Page 69 of The Beta: Part Three
The vehicle in front stops as it's passing the garage and someone tries to get out. Kaleb is there immediately, shoving the person back inside the vehicle and shutting the door. I see him shake his head, then he steps away from the SUV to speak into the mic. “It's Pratchett Senior, Seth sent him. He's here to help. It's his people on the property. There are nine of them in total. Advise.”
There's silence for a few breaths, then Devon and Corso both give the go ahead to let him help. I can see Kaleb talking to him, but I can't hear what they're saying. Pratchett himself gets out of the vehicle and points to the roof. Kaleb gives him a nod, but when he turns his face away I can see his scowl. I can also make out some cursing. “Kaleb,” I say into my headset, “the fuck?”
“He says Seth called him after he called us and told him to get his crusty ass here in his place. Made him feel like shittier shit about everything than he already did. I couldn't smell any lies, he's here to help. He won't come near you. He swore he wouldn't unless there was no other option. I'm sorry he's here at all.”
Well that's something. I guess I'll be glad for the assist, even if the thought of that asshole here at my home makes my skin crawl. There's still a sour taste in my mouth as I watch him climb up the corner of the house to get to the roof regardless of the fact that we need the extra support.
Everything's quiet again for a while, then I catch some quick movement at the northeastern corner of the property. I can't tell how many there are, it doesn't appear to be more than a handful, but they're dressed in dark camouflage and are carrying multiple weapons. There's more movement at the southwestern corner, with more people prowling through the cornfield back there than there are people sneaking through the trees at the front. I report every single thing I see, going so far as to mention the numbers on the screen just in case that's helpful to Nathan. I watch Devon and Kaleb become part of the shadows surrounding the manor and when the first of the intruders break from the trees my stomach drops and I can't breath for a second. Then everything starts happening almost faster than I can follow.
People start falling to the ground between the treeline and the lawn and it takes me a few seconds to realize Seth's father is on the roof picking them off before they can get close to the manor. Before they can get close enough to hurt Devon and Kaleb. At the back of the property I see the men who came with Pratchett, all wearing their own headsets, taking position and shooting into the corn when the intruders start coming through there. Gunfire is loud over the headset and it takes all I have to not scream into the mic when I see Pratchett's men in the back start getting overpowered. “They're coming from the back, around each side of the manor. Pratchett's guys are going down. Be careful.” My heart is thundering in my ears. I can't do anything but watch as Kaleb and Devon either live or die.
Trent's voice comes through the headset. “I see them through the windows. They're almost to the back door and the side porch.” Terrace. It's a terrace, but he can call it whatever the hell he wants as long as he's alive to say it.
“Let them walk. Don't give your position away. We need you in the house. Pratchett's still on the roof firing.” Devon hisses, then I can't hear anything but my pulse again when he meets the men creeping around the corner of the garage. He doesn't seem to be struggling, he's dropping them one and two at a time. They must be betas. That many alphas at one time would be way more difficult for even him to handle.
I'm so busy watching Devon take down beta after beta that I don't see the veritable hoard of men crossing the lawn from the woods on Kaleb's side of the manor until they're on him. They didn't come from the front where Pratchett's guys are, they came from the side. Where the fuck did they come from? It's woods for miles, then it's fields. It takes every bit of willpower I have not to scream into the headset, destroying everyone's eardrums won't help this situation.
“Coming in from your side, Kaleb.” I'm trying to count because I know he's going to ask, but there's no way to know.
“How many?”
I can't say anything. There's no way for me to tell him that there are too many for me to count without screaming.
“Talia,” he clips. “How many?”
My voice is barely audible when I answer. “A lot.”
“Copy.” That's all he says. Then I see him begin checking his weapons.
“Alex. What's your location? I can't see you on the monitors.”
A few seconds pass then his reply crackles through. “Coming in behind the assholes in the front. I got with Pratchett's assholes. I should have grabbed the flame thrower.”
Corso's curses fill my ears. “Donotset the fields on fire.”
“Unclench, Corso. I didn't grab it for a reason. Can you see Devon?”
“Between the terrace and the corner of the garden. Lot's of betas. He's good for now. Can you get to Kaleb?”
Silence.
“No. Not in time. Headcount?”
“Too many.”
A round ofFUCKresounds.
“I'm good.” Kaleb's voice is solid, but my bond with him is the tightest it's ever been. Tight and becoming distant.
Jasper's voice comes through. “Don't you dare, Kaleb. You stay right with us. Clear?”
“I'll try,” he says, but it's a lie. He's going to put up whatever block he can to keep Jasper and I from feeling the things he's about to feel.
“Coming through now. Do you see them? I see four, then five, then three, then a lot. They're moving in and out of shadows. Just on size, there are alphas, more than a few, mostly betas.”
“I see them.” I watch him take a breath, blow it out before he takes his stance. I might throw up.
Too many things start happening at once and I can't keep up. I can hear Jasper and Corso moving in the hallway outside the door, and I can feel Trent's and Nathan's anxiety. Devon is still standing, stepping over the literal pile of bodies around him on his way to meet another round of intruders, this time with alphas in the mix. Alex and Pratchett's guys begin to pick off the assholes coming for the front of the manor, and they're doing a damned efficient job of it. Reid...Where the hell is Reid? I haven't seen him since he left out behind Alex, and he's definitely not with Alex now.
