We stop in the open space, the front doors allowing in more moonlight than in the ward, and I look at Joker, panting hard. Everything is painted silver, but it’s impossible to miss the splatter of dark droplets on his arms and chest against the soft gray of his sweats.
“What…”
But before I can fully form words, the door to the administration wing bursts open, and four figures in all black rush out toward us. Without thinking, I duck behind Joker, trying to get cover from whatever new threat is coming for us now. But I realize that he's not preparing for a fight. No, he’s putting his knives back in their places on his vest.
“Joker, what the hell was that?” the tallest of them snarls, his deep voice laced with the edges of an alpha bark.
I take several steps back, or at least I try to. Joker holds my hand somehow even tighter and doesn’t let me run. I look up into the face of the alpha looming over Joker, my whole body trembling. He’s dressed in all black, a similar tactical vest covering his chest, but his holds clips of ammo instead of knives. But the thing that has my knees knocking together is his face. Most of it is covered with a balaclava, and the skin that would be exposed is covered with a thick layer of black face paint. All of that only serves to highlight the almost unnaturally luminous amber color of his eyes and the faintly glowing respirator covering his nose and mouth.
“Not here, Bones,” Joker snaps, unafraid.
Bones: what an apt name for the reaper-esque alpha towering over me. A harbinger of death dressed in inky black. But my whole body goes cold as he turns his attention onto me.
“Who is this?” he asks, his tone ice cold.
“We need to leave before the police show up,” Joker says, very specifically not answering his question.
Before anyone can stop him, Joker pulls me by the hand toward the door, shoving through it into the night beyond without an ounce of fear. Moments later, the group I can only assume is his pack falls into step around us, Bones taking the lead with the rest flanking us. The tension in the air is thick enough to cut with a knife, but I keep my head down as I let Joker lead me. I’ve trusted him this far, and it’s too late to go back now.
Chapter fifteen
Alarmsblareintothenight as Joker practically drags me away from the facility, the two of us surrounded on all sides by the masked men who “rescued” us. If I’m being completely honest with myself, I’m not sure kidnapping really counts as rescue, but I’m not in a position to argue. It gets me away from the torture disguised as therapy.
I’m winded quickly as Joker pulls me along with this group toward the shadows just outside the glow of the streetlights. Blended almost perfectly is a black van, pulled just off the side of the road under the cover of some brush. The group moves silently, two of them moving to the driver and front passenger seat while Joker pulls me to the back, along with Bones and the othermassive alpha.
I catch myself as the van lurches backward and then forward again, pulling onto the road and driving away from the facility. There are several long, painfully silent heartbeats where no one moves, or even seems to breathe. I’m stuck in the middle of the tiny space, the only light coming from a bank of computers to one side. But even in the soft blue light, I can still see the look of rage and undisguised disgust looking back at me from behind Bones’s mask.
“What the fuck is this?” he spits, not at me, but to Joker behind me.
A low growl fills the van and the other large alpha steps closer, needing to duck to avoid hitting his head. A gentle hand on my arm pulls me back, Joker tucking me against his side and holding me close.
“This is Delilah,” Joker says, half growling.
“I don’t fucking care what her name is, Joker. I want to know why the omega is in my van,” Bones snaps.
I whimper and tuck closer to Joker’s side. One of his hands comes up to hold my head against the crook of his arm. But to my surprise, the other alpha steps up and grabs the front of Bones’s tactical vest and pulls him around slightly with a harsh growl.
“Mind your fucking manners, Maverick, before I mind ‘em for ya,” he snarls, words painted with a deep southern accent.
The cabin of the van fills with alpha pheromones, making my knees weak and eyes water. After months of soft, docile omega scents, this much dominant alpha scent in the air makes me a little dizzy, and I lean heavily on Joker, turning my face to hide it in his shoulder.
I hear some shuffling and then I feel, more than see, a presence beside me. Tentatively, I look up to find Bones behind the other alpha, who’s looking down at me with kind, clear blue eyes.
“Hey, sweetheart. Name’s Phantom. I’m sorry we’ve been less than welcoming to ya,” he says, voice low and soothing.
I look at Phantom with one eye, but a low growl from behind him pulls my attention.
“We’re not welcoming her.”
Bones’s words hit me like a whip crack, and I shrink down, shaking slightly. I drop my eyes and try to stay quiet in Joker’s arms.
“Yes the fuck we are,” Joker snaps.
“Have either of you asked what the omega wants?” a male voice from the front of the van shouts.
There’s a long heartbeat of silence as the words sink in. Then both Bones and Phantom look at me expectantly, though one of those looks is significantly kinder than the other. I don’t know what to say, because I don’t know what I want, except I know I don’t want to go back to Love Wins.
Phantom lets out a sharp sigh, rubbing his masked face slightly. “D’ya got any family ya’d like help contactin’? Parents? Siblings?” he asks, slightly exasperated.