Chapter 20
Marko paced the length of a small exam room in the infirmary at StoneCrow Estates. He was waiting on Jenny, and his patience was wearing thin.
It’d been a month since Thea had disappeared and in that time Marko had fallen apart. He’d searched and searched for Thea to no avail, and Tyce’s team had been no help.
Stupid bastards! In his opinion, Tyce’s team was comprised of idiots, and Jenny was an idiot. And so were Stoney and King and Monroe and everyone! Everyone was a goddamn moron!
Marko snarled and buried a hand in his hair. He’d been so damn irritable lately that he could barely stand himself. Worse, the longer he’d gone without finding Thea, the worse his shifts got. They’d been harder to come by and weren’t lasting as long. Now, they were non-existent, and Jenny kept drawing blood and running tests to find out why. At first, she thought it was an interaction from being in contact with Thea and the drugs in her system, but she dismissed that after things got worse instead of better the longer he was away from Thea. Now, she kept feeding him several lines of bullshit, and he knew that’s exactly what they were.
Stopping to glare at the door, a growl rattled his chest at how little the doctor clearly thought of his time. Without being able to shift, he was forced to search for Thea via vehicle, and it took so damn long getting anywhere that he despised himself more with each passing day for falling apart when Thea needed him the most.
Glancing at the clock, he ticked up his lip in a snarl and stalked toward the door. Enough of this waiting bullshit! He had much better things to do with his time than wait on Jenny.
Storming down the hall, he slowed at the sound of raised voices. He recognized Jenny’s instantly and inched closer to listen.
***
“What do you mean, you didn’t give her anything?” Monroe’s growl rattled the windows.
“Like what?” Jenny’s brows speared down. “She wasn’t raped, Monroe. The decision should have been hers!”
“And what of Marko’s decision?”
“He made his when he took her! That was his decision! Besides, I couldn’t give her anything. I didn’t know then, and I don’t know now how any drug would interact with what’s already in her system. She needed fewer toxins in her system, not more.”
The Chief of Surgery and CEO glared at each other for long minutes before King eased between them. “This isn’t helping. We’ve got a human out there, potentially pregnant with a Walker child and a Walker father who has no clue.” He looked at Monroe. “Can the Blackbird wolves track her?”
“I haven’t asked.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want word getting out there’s an unprotected female, pregnant from Walker seed roaming the streets!”
“We don’t know if she’s pregnant,” Jenny countered gruffly.
“We don’t know she’s not,” King countered.
Monroe’s tone was even as he directed, “I want her found. I want her found yesterday, understand?”
“And Marko?” Jenny asked. “Do we tell him?”
Marko didn’t wait for Monroe to respond before he shoved the door open. He couldn’t believe his ears. Pregnant? Holy fucking hell. PREGNANT! Eyes zeroing in on Monroe, Marko snarled, “Were you planning on telling me or not?”
“You’ve got other things to worry about,” Monroe answered coolly.
Marko was in his face in a flash. “You actually think anything is more important to me than my child?”
“Potential child,” Monroe corrected. “We don’t know she’s pregnant, Marko. Don’t go borrowing trouble.”
“Thea’s been missing a month,” he snarled. “I can no longer shift, and now I find out you’ve been hiding from me that Thea may be carrying my child. I’m not borrowing trouble, I’ve got it in spades.”
Monroe tucked his hands into the pockets of his tailored pants. “Didn’t hide anything from you.” He shot Jenny a pointed look. “Only just found out about the potential pregnancy myself.” His eyes went back to Marko. “I’m sending a team to find her.”
“Now?” Marko snarled. “I’ve been requesting a team for the past month, ever since Tyce’s team lost her! Now she’s a priority?”
“Yes,” Monroe answered simply. “If she’s carrying a Walker child, she’s moved to the top of the list.” His eyes narrowed on Marko. “Be grateful, we’re spread extremely thin.”
“I’m going,” Marko declared. “Don’t even think about trying to stop me.”
Monroe rocked back on his heels with a forced grin. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Who better to find Thea than her baby daddy?” He looked at King. “That’s how the kids say it, right?”
King snorted an amused sound but directed his attention to Marko. “Seriously, Marko, you’re not well. Maybe you should stay and I’ll…”
“No,” Marko cut him off. “I’m going, and it’s not debatable.”
Ignoring the argument, Monroe asked Marko, “Have you contacted her parents?”
“Yes. They received a letter just after Tyce’s team lost her. She said she was fine and taking a vacation. She told them she’d be in touch.”
“And has she?” Monroe asked.
“No.”
King spoke from behind Monroe. “It’s been about a month, and the last withdrawal from her bank account wasn’t that significant.”
Monroe nodded. “She’s gonna need to come up for air soon.” He turned to King, “Get the boys online.” He turned to look at Marko. “If you’re going, be ready.” Heading for the door with King on his heels, Monroe tossed over his shoulder, “Jenny, make sure Marko’s okay for travel.” He turned and pinned Marko with a dark look. “And that is not debatable.”