Page 44 of The Alpha: Part Three
“Go. Pull off the next exit. It shouldn't be far. Then just go. We'll adjust our route as we go and keep Nathan and Lopez updated.”
Desie pulls my hand into her lap, squeezing tightly. “Is this a good idea?”
I squeeze back. “As good as letting them follow us the whole way.”
It seems to have worked. We haven't noticed anyone following us since we switched to the side roads. Desie packed plenty of food for the trip so we haven't had to stop to eat this whole time and we're doing pretty well, all things considered. I'm just about to let my guard down a little and take a short nap when Ben growls. “Fuck.”
“What fuck?” I ask. “What is it?” Then I see it. A big white van parked sideways across the road a little ways ahead of us. I pull up the map app on my phone to look for a way around but there isn't one. There are no houses or stores on this stretch of road, there hasn't been for a while. The thing that was supposed to give us a little bit of safety has turned against us. At least there's only one vehicle, we'd be able to see if there were others.
“What if you try to play it off like you've kidnapped me and you're taking me somewhere?” Desie asks. “If that guy recognized Ben yesterday, maybe he thinks you're part of the organization.”
I catch Ben's eye in the mirror. He shrugs, raising his brows. “We could give it a shot. We have enough names to throw around.” He glances at Seth. “Yeah?”
Seth rolls his head from side to side, popping his neck. “Why not.”
Ben stops well away from the van and takes the gun Seth hands him when he gets out to meet the man walking from the van. Seth slides behind the wheel, watching Ben the whole way. We watch as they exchange words and then the man points at the truck and then gestures at the van. Ben shakes his head. Then the man motions Ben to follow him to the van. No, that's not happening. I pull out my phone and call him.
“Get back to the truck,” I say when he answers.
“Matthews says he has a package from Owens that he needs help with. He says Lopez ordered it.”
“I haven't ordered anything,” Lopez's voice suddenly and unexpectedly comes out of nowhere. I glance around to to see that Seth has him on a video call.
“Do you recognize him?” Seth asks.
“No,” Lopez answers. “But I can't see well from this distance. Get Benjamin back to the truck.”
“Get back to the truck, Ben,” I hiss. “Now.”
“I'll be right there,” Ben says, still following the man to the van, and puts his phone into his pocket without ending the call. I'm going to kill him if whatever's waiting in that van doesn't.
Desie grips my forearm, fear and anxiety racing into me through her bond. “I'm going to punch him in the nose when he gets back.”
Ben follows the guy to the back of the van, knocking on the side as he passes, and every alarm bell I have starts blaring. “Ben. Don't. Come back.”
A lot of things happen very quickly. A second man appears from the other side of the van just as the first guy opens the back doors. The first guy turns back to Ben just in time for Ben to shoot him right in the face. Several sets of arms reach from the back doors and grab the second guy and pull him into the van. Then there is a lot of screaming.
Ben aims his gun into the van but he doesn't fire, then he lowers it and looks back at the truck. Seth doesn't wait for him to wave us closer before slowly driving forward.
Ben pulls his phone back out of his pocket. “Just let Desie out when you get up here. It's okay.”
“No,” Seth says flatly.
“Seth, listen. Trust me. It has to be her. If you and Michael get out it will scare them. It has to be Desie. And she's a nurse. They need a nurse.”
Oh my god. It's a van full of omegas.
Chapter eighteen
Michael
They're all okay. I mean, they're not. But they also are. They're okay enough to talk to us.
“They said they were taking us to the big compound in the Northern territory. Where Doctor Owens is. They said that we'll be processed and matched there,” the mousy omega with blood up to her elbows tells us. Her name is Remy. She's seventeen, and very angry. She was only picked up a few weeks ago, like the other omegas in the van.
There are eleven of them. She's the youngest. The oldest, Rachel, is thirty-four.
Desie finishes cleaning her up and bandaging a few of her fingers where the nails were ripped off. They pretty much pulled that beta apart after they dragged him into the van. I kind of want to throw them a parade or a party, but Desie and Seth have coordinated with Nathan to get them to the nearest hospital, which is conveniently owned by the East Coast Council.
