Chapter 33 Perry
PERRY
A three-hour drive with a hyped up Alpha is not the best idea if we want to arrive in Hawk Ridge alive.
“Pull over,” I say.
“Why?” Buckle barks.
“Because you’re agitated and I don’t want to die,” I snip back.
He pulls off to the side of the road, parks, and gives me a look. One that says I’m not going to kill anyone. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not,” Abel says from the middle seat. He chews on his fingernails or picks at his skin. We should have brought one of his crochet projects, but we didn’t think about it. When his hand moves to his head and comes back bloody, I squeeze my eyes shut.
“Everyone, take a deep breath.” I reach for Abel’s hand before he can pick at his scalp again.
We all take a few cleansing breaths, but I’m not sure it’s enough. We still have over two hours to go before we’re in Hawk Ridge territory and I need my men to calm the fuck down, otherwise my squirrel will try to take over and I’ll be useless.
“Abel, let me see your hands.”
He gives me a sheepish look before holding them up. There’s blood under his nails, his cuticles are wrecked, and there are bits of raw skin on the back of his hand where he’d been picking. It hurts my heart. Why hadn’t I noticed earlier?
“How can we help you?” I ask.
“I don’t know.” Abel runs his hand through his hair and stops at a spot. I grab both of his hands.
“You can’t keep doing that.” I kiss his knuckles softly.
“We’re here for you and by tonight, we’ll either be home or in a hotel safe from Hawk Ridge.
No one is taking you away from us.” I will stab anyone that thinks they can steal him.
A thought wiggles in my brain and I sit up straighter.
Why hadn’t I thought about this before? “What if we have backup?”
“Like who?”
“Remember, I said I had to be smuggled out of Opossum Nook? It was a wolf pack. I still have the head Alpha’s number.” I pull my phone from my pocket. Sure, they helped me seven years ago, but Jax did say if I ever needed help to call. “I think they can help.”
“I wouldn’t say no, but they might not make it into Hawk Ridge,” Abel says.
“I can still ask.” Before I can lose my nerve, I press the contact. It’s only two rings and Jax’s rough voice fills the truck.
“Jax, what do you need?”
“Hey, uh, I’m Perry, a squirrel you saved seven years back and I need a favor.”
We chat back and forth about the details. Abel and Buckle progressively getting more calm as we talk.
“There’s a gas station three miles away from Hawk Ridge call Feathered Friends. We’ll meet you there at noon,” Jax says.
“Sounds perfect.” I let out a sigh, as do Buckle and Abel.
Abel drops his head on my shoulder. “Thank you. Now it feels like we’re going to war, though.”
“You’re worth it,” Buckle says. He puts the truck back into drive and he’s blessedly calmer than before.
There’s an air of hope instead of anxiety now.