Page 99 of Hunting the Alpha
“Sweetheart,” the fucker drawled. “Never negotiate with a man who has nothing left to lose.” He raised his hand to fire again. I hurried to my feet, ready to pounce. Savannah fired off three shots into Gideon’s chest. People screamed. Gideon fell back a few steps from the hits but kept going, his gun arm still raised. Savannah fired the final shot into his head, and he collapsed against the ground, no longer a threat.
Victor, of all people, took the weapon from her trembling hands, her control all gone. I thought he’d rage. Order the others to attack. But he didn’t. Instead, he let her run over to her uncle and collapse at his bleeding side next to where Doctor Rose worked.
“Will!” Savannah shouted, trying to get him to open his eyes. Blood continued to spill through the material Rose used as a compress to try and slow the blood flow.
Will’s eyes flickered open and found mine. “Look after my girl.”
“How bad?” she demanded.
“All good, Savvy.” He hissed against the pain.
Everyone geared into action to help. Max, Harrison, and Kyran rounded up a few others to ward off those who’d traveled with Gideon. Someone handed me my clothes and I threw them on. Rose threw out instructions to people, ordering them to take Will back to her practice. Savannah hurried after them, and I stayed by her side. Grace joined us, gripping tight onto Savannah’s hand.
We ran to the surgery, Rose ordering everyone out after they’d laid Will on the bed. Melba and another nurse, Jamie, did what was needed without Rose even asking, hooking up the drip and switching on machines.
They ushered us all out and closed the door.
“H-he needs to go to the hospital,” Savannah stammered, letting me and Grace lead her to the waiting room.
“Doctor Rose used to be a surgeon back in the day,” I reassured her. “And she’s an army vet. She’s lived a long time. He couldn’t be in better hands.”
I sat next to her while Grace got coffee from the machine. “Here,” she handed it to Savannah. “Have a sip of this. Focus on drinking that and just talking to us for a while.” She sat on a seat on the other side of her friend.
“This is all just bullshit,” Savannah blurted. “We were going to sort it. We had the month. I was stupid to believe him. To believe this!”
“You would have had the month,” I reminded her. “But a spiteful bitch did something that changed it all. If it was Everleigh, she’s going to regret the day she was born, I swear.”
She leaned into me and I held her close. Until she jolted, her eyes wild as they found mine. She dug her fingers into my arm. “Wait. Victor. Donovan. You need to speak to Victor. He didn’t hurt me. He needs to tell you something!”
“What?” I frowned.
“Go speak to him before Max and the others do something stupid. He knew I had a weapon. He told me when to use it. He’s had your back for all of these years, and you need to speak to him!”
“I’m not leaving your side.”
She pushed at my arm. “Go. You need to go! Grace is here with me, but you need to speak to Victor. Tell Max he’s not the bad guy here. If you thought anything of Victor at all in the past then you need to hear him out.”
“I don’t want to leave you,” I scowled. Not ready to walk from her yet or from seeing her safe and out of danger.
“For me, Donovan, please?” she pleaded. “Talk to him for me?”
Relenting, I reluctantly replied, “Fine. I’ll do it for you.” Kissing her on the cheek, I looked down at my hands and saw Will’s blood.
Shit.Stupid move sitting next to her with that still on me. I found a washroom and cleaned it off first then went off to find Victor of all people.
I found him outside where the challenge had taken place, remaining silent as Max, with the assistance of others from the town, used cable ties to cuff those who had come in with Gideon.
As Max reached for Victor’s wrists, I interrupted them. “Wait, Max. I need to talk to Victor.”
Max’s lips set in a firm line but nodded. “How’s Savannah?”
“She’s fine. Worried about her uncle.” I eyed Victor, holding my former friend’s harsh gaze. “She told me something about him. You might want to hear it, too.”
Frank approached me. “Why don’t you go talk? We’re sorting everything here. Ulrich has his gun. He’s happy to watch over the fools who came in with Gideon. The younger ones will help guard them, too. While Rose is busy, Yana will help the others take Gideon’s body away. We don’t need to call in the local authorities, do we?”
“No,” Max replied with a bite to his tone. “We’ll sort it out. In my opinion, it was self-defense and, in theory, Gideon’s death was registered years ago when he reached the age of a human’s span. The rest is schematics.”
“Good.” Frank nodded. “Then we’ll go sort it. The town hall is open. We’re putting on refreshments so that people can gather and talk and support each other after tonight’s events. There’s a room out back where you boys can talk.”