4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Lana

C leaning up the mess I’ve made on the floor only takes a few seconds, but I double check to make sure the floor is completely dry before I rinse out the towel and put it into the laundry bin by the side of the refrigerator.

That done, I take my time washing my hands. It’s a weirdly relaxing activity that I’m usually in too much of a rush to enjoy. Bumping into Ezra Clarke has put me in the mood to daydream. I’m thinking about him as I’m rinsing the suds off my fingers, thoughts drifting back to the way he was looking at me before he had to leave.

Making believe he’s into me gives me flutters in my stomach.

Unfortunately, the reality is devastating, and it always invades my little fantasies.

Ezra is an Alpha, and he’s much too attractive not to already have a mate, or a hook-up, or whatever he wants to call the person or people he’s intimate with.

I don’t know why I keep crushing on people who are so far out of my league.

I’m already seriously into an Omega who found her pack before we could get together.

Brooke still flirts by text and tries to get me to agree to a coffee date, but I know that’s just out of sympathy, and I don’t think I’m strong enough to just be friends with someone I’m so hot for.

It makes me sad to keep saying no to her advances, but I know she’ll only break my heart.

I turn off the faucet and grab a fresh towel from the drawer.

“Ms. Cole?” an unfamiliar voice asks behind me.

“Yes?” I ask as I look around and find the owner of the uncertain voice standing in the doorway.

It’s the petite brunette nurse with the cart. I smiled at her on my way in here a little while ago. I have no idea what her name is.

She looks back down the hallway before she speaks again.“Um, Doctor Clarke told me to come and ask you if you can get a psychologist, for the patient in room nine.”

“Oh,” I murmur, realizing this ask is not just another problem to add to my ever-growing list.

If we need a professional to help the woman in room nine, then I’ll have to find one, A.S.A.P.

Too bad so many of them have affiliations with Warren Corvina, the recently imprisoned father of my Omega crush, who was using brainwashing techniques on his own daughter as well as who knows how many others through his network of clinics.

“Is that okay?” she asks, apparently waiting for an actual answer.

I nod and then hang the towel on the rack next to the sink.

“Is Doctor Clarke still with the patient now?”

“He is. I think he could use the psychologist today, if I’m being honest.”

She shrugs before she leaves the room, taking the cart down the hall in the opposite direction.

“That isn’t going to be possible,” I murmur under my breath.

Warren Corvina might have had specialists he could call on at a moment’s notice, but those people were being paid crazy amounts of money to do things that were unethical at best, and criminal at worst. It’s going to take more than a single phone call to get someone out here.

I bite down on my lower lip as I think about calling Brooke.

It feels like a shitty reason to call her after all this time.

That doesn’t matter if it helps the patient, but I’m not sure it will.

She told me they would call if they found out who else her father was brainwashing at the academy, and I trust that she’ll do that, even if I have been elusive on personal stuff.

That leaves the Alpha Alliance.

I bring up the email of my contact and I send him a message, asking for a personal recommendation of a good psychologist for one of the patients here.

I slip the phone into my skirt pocket after, knowing it might take a while for him to get back to me. The alliance cares about protecting people from predatory Alphas. They’ll do their due diligence to make sure we get the right person to look after our patient.

Stepping into the corridor, I make my way to room number nine at the end of the hallway.

There’s a window that looks out into the woods here, but the room itself is windowless.

The way this building was designed, there are a lot of windowless rooms on the lower floors, especially in this wing. It’s not ideal in general, but it’s probably a good thing if our patient is freaking out.

I peek into the room via the glass panel on the door.

It lets me see Doctor Clarke standing in front of the wall by the halfway open bathroom door.

He blinks as he spots me through that same panel, and I fight off the sexy feeling his stare gives me.

This really isn’t the time for delusional flights of fancy.

A patient needs our help.

I open the door, and he glances past me momentarily, before disappointment fills his expression, echoed in his tone when he speaks.

“You don’t have a psychologist on staff, do you?”

“Unfortunately, there’s a reason for that,” I admit, hand still on the door handle.

He glances at the bathroom door before he motions to me to step back.

I do so, leaving the room and giving him the space he needs to join me.

He closes the door firmly but quietly behind him.

He doesn’t take his hand off the handle.

His gaze is intent, locked on mine.

For a second, I don’t remember what I’m doing here.

It takes a beat to realize I’m the one who needs to speak.

He doesn’t know why we might have a problem getting apsychologist on site.

“Right,” I start. “You’ve heard of Warren Corvina?”

There’s instant recognition in his eyes, and a flash of anger.

“He brainwashes Omegas,” he states, his tone icy-cold. “What does he have to do with …”

He sucks in a breath. “Was he the psychologist here?”

“Officially, no, and you’ll have to take all of this off the record, but his daughter was here at Goldcrest. He was brainwashing her, and we believe there’s a good chance he was brainwashing other Omegas here. He also trained a lot of other psychologists. He was an established name with a lot of clout, and he had his fingers in a lot of pies. Even if we can find someone who doesn’t have any on-paper affiliations with any of his organizations, we know we need to be really careful about who we bring in because there’s always a chance that person could be compromised.”

He lets out a weary sigh. “That’s worse than I suspected.”

“It’s pretty bad, but I’ve contacted the Alpha Alliance, and if that fails, I have Brooke Corvina’s number.”

I can feel my face warming at that last admission.

I don’t know why I told him that.

I have no intention of calling Brooke.

I guess she’s just been on my mind. A lot.

“Warren Corvina’s daughter? You know her?” he sounds surprised.

“Uh-huh,” I manage to mumble back. “We’re … close friends.”

God, I started to say close and friends at the same time and both came out in a rush, sounding like something way more illicit. I might wish our relationship was like that, but it’s not, and it’s also dumb as hell to let my work crush think I’m spoken for.

“Well, this patient could use help now, and I’m not having much luck getting her to listen to me. I mean, it seems like she understands what I’m saying, and she’s not deaf. I just don’t know how much she’s taking in. She isn’t very responsive.”

He’s speaking softly and I can imagine him using the same tone on her, so it’s not his words or the way he’s saying them that she doesn’t respond to, but when I think about the place she came from, I can see where the problem might be.

“Let me try,” I find myself offering, surprising myself.

He blinks at me, and frowns before he nods. “That could work.”

He doesn’t like the idea, probably because I’m not a professional, but he’s open to it.

He’s an Alpha. They have good instincts.

They also have strong presences and the power to make people bend to their will should they choose to use their Alpha Command Voice, which isn’t legal except in extreme circumstances.

I doubt the man who bought this woman cared about legalities.

Her own instincts are probably to stay away from Alphas.

I’m a Beta woman, like she is.

She might relate to me.

It doesn’t mean I know anything about psychology, or how to make her feel better or safer.

“Tell me what’s going on with her. What happened?” I ask, trying to prepare.

“She woke up and panicked, hid in the bathroom with a sharpened toothbrush handle.”

She made a shiv. Like a desperate prisoner, which I guess she was, before she was brought here.

“How did she get a shiv?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

He shakes his head. “I don’t know what she used to sharpen it. There’s nothing in that room besides a bed and a nightstand.”

“That must have taken a while.”

“I didn’t think of that,” he admits. “I also didn’t think about how dangerous it is. You shouldn’t speak to her. I’ll find a way to get through to her myself.”

“Her abuser was an Alpha. She might never trust an Alpha again.”

He knows that already. That’s why he asked for a psychologist.

He’s a medical practitioner, not a shrink.

I’m neither, but I might be the best option we’ve got.

“It’s too risky. She’s unpredictable …”

I hold up a hand. “The decision’s been made. I’m in charge of this academy, and this hospital is a part of that. All I need you to do is tell me what you need from her. What should I be telling her or asking her?”

He takes in a deep breath. “For starters, I can’t leave you alone with her, so don’t even ask.”

“I’m good with that,” I assure him.

“If it looks for one second like she’s going to physically attack you, I’m in charge.”

I get a little shiver of sexy energy from the way he looks at me when he tells me he’s in charge.

Like he’s not just the hot Alpha I’m lusting over, he’s more than that.

He’s my Alpha, and I’m under his protection.

Why is that such a seductive thought?

“Sure,” I agree.

“She needs to calm down and get back to bed to rest and take her meds. That’s the main thing. If you can find out what made her freak out when she woke up, that would be helpful, but considering she hasn’t spoken a word since she got here it might not be possible.”

I nod. “Seems simple.”

“Believe me, it’s anything but simple.”

He leads me into the room.

It’s a weird feeling to see a space that used to be filled with old admin records turned into a hospital bedroom. It doesn’t matter how many times I see one of these rooms, it always seems strange. Being at Goldcrest for years, seeing things only one way, it wasn’t possible to imagine something else. I’m glad that didn’t stop me from changing things the second I got the chance.

This wing always felt like it was meant for something important.

We might be operating on a skeleton crew and our equipment may be a bit bare bones, but we’re trying to help women who’ve been hurt by evil men.

It feels good that we’re using our resources to help the kind of women the academy spent so many years pimping out and abusing in underhanded ways.

If I can find a way to get through to this one woman, to help her understand she’s safe, it’s worth the risk of taking a make-shift shiv to the guts.

Though I doubt that’ll be much of a threat with Ezra by myside.

I move to the open bathroom door, and I see the frail woman is crouched by the side of the shower cubicle, weapon in hand, eyes bright and wide and staring.

She blinks slowly at me as I sit down just inside the door, ignoring how cold the tiles feel under my ass and taking comfort in the presence of Doctor Clarke as he steps in and sits down cross legged beside me.

“Hi, I’m Lana,” I tell her, keeping my voice soft and myexpression friendly. “We haven’t met.”

She looks at me warily, but she doesn’t try to talk.

“I worked with some people to help provide medical assistance to women who were trafficked, and you were one of those women brought here to be helped.”

She straightens, but, still, she doesn’t respond verbally.

“You need medicine to get healthy again. You need rest, and sustenance.”

She closes her eyes, and I can feel Ezra’s energy tensing up beside me.

I might look relaxed, but I’m aware that she could choose to attack at any moment and I’m ready to defend myself if it comes to that. I hope that isn’t necessary.

Her eyelids flutter open, and when she looks back at me, there’s steady resolve in her eyes.

“I need to go home,” she says, her voice a gravel-filled whisper.

She holds out the shiv, point forward, as she slowly moves to her feet.

Ezra’s quick to stand up beside me, stepping forward to block my body from hers.

“That’s part of the plan,” I assure her, as I stand up, mirroring her slow movements. “Once you’re healed. When you’re healthy, you’ll go home.”

She stares at me. “No. I’ll go home now .”

Steadying her swaying body against the wall, she grimaces before fire sparks in her eyes.

The fury inside her is real, and it’s vibrant.

God, she’s been through so much.

I don’t blame her for thinking we’re bad guys. Not when those are the only kinds of people she’s known for so damn long.

“You’re not well enough,” Ezra adds, keeping his voice soft.

She glowers at him. “I’m stronger than anyone you’ve ever met.”

I don’t doubt that statement one little bit, not now that she’s showing her fighting spirit.

“Where is home? You couldn’t tell our doctors your name when you got here. Do you remember your name, where you live, any of that?”

Her expression falters as she processes my questions.

That fighting spirit is still there, but it’s obvious she needs help.

She’s got to know that.

She’s not okay.

She doesn’t even remember her own name.

“I … I don’t know,” she admits.

She pushes away from the wall, and takes a wobbly step toward us, toward me.

“I don’t know, but you do. You brought me here! You need to take me back !”

Her accusatory stare makes my stomach lurch.

“Take you back?” Ezra murmurs, as the true horror of what she’s saying hits home.

This woman isn’t asking to be taken back to her family.

She wants to go back to the people who hurt her.

One more unsteady step, and she stumbles, dropping her weapon.

Ezra moves forward and catches her before she can slip to the ground.

She lets out a pained groan as her head falls against his chest.

“I just … want … to go home,” she mumbles.

He lifts her up with both arms. “You will. Once you’re better.”

It’s a lie and we both know it.

The “home” she’s asking for was her prison.

The people there didn’t look after her.

They weren’t her family.

They were her abusers.

She can never go back there.

She sighs before she passes out in Ezra’s arms.

The energy that made her spark come back has fizzled out.

She’s exhausted. She needs to rest, and I need to find someone who can help her understand the place she’s thinking of as her home wasn’t safe. It’s not going to be easy to get her to a point where she can accept what happened her.

I don’t envy the psychologist the Alpha Alliance finds for us one little bit.

I move out of Ezra’s way so he can put her back to bed.

Picking the sharpened toothbrush up from the floor, I make a mental note to bring her a new one. Hopefully one that she can’t sharpen into a weapon.

When I step back into the bedroom, she’s on the bed and Ezra is checking over her medication.

I look the shiv over and I can’t help but wonder how she made it.

“How did she get this thing so sharp?”

He shakes his head. “I have no idea, but I think we need a security detail on this room.”

“That might be a problem,” I admit. “We’re a little light on security staff.”

It’s the understatement of the year. We barely have enough security staff to keep the academy safe from intruders right now, and considering how pissed off the old donors are with the changes I’ve been making, we definitely can’t afford to be lax in that area.

“Funding issues?” he asks.

I shake my head. “More like trust issues. The guys I do have are solid. A lot of the others left when I took over, and I’ve been wary of hiring the wrong people.”

“I might have a solution, but I’ll need to make a few calls.”

“You know a good security company?”

Wow. He’s actually offering to take a problem out of my hands?

I didn’t need another reason to like him, but, damn, that really does it.

“Only the best in the business.” He gives me a wry smile. “Of course, I might be biased on that since my pack mates run the company.”

I blink at him, but I manage to hide my disappointment under my surprise.

He has a pack.

Of course he does.

I knew he was too attractive not to be spoken for.

Still, it stings just a little to have it confirmed.

I don’t know why I have such a desire for things I can’t have.

It’s only setting myself up for failure.

No wonder my dating life is completely non-existent.

“The guys they hire are thoroughly vetted,” he goes on. “Should I make the call?”

I nod, since he’s offering to take charge of something that’s still on my long list of important tasks. “I’m sure they’re great. Just let them know we can only hire Betas, for obvious reasons. I’ll need to be sent some information to sign off on, including costs and benefits required. And I’ll have some paperwork for them to sign, too.”

“No problem.” He looks thoughtful now, a wry smile on his lips.

I wonder what he’s thinking about, but I don’t ask.

If he has a pack, he must miss them.

He hasn’t had any visitors in the three weeks he’s been at the academy.

“I need to get back to work,” I admit. “Are you able to stay with her for now? Or should I reassign one of our security guards to the door?”

“I’ll stay with her for now,” he assures me. “But I have other patients I should check on later this afternoon. We’re probably talking tomorrow for cover from Owen’s men.”

“I’ll reassign someone to cover the door from noon onward today.”

“Perfect. Thank you, Lana.”

“You’re welcome, Doctor Clarke.”