Chapter 4 Vera
Vera
“What direction are Jorge and Luca?” I turn to Caleb, who’s kneeling next to one of Xavier’s mates, checking out his injuries.
Two of Xavier’s mates got pretty hurt when they got jumped by the Hearts and his third mate has minor injuries. Xavier himself only seems to have a few bruises.
“We can’t go back. Our orders are to get to safety first. Once we get to safety, we can organise with others to go back in.” Miles wipes his hands on his jacket before he checks his phone.
“We have to go back in.” I start walking in the direction, until Caleb’s command.
“Stop!”
I freeze in place, my body shaking. I hate this. I hate this so much.
He knows I hate it when he orders me with his Alpha powers.
“We can’t barge back in there. We don’t know where they are and if it’s even safe.”
I turn to him, glaring. “They’re our mates. We have to protect them. I can’t leave them there.”
He gets up and comes over, his whole stance one of calm. “They’re with Derrick and the others. They’ll be safe. We need to get Xavier and his pack out first. Get them to one of the teams, and then we can go back in.”
He sounds reasonable, but I don’t want to be. I want to be with my mates!
My whole body feels tight and tense the longer we’re all apart. Especially since even when we are together, I can’t get their pheromones. It makes the sensations even worse.
“Jorge? Luca? Where are you right now?” Even if I’m not barging back in, I want to know where they are, how far it would be to get to them.
“Three or four streets over from where we got split up.” Jorge sounds pretty calm. “Where are you?”
“A bit further than that in the other direction.” We pushed the Hearts back as much as possible before we got rid of them, so that there would be the least danger to the others.
But it also means that there’s quite a lot of distance between us, distance where more of the Hearts could be hanging out.
Xavier rubs over his side, where he got smashed into some trash cans, as he pulls a face. That’s probably going to be a pretty bad bruise. “Our cars are at the end of the next street. Once we get to them, we can meet up with the others and make a better plan.”
I look around. There are enough people here to keep Xavier and his pack safe until they reach the cars, but I don’t want to get further away from my mates. I need to get back to my mates.
“Miles, you take Xav and his pack to the cars, take most of the team with you. We need to be able to move quickly and quietly.”
“Vera...” Caleb wraps his arm around me, letting out a low rumbling in his chest, trying to soothe me. “I don’t think this is the best idea.”
“I don’t care.” I glare up at him. I don’t want to be calmed down right now. I need to do something. “I need to get to Luca and Jorge. They’re out there. You’re not going to stop me.”
I know that the pained look in his eyes is for my safety, for my well-being. Not because he disagrees with me, but because he doesn’t want me to get hurt.
But I can’t let my other mates get hurt either. I can’t let my other mates get into even more trouble than they are, or for any longer. Especially not Luca and Jorge.
They’re not...
They’re not like us. They’re way more easily hurt, damaged, maybe not physically, but definitely mentally.
They weren’t supposed to be in any danger tonight, they were supposed to be safe. Their jobs were supposed to be the safest of all of us. They weren’t supposed to even see any of the fighting or any of that.
Miles sighs deep. “You know that Derrick is going to be upset with me again, right? I’m supposed to be your guard. Yours. For the pack. Not other people.”
I turn to him, trying to put on as sweet a smile as I can. Though, I’m not sure how effective it is, exhausted and covered in blood and other gunk. “It’s because I trust you to keep them safe that I ask it of you. It’s because Derrick and the others trust you. You’re the best person for the job.”
Miles looks at Caleb and I don’t know what he sees on Caleb’s face, since Caleb is turned away from me, but he nods.
“Okay. I’ll get them out of here.” He points at two people from team D that followed us into the alley.
“You make sure that Vera and Caleb can’t be jumped from the back.
I’ll take the rest of the team with me.”
“Thanks.” I look back to where we came from. The alleys are pretty dark and I know that there will be bodies in multiple places. Then I slide my hand into Caleb’s, tugging softly, until he leans over. “What will be the best way out once we reach Jorge and Luca?”
He thinks for a few moments, rubbing his thumb over the top of my hand. “Keep going in the direction they were going. No doubling back. Going through the same area multiple times increases the risk that they’ll try to put a trap there.”
That makes sense. Same calculations as we always had to make when we were on the run. But this time we can stay in touch through the earpiece if we get separated, and we aren’t cut off from each other completely, which feels much better.
“Vera?” Xavier comes over with one of his Alphas, Henry. The Alpha holds out a couple of full magazines, which Caleb accepts. “Just so you won’t run out. Make sure you come back alive.” Xavier opens his arms for a hug and I step close, hugging him back.
“I’ll do my best.” I flash him a smile. “I’ve been successful so far.”
He grins back. “Let’s keep the streak going. We’ll see you later.”
“Yes, later.” I put one of the magazines in a pocket, while Caleb puts away the rest.
I don’t want to wait any longer. I can’t wait any longer.
“Let’s go.”
Getting back to the crossing where we split up wasn’t too hard. We only encountered a few people from the Hearts and they were quickly disposed of.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this is going to be reported on in the media and with the police and such.
But then, if the fucking bastards had done their job correctly to begin with, and had taken the brothel and the Hearts down like they’re supposed to, then we wouldn’t have had to do this.
So, I don’t have any pity for them.
Fuck those bastards.
They care more about protecting the rich —and the property of the rich— than the people of the cities they’re supposedly serving.
Fuck the bastards.
Fuck them in all possible ways.
The alley that Luca, Jorge and the rest went into as they got ambushed is quiet. I don’t hear or see anyone, but that doesn’t have to mean anything.
I knew where to look on our way back to the crossing, but I’ve not been in this area yet, so I don’t know if we might be overlooking anything.
Caleb touches my back softly and I look back to him, then to the two others shadowing us. I can feel my emotions starting to bubble up, worry starting to take hold of my mind. I need to get to Luca and Jorge. And then I need to get back to Mathew and Riley. I need all of us together.
I nod and slip from behind some trash cans, crossing the alley and slipping behind some cars on the other side. There are bodies in the middle of the alley, but I can’t go over to them to see if they’re from our teams or if they’re from the Hearts. I can only hope they’re not ours.
Then I make my way past more cars and a few vans, until I reach the next crossing.
It’s quiet. This time, it doesn’t feel right. Something’s off.
I glance around. The street lights on this intersection are all out. All the other intersections had at least some working lights, but these are all out.
Fuck.
I lie flat on my stomach, looking under the cars, trash cans and other stuff in the alleys. It’s not easy to see anything with so little light, but since the change was pretty gradual, my eyes are used to it well enough.
Nothing seems out of the ordinary, no movements, no lights that aren’t supposed to be there.
Then, as I slowly breathe, making as little sound as possible, I hear voices, murmuring, on the other side of the alley.
Bingo.
I crawl back two cars, finding Caleb waiting for me there, and I point to the other side of the alley. He nods, taking his gun and holding it as relaxed as possible.
Without waiting for more, I slide between two cars and cross the street as quickly and as quietly as possible. If the people from the Hearts spot me, I know Caleb has my back. And, if not, more fun for me.
I’m almost across the street when my luck seems to run out and there’s a commotion coming from the van with the Hearts in it.
Well, it was getting too good to be true.
Caleb shoots in their direction, not at them, but in the wall above them, which seems to make them less inclined to try and get a look at me. Better for me.
I manage to get between two vans on the other side of the alley when Derrick’s voice comes over the earpiece.
“We just heard shots. What’s going on?”
While I’d love to reply, I don’t want to give away my location, so I simply sneak forward, not able to suppress my grin.
When nobody else answers, Miles speaks up, sounding sheepish. “That must be Vera and Caleb. They’re coming your way.”
“Fuck. Of course.” Derrick lets out a deep groan. “We’ll talk about this later.”
I pull a silly face to try and get the grin from my face, as I’m now so close to the Hearts that I need to be really careful.
They’re inside the second van from the crossing, I can see the open side door from here, and they seem to be trying to decide what to do next.
I take deep breaths, slowing my heart rate and increasing my focus.
Then Caleb kicks a can across the alley, making the Hearts people jump up, before Caleb starts shooting at the windows of the van.
Immediately, one of the people comes out, rushing in my direction, since that’s the only way that lets them stay in cover.
The moment the woman reaches me, I grab hold of her arm, making her spin around, before I grab onto her tighter and slit her throat. She lets out a few gargled breaths, before slumping down.
One down.
The second one crouches at the side of the van, the look of disbelieve visible even in the low light, staring at me in shock as I pull out a gun and shoot him.
The first time, I only hit him in the shoulder, as he tries to run away to the crossing, away from me.
Then I aim again, first hitting him in the leg, taking him down, and then I shoot him right in the face.
Another bastard down.
As I glance into the van, I find a third person, covered in glass and blood. For a moment, I think he’s already dead, but then I see his chest move and hear his gurgling breath.
We can’t leave anyone behind, even if the chance that they’ll survive is minuscule. We don’t need any witnesses.
I reach for the knife on his belt.
He grabs for my wrist, but he’s too weak and it’s too slippery as we’re both covered in blood. I tug on my hand and his falls away.
Then, I lock eyes with him as I slit his throat, making sure he knows that he got bested by an Omega and killed with his own weapon.
Before the life has fully left him, I put his knife into one of my pockets and get out of the van. I know Jorge isn’t into trophies and he’s probably not going to be happy with this, but I’m kind of curious what kinds of weapons the Hearts are giving their people and I can always use more knives.
I flash my phone in Caleb’s direction twice, letting him know it’s me, and then cross the intersection into the next part of the alley.
I need to get to my mates.
I need to get to them.
And I’m not waiting any longer.