When I awoke, Jeremiah was sitting at the bottom of the bed playing with a small truck and car. When he saw I was awake, he said, “Hi, Ben.”
“Hi, Jeremiah. Are you feeling better?”
He nodded.
“Um, have your parents come in?”
Shrugging, he started making motor sounds while he drove the car over the covers. Hearing a noise at the foot of the bed, I leaned forward only to have something jump out and yell, “Boo!”
Falling back with my hand to my chest, I stared at Kate in consternation after she slipped the sheet off her head, her dark hair flying around her face.
Laughing, she turned to her brother and said, “Did you see him jump, Jerry? That was so funny!”
Jeremiah giggled and nodded. Kate picked up a red bucket and dumped dozens of toy vehicles on the bed.
“I get all the blue ones,” she told Jeremiah, then seemed to think better of it. “You can choose first, since you’ve been sick.”
Getting off the bed, I slipped into the hallway and walked toward the living room where I could hear Colt’s voice. Glancing in the kitchen as I passed it, I was surprised to see Laura embracing Eric. He was sniffling, and she was rubbing his back.
Continuing on, I walked into the living room and went straight to Colt.
“Awake now?” Colt asked, squeezing my hand.
I nodded.
Nova stood from where she’d been sitting on the couch. “Thank you so much, Ben,” she said, enveloping me in a hug.
“I didn’t do anything. Just read to him,” I said.
Colt made an unhappy noise and Nova let go of me. “Sorry about that, Colt. I’m just so grateful.”
Standing, Colt wrapped his arm around me. “I’m happy that Jeremiah is doing better.”
Laura walked into the room. “Maddox just called and said Bertram and Trey are on their way over and they’re going to video call Jackson’s parents to talk about…things.” She glanced at Nova, who frowned.
“Things?” she inquired. “Are they the samethingsyou were discussing on the phone yesterday? About the Omega Reintroduction Program?”
Laura sucked in a breath. “How did you know about that? Were you listening?”
“I just happened to hear on my way to the women’s room. Is there something going on in that program? I have a nephew who is about to hit the age of ripening. The Omega Registration,Collection, and Redistribution Office called to say they’d be collecting him in three weeks.”
Laura looked at me and Colt. “I…”
“Tell her,” Colt said.
Swallowing, Laura quickly gave a rundown of all we knew.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Nova asked, beginning to pace. “I’ve got to call my sister about this.”
“Wait,” Laura said. “We’re about to discuss new information. “Come with us and hear it before you talk to your sister.”
Nova stopped pacing. “All right. I want to hear everything there is to know. Give me a minute to tell Eric I’m going.”
Chapter nineteen
Angus
Ready to call Colt and tell him and Ben to get their asses home, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I was worried about the kid, too, but Colt had texted me over an hour ago to tell me Jeremiah was much better, so what was taking them so damn long? They needed to be here when we made the call to Jackson’s parents.