Page 5 of Omega Shattered
"Little sneak," I muttered, realizing she'd somehow changed and had something wrapped around her head and shoulders. A blanket? A shawl? I wasn't sure how she'd managed that, but it was obviously pre-planned. And as I'd suspected, her feet were now covered.
Once I'd determined which way the omega had gone, I returned the phone and headed back to my vehicle. This female was definitely going to be one of my more difficult catches.
It took the next two hours to track the little omega. I headed in the direction she'd gone, stopping from time to time to request doorbell camera footage. Most people were at work, but here and there, I found someone who could quickly show me their footage so I could make sure I was still on the right path.
The omega had wound through the suburban streets before cutting through another park and over a highway. There, I lost track of her, so drove around the area, watching for any signs of where she might have gone.
"Any luck?" Orion asked when he called me mid-afternoon to let me know they'd arrived at their destination.
"I've tracked her to the highway out of town, but she crossed it," I said wearily.
"You think she went to ground? Look for anywhere she might hole up, an abandoned building, a church . . ."
A truck stop loomed ahead. "Fuck."
"What?" Orion rasped. "She dead?"
"No. The truck stop is just down the road from where she crossed over."
"Oh, shit."
I pulled into the parking lot and eyed the trucks parked there, the drivers inside the diner eating or asleep in the cabs. If she'd hitched a ride with someone, it was going to be next to impossible to find the little minx. Fury coiled in my chest. I would not let an omega beat me.
I would bring her in if it was the last thing I did.
Chapter 4
Safe
Iwas freezing to death. The thin piece of plastic that curved over me did nothing but keep the wind from hitting me directly. Instead, it swirled around and chilled my face. The icy air had only gotten worse during the night and now that the sun had risen, I was pretty sure I was near death.
The shivering that had persisted all night had stopped some time ago. I vaguely remembered hearing that was a bad sign, but there was nothing I could do to get warm. The cold metal of the cab bit through the pajamas and uniform, both too thin to help much. The blanket was too small to fully cover every part of me and I'd given up trying to fit inside it.
On top of everything, my bladder was urgently requesting a stop. I contemplated the wisdom of hanging off the edge of the cab and doing my business that way. One bump in the road, one pothole, and I'd fall and be crushed under the wheels.
This wasn't what I had in mind when I escaped. Granted, I hadn't realized it would be winter. That was a stupid move on mypart. I'd gone into the center in winter, so obviously a year later, it would be winter.
Just as I was ready to attempt the butt hanging maneuver, the truck slowed and ground into a turn, bumping over gravel as it moved into a parking lot. The movement stopped and the constant hum under me suddenly cut off as the driver turned the semi off. The door opened and closed and footsteps crunched over the gravel.
Now my problem was getting down without anyone seeing me. I was stiff from the cold and the first step was a long way down.
"Just do it," I whispered to myself, unwrapping the blanket.
My swollen feet ached under the damp rags I'd tied around them. I needed them to do just one more thing for me, get me to safety. I wasn't sure how long I had before the driver came back. Maybe he'd just gone to the bathroom. There was no time to sit around wondering if I could even make it back to the ground, so I unwrapped the blanket and dropped it to the ground before fumbling for the first step.
My foot slipped as I lowered myself and I fell, crashing to the gravel below with a yelp. My tailbone connected hard, and I felt the jolt right up to the base of my skull.
Flopping back on the ground, I fought back the cries that threatened to escape, sucking in breaths of icy air and feeling the heat of my tears running down my face. The blanket had partially cushioned me, but everything hurt as I struggled to my feet and repositioned the blanket around myself.
No one seemed to have seen anything. There were no shouts of discovery, no disapproving looks, or even footsteps crunching across the gravel. I let out a sigh of relief and peeked around the front of the semi.
Just like the truck stop where I'd found this truck, a diner sat invitingly, the scent of onions and grease heavy in the air. Without money, I couldn't exactly go in and eat, so I hobbledpainfully around the side of the building to the bathrooms. The women's room was small and cramped with just two stalls, but warmth hit me like a slap. Bright fluorescent lights hummed overhead, making me squint after a long night of darkness.
It was with sheer relief that I peed and ran hot water over my hands. It felt like it was burning me but the skin didn't even turn pink. Then I realized there was a hand dryer. With a squeak of excitement, I hit the button and stuck my face under the stream of warm air, relishing the heat.
I spent a very long time in the bathroom, using the heater to warm my entire body and to thaw out my feet while drying the strips tied around them. The thought of going back out into the wintry afternoon made me shudder, but I couldn't live in a truck stop bathroom.
Finally, after preheating the blanket and wrapping it around myself, I eased out the door. I'd pulled out the extra trash bin liners from the garbage cans and tied them around my feet to give some protection from the damp of the snow melting, with toilet paper to pad the bottoms. No one could see me like this, though, because it was obvious I wasn't your average person.
