Bridget made a small noise of protest when he wrapped her in a hug, but she didn’t pull away. He kissed her cheektenderly and whispered something I couldn’t hear before leading her to the couch.
Once she sat, Nathan and I did too. Gabriel pushed a cup of tea into her hands. “We have many important things to discuss.”
“Right. Yes,” Bridget said. She still looked dazed and wouldn’t meet Nathan’s or my gaze, but she looked more confident with the mug in her hands.
“Bridget has decided to contact her mother. It is stupid to ignore the connection with her family. So no one is going to interfere,” Gabriel said after a moment.
This again? “Not happening.”
Nathan was nodding along.
“Basta. Enough. I love you, but you are wrong, amore.Listento her,” Gabriel snapped.
I clenched my jaw against the list of reasons not to let this happen. Chiefly, that if anything happened to her, I wouldn’t survive it.
Bridget tapped the side of the green ceramic mug with her fingernail, looking at her lap. She shot Gabriel a grateful look before taking a deep, preparatory breath. Her eyes slid to mine.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. And I know you’re just trying to keep me safe. But that’s what my fathers always said, too. ‘This is for your own good.’” She pitched her voice lower in imitation, frowning, then looked at Nathan. “You say you think I’m intelligent. But then you act like I don’t understand what I want. I can decide what’s best for me.”
Nathan cleared his throat. “I’m sorry,” he said tightly. “I never meant to imply that.”
I glared at him.Traitor.
Gabriel placed an encouraging hand on her back. “And it is simply a phone call. She will not be in any danger. The phoneis a burner, so they will get nothing even if they tried to trace the call.”
This was one of those moments where I really felt how tenuous my control was. My inner Alpha wanted me to put my foot down, to take Bridget somewhere safe, out of sight, and protected. To show her none of this mattered if we were together.
But that was insane. I couldn’t hide her away in a cave or something. So I just sighed and looked into Bridget’s clear blue eyes. “I won’t apologize for trying to keep you safe. But I am sorry for making you feel… unheard.”
Gabriel sent approval down the bond, which only annoyed me more. But I kept my face impassive.
“Thanks,” Bridget murmured.
Gabriel clapped his hands. “Allora. Do you want to call now?”
“Yeah. Yes,” she said, and snatched the burner from the table. “I’m going to call from in there.” She jerked her head towards the closed door of the guest room.
“We’ll be here,” I said, even though I wanted to hear every word she said.
As Bridget closed the door, Nathan gripped his head in his hands. “Are you sure about this?” he asked, his voice slightly muffled.
“I have seen what it looks like for an Omega to be so ‘protected’ they have no freedom,” Gabriel said, his eyes dark. “We will not do that to her. Especially if we want her to stay.”
Nathan snapped to attention. “Stay? Here? With you?”
I almost laughed at his expression. If only he knew the whole life I’d concocted for the four of us in the grocery store. “If that’s what she wants.”
He clenched his jaw, and I was surprised by the remorse I felt. I sighed and continued, “But I shouldn't get ahead of myself.”
Nathan furrowed his brow as we settled into watchful silence.
Chapter 29 - Bridget
An unholy combination of my perfume and Nathan’s pheromones had soaked the guest room, but my mind was so focused on the task at hand that I could dismiss the memories of the last hour easily.
My hand around the burner phone was wet with sweat.
The thought of talking to my mother again, not just in theory, made me feel nauseated. I sank onto the bed and took three deep breaths, in through my nose and out through my mouth. Nathan’s scent was a blessing. The sharp, citrusy notes cut through some of my panic and reminded me that he needed my help. I couldn’t wuss out.
