12. CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 12
It wasn’t often that Weston made a promise he damn well knew might be impossible to keep. That he had done so to Leandro only made it that much worse. He’d never had to try to open a safe room, nor was he entirely certain how they worked.
From what he’d understood, they needed a power source, and there was no electricity in Sandpoint. So how in the hell could they seal the doors to keep anyone from getting in or out?
He wished he’d been able to speak with Ford, as he was their most mechanically inclined person at Sanctuary. Hell, never in his life had Weston met anyone who could do what Ford did. Without the Omega, he feared he’d end up disappointing Leandro, and that was something Weston was loath to do.
Pulling up behind the second clinic, he glanced up to the roof, where Basel was stationed to watch their backs. He had three rifles with him and moved without ever being seen. He only showed himself enough to signal that they were in the clear.
Picking the lock of the back door, hoping it would give them more cover than going in the front door, they all entered the fairly large office. There were locked cabinets that were easy to break into where the medicines were kept. Weston started carting out the boxes to the back of the truck while Leandro went to the storage closet for the bandages, gauze, medical tape, and anything else they could scavenge.
They were mostly done when he heard Basel give the bird call to alert them there was movement. Whoever it was, wasn’t close yet, but they’d need to hurry in case they’d been discovered.
Two minutes later, the whistle of a cardinal was heard, giving them the all-clear. Either whoever had been outside went back in, or they were headed for Oxley’s group. Hopefully, Kelce was watching their back if that was the case.
“We need to hurry,” he told Leandro as he went back inside for the last four boxes of medicines and syringes.
Leandro nodded. “There are at least ten more boxes of gauze, tubing, and saline.”
“I got these four, and then I’ll come to help you.” They really needed to check the rest of the clinic as well, but they might not have time. The last thing he wanted was to be surprised by whoever was in that safe room.
Not knowing where all the exits were, it was entirely possible an Alpha would come up upon them without them even knowing it. Basel was good, but even he couldn’t see if someone was underground.
Less than ten minutes later, he was loading the last of the boxes from the storage closet while Leandro searched the rest of the clinic. He had just gotten the tarp secured over their haul when Leandro, pale as a ghost, came running out the back just as the sound of a hawk above them sounded the alarm.
“There are two Alphas that came out of the building across the street,” Leandro hissed out quietly as they both jumped into the truck. The vehicle was silent as Weston put it in gear and headed further west to the last clinic they were going to raid, and it made their getaway easier.
They also had to turn a corner to get to the backside of the third place, hiding them as the Alphas circled the building that they’d just been in. But when they pulled up to the last of the clinics, Basel let out a different call since he hadn’t wanted to give away their position with the louder screech of a hawk.
“We can’t stop,” he told Leandro. “They must be searching for us.”
“But we have to get those supplies,” Leandro argued. But even as he’d said the words, Leandro was shaking his head, knowing it would be a bad idea. “What if we hunt down the Alphas? Then we can come back to clear out the rest?”
That sounded like a good idea to Weston. He just wasn’t entirely certain how they were going to do that when they didn’t know the position of all the Alphas. He looked up to Basel, who held up four fingers before pointing two toward the last clinic and two right in front of the building they were currently behind.
Fuck. That wasn’t good.
He had zero doubt between Basel and himself they’d be able to shoot and kill the four men. The problem? It might bring the others, as the guns would be very loud.
Before he knew it, Basel had shimmed down a pipe on the outside of the building. “Knives,” was all he said. Then he was off, racing for the last clinic they’d vacated.
Pulling out two knives, he handed them to Leandro. His Omega wasn’t exactly the greatest at hand-to-hand combat, but he’d been learning fast, and Weston wasn’t about to leave him defenseless.
He pointed for Leandro to stay behind him as he pulled out two more knives and silently made his way along the side of the building. He hadn’t gotten even halfway down it when the first Alpha appeared, clearly trying to get the jump on Weston and Leandro.
Weston didn’t even hesitate as he let one knife fly and pulled out another less than a second after it left his hand. The Alpha cried out, but the blade hit its mark right through his chest over his heart. Racing toward him, he pulled the knife free and checked his pulse. Dead.
Then he quickly glanced around the edge of the building, but the front was completely empty, which meant the other Alpha had gone the other direction. Turning on his heel, he made certain to do his best to cover Leandro in case the other guy got the drop on them as he quietly made his way to the back of the building.
Weston feared he’d have been too far away to accurately throw a knife before the other Alpha rounded the corner. Apparently, he had no reason to be concerned. Instead of ensuring the site was secure first, he’d lifted one corner of the tarp and was looking into the back of the truck to see what was in there.
He hadn’t even known anyone was behind him before Weston stood and slit his throat. Blood spurted, but he’d been ready and pulled the man away from the truck so nothing would get on their supplies. He dropped the guy onto the ground just as Basel ran back toward them.
“Let me get back in position to see if there is anyone else coming,” the Omega told them even as he climbed back up the pipe to the roof.
If the Alpha they had captured was right, ten others were guarding the Omegas they held. That meant there were now six. Weston liked their odds, especially if Oxley’s team had taken anyone out as well.
That didn’t mean they were out of the woods yet, but they just might survive, get the supplies, and free the Omegas who were being held to be sold. When Basel gave the all-clear, Weston made quick work of picking the lock on the back door.
He held it open for Leandro and said, “Let’s get to work before more of those assholes show up.”
They would need to contact Oxley, but Weston wanted to load all the supplies in case the enemy had a way of listening in. Walkie-talkies weren’t exactly secure, but they were all they had.
Just like before, Weston took the medicine cabinet, and Leandro raided the supply closet. They hadn’t even loaded half of it when all hell broke loose, as apparently one entrance to the safe room had been in the clinic's basement.
Gunfire erupted from inside as Weston was putting boxes in the truck. His heart stopped as he heard Leandro’s pained cry. Fuck.
Not bothering to alert Basel, since it was hard to miss hearing the guns going off, Weston raced inside with his own gun already in his hand. If they harmed his Omega, Weston planned on making them pay by taking them apart piece by piece. With that thought in mind, he had a knife in his left hand with the blade tucked into his sleeve, making it impossible to see, especially since there was zero doubt whoever was in there would concentrate more on the gun he held.
Skidding to stop, he felt his breathing all but stop as his heart dropped into his stomach, for there on the floor lay Leandro, blood pooling out from underneath him. The only good news was it wasn’t a huge amount, but that could be because he was already dead and so his heart was no longer pumping.
He glared at the three Alphas that stood there with their weapons now trained on Weston. “For your sake, he better not be dead.”
All three smirked at him, as if they weren’t at all worried about his implied threat. “I think you’re missing the fact that there are three of us and only one of you.”
“Wrong asshole.” Even as Weston said the words, a bullet tore through the Alpha stupid enough to think he had the upper hand, spraying blood out over his friends before he thudded sightlessly to the ground.
Basel’s gun was already on the second Alpha, and he too soon joined his friend. When the third guy tried to dive out of the way, Weston shot him right through the forehead, as he was close enough to easily make that shot.
He completely ignored the bodies as he dropped to pull Leandro into his arms and check for a pulse. He became lightheaded when he felt the steady beat beneath his fingers.
“Fuck, that hurt,” Leandro hoarsely cried out. “I can’t believe that asshole shot me in the leg.”
Laying his Omega back on the ground, Weston sliced through Leandro’s pant leg so he could look at the damage. He’d never been so relieved to see that it was a through and through. Since he wasn’t gushing blood, he assumed no major arteries were hit. Leandro would just need time to heal. Well, a few stitches. Good thing they were in a fully stocked veterinary clinic.
While he’d been checking Leandro’s wound, Basel had moved the Alphas to the basement door and placed them in front of it hoping to stop anyone else from surprising them. “I’m going to contact Oxley and the others and see if they’re done loading up so they can come help.” He eyed the wound. “I know some basics and can probably stitch him, but we really need to consider bringing someone with a medical background from now on.”
Weston completely agreed.