What I do hear are sirens in the distance, coming closer and closer.
That was to be expected. I’m curious what took them so long.
Though, since the Hearts control this area, they probably kept the police and such away for as long as possible.
Timothy is checking in with some of the teams. It seems that Derrick is with Luca and Jorge, hauled up somewhere, but they’re safe. They just don’t want to move until they know they’re not getting ambushed again and know where they’re supposed to go. Vera doesn’t seem to have many updates either.
The other teams are either on their way to support others or regrouping and getting people back home as quickly as possible.
“Mathew?” Riley’s hand feels heavy on my arm. “You good?”
I blink, touching her hand, which feels very warm. “Keep going. We’ve got to get out of the area.”
I’m tired. It’s been a long day and I think the adrenaline has started to leave my system. I’ll close my eyes for a few moments, just until Riley has gotten us to safety.
“Mathew!” Riley’s voice takes on an edge, and then I smell Timothy’s cinnamon pheromones nearby.
“Keep driving.” He touches my cheek and then my neck. “Do we have anyone with first aid still around?”
What is he getting worked up over? He’s got more important things to do than fuss over me.
But I can’t be bothered to push his hand away, too much of an effort.
Just a few minutes of closing my eyes should be fine. Hopefully it will restore some of my energy so I can get right back to work once we get everyone back home.
Because tonight is not done, not by far.
4
Vera
“What direction are Jorge and Luca?” I turn to Caleb, who’s kneeling next to one of Xavier’s mates, checking out his injuries.
Two of Xavier’s mates got pretty hurt when they got jumped by the Hearts and his third mate has minor injuries. Xavier himself only seems to have a few bruises.
“We can’t go back. Our orders are to get to safety first. Once we get to safety, we can organise with others to go back in.” Miles wipes his hands on his jacket before he checks his phone.
“We have to go back in.” I start walking in the direction, until Caleb’s command.
“Stop!”
I freeze in place, my body shaking. I hate this. I hate this so much.
He knows I hate it when he orders me with his Alpha powers.
“We can’t barge back in there. We don’t know where they are and if it’s even safe.”
I turn to him, glaring. “They’re our mates. We have to protect them. I can’t leave them there.”
He gets up and comes over, his whole stance one of calm. “They’re with Derrick and the others. They’ll be safe. We need to get Xavier and his pack out first. Get them to one of the teams, and then we can go back in.”
He sounds reasonable, but I don’t want to be. I want to be with my mates!
My whole body feels tight and tense the longer we’re all apart. Especially since even when we are together, I can’t get their pheromones. It makes the sensations even worse.
“Jorge? Luca? Where are you right now?” Even if I’m not barging back in, I want to know where they are, how far it would be to get to them.
“Three or four streets over from where we got split up.” Jorge sounds pretty calm. “Where are you?”
