Page 24 of Verses and Blooms
Fuck. This guy worked for the Alliance.
He saved me.
“Thank you,” I whispered back just as quietly. He nodded once, then glanced back. He pulled a phone out of his pocket, sending off a message. Hopefully to Ares and my pack.
“If they make impact. Run, omega. Don’t fucking stop for anything until we find you. Do you understand?”
“Y-y-yes,” I stammered out. I knew his ‘we’ meant him or my pack. All I had to do now was make sure I lived through the crash and made it out alive.
“Come here,” he snarled, unbuckling me and pulling me into his lap. “This one’s going to hurt.”
He curled his body around me protectively. I tried not to tense up at the feeling and let him protect me the only way he could.
We were jerked to the side as the other car hit us. Tires squealed, glass shattered, and metal crunched around us.
We’d been hit.
Chapter Ten
Audrey
Itore through the forest, terrified as screams and the sound of gunfire erupted behind me. Not once did I look back, knowing damn well that if I did, I was risking getting captured all over again.
That wasn’t a reality I could face. Ihadto get out of here and make it back to my pack before this heat hit.
If I stumbled onto the wrong alpha in the woods, it could be dangerous.
Jameson didn’t react to my scent, but then again, Jameson was likely desensitized. If he worked operations with people like my captors often, then he couldn’t simply avoid the darker parts of that world.
He had money and influence and had to have gained his status somehow, or they never would’ve trusted him. Every man that worked in that godforsaken place had some kind of leverage on the others.
You didn’t gain notoriety from being a good citizen.
“She’s in the woods!” I heard someone shout behind me. Much closer than I cared for.
That was enough to force me to run faster, my legs pumping as my feet shredded even further on the harsh ground. The pain barely registered as I sprinted through the forest, too intent on putting distance between me and the disaster I left behind.
Someone shouted again, but it was cut off by another round of gunfire, and then an eerie silence.
I stopped running and hid behind a tree, catching my breath and listening. If they were quiet, that meant they could hear me tearing through the trees.
A crunch of leaves sounded, then a twig snapping.
Someone was close enough that I could hear the crackle of their radio as their team called them back.
“Fall back!” a voice shouted. One I didn’t recognize.
Their footsteps slowly receded and I took my chance, running again. I lost track of time and my surroundings as I ran through the forest, never changing direction, simply putting distance between me and the monsters hunting me.
My chest was burning and aching, and I knew I was going to have to stop soon. My energy was depleted and adrenaline can only get you so far.
All I could do was run a little farther and hope they truly had fallen back far enough that I’d safely be able to catch my breath.
My steps faltered and my foot caught on a root, sending me sprawling onto the forest floor. I tried to push myself upright but my arms shook so badly I collapsed and my legs refused to work properly.
I drew in a ragged splintered breath and bit back a sob. This was my sign to stop.
The underbrush was thicker here and I rolled into the thick bushes, praying that they would hide me. Just a bit of coverage, enough that if I kept quiet, they couldn’t find me.
