Chapter 18 - Jo
eighteen
Jo
"Alright, Sammy-boy," I grin, coming out of the hospice room to meet the alpha in the hallway, "I'm ready to be escorted to my room."
I'm sure my eyes are still a little red from crying, but I'm determined to pretend that I didn't just fall apart quicker than a shotgun marriage in his lap less than ten minutes ago.
"Let's get going then, Trouble," Sam says easily, but it's not hard to miss the distance he's now putting between us.
It's probably for the best. He's an orderly, I'm a patient…
it's like a really bad Romeo and Juliet remake.
It doesn't matter if he calls to my omega instincts, because as of right now, I have none.
Though, that's not all it is, is it? Because if it were, there's no way I would have let him hold me.
We walk in silence for a moment before he clears his throat. "You…you might want to go see Hayden right away. He's been hounding everyone he can, throwing his dad's name around to get answers. Just don't be surprised when—"
"JO!" Hayden is now barreling towards me, West trailing after him like he had been trying to stop the alpha.
In the next instance, I'm being swept into his arms, laughing as he spins me in a circle.
I climb him without thinking, pressing my lips to his as my legs wrap around his waist, "Fuck, Jo," he gasps, pulling away and pressing his forehead to mine. "Never do that again, please."
"Do what?" I frown, my brows furrowed.
"I came to get you for dinner, and you were in your nest—your bed," he quickly corrects himself, glancing over at West and Sam, "but you were unconscious, and you wouldn't wake up. I carried your limp, barely breathing body to Sam as fast as I could."
Oh, my poor, sweet Fire Demon. He was worried about me. When was the last time I had someone besides Declan worried about me?
"I'm okay now, Darlin'," I press a quick kiss to his lips, "my instincts are well and truly inhibited, so nothin’ like…that should happen again."
I turn my attention to West and Sam, who are quietly talking with their heads close together. "Any reason you decided to join Hayden to find me?"
“It’s my fault,” Hayden says quickly, his cheeks turning pink. “West was talking me off a ledge, and took pity on me to say that Sam was on his way to get you. He couldn’t have stopped me from coming here if he tried.”
“I just wanted to make sure you’re alright, and that Hayden got to you safely.
” West scratches the back of his neck, and I swear he’s blushing.
“You’re my patient too, it’s only natural I’d want to make sure…
” his words trail off in a mumble, and though my good doctor is doing his best to hide his feelings, I have a sneaking suspicion that the beta isn’t as unaffected by me as he would like me to believe.
Deciding to let it go for now, I turn back to Hayden with a grin. "You really are my good boy, aren't you?"
His fingers grasp my ass. "Fuck yes, I am."
"Alright!" Sam jumps in, gingerly taking me from Hayden's grasp and setting me on my feet. I look up at him, pouting. "We're already going to have a lot to answer for if they look at the cameras. Let's not add the question of why West and I sat around for so long watching you two maul each other."
Hayden laces his fingers through mine as we walk back towards the building exit. "Would you mind sharing the answer to that question?" Hayden arches a brow, looking at the two of them.
Sam pauses, his gaze narrowing on us before he shakes his head. "Nope. Not going there."
"Not going where?"
"Nowhere," he says a little too quickly, "Hey Jo, just so you know, Tilly is trying to tell everyone that she got you in trouble for breaking her fingers, and that's where you've been the last two days."
"What?" My jaw drops as West gives Sam a What the hell are you doing? look. Sam just shrugs. "That bitch!"
Hayden scratches the back of his neck. "Yeah, uh, she's told Paige to tell everyone she saw you being dragged to the Cathedral."
We exit the double doors, and I quickly see why they thought to warn me. All eyes turn to us as we walk across the courtyard, and everyone looks at me like they've seen a ghost.
"Jo!" Adela waddles up to me as quickly as she can and grabs onto my arms. "I was so worried about you! Is it true? Did they really put you in Zombieland?" Her eyes are tearing up behind her glasses, and I take pity on her.
Leaning in so only she can hear me, I whisper, "No, I'll tell you later, but hold on." Then I lean back saying loud enough for everyone to hear, "Yeah, but none of their drugs would work on me. Weird, right?" I shrug as Hayden stifles a laugh.
"What?!" A screeching female voice comes out of nowhere, and then I catch Tilly stomping over.
"What do you mean it wouldn't work? Are you saying you haven't been punished for maiming me?
" She waves her fully bandaged hand in front of my face.
She turns to West and Sam. "Is that true?
She just…what? Had a vacation the last few days? "
Sam starts to scoff, but West steps forward. "I'm afraid we can't disclose that, Tilly. That would be a breach of patient confidentiality."
Funny, since he just told me about Hayden wanting to start a fire.
I can't hold my snort in at him playing along, and turn towards Tilly. "I really do hope your fingers feel better." I smile sweetly. "Hopefully your other hand won't meet the same fate if you continue to prove you can't keep your hands off things that aren't yours."
She sneers, taking a step forward. "And who says he's yours, trailer trash?"
"I do," he snaps, stepping forward. "It's time you take a hint. I belong to whoever I say I want to belong to, and that's Jo. Get away from me, Tilly."
Tilly's eyes flash with rage, but then I take a step forward, and she pales, backing up. Good.
This is why I went along with the little lie that they threw me into Zombieland. If they knew I was sick, I'd be seen as weak. Instead, I'm a badass who can resist whatever drugs they pump into us. That means I have the illusion of being able to do whatever I want.
Adela looks wide-eyed between the two of us, a protective hand on her belly, and I shoot her a wink to let her know I'm okay.
Finally, Tilly huffs, stomping away again, and Sam sighs. "Let's see if I can officially take you to your room without you finding any more drama."
"Oh, come on, Sammy-boy, you know it's the other way around. I'm just over here mindin' my own business."
"Right." He rolls his eyes, and West branches off to go back to his office.
"You know, you could just drop me here, I can find my way back to my room," I point out, and Hayden's fingers tighten in mine.
"No, I can't," Sam counters, motioning me to follow him, and I do, rolling my eyes. "My instructions were to take you straight to your room, and I've already let you make too many stops. The cameras are watching."
He motions his head towards one, and I shoot it a quick wink, making Hayden chuckle.
"Hayden, wait until after I leave to go into the room with her," Sam mutters, leaning over slightly. "Fraternization is discouraged, and I'm obligated to report anything I see. If they see her go inside with you while I'm present, they'll start keeping a closer eye on all of us."
Hayden nods once, but I shoot Sam a curious look. "Just how many relationships do you cover for, Sammy-boy?"
His jaw goes tight as he runs a hand through his hair. "None."
"So why us?"
My question stumps him, if his silence is any indication, and by the time we make it to my door, I have more questions than ever. It's clear he feels something for me…but if it was romantic, he would not be okay with me and Hayden.
He is quite a bit older than me, maybe even by ten years. Is it possible he sees me how Declan does? Why does that thought fill me with disappointment?
"Well, thanks for the escort," I say with false bravado, shooting Sam a wink. He rolls his eyes and turns to leave, grumbling something to himself as he goes.
We wait until he disappears around the corner to open my door, and my heart falls at the sight of my room.
All my nest materials are gone, and instead of Hayden's used jumpsuit and comforter, there's a new set of linens on the bed. I swallow down an upset sound as Hayden panics. "Fuck, it's okay, Fireball. I'll get you new ones, and—"
I shake my head. "It's okay."
"What? No, you're an omega, and you need a nest—"
I shake my head again. "No."
Then I tell him everything I overheard while they thought I was still sleeping. How Brooks and Whitmore talked about completely nullifying the designations, and how my omega is all but gone, locked in a cage in my mind.
"Fuck, Fireball," he mutters, gathering me in his arms. "Why would they do that?"
"I don't know. But when Whitmore set his eyes on me, he looked at me like he hates me. He doesn't even know me—how could he already have that opinion?"
"You think it's because you're an omega?" he asks, and I pause, frowning.
Huh. I had been thinking that maybe he knew some of the alphas I expelled from existence, but now that he says it, it's not the hatred of someone that I've personally offended. It was like he was disgusted by my very existence.
"Actually…maybe."
"My dad…" Hayden sighs, flopping back onto my bed.
"My dad is one of the New York State Senators.
He used to talk about a group that wanted to completely eradicate designations.
Find a way to remove alphas and omegas from the world and leave it with only betas.
Killing them all would cause too much discord, but a drug?
Fuck, Jo, that sounds like just the thing they would do. "
"Your dad…?" I ask hesitantly. "Is he an alpha?"
"A beta," he says tightly. "I used to think he was talking about them with disgust, but maybe…" He shakes his head. "I'm sorry Jo, I don't have much more than that."
"I…" This might go so much further than I had thought. They obviously take omegas as test subjects, so is that what they're doing with Mabel right now? Then I remember the name they said, something about reporting to… "Does Senator Kinsley ring a bell?"
"Yeah," he frowns, "he's the other New York Senator."
"Shit," I mutter, falling next to Hayden. "They said that they wanted to keep him updated on the progress of the drug."
Which means he has a hand in this, which could very well mean this place is government funded. Why did that not come up in any of my research? Probably the same reason nothing about this being an experimental facility popped up.
"Shit." Hayden echoes. Before he can say anything else, I hear the tell-tale squeaking of Turnip coming out of my air vent.
"Turnip!" I cry, sitting up and scrambling to the vent.
It pops off easily, and in the next moment the little rat is climbing up to my shoulder, rubbing her face against mine.
"Oh, I missed you too, girl! I hope you found someone to feed you while I was gone.
" Turnip squeaks happily, and I look over to see Hayden staring at us with this love-struck look on his face.
"You really are something else, Fireball," he murmurs, walking over and pressing a kiss to my head.