Page 20 of Ruined Omega

“No we’re not.”

I’ve been given a task—to protect Hines. I’ve never failed at a task before, and I sure as shit don’t plan to start today. We are not going to die tonight.

At least not both of us.

I snap the deadbolts open in rapid succession, one, two, three, four.

“Hold on tight.”

Hines squeals as I toss her over my shoulder, her body still swaddled in my too-big trench coat. I swing the door wide and rush into the hall.

Already, I can hear shouts and running boots echoing up the stairwell at one end of the corridor. We won’t be getting down that way.

But that wasn’t my plan.

I turn the other way and rush toward the other end of the hall where a large window opens onto a fire escape in the back alley.

“Ears!” I shout to Hines.

She plugs her ears again as I draw my 10mm and take aim. The dark hall lights up and resounds with the roar of gunfire as I send three shots into the top of the window. The glass falls in a glittering crystal cascade.

I tuck the gun back into my jeans and jump through the open window, clearing the jagged shards by a hair.

My momentum carries us from the stuffy confines of the abandoned building into the cool night air of the alley.

Hines screams.

I squeeze her tightly. Still in mid air, I use my free hand to clutch the steel railing of the fire escape, arresting my momentum so we don’t smash into the far wall of the alley.

Gravity kicks in, and we’re falling three stories to the darkness below.

For an Alpha like me, a three story fall is nothing. My body is durable. My muscles and bones can absorb the impact, no problem.

Hines, however, is a different story. She is an Outsider. Small, soft, and fragile. The force of the landing would break her spine across my shoulder.

So I let her go, tossing her lightly so that she’s free falling in front of me and slightly above, within arms reach.

The shadowed walls of the alley race past us as we fall. The dark ground rises to meet us with accelerating speed.

When I land, I use my body like a spring to slow Hines’s fall. I bend my legs and drop my arms to match her velocity, slowing her to a stop.

I end up kneeling, cradling Hines in my arms, her little butt just an inch off the concrete.

“Are you okay?”

Hines doesn’t answer, at least not with words. She just draws a loud, ragged gasp. Even through the thick trench coat, I can feel her heart racing inside her ribs.

I’ll have to take that as a yes.

There’s no time to waste. Voices are calling out from the street. Boot soles are clunking against the pavement.

“The alley!” Someone shouts. “They’re in the alley.”

My bike is parked a few feet away. Without hesitation, I hoist Hines’s trembling little body onto the seat, and I hop on behind her, enfolding her with my arms and legs. Normally, I would put a passenger on the seat behind me, but I want to make sure Hines’s body is shielded from our pursuers.

I dig the key out of my jeans pocket, crank the ignition, and the engine roars to life just as spotlights illuminate the alley from behind.

“Down there!” Someone else shouts. “Don’t let them get away!”