Pheromonal: One Night With the Alpha novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Suspicions Rising

I did, in fact, lose consciousness.

They—the doctors at our local mega hospital—say it was from blood loss and insist I had no infection at all, which is pretty damn suspicious. My memory was very intact after I finally regained consciousness, and I clearly recall Logan mentioning that my legs already looked infected.

My bullshit radar pings hard, especially when I find out there’s no copayment or deductible for this stay. It’s all covered under some sort of fund for victims of supernatural crime.

When did we have a fund for that?

All very fishy.

After three days in the hospital, they send me home. Aside from a few tiny scars on my legs and a bunch of lies from the doctors in charge, I’m as good as new.

Yeah, right.

"The office?" Penelope scowls at me from the driver’s seat of her cute little yellow Jeep. "Why are you trying to go to work? You need to go home and rest!"

I should, but I’m not going to. "I need my computer. Just pull out and act like everything’s normal."

Looking at me with suspicion, Penelope shifts into drive in silence as I dig through my purse.

Wallet. Keys. A miniature journal I use as a notebook; no pages are missing. My phone, freshly charged. A tube of chapstick I open, moving the balm up and down in the cylinder and checking the lid.

"What are you doing?" Unable to stand it any longer, Penelope finally breaks the silence.

I motion for her to be quiet and shake out the rest of my purse. Nothing. No crumbs or dirt.

Then I slide my hand inside, pressing gently against the fabric sidewalls to feel for any defect.

Nothing.

I grab my wallet and pull everything out, emptying it into my lap. Nothing untoward there, either, and nothing inside my wallet that I can tell.

Am I paranoid?

Maybe.

"Okay, we’re good." Slipping everything back into my purse, I glance up to see Penelope looking at me out of the side of her eye. "What?"

"Are you involved in some sort of spy movie? What the hell was that?"

"Just making sure I wasn’t bugged." I grimace. "Things have gotten weird."

"How so? Last I knew, you were going to that creepy ass mountain villa. Then I get a call saying you’re in the hospital, and they don’t allow visitors. Now you’re checking for bugs?"

Leaning back, I just... sigh. What else can I do? A mystery decided to sideswipe me and a hospital acted like it never really happened. And SED never once showed their faces, despite my treatment being covered under some bogus fund for victims of supernatural crime. And Logan—well, he isn’t around, either.

Nothing makes sense.

"I was driving down the mountain when something hit my car. Not just something. It came from the passenger side, where there’s nothing but drop."

"Right. It’s terrifying up there." Penelope loves to go on scenic drives; she’s been to the Fernsby mansion a time or two, just enjoying the mountain. She’s weird like that.

Me? I like being in places where I get a reliable network connection.

"A panther shifter." Stopping at a red light, Penelope frowns at me. "Hit the side of your car and made you spin on that road? On your way home?"

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