by Peyton Bogue
Rhys growls. “If he doesn’t leave tonight, he knows I’ll come for him. I’ll kill him for what he did to you. I swear to God—”
“Rhys,” Sage says, standing up fully and pulling Rhys up with him. “I’m alright.” He reaches his good hand up to run his thumb over Rhys’s cheekbone, and Rhys makes a noise low in his throat.
Rhys gently grabs Sage's bad wrist and carefully watches Sage’s face as he twists Sage's hand to look at the swollen joint. Sage winces at the movements as pain shoots down to his elbow.
“I think it’s broken,” Rhys says softly, his gentle tone a contrast to the scowl marring his face as he turns Sage’s wrist over in front of him. Sage grimaces.
“Broken?” Kai asks, confused. “How did you break it?”
“I punched Steele,” Sage says, wincing when Rhys turns his wrist again. Rhys gives him an apologetic look and slowly leans down to press a gentle kiss to the swollen joint. Sage gives Rhys a small smile.
Kai watches them for a second before he looks at Sage with wide eyes. “You punched a werewolf?” he asks, and when Sage nods, Kai throws his head back and laughs. “Oh my, God, Sage. I freaking love you, man. Only you would punch a werewolf.”
“He was saying things about Rhys, about all of us,” Sage says, holding his wrist to his chest gingerly. “He was saying it to make me angry, and it clearly worked.”
“I didn’t like what he was saying either,” Rhys growls softly. Sage gives him another reassuring smile.
He turns to Kai, raising an eyebrow. “How’d you know to come up here?”
“I didn’t, actually,” Kai replies, shrugging. “Mik sent me to find you. Hazel’s got the check.”
“What? Already?” Sage asks. “Wasn’t Kharkovy supposed to make a speech or something before that happened?”
“He did,” Kai says. “You’ve been gone for a bit, dude. Hazel just got it, though. She was looking for you, but she ended up just going up by herself and making some bullshit excuse about the art charity’s finances. They gave it to her without a fuss.”
“Shit,” Sage curses. “I was supposed to be with her.” He sighs. “We need to leave. Now.”
“Yeah,” Kai agrees. “Before Kharkovy realizes that we’re trying to break into his finances.”
“You need to go to a hospital,” Rhys says, and when Sage looks down, the veins of Rhys’s hands on his arm are oily black. Sage feels that relieved sensation wash over him, and he slumps a little. He doesn’t move his wrist, and it doesn’t hurt anymore.
“I have to take Hazel to the precinct, Rhys,” Sage says.
“You are not driving with a broken wrist,” Rhys replies sharply, his scowl deepening.
Sage sighs again. “I can drive with my other hand. I promise that as soon as I take her back to the precinct, I’ll drive home and I’ll let you take me to the hospital. I’m probably going to need a brace for my wrist or something.”
“Sage,” Rhys says sternly, in that same tone he uses when he’s not willing to negotiate. Sage shouldn’t expect anything less.
“Rhys,” Sage parrots back, raising his eyebrows in challenge.
“You’re hurt,” Rhys replies, biting out the words harshly. His other hand is clenched into a fist at his side, and his breathing is still rough and ragged. “I let you get hurt, and—”
“Rhys, no,” Sage says, shaking his head. “I told you that I could take it. And I did. I’m the one that punched him, Ree. I promise that I’m okay. I’ll be quick when I drive Hazel back to the precinct. I won’t even fight you about driving me to the hospital.”
Rhys growls lowly in his throat, but he sighs a moment later. “If you aren’t home in half an hour—” he starts, and Sage grins.
“I will be,” he promises, leaning forward and giving Rhys a gentle kiss. “This isn’t your fault, Ree. I’m okay.”
Rhys exhales another ragged breath, pressing another short kiss to Sage’s lips, before he sighs under his breath again, pulling back. His eyes are no longer red, but his gray irises watch Sage carefully, as if he’s afraid that Sage might fall over if he lets him go.
“We’ve got to go,” Kai says after a silent beat passes, and Sage nods at him.
“Half an hour,” he says to Rhys, and Rhys clenches his jaw frustratedly but nods reluctantly and lets go of Sage completely. Sage gives him a private smile, then turns towards Kai. He feels Rhys’s eyes trail after them as they walk down the stairs. Rhys will probably slip out of the same window he’d come through earlier. If his motorcycle is around, he’ll need to take it home before he drives Sage to the hospital.
“I’m sorry that you got hurt,” Kai tells him as they tumble back into the crowd.
Sage cradles his bad arm to his chest, saying softly, “I’m alright. It was my fault anyway.”
“I thought about chasing after you when you disappeared with Rhys, but Rhys looked homicidal, man. I thought he was going to. . .you know,” Kai says, motioning with his head in a way that Sage can only assume means I thought he was going to wolf out. “He saw you and Hazel together and just. . .”
“I know,” Sage replies, sighing. “He heard everything she was saying, too.”
Kai grimaces. “Not good?”
Sage shakes his head in answer, and Kai brings his hand up to give Sage a comforting pat on the shoulder.
“Well, I’m pretty sure that no one saw me sneak Rhys in. Mikalina thinks that you were outside getting some air,” Kai says quietly as Sage spots both Mikalina and Hazel at the back of the Roman exhibit, “and that you lost track of time and didn’t realize that Kharkovy’s speech was over. And since you’ve now got a broken wrist, let's agree that you accidentally fell outside.”
Sage nods at Kai, then turns towards the two women at the table.
“Hey. Where’s your mask?” Mikalina greets him when he’s close enough that she doesn’t need to shout, her red lips pulled down into a frown.
Sage stares at her for a second, confused. He’d forgotten he’d taken it off while talking with Steele. He hadn’t grabbed it before he’d left.
“I lost it,” he says smoothly, shrugging. “I took it off outside when I was getting some air, and I forgot where I put it.” He turns to Hazel. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t with you when you got the check.”
“Don’t worry about it, Sage,” Hazel replies, giving him a hesitant smile. “The speech happened sooner than we thought it was going to.”
“Still,” Sage insists, shrugging again. “I promised you that I’d be there, and I wasn’t. That’s not very professional of me.”
“This night hasn’t really been professional,” Kai interjects, glancing at Mikalina quickly before giving Sage a pat on the back. Sage nods, and Mikalina narrows her eyes at Kai in displeasure before she looks back at Sage. “We got what we came here to get. That’s what matters.”
“What did you do to your wrist?” Mikalina asks him after a moment, frowning at the way he’s holding it.
Sage glances down at his hand, fighting another grimace. It’s swollen and red now, and even though it doesn’t hurt, he can feel the way it throbs.
“I accidentally fell when I was outside,” he tells her, giving her a fake wince. “I think I sprained it.”
“You need to get that checked out,” she tells him sternly, and he nods at her.
“I’m going to head to the hospital after I drop Hazel off at the precinct,” Sage replies, giving her a small smile.
“Should you really be driving like that?” Mikalina asks him, her voice a tad shrill as she narrows her eyes at him. “I can call Rhys to come pick you up. Kai and I can drive her, Sage. Your wrist doesn’t look so good.”
“I could also just get an Uber or something, Sage,” Hazel adds, giving his wrist a hesitant look. “That looks more like a break than a sprain.”
“I’m alright,” he tells them. “I promise. It looks worse than it is.” He feels himself bite the inside of his cheek at the lie, trying not to look too sheepish. He doesn’t wa
nt them to catch him in yet another lie.
Thankfully, Mikalina gives him a reluctant look but then nods acceptingly, and Hazel just smiles, so he gives them both another reassuring grin.
“As long as you’re sure,” Mikalina says hesitantly, but when he nods again, she grabs her clutch quickly, effectively switching gears. “Let’s get out of here before this night gets any worse.”
Sage chuckles at her, but Kai gives her a wry look. He watches her carefully, almost tentatively, as if he’s trying to gauge whether or not she's mad at him. Sage gives him a questioning look, but Kai just shrugs.
They all walk quickly towards the exit, and no one stops them as they make their way out of the doors. Kai and Mikalina split off almost immediately to Kai’s Charger when they all reach the parking lot, and he and Hazel walk amicably to the Camaro after saying their goodbyes.
It’s awkward when they both take their seats in the car. Sage’s bad arm makes it uncomfortable for a second as he clumsily starts the ignition and has to try twice to move the gear shift into drive. Hazel waits for him to patiently get everything in order, then carefully watches him maneuver the car out of the parking lot.
Realistically, Sage knows that he really shouldn’t be driving. If it were anyone else, he’d tell them that they needed to get themselves checked out before driving, but he’s determined to finish this night with some good news.
He doesn’t know if Steele is actually going to leave like they’re all hoping he will. Rhys may end up doing the one thing that they were hoping to avoid. If anything, Sage can at least take solace in knowing that he most likely won’t see Steele again. If Steele doesn’t leave tonight, Rhys will probably kill him the next time he sees him. Either way, their omega problem could quite possibly be over, even if the thought of Rhys killing someone makes his throat tight. Sage knows how serious it is to take someone’s life. He doesn’t ever want Rhys to know what the weight of that burden feels like.
Sage is also probably not going to get away with leaving Rhys’s side for a while after what had happened with Steele tonight. Not that he wants to. It’s just, honestly, Sage knows that Rhys is probably spiraling right now. It’s so close to the full moon, and Rhys had barely stopped himself from ripping Steele apart, and it was only because Sage had been able to somewhat talk him down. Sage will be lucky if Rhys doesn’t beg him not to go into work for the next couple of days. Sage doesn’t think he’d have it in him to say no.
“Do you think Kai and Mikalina are dating?” Hazel asks him suddenly, pulling Sage out of his thoughts, and Sage glances at her briefly, his eyebrows furrowing.
“I. . .don’t think so,” he replies, frowning. “He would have told me. Why do you think that?”
“They were acting very coupley tonight,” Hazel replies, shrugging. “You should have seen how they were dancing together. When they were dancing, it was like. . .” she trails off, seemingly trying to find her words. “He was looking at her like she was the only one in the room. And she looked at him with the biggest grin on her face I think I’ve ever seen her make.”
Sage feels his eyebrows raise at that. He hadn’t ever really noticed any sort of budding romance between them. Kai and Mikalina have always been friendly with each other. Now that he’s thinking about it though, maybe that friendliness was something more. Kai was at Mikalina’s house when Sage had called him that night he and Rhys had gotten into that stupid fight when Rhys had shifted on him. Sage has never been to Mikalina’s house before, and he’s known her for nearly five years. The night of the truck stop shooting, Hazel had said that Mikalina was trying to get a hold of Kai. That was the same night that Sage had called him out for his ringtone, where he’d assumed that Kai was seeing someone and keeping it from him. And both Mikalina and Kai had seemed overly content to go undercover as a couple to the masquerade together. They hadn’t even mentioned switching their partnerships around so that Sage would attend the ball with Mikalina instead of Hazel.
And the way they were both acting tonight. . .maybe they are dating. Mikalina hadn't even blinked when Kai had touched her or when he’d pulled her in close to his chest. Sage has to admit that, from what he’d seen from them, they did seem very comfortable with each other.
You’d be the only one to support us, Kai had told him barely a week ago. At least for the time being. No wonder Kai had said that to him. If word got out that he was dating their boss, he’d never be seen the same again. Every detective at the precinct would always call Mikalina’s judgement into question when it came to Kai. They’d all think that the cases he and Sage would be assigned to would be a result of Mikalina’s blatant bias towards Kai rather than he and Sage’s abilities to solve them. Their relationship would always be judged.
“You. . .” Sage starts, clearing his throat. “You might be right. But it’s really none of our business. All we can do is show them that we support them if they really are in a relationship.”
“Right, yeah,” Hazel says hastily. “You’re right.”
It’s quiet for another few minutes, before he clears his throat again, and she snaps her eyes towards him.
“I want to apologize for how tonight went,” Sage says earnestly. “I really did want to be with you to help you with the check. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there.”
“Seriously, Sage, don’t worry about that. I didn’t even need you, honestly,” Hazel says. “I should actually be the one apologizing to you. I’m sorry that I made you uncomfortable and said all of that stuff. It was. . .highly inappropriate,” she settles on, and before he can glance at her, a car behind them honks obnoxiously, and he presses on the gas pedal harder even as he rolls his eyes irritably. He didn’t think he was really going that slow.
“You did make me uncomfortable,” Sage tells her, glancing at her out of his periphery. “And your actions tonight we’re very inappropriate and unprofessional. I really do consider you a friend, Hazel, and I’m sorry if I ever gave you the impression that our relationship was anything more than that.”
“I know,” Hazel says, nodding. The car behind them speeds up, so Sage switches lanes to let them pass, mildly annoyed. He’s not really in the mood to pull anyone over, so he slows to allow the car to pass them, but the car follows him into the right lane. Sage frowns. Hazel, oblivious to Sage’s irritation, continues next to him, “I read too much into a lot of our interactions. I saw you tonight and I just thought it’s now or never, I guess.”
“I don’t want to make you feel awkward or anything,” Sage says, “but I do think it was rude that you acted on that, especially when you know that I’m already in a relationship.”
“I’m sorry for that, too,” Hazel replies, and Sage sees her rub the back of her neck bashfully out of the corner of his eye. “That wasn’t my intention, and, again, I’m sorry that I made you feel uncomfortable.”
The car behind them honks again, and Sage glances out of the rearview mirror in annoyance. It’s a black SUV behind them, but Sage can’t make out the driver or the license plate. The car’s directly behind him. It’s so close to them that Sage could look into the windshield if he didn’t have to keep his eyes on the road.
He switches lanes again. The SUV follows.
“This car is crazy,” he mutters underneath his breath, shaking his head before he glances back at Hazel. “I’m sorry if I’m being too forward or anything.”
“God, Sage,” Hazel laughs lightly. “Now is not the time for you to be so polite. My intentions were all over the place tonight, and I deeply regret a lot of what I did and said tonight. I hope we can move past it, but I understand if you only want to keep our interactions strictly professional from now on. It’s going to take me some time to get over you.”
“We’re friends,” Sage says resolutely, offering her a tentative grin. “As long as you don’t flirt with me again, we’re alright, Hazel. There’s nothing left to discuss about it.”
Hazel gives him a wide smile. “You’re too nice for your own good, Sage.” She laughs
again, but her voice turns soft as she continues, “Rhys is a lucky guy.”
Sage gives her a questioning look, glancing out of the rearview again, where the SUV is still following them. He turns left down a through street, and the SUV follows right after him.
“I just mean,” Hazel clarifies, “that Rhys is incredibly lucky to have someone like you.”
“We’re both lucky to be with each other,” Sage replies, watching the SUV in his side mirror.
“You must really love him,” Hazel says, her tone light if a little contemplative.
“Very much,” Sage agrees.
She grins. “Exactly. He’s a lucky guy. I hope to find someone I can look that happy about.”
Sage's face flushes in slight embarassment, and he shakes his head sheepishly. “Anyone would be lucky to be with you, Hazel.”
“Except you,” Hazel giggles.
“Except me,” Sage agrees, chuckling.
The SUV squeals its tires, and Sage looks up sharply to the rearview mirror. The SUV remains only a few inches behind them, and Sage huffs as he turns onto Classon Avenue, irritated. If this guy realizes that he’s following them to a police station, he might back off.
“Wrong plumbing?” Hazel asks teasingly, laughing.
Sage chuckles despite his irritation, a tad surprised at her joke as he shakes his head again. “Something like that,” he replies.
The SUV continues to follow them. Sage glances behind them to try to see who the driver is, and he turns back in annoyance when he swerves the wheel slightly because he’s only got his left hand on the wheel. The SUV speeds up even more, and Sage jolts when the front of the car nips at the Camaro’s bumper. He bristles, turning around angrily.
“Jesus, what is with this guy?”
“Did he just rear end you?” Hazel asks, turning around and looking at the SUV. Sage turns toward the road again, fuming. His bad hand throbs, but he places it on the wheel, needing to steady the Camaro’s wheels.
The SUV’s tires squeal again, and Sage feels his chest collide with the steering wheel as the SUV rear ends him a second time.