Luckily, on the fifth day, a truck stopped and picked him up, but other than a few, quick, fast food meals when the driver stopped to fuel up, there really hadn’t been time to keep clean.
Opening the heavy glass diner door, the smells of food on the grill assaulted Ollie’s nose, making his mouth water. Looking around, he spied the sign for the restrooms and made a quick decision to wash off some of the road grime before sitting down to eat. Although a shower was out of the question, he figured he could strip off his shirt and wash his face, chest and arms.
Pushing the restroom door open, a foul odor greeted him, stopping him in his tracks. He felt the hair on his arms stand up and his animal roared a warning. Without waiting to find out what his animal knew, he stepped back, whirled around and hastened out of the dinner into the fresh air. Scanning the area, he found what he waslooking for and ran toward a truck that was moving slowly toward the on ramp to the highway. Waving his arms, Ollie jumped in front of the vehicle, shouting at the man to stop. When the truck rolled to a stop, Ollie sighed in relief.
Leaning out his window, the driver yelled, “What the fuck are you doing?”
Heading over to the man, Ollie asked, “Can I get a lift?”
“Where too?”
Shrugging, Ollie replied with a smile, “No place in particular…just wherever the wind blows me. Which way you going?”
“South to LA…is that where your wind is blowing you?”
Nodding, Ollie said, “Feels like it.”
“Okay...get in.”
Running around to the passenger side, Ollie scrambled up into the cab and buckled his seat belt. Then glancing over at the driver he said, “Thanks…I’m Oliver but you can call me Ollie.”
“Ollie…name’s Rusty.”
“Nice to meet you, Rusty,” Ollie replied, before turning to look out his window at the diner, now disappearing into the distance. Whatever was in that restroom was dangerous and he was glad to leave it behind. Unfortunately, it also meant no food. But given the choice between eating or surviving, he’d take the latter every time, especially since he was all that stood between his aunt and uncle’s continued captivity and their freedom.
~/~/~/~/~
Standing on the stage in the community meeting building, Tristan took in the faces focused on him, waiting for him to speak. It was going to be his first big test to see if he was born to be the Alpha of the Silver Point Pack.
Noticing his mate’s slight hesitation, Heath moved close to him and murmured, “You got this.”
Giving an imperceptible nod, Tristan squared his shoulders and began to speak, his voice loud and clear, projecting the authority his position granted him. After explaining his plan, he named the head of each squad first, bringing them up to stand in front of the stage. Once they were there, Tristan jumped down and shook the hand of each one before handing him a list. Then, returning to the stage, he said, “When the leader of your squad calls out your name, please come forward and stand behind him.” Watching as the names were called, Tristan leaned over to Heath and murmured, “I decided to use Jackson’s men to guard the trails…any objections?”
“Nope…I think it’s excellent because you’d have done that anyway if you’d had more of your own fighters.”
While the men he named as leaders continued calling out names, Tristan shifted his gaze over to Reeve who stood at the back of the room, glaring at Groose who was ignoring him. Chuckling, he asked his mate, “What’s up with Reeve?”
Glancing over at his friend, Heath grinned at the baleful look on Reeve’s face. “He’s pissed because Groose once made him wait to see Jackson.”
Nodding, Tristan turned back in time to see the last few men join their squads. When the room fell silent, hesaid, “Look at each man in your squad…memorize their faces and names…these are the men who will have your back just as you will have theirs. Some of you have first-hand experience with how ruthless and cruel Rudy can be while the rest of you have seen the results of it when you first came here with Reeve.
“However, now that Rudy is desperate, it makes him much more dangerous, especially since fifty, hardened criminals will be with him. And believe me, they won’t hesitate to kill because their freedom means more to them than your life. So to make it tougher for Rudy and his men, your leader will make sure each of you is paired with another member of your squad. You are to stay together at all times. If one of you is injured, your buddy will stay with you and call for help. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir!” everyone shouted.
“Any questions?” asked Tristan. Glancing around, he saw a hand slowly go up. Pointing to the owner of it, said, “Go ahead, Marty.”
“What if there’s an opportunity to kill Rudy? Should we do it or is he reserved for you?”
“Rudy is mine,” Tristan growled. “He wants my title so he’ll be coming after me. I don’t want any of you to be injured trying to stop him. It you spot him, pass the word to your leader and he’ll notify me. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” Marty shouted, with the rest joining in.
“Good,” Tristan said. “Once you are paired up, head over to Reeve for your instructions and a map that shows the location each squad is assigned to.” Then Tristan jumped off the stage and headed over to Groose.
~/~/~/~/~
“Where the fuck is Bruno?” Rudy snarled at Seth while pacing between his desk and the window. The new location they were in wasn’t as good as the last one but once Frank had escaped, he knew it was just a matter of time before the High Council would send their enforcers to capture him and everyone with him.
