Page 42 of With A Little Luck

Chapter Thirty-Five

Quincy

H artley helps me shower. Watching Ridge’s blood spiral down the drain sends me into something like a panic attack, but not really. It’s much less frantic than the last panic attack I experienced, and more like a state of numbness that doesn’t make any sense considering the circumstances.

I continue crying silently as Hartley helps me into my underclothes, followed quickly by leggings and one of my dresses.

“You’re killing me here, beautiful,” he murmurs, brushing his thumb under my eye to catch one of my tears. “Ridge is tough. If they were really worried, they would have taken him to a hospital.”

I nod and grab his hand as he moves to caress my jaw.

“Thank you. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I would do without you.” I bite my cheek to keep anything else from escaping while my brain-to-mouth filter is broken.

“Don’t thank me. I’m here for you always, Quincy.” He kisses my forehead and steps over to the bed to get dressed.

I try not to obsess about why he didn’t call me beautiful, but I’m sure he’s just as rattled as I am.

We never even got to make it to Harrison’s to get his belongings, and what he wore today is destroyed.

Once he’s in jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt, he comes back and helps me fully dry my hair.

“I just mean, I know you hurt one of those guys.” I swallow around the lump in my throat.

“That’s not who you are as a person, and I’m just so sorry it came to that.

” It kills me because I’m pretty sure he only acted to protect me, which I appreciate, but I’m also struggling to come to terms with the fact it was necessary in the first place.

“I’m an adult. I made choices that I don’t regret.” He tosses the towel over the chair by the dresser and comes back, pulling me into his arms. “You always hear about how vicious alphas are in protection of their omega, and we got to see that firsthand today.”

I nod against his shirt. “You just mean a lot to me.”

I’m also terrified that he’ll say enough is enough. He didn’t sign up for any of this, and he still got dragged into it.

“Me too, beautiful. Now, ready to hide under the covers with me?”

An unexpected bark of laughter escapes my lips. He did exactly that when I got overwhelmed our first night here. “I would love to snuggle with you.”

I’d also kill for an update on Ridge.

Hart purrs for me, and I almost give in to the urge to fall asleep. Last night was rough with the never-ending waves of heat, and I was exhausted before we even left for my doctor’s appointment.

Only flashes of Ridge’s blood play through my mind on repeat, and it makes my skin crawl. The sound that came when the bullet ripped through his flesh, and the crunching sound when Hart connected with that brick he threw… It’s a lot.

I give up on being able to sleep, so Hartley accompanies me downstairs.

We come around the corner into the living room, and I’m once again immensely grateful for Hart. He has his arm wrapped around my lower back, and it’s the only thing that keeps me from bolting when all four faces swivel in our direction.

I go over their names in my head.

Omen.

Saylor.

Briar.

Even the guy who drove us here is back from having the SUV checked, and he kneels beside the couch, talking quietly with Briar.

Keir . That’s his name. We got a quick introduction, but I was beyond frazzled. I think he’s one of Briar’s alphas. He stands when he spots us and bows his head. “You look better.”

“I’m hanging in there.” I offer a tight smile and scan around for King.

He’s on the floor getting belly scratches from Omen. He tries to roll over, possibly to come greet us, but he looks like a turtle trapped on his back. He wobbles, never quite getting enough momentum to fully flip over onto his stomach.

Omen smiles, patting King’s stomach. “You are a portly gentleman, aren’t you? Here, would you like an assist?”

“Don’t let Ridge hear you talk shit about that dog,” Keir says, laughing. He refocuses on Hartley and me. “Your vehicle was clean, but I’m going to do a sweep of the perimeter.”

I take a step forward, and I don’t know what I plan to do…

Block him from being able to leave the room?

Beg him for a status update?

“Have you heard anything about Ridge?” I ask, trying to keep the fear out of my tone.

“I haven’t.” He shakes his head. “But believe it or not, that’s a good sign. Ridge is an old friend. One of the first employees Easton hired back in the day. He’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”

“And Keir will update us as soon as he hears something,” Briar says, pushing herself off the couch and stepping over to her alpha. “Be safe. I don’t know how I feel about you being out there without backup.”

He chuckles, grabs her ass, and pulls her closer for a quick kiss. “The gate guards are on high alert, and we have four guys simply driving around the neighborhood. I’m good, little one.”

My heart thumps erratically, and I focus on not bursting into tears in a room full of strangers.

I just really need Ridge and Trigg to get here so I can see with my own eyes that they’re safe.

Briar and Saylor are clearly trying, but with everything going on, I’m not great company.

Hart sticks to my side like glue, which I appreciate. His pheromones help settle my frayed edges, but I’m still barely keeping it together. He pulls me onto his lap in the recliner and stretches back.

I try not to lie completely flat too often, but this is just enough of an angle that it feels fine.

Hart rubs my stomach, and the two women make small talk. It’s very sweet how they try to include me here or there, but considering I’m still a mess, they don’t push too hard.

Nothing quite seems real, like there’s a sheen between me and reality.

Omen finds one of King’s toys and plays tug of war. Once he wins, he tosses it across the room, and King stares disdainfully.

“You little shit, are you truly not going to fetch it?” Omen asks in his thick Irish accent. He laughs, pushing himself off the floor and going over to pick it up. “You could not be more aptly named.”

I laugh, and my stomach lets out an embarrassing growl so loud that everyone swivels to look at me.

“Someone better feed the pregnant woman before she turns into a zombie and tries to eat all of our faces.” Omen chuckles.

“Want me to grab you something?” Hart asks, nuzzling his cheek to the side of my head.

“We have mini sandwiches,” Saylor says, smiling. “And a fruit and veggie tray, cheese and crackers, and these fancy olives Briar picked out. I’ll be happy to make you a plate.”

“Or you can come browse with us.” Briar shoves herself off the couch and comes over, offering me her hands. “I don’t know about you, but eating always cheers me up.”

“There’s a dessert tray too.” Saylor pops up over Briar’s shoulder, smiling.

I’m still embarrassed from all the stuff I blurted out earlier, but I barely nibbled at a piece of toast before my appointment. Putting something in my stomach when I’m this stressed might be a bad idea, but having a few bites is better than nothing.

I tilt my head and smile at Hartley. “Would you put down the leg part? I should at least try to eat something.”

“Absolutely,” he says, kissing my temple. He pushes his legs down and swivels the chair forward.

I take Briar’s outstretched hands, and Hart helpfully gives me a push up.

It sparks a memory of being outside my house this morning.

Everything happened so fast…

I was too focused on needing a bathroom to understand why Ridge put me on my feet and gave me a shove. By the time I righted myself and turned around to bitch him out, the sound cracked through the air, and he was bleeding everywhere.

If he had still been holding me, I’m pretty sure the bullet would have hit me too.

Dammit.

I’m so conflicted.

I owe him an apology for snapping at him, but I’m beyond frustrated that all of this happened to begin with.

The worry comes back in full force, and I remind myself of what Keir said—no news is good news.

“Come on,” Saylor says, taking off for the kitchen. “The dessert tray has bite-size cheesecake bars and brownies.”

Well, that’s enough to perk up any omega, especially a pregnant one.

Surprisingly enough, I feel much better after half a plate of party foods. After taking a long sip of my water, I refocus on the two women.

“Sorry I ranted earlier. I wish I could have a do-over there.” I smile, thankful at how not weird it’s been to have them here.

“The first day I met Valor and Omen, I forced my way into their cell…” Saylor shrugs.

I blink repeatedly until I remember Ridge told me she was kidnapped.

I guess there was more to that story than he mentioned.

“Valor wouldn’t come out of the bathroom, and it was an emergency.

I busted right in but forgot to close the door.

Omen still picks on me about it anytime I try to kick him out when I have to pee.

” She laughs, doing an Irish impression.

“ But I thought you liked having an audience, pet .”

“They give you privacy when you pee?” Briar laughs.

“I’m going to have to be firmer about telling Keir and Easton to get lost.” She turns toward me.

“There was a massacre at my first wedding. It was a bloodbath. I’m lucky to be alive.

I finally found a safe place to wait for one of them to pick me off, but I had something hard in my mouth.

At first, I thought I lost a tooth.” She makes a gagging face.

“Nope, it was a bone fragment…and not my own. The warmth all over my face was blood, and I didn’t even realize it was what I had been tasting. Yeah, let that sink in.”

“Wow, that’s actually disgusting,” Saylor says, eyeing the pepperoni and cheddar on the cracker she was about to bring to her mouth. She laughs and shoves the thing into her mouth.

That is a pretty intense story, but I don’t know what to say, so I keep my mouth shut and grab a miniature brownie.

“We’ve all been there. You have nothing to be embarrassed about,” Briar says, smiling. “Plus, you’re pregnant. I feel like that means you get a free pass for anything.”

They’re kind, and I do hope to get to know them better eventually, but maybe when I’m feeling like myself again. I’m still stuck in survival mode at the moment.

I just really need to know that Ridge is going to be okay. Then maybe I’ll feel like I can breathe.

Shit.

And I should probably check on Sutton.

I meant to text her last night, but the wave of heat came out of nowhere… That about seals it. I’m a terrible friend and an awful baby mama. No matter what Ridge said, I should have gone with him and held his hand.