. Damn it.” He took a deep breath and stood. “I’m sorry. You’re just… wow. You’re all so much more attractive in person.”
I couldn’t help but smile at how flustered he was. “Thanks. Did they bring Beckett up here?”
“Yes! He’s in room four-twenty-one. Right down that way on the left.” He pointed. “Great game, by the way. Hopefully, everything will be okay with Beck.”
“Thank you.” Kane nodded at him, and we walked quickly toward Beck’s room.
Now that we were closer to him, I could feel how stressed he was through the pack bond. He wasn’t even bothering to put up a wall to stop us from feeling it.
The door was cracked open, and I knocked before pushing it open to find him lying in bed, hooked up to an IV and heart rate monitor. He had what looked like a folded washcloth over his eyes and the room was dark besides a dim light next to his bed.
“Hey,” I whispered. I knew he was awake since I could feel his emotions. As soon as he heard my voice, relief replaced his anxiety. “We’re here now.”
“Took you guys long enough,” he croaked.
Was he joking right now? It was so unlike him, especially considering the situation.
I sat down on the end of the bed and put my hand on his leg. “How long are you in for?”
“Overnight and then I guess they’ll take me to jail. Surprised they didn’t cuff me to the bed, but the officers didn’t come up here with me.” Beck moved the washcloth to his forehead and cracked his eyes open. “It’s so bright in here.”
Rio pulled a chair up next to his bed and took his hand. “You idiot. Shut your eyes.”
Kane sat on the other side of the bed. “If the cops didn’t come up here with you, that probably means they are dropping the charges. We found out some shit, but right now, you need to sleep.”
The door to the room crashed open and we all jumped, Beck groaning from the noise and the intrusion of light from the hallway.
“Fuck, pushed it a little too hard.” Kayla came in like a tornado and rushed toward the bed, her face red and tear-stained. “Beck…”
She burst into tears, and I jumped up since I was closest to her and guided her toward the bed.
I wanted to hug her and comfort her but knew she needed to make sure Beck was okay.
He winced as she crawled onto the bed with him but then sighed like a weight had been lifted off of him as she snuggled into him.
I quickly shut the door to give us privacy and to reduce the light in the room before grabbing another chair and pulling it next to Rio.
We were together once again, and I didn’t know about the others, but I planned on never letting Kayla go.
Beck had finally fallen asleep, and we’d gotten comfortable in our chairs we’d pulled around his bed. The OPS agents had filled us in a bit about what was happening with the investigation, and for now, we were breathing a little easier.
They weren’t taking Kayla, and Beck wouldn’t be taken to jail unless new evidence came to light about him being involved. We all knew he wasn’t, and the OPS agents didn’t seem to think he was either.
They’d also already had Brandie detained since she lived in an omega compound.
Kayla and Kara knew her from when they were classmates together at the academy.
Brandie was a few years ahead of them, and now she worked for Omega Match.
From what Kayla told us, Brandie hadn’t matched before leaving the academy.
As for Brian? No one knew where he’d run off to, but the police were looking for him.
“I’m going to go get some food. The cafeteria is open until eight,” I whispered. “I’ll bring you guys back something?”
“Yeah, whatever is fine. I’m starving, though, so please don’t bring back bird food.” Kane slouched down in his chair, his neck resting on the back of it.
We were all going to be sore in the morning.
Not just from the way we were sleeping, but from not doing any recovery or stretching after our brutal game.
Maybe they could move us to a pack room if one was available.
The nurse was supposed to check on it for us, but this hospital only had two available and he wasn’t sure if they were occupied.
“Can I come with you? I need some air.” Kayla carefully scooted off the bed and stretched.
We all watched her as her shirt rode up a little. She noticed and rolled her eyes before grabbing my hand. “Not the time, boys.”
“There’s always time for appreciating our omega.” I kissed her cheek and entwined our fingers before leading her out of the room.
The lights were a little dimmer now and the floor was mostly quiet besides the sounds hospitals couldn’t get rid of. I didn’t know how anyone could sleep with the beeping and whooshing sounds of oxygen and blood pressure monitors.
The hospital cafeteria was in the basement, and we took the staff elevator to help avoid any run-ins with the public. Our pack was plastered all over the internet with speculation about what had happened both with Beck being in the hospital and our omega.
We hadn’t publicly announced we’d done Omega Match—we wanted to wait until we were bonded—but now the world knew we had an omega and that something had happened to cause OPS to take her.
The stories were ridiculous and mostly focused on Beck doing something to her since he’d been arrested. While they hadn’t cuffed him, a few people saw him put in a police car and that was all it took.
We entered the cafeteria which had mostly doctors and nurses sitting at tables. They didn’t pay us any mind, focusing on eating their food in the little time they had.
Kayla yawned and led me over to the cafeteria-style food line. “Chicken nuggets and fries sound good.”
A woman came from the cash register and pulled on gloves. “They just brought these out too so they’re nice and fresh. The last of the night.”
I wouldn’t consider previously frozen food fresh, but it was at least not going to be soggy. “Can we get five orders to go?”
She whistled. “You’re going to clean me out for the night. They come with a fountain drink too.”
“I’ll get those.” Kayla kissed my cheek and went to the beverage machine by the cash register right behind me.
“She’s a very beautiful woman. You’re a lucky pack.” The woman smiled, grabbing five to-go boxes and putting them on the counter.
“We really are. She’s the missing puzzle piece that makes us complete.” Maybe the hunger was making me corny.
“Well, I wish you all the best. Lord knows marriage to just one man is hard enough. I get home from work, and he expects me to cook and clean, even though I work more hours than him and take care of the kids. I can’t imagine having four husbands, although maybe at least one would help around the house and know their way around the bedroom.
” She put chicken nuggets in each of the boxes and then started with the fries.
It sounded like she needed to reassess her marriage, but it wasn’t my place to say that. “We aren’t so bad.”
Being an omega in a pack of alphas wasn’t quite the same as a beta female having a group of beta men. I’m sure that could work too if they really wanted it to, but they didn’t have the instincts and drive like we did to make the omega the center of our world.
“Oh, good. I’m glad one of the others came down to help carry the drinks. I can put these in bags for you too so it’s easy for you to carry them all.” She started closing the lids.
“Excuse me?”
“Your omega and one of your pack members just left. Crap, why didn’t they take the drinks? I don’t have any drink carriers.” She was stacking the boxes to carry.
I wheeled around, not seeing Kayla at the drinks fountain anymore, and the drinks were sitting there on the counter. She wouldn’t just leave, would she? If Rio or Kane came down to help her, I would have felt them or at the very least smelled them.
Although, come to think of it, there was very little scent in the hospital because they pumped specialized de-scenting spray through the vents. They should do it in all public buildings, but the shit is expensive as fuck and still couldn’t mask a perfuming omega.
“Kayla?” I walked into the seating area and looked around, wondering if she’d gone looking for straws or a drinks carrier on the endcap with the napkins and condiments.
A doctor who was eating alone looked up from the book he was reading. “She left with your coach.”
It was a good thing I was in a hospital because my heart stopped.