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.
5
Jorge
The first time we heard gunshots, we all got really nervous, until we found out that it was Vera and Caleb coming our way.
That really frustrated Derrick, since they’re supposed to go to safety, not double back to rescue us. But he kept it under control by organising the different teams, since Timothy, Mathew and Riley were on the go, so they weren’t really in a position to organise much.
The lights are all off, apart from the street lights outside, which give only very limited illumination in here through two small windows. The darkness is oppressing, but we don’t want to tip anyone off that we’re in here.
I’m sitting on what’s normally a packing bench, where they apparently pack the online orders, judging from the tools around it. Luca is standing between my legs, leaning against me heavily, his arms wrapped around himself, his breathing tight.
We need to get him out of here as quickly as possible. He’s not doing well. He’s looking even worse than he did when we first found him, and that was already pretty fucking bad.
But I have no idea how long it’s going to take to get out of here, so all I can do right now is to try to create a soothing rumble in my chest and hold him as tightly as possible. I can’t wrap him in my pheromones, no matter how much I would like to, as we’re still trying to leave as little of a trace behind as possible.
“We’re one block away.” Vera’s short words make my heart race and Luca looks up, meeting my eyes, like he’s trying to see if it’s really true.
“It should be mostly safe.” Derrick moves to the door as some people from the team pull the table and other heavy things away from it.
“Thanks. We’ll be there soon.”
At that, I slide off the packing bench and keep my arm around Luca as I also go to the door. But Derrick holds out his hand, signing for us to wait.
I know it’s not totally safe, but I want to get to Vera as soon as possible. I want to see her already. I need her, we need her.
“Sirens. Not too far from here.” Caleb’s deep voice is welcome, even though the news isn’t good.
Luca tenses in my arms and I pull him closer again.
“How far are the vans?” Derrick moves anxiously as he looks over the room, like he’s taking inventory of all of us. He’s now clearly on a different frequency, as I can’t hear him over the earpiece or hear the reply, but he nods, his eyes dark. “We can’t wait. We’ve got to move.”
He points to two people closest to the door. “Take her.” He points to one of the women who got shot when we were running away. Then he points to two people who are injured, though not as badly. “You two join them.” He looks at his phone. “Turn right at the next crossing, follow that street, one of the vans will pick you up. Don’t wait for the rest of us. Get out of here.”
The five start moving and just as they’ve left the storage space, Vera and Caleb step inside, looking very gross and exhausted, even in the dim light.
