Page 31 of Omega's Vengeance

I rub my jaw, my nails rasping against the stubble. “We don’t actually have to get all the way back to the city. We just need to get to a phone.”

“There’s a small gas station half way down the mountain. They have a pay phone.”

“Yeah?” I perk up. “Then let’s do everything we can to get there. The sooner, the better. Wait here. I’ll go get that knife.”

I head back to the cabin, and hurry inside. I grab the utensil off of the counter and turn to leave the cabin. As I do that I catch movement outside the cabin. My heart stutters as I see a black SUV driving up the long dirt road that leads to the cabin.

“Fuck,”I hiss under my breath. The vehicle isn’t the kind of SUV you might see in the mountains usually. It’s way too clean and has expensive rims. Everything in me screams it’s Carlo’s guys.

There’s no back door on the cabin, and I’m afraid the vehicle is too close for me to slip out the door without them seeing me. I try not to panic as the vehicle rolls closer. Most of the windows in the cabin are small and facing toward the road. Gritting my teeth, I hurry into the little bathroom and I size up the window in the room. It’s facing the back of the property, and bigger than some of the windows in the main room. But the window is not a big window by any means. It’s tall and narrow, and I’m a big guy. I don’t think I can squeeze through that opening, and getting stuck half way would be disaster.

I go back out into the main room and then back to the kitchen. The only way I’m getting out of the cabin is through the main door. I watch the SUV as it continues down the bumpy road toward us. My only hope of getting out of the cabin without being spotted is in the fact that there’s a row of spruce pines that line the road. The occupants of the SUV will lose view of the cabin for a few minutes when it passes behind them.

Sweat breaks out on my face as I watch the SUV approaching that blind spot. I’ll have to time it just right, but that blind spot is really my only hope. I hold my breath as the SUV disappears behind the row of pine trees, and then I bolt like a bat out of hell toward the back of the property. I don’t know if Alessio is aware of the approaching SUV. As I reach the carport, I can see he isn’t. He’s kneeling down by the bike, oblivious to the danger rapidly approaching.

“Alessio,” I call out.

He looks up, frowning.

“Incoming,” I growl and I slide to a stop beside him. “Carlo’s men are driving up to the cabin.”

“What?”He widens his eyes, obvious panic glittering in the green depths.

“There’s no time to work on the bike. We have to hide,now.” As I speak I move past him toward the thick wall of pine trees.

“We’re just going to leave the bike?” he rasps, stumbling to his feet. “It’s our only quick way down the mountain.”

“If we’re dead, the bike is no use to us.”

“But…” He looks muddled.

I move back toward him, eyeing the road nervously. “We’ll double back if we can. But right now, we need to run, Alessio. They’re gonna see the broken glass on the back door, the couch, and the food and know someone was there. They’ll probably know it was us. We have to get as far away from the cabin as possible.”

“Fuck,”he says harshly, scowling.

I grab his arm. “Come on. We need to go now.”

He pushes my hand off. “I just need a few minutes to get the wire attached.”

“There’s no time,” I growl.

“I should at least try.” His eyes shimmer with frustration.

“And if the wire isn’t the only problem, then we’re fucked. Be smart, Alessio. We need to go and come back later if possible.”

Just leave him.

That’s obviously what I should to do. Especially since he’s being obstinate. Why am I risking my life trying to convince him to come with me? His survival isn’t attached to mine. I don’t have to wait for him. I didn’t even have to tell him Carlo’s men were coming. Why did I do that? I’d already be hidden in the woods if I hadn’t stopped to get Alessio to come with me. Every second I waste trying to convince him to come with me slashes the odds of me surviving.

He grabs the knife from my hand, and he kneels next to the bike again.

“What the fuck are youdoing?” I rumble, panic rising in my throat at the sound of tires crunching on the road out front.

“Trying to save us.” His hands are shaking so bad he almost drops the knife, but he manages to scrape off some of the green plastic that covers the wire. Next he attaches the bare wire to a small metal part.

“Goddamn it,” I mutter, torn between leaving him and staying. I don’t understand why I can’t seem to abandon him. But my feet feel glued to the ground as I stand over him. I feel an overwhelming urge to protect him, even as my instincts scream I should leave.

Once the wire is attached, he stands, breathing hard. “I’m gonna try and start it now.”

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