Bones rolls his eyes harshly and leans back in his seat, his long legs spreading wide. But I refuse to be distracted by how sexy that pose is right now. I’m still pissed.
Not that I can’t be pissed and horny at the same time. But that’s not the point.
“We don’t know this omega from Eve and you just want me to what? Welcome her with open arms?” Bones asks, brow pinched in annoyance.
“We certainly don’t drag her around like a rag doll and threaten to throw her to her death,” Phantom retorts.
I’m about to add my two pence when Siren clears their throat from the front of the van. Bones looks over his shoulder at them, eyes softening ever so slightly for the only person here who appears to be on his side.
“I have a file put together for her if you want to see it, Boss,” Siren says neutrally, holding up their tablet.
Bones takes it mutely, eyes moving back and forth as he scrolls and reads. I don’t know exactly what Siren has, but between what I saw in the facility and what Cross read to me, I can fill in the gaps. This scrap of a girl hasn’t known a day of peace in months.
The cabin is silent for a long time, the only noise coming from the tires on the highway outside. It’s still early morning, but I haven’t seen headlights outside in a long time. Whatever roadblocks Siren was worried about seem to be behind us.
“Shit,” Bones exhales heavily.
“Yeah. And you want to throw her out on the street? She’s just as likely to end up right back there, or someplace even worse,” I reply, a not insignificant amount of sardonicism painting my words.
“But they’re looking for her as the only witness to an ongoing high profile murder investigation. Having her with us is a ticking time bomb,” Bones retorts.
“So we lay low and wait for them to stop looking,” I say with a sigh.
“And it’s not like we’re unfamiliar with moving and living covertly. All of us have more warrants for our arrests than you can shake a stick at,” Phantom adds.
Bones growls, rubbing his face over his mask. He’s running out of excuses, and he knows it. And I know from experience that, despite all the resistance he’s been giving, he’s not so cruel as to leave a defenseless, unbonded omega out on their own.
“This isn’t over, and we’re not keeping her. C, head for the woods,” Bones says first to me, then to Cross.
“Gotta stop at the rest stop for bio break and gas if we’re hauling out that way,” our medic replies.
Bones grunts an affirmative, slumping with his arms crossed, closing his eyes. Cross is our best driver, with his uncanny memory and smooth skills behind the wheel. The team won’t let me drive the van anymore because of my firm belief that speed limits are a conspiracy. Oh, and that time we ended up in a police chase.
Phantom and I make eye contact and let out simultaneous breaths of silent relief. While I don’t trust Bones enough right now to leave Delilah’s side, at least it doesn’t look like he’s going to try to throw her out again. Whatever. I’ll just piss in a bottle if I have to.
I feel the van slowing a little while later, and turn to steady Delilah, one hand on her back. I don’t know when she stopped crying and fell asleep, but I’m glad she’s resting. As the van comes to a stop, Phantom starts undoing the straps and buckles on his helmet and vest, stripping down to just his black shirt and black jeans. Bones doesn’t move, his chest rising and falling evenly. Not that I think for a fraction of a second that he’s actually asleep. He won’t rest until we’re in a secure location. But he’ll play possum well enough to fool the others, but I know him too well to fall for it.
After Phantom cleans his face of the black smudges with a wipe, he turns his piercing blue gaze to me.
“When’s the last time y’all ate?” he murmurs.
“Tea time. But I don’t know how hungry she’s going to be after all the excitement,” I answer, also keeping my voice low, my eyes still on the huddled form under the blanket.
Phantom chuckles fondly behind me. “You’re positively smitten.”
I roll my eyes, but I don’t deny it. Maybe I am absolutely enraptured by this tiny, terrified, hauntingly beautiful omega. But the last time I checked that wasn’t a crime.
I turn and gather Delilah in my arms again, lifting her with ease as I turn and sit in the nest, settling her sideways in my lap. And doesn’t my heart just go all aflutter when she shifts in her sleep, resting her head on my bicep sweetly.
Alright, fine. I’m more than smitten. Lock me up and throw away the key about it. Just as long as I get to have Delilah in the cell with me.
My little wisp shifts in her sleep as the door opens, and I nuzzle the top of her head, purring gently until she settles again. Her scent is still sour and ashy, but there are hints of something sweet or floral under the rot that catch my imagination. Not for the first time, I wonder what her true scent is, or what she smells like when she goes into heat. Or what her slick tastes like.
Gods above and below, I need to stop thinking like this or she’s going to wake up and be asking if I’ve got a banana in my pocket soon.
But I’m pulled from my thoughts of soft nests and hot omega sex when Phantom clears his throat. I look up and find him smirking.
“You want something?” he asks.