Selling Myself To The Alpha
Chapter 69

Liana POV

"Miss," a man kneels next to me. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I pant as the pain subsides. "My stomach... but I'm okay now."

He helps me up and I smile shyly at him.

"Thank you... uhm?"

"Stanley," he smiles brightly.

"Thank you, Stanley," I secure my handbag over my shoulder and pick up my bag.

"Can I give you a lift?" He asks as he walks with me in the direction of the bus stop.

"You're kind, but no thanks," I close my eyes as my abdomen cramps again.

"It's raining," he protests. "You'll get sick. I promise I'm not a serial killer or ..."

"I know you're not," I smile weakly. "You're the guy that tried to save my brother."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he sighs. "I wish ... what's wrong?"

I cannot stop myself from moaning aloud when the pain hits again and I stop to catch my breath.

"Probable the stomach flu," I wave it off as nothing. "It will pass."

"No way," he shakes his head. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"I'm fine, really," I protest weakly but grab hold of his arm when fresh pain radiates through me. "Okay, yes please."

I do not struggle when he picks me up and carries me to his truck. Fuck with dignity and manners. I am in too much pain to walk, and I want every painkiller known to man.

The pain keeps on coming and going as he drives me in silence to the nearest hospital.

"A little help here!" He shouts as he parks at the ER and runs over to my side.

People rush over to me with a gurney, and I close my eyes as I fold double when they push me inside.

"Where does it hurt?" An elder man with kind grey eyes asks.

"My stomach," I grunt. "It came out of nowhere."

"What's your name?" He asks as people move me onto a bed.

"Liana," I pant as I fight the pain. "Erickson.

"Okay, Liana, I'm Doctor Webber and I'm going to examine you, okay?" He smiles as he pulls up my shirt. Firmly he presses my abdomen but when he presses on the right side, I scream bloody murder. "Appendicitis," he mumbles as he pulls down my shirt. "Are you on any medications?"

"Yes," I whimper and point to my bag. "Everything I take is in there."

"Doctor," I grab his coat and he leans closer to me.

"I'm pregnant," I whisper when he is within earshot. "But don't tell, please. Nobody must know, please. Not yet."

"I understand," he smiles reassuringly and for a split second, I relax. "We will leave it up to you to announce the joyous news when you're good and ready. For now, we're going to examine you a little more, but chances are that we'll have to remove your appendix laparoscopically."

"No," I look at him in panic. I want this baby. I have been debating keeping it back and forth but now that the moment is here, I know without a doubt that I want to keep my baby. In the last twenty-four hours, I have lost more than I could imagine. I cannot lose anything else. "My baby, I ..."

"You and your baby will be fine," he pats my hand sympathetically. "It's a perfectly safe procedure for pregnant women."

"Okay," I exhale deeply and close my eyes.

"Is there anyone we can call for you?" He asks softly. "Maybe your friend that brought you in?"

"He's a stranger," I reply. "My parents' neighbour and a good Samaritan that took pity on me."

"He's still here, Liana," he says softly.

"Please tell him thank you and that I'll be fine," I smile weakly.

"Okay," he pats my hand again. "I'll see you in a minute."

"Thank you," I mumble, and I close my eyes as a nurse pushes my bed down the hallway.

Axel POV

I am at the office sitting at my desk, but I cannot concentrate on my work. I am not happy that Liana has gone alone to her parents. And I am especially unhappy that she is taking the bus.

I do not care that she is right that the pack needs me now or that I cannot do anything for her parents. She is hurting and I want to be there for her. But I cannot force her to include me. The only consolation I have is that Stanley is still there. He will inform me if there is something I need to know.

There is a knock on my door, and I pull myself together when Adele enters.

"Punctual as always," I smile at her as she takes a seat across from me. "What did you replace?"

"The biggest shitshow since Watergate," she snorts.

"Stacey Brooks," she hands over a file. "She is Wilson's mate and over the years she had more ailments than supercalifragilisticexpialidocious has syllables. And she needs a new heart. She is on the transplant list, but no donor heart has come her way." "So Wilson gave his," I nod in understanding.

"Well, it's a bit creepier than that," Adele pulls a face. "Wilson not only tested himself, but he also managed to test Nina as well. Both are compatible donors for Stacey."

"You're shitting me," I gape at her.

"I'm afraid not," she shakes her head. "Only Wilson knows how he did it, but somehow, he got Nina's blood and had it tested. And not just Nina's. There are at least twenty other tests, but they aren't a match."

"This makes complete sense and also no sense at all," I lean back in my chair and close my eyes for a moment to sort my thoughts. "If Wilson's motive wasn't money, but a heart for Stacey, why did he threaten Liana to pay?"

"Oh, Wilson was a man of many talents," Adele snorts. "He had a very lucrative sideline as a loan shark - until he dipped into his own pot. Wilson had five investors and he kept up with paying their monthly interests, but their capital is gone. One of the investors, Wyatt Miller, recalled his investment and Wilson could only do a partial repayment. I have no idea what story he fabricated to Wyatt, but according to his emails, he was going to settle the outstanding twenty thousand this week." "Wyatt Miller," I sit up and page through the file. "Anything on Leon Erickson?"

"Not that I can recall," she frowns. "But the last fifty pages are all names of people that borrowed from Wilson. It's in alphabetical order. He could be on that list." Hastily, I flip to the back of the file and scan through the names.

"He's here," I tap on Leon's name. "He owed Wilson money, but only twelve thousand, not twenty."

"Wilson didn't go easy on interest," Adele raises her eyebrows. "And he charged interest on interest. I bet the original amount was something like five thousand." "Interesting," I mumble as I go through the list. "Have you noticed that almost everyone's debt has been paid?"

"No," she scratches her head sheepishly. "Honestly, I haven't paid much attention to that list."

"That's fine," I smile reassuringly. "See these names? Ivan and lan? Those were the two men we caught on my property. They either had to do Wilson's bidding or settle their debt. I bet that everyone that participated in this plan owed Wilson and by helping him he cleared their debt."

"Have you interviewed anyone?" I ask as I close the file. "Did you talk to Stacey?"

"No, sir," she replies. "I thought it best to talk to you before we start interrogations."

"Good," I nod. "Find everyone on this list that still owes Wilson. Four of them are already locked up. The rest would be Leon's attackers. But don't talk to Stacey or the investors until we know more."

"Yes, sir," she nods. "Anything else?"

"You're dismissed," I smile. "Good work."

Adele smiles and stands up to leave. I pick up the file again and attentively page through it. The more I read, the brighter the picture becomes. Nina was more than just a tool to control Liana, she was going to be the donor. His suicide was a backup. A last resort if things fell apart.

Either Wilson knew Liana was not going to pay or he simply did not care. He planned the exchange and kidnapping at the same time. He was either going to walk away with the money and the heart or nothing at all. All I need to figure out is why he killed Leon. And how the f**k did he reckon he could get away with it? Surely, he must have known that Nina's disappearance would not go unnoticed. Unless ...

"Holy shit," I mumble as I frantically page through the file until I reach the page I was looking for. A deed to a house in Rochester, Minnesota. The home of Mayo Clinic - one of the most prestige cardiovascular facilities.

Wilson never planned suicide as a backup. He did it on the spur of the moment because it was his only way out. No, he took the gun to kill Liana. Leon and Liana were loose ends and needed to be tied up. Nina was going to be transported to Rochester and then be sacrificed for his mate. With a new identity, his investors would not have found him and since his enterprise is illegal, they could not call in the authorities to help. And the poor bastard had no idea that Liana is my mate. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that I would be looking for him.

My phone rings and with irritation, I reach for it and decline the call without looking at the name. Figuring this out is a priority. But my phone immediately starts ringing again and with a grunt, I pick it up. Instantly my stomach dives when I read the name. "Stanley, what's happening?" I ask brusquely.

"It's the daughter, sir," he replies. "She's sick and I took her to the hospital."

"What's wrong with her?" I ask as my blood freeze over.

"They don't want to tell me, sir," he says nervously. "I'm not friends or family."

"I'm on my way," I bark as I jump up and reach for my keys.