His brows rise slightly.
"I assume we’re expected to handle the rescue part?"
My eyes meet his black eyes.
"I’m begging you, I’ll do anything, anything, if you just save him. And I know you can… I can feel it, your power, I feel that you can."
He tilts his head slightly, narrowing his eyes.
"People like me aren’t the kind you should make easy promises to, kid, because one day we might actually ask for that favor to be returned."
"What would you want? I can talk to my dad if you’re in any trouble… just please help me."
The tall omega nods slowly.
"All right, let’s go. No point wasting time talking."
On unsteady legs I follow him to the SUV and climb inside. One alpha sits behind the wheel, the other in the passenger seat, and the omega takes the back with me. There’s a comfortable bench, even a small bar inside.
"Who are you?" I ask, because this is all getting stranger by the second. "Or at least what’s your name?" But at the same time I realize I don’t actually care, because this isn’t the moment for questions, not when Bay needs saving.
"You can call me Ennio," he says shortly.
"I’m Alex Strada," I murmur, though my name doesn’t matter either. "Let’s go."
Then I hear him begin speaking Italian to the two men in the front, and a chill passes over me.
Italian? How specific… Well, they do give off a somewhat gangster-ish vibe, but there’s no way I can ask about it outright, so I pick another topic.
"So where are they?" I ask in a trembling voice.
"Relatively close. An abandoned factory. The location shows a large old warehouse," he answers in a clipped tone.
My heart speeds up, because it really is close.
Barely three minutes later we turn down a side road onto the grounds of the abandoned factory.
Ennio speaks again to the alphas in Italian, and they answer in low voices whose tone I can’t interpret. They don’t seem especially surprised by the situation. It doesn’t sound like they’re trying to talk him out of anything. Apparently whoever Ennio is, he really is their boss.
"How long was I unconscious?" I whisper to Ennio.
He looks at me without expression.
"Almost half an hour."
"What?" I jerk upright in my seat. "That means Bay… that means they…"
"Calm down." Ennio’s hand presses me back. "It’s best if you stay in the car."
"No. I should—"
"You stay in the car," Ennio says firmly, in a tone that allows no argument.
I curl up in the backseat, trembling like jelly.
Right away I spot the Hansons’ van parked by one of the entry gates.
"How many alphas?" Ennio asks.
