13. CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 13
“Fuck,” Leandro yelled. “Are you trying to kill me or help me?” he asked of Basel, who was in the process of stitching up the hole in his leg.
Basel rolled his eyes. “Stop being such a drama queen, you big baby.”
“Hey,” he cried out as the needle went into his skin for what had to have been the hundredth time. Yeah, he knew he was exaggerating, but it fucking hurt. “You try being shot and see how you feel.”
Basel let out a sigh of what could only have been called disgust. “I have been shot. Six times so far. You don’t live out west with Alphas trying to kidnap you without being in danger. Twice my father had to dig the bullet out. Talk about pain. That was like torture.”
Grumbling that no one seemed to give a damn he was in pain, Leandro whined. “We are surrounded by pain killers. Is there a reason you couldn’t have given me something before you started?”
Weston, who had been holding his hand through the whole thing, reminded him, “Because we aren’t out of danger yet and the last thing I want is for you to be either too loopy or knocked out to defend yourself.”
He got it, he really did, but there should have been something he could have taken to help numb things. Having a needle jabbed into him repeatedly was almost worse than being shot.
“Fine. But as soon as we find somewhere safe to hole up, I want my ass knocked out, got it?” he told them both.
Weston bit his lip as if he were trying not to smile. Basel, on the other hand, didn’t bother as he laughed at Leandro. “You knew the entire trip was dangerous. I’m afraid until we’re safely back home you’re shit out of luck.”
That wasn’t what Leandro wanted to hear. He just wanted to get the hell out of that stupid town and head home. “Did you find the Omegas?” He sure as hell hoped so, because there was no way he was walking around to try to find them.
“Oxley and Kelce did,” Weston told him. “Some are in terrible shape. I’m not sure how we’re going to get them home when there is no room in the bed of either truck. We’re going to have to be creative.”
“I suppose it was too much to ask that they have transportation.” The fact was, a car or truck was the only easy way to get them out of there without them having to exert energy. “It will be a tight fit, but we can get five in the cab of each truck and if we put them on top of the tarps to protect the supplies, we should be able to get them home without causing them too much more pain.” He hoped.
Weston shook his head. “Our truck is filled beyond the bed of the truck. The tarp being tied down tightly is the only way to keep the supplies from falling out. And yes, we should be able to fit five people, possibly six in the cab of the trucks, but there ended up being twenty Omegas plus all of us.”
He hated the thought of it, but if it meant helping those poor Omegas, Leandro would do it. “I could ride behind Oxley or Kelce on their horse. That would give them another spot in the truck.”
Basel laughed hysterically. “Are you fucking kidding me? You can’t stop crying and yelling as I just stitched you. There is no way you would last on the back of a horse.”
He was most likely right, but Leandro wasn’t about to leave any of the Omegas behind.
“Actually,” Oxley said, as he came through the open back door. “We found a wagon with four horses. I’m guessing they belonged to the Alphas when they weren’t able to transport Omegas along the river. It’s not in great shape, but hopefully, it will do the trick.”
Relieved they could bring the Omegas to Sanctuary, Leandro sat up with Weston’s help. “Good. Then let’s load everyone up. The sooner we get out of here, the less likely we’ll run into the Alphas who have gone to sell…” He couldn’t say it. It was just too much to think about when he was already weak from getting shot.
Weston stood up, then bent down and lifted him into his arms. “I agree. We need to get the hell out of here.” Then he turned to Kelce, who had been helping to calm the Omegas they’d found. “Are the ones most injured well enough to transport?”
Kelce tilted his hand back and forth. “They definitely could use more rest and not a strenuous trip, but if it gets them away from being taken again, I think they would rather chance to get out of here.”
“We found pallets of bottled water and some food in the safe room. We loaded as much as we could into the wagon and the trucks to keep them fed and hydrated.” That was the best news Griggs could have given them.
Those Omegas were already weak as the Alphas had barely fed them in order to stop them from possibly running away. Fifteen minutes later, they had everyone who needed to lie down because they literally couldn’t keep themselves upright in the wagon's bed with blankets they’d pilfered from some homes around them.
Everyone else got into the trucks and they were off. Each minute that ticked by was both a relief and nerve-wracking. They had no clue when the Alphas might come back. As they weren’t able to move quickly with the massive potholes along the road, it seemed as if they would never get far enough away to be relatively safe.
They were all on edge as they made their way up the mountain. Leandro breathed a small sigh of relief once they’d crested the hill, but they were far from safe. The night would soon be upon them. It would be risky, but they were going to push on. With the lights of the two trucks, they put the wagon in between the vehicles to help them see the road.
But to try to stay somewhat safe from debris and holes, they moved even slower. It wouldn’t help if they wrecked.
By the next night, they were all exhausted, especially Weston, Griggs, Oxley, Basel, and Kelce, who were either driving a truck, the wagon, or riding the horses. They all needed a break. Leandro just wished they had put more distance between them and Sandpoint.
They found a service road to pull off the main road. They drove at least a mile into the woods. Kelce and Oxley had gone back to do their best to cover their tracks, while the rest of them set up tents and bedding. Those who had been riding in the wagon slept there, but the rest of them doubled and tripled up in the tents they’d brought.
Leandro wasn’t entirely certain how, but somehow he found himself in a tent with Weston, curled up in the man’s strong arms. Not long ago, he would have demanded to move to another tent with Omegas, but after all they’d been through, he craved the feeling of the Alpha wrapped around him, keeping him safe and warm.
“I was so scared when I heard that gun go off,” Weston whispered as his lips brushed Leandro’s. “I thought for certain I’d lost you when I saw you on the ground with blood seeping from your body.”
Leandro, who’d had his back to Weston’s chest, turned to face him. “I was scared, too. I know I haven’t exactly given you much of a chance since we met, but after getting to know you, I…” He had no idea how to say what he was feeling. A part of him was terrified to admit it, but even more, he had never really felt this way about anyone and was having a difficult time finding the words to describe it.
Lips brushed his lightly in a barely-there kiss. “I love you, kitten. I know you probably don’t feel the same way, and I know you may never feel it. I will never push you to love me back, but I wanted you to know.”
Leandro’s heart sped up, and he swore butterflies were flapping wildly in his stomach as he gazed into those gray eyes that had a way of making him feel safe and cared for. “It’s not that I don’t have feelings, but I don’t even know what love is. My Omega dad had tried to show me affection, but most of the time, it got one of us beaten or ridiculed, so we learned to never say it or even show it. Hell, until we moved to Sanctuary and Ford found Lowen and Coleson found Renzo, I was positive the emotion didn’t exist.”
“I know, kitten.” Weston gave him another barely-there kiss that was more about affection than anything else. “I mean, I don’t understand how anyone could treat their family like that, but I get that you went through hell growing up. I just hope you will let me stay in your life in whatever manner you’re comfortable with because I would be sad to not get to spend time with you.”
Tears he hadn’t expected sprang into Leandro’s eyes when he thought about not being around Weston. “I would be sad, too,” he admitted.
With his head tucked under Weston’s chin, they fell asleep in each other’s arms with smiles on their faces.