Page 22 of Nothing is Free

“Fuck! I see him!” Dez shouts back. “Omari!” Omari’s name is shouted with so much alarm just as a man rushes Omari, effectively taking him down to the ground.

“What can I do? What do I do?” I ask Malcolm, panicking as Omari lashes out at the man.

“You keep that drone in the air,” he answers quickly as hepasses his own information to Beckett and Quincy. I put the drone closer, attempting to get a look at Omari’s attacker. I see a scar when he tilts his bloody nose up to the sky. I freeze, looking Freeya’s kidnapper in the face. “It’s him, Malcolm. It’s the kidnapper.” I point to the screen, circling the area with the drone as Omari and the man whose name I know as Damyn grapple on the ground. I wince as they fight violently, throwing punches, hit after hit. Blood is painting the patches of snow around them, and tears sting my eyes with every hit Omari takes.

My breathing picks up, my heart begins to pound. . .I can feel my panic, like a bucket of ice water being poured slowly over my head. The drone dips and I shake my head, I can’t falter, not now. I keep my eyes on the screen and take deep breaths. I can do this, I tell myself as Omari gets the upper hand and straddles the man, landing blow after punishing blow to Damyn’s face.

“Omari!” Dez calls out as he closes in, the rest of the team forms a circle, guns raised as they surround the scene.

Omari looks up at the sound of name, and it feels like time has stopped. I watch Damyn pull the gun from his side and raise it to Omari’s chest. It happens too fast. By the time Omari turns his attention back to man on the ground, fist raised to strike, the gun fires, hitting Omari point blank. I scream. Dez shouts as Damyn throws Omari off him, even injured he moves fast as the team opens fire. Damyn is hit once in the shoulder, then another shot hits his side. Somehow Damyn manages to stay on his feet as he runs behind the concrete structure and out of the line of fire.

I hear everyone shouting down the line to pursue him. Shouts for an emergency evacuation are called for. But I don’t move the drone, I keep it hovering above Omari, my eyes on his until he passes out, making sure he’s not alone. Inmoments like this, no one deserves to be alone as they possibly take their last breaths. I let my tears fall down my face, fighting my own panic, staying present, for him, for Freeya.

DEZ

I collapse to my knees, reaching out with shaky hands as my fingers search for Omari’s pulse. Blood, so much fucking blood. “Fuck!” I shout, because fuck this. Everything happened so fast. I told him, stubborn Omega. I told him to wait for me. When I feel his faint heartbeat, I sob. I don’t care who sees me breaking down right now. The relief I feel flows down our bond. I can feel the other’s right there with me. I can only imagine what Free, Avion, and Vic are experiencing right now. But I can’t give them any information at the moment so I let my emotions tell them.

My team gives me a wide berth as I wrap my arms under Mari’s shoulders and pull him gently into my lap. Quincy has taken over, shouting orders as half the team split up to look for Damyn. The motherfucker got away. He got away. It just won’t do. I hope he knows he’s a dead man walking. Beckett and Malcolm are working to open the door to what looks like a bunker. There’s a keypad attached to the door with a sixteen-digit code that Malcolm is working to decode. My girl is below me and my Omega is laying in my arms, chest barely rising as we await a helicopter to take him to the nearest hospital. “Hold on, Baby. Mari, you hold on. I’m going to get you help soon.” I lean down to press a kiss to his temple.

“Free—” He makes a gurgling sound as he tries to speak, then takes a shuddering breath and I shout for someone to bring me something to put pressure on the wound.

“Beckett and Quincy are working on getting to her now. Don’t worry, Mari, I promise you. I will take care of you both. I promise.” I rock him gently as his eyes flutter close again making my panic spike.

When Maxwell, my team’s medic, drops down beside me, he takes out thick white gauze and presses his hand down over Mari’s chest wound. The sound of whirring from the drone hovering over us shifts as a helicopter comes into view.

The only silver lining in this situation is the structure has created a clearing with enough space for the helicopter to land with no obstructions in the way.

I don’t think I’ve ever experienced shock before. As a man with military training, seeing the worst the world has to offer, taking on villain after villain, countless victories and saves, I’ve never felt this cold numbness in my life.

I don’t stop the paramedics as they extricate Omari from my arms. I don’t want to leave Freeya but someone has to go with him. . .if he. . .if he. No, I won’t lose him. We can’t.

“We got this, Dez,” Quincy says as he practically drags me to the helicopter, placing me in the chair and strapping me to the seat. “We’ll be right behind you. I will bring her to you. I promise.”

I watch the forest get smaller and smaller as the helicopter lifts higher. I turn my eyes to my Omega. The first love of my life. Now, I’ve been given two. I pray for the first time in my life. Everything is out of my control. So, I ask whoever is listening for Freeya’s safe return and for Omari’s life. Nothing else matters.

CHAPTER 14

FREEYA

Heartbreak. My chest is cracking wide open, a gaping, cavernous hole where my heart now resides in broken pieces. I clutch at my battered ticker, clawing at my skin, searching for the origin of the drastic shift of emotions.

One minute I had been walking out of the bathroom, toweling off my hair and I’d felt that Omari was here. A tug inside my solar plexus, our bond had hummed with his excitement, his hope as he had called to me. I’d dared to believe they’d found me. They were here. I had expected Damyn to come running into the room to whisk me away. Had he known? If he hadn’t, I’d make sure there was no change in my outward demeanor for fear he had been watching. I knew he did. I’d kept my body calm and continued to go through the motions, drying my hair, walking between the room and the bathroom. Moments later, my happiness had shattered like a mirage in a desert, leaving nothing but the desolate sands of life altering despair.

I stagger through the room on shaky legs, knowing something is horribly wrong. Pain, so much pain.Four sets of emotions colliding like an atom bomb, the explosion of anguish so strong it brings me to my knees.

“Omari!” I inhale, my mouth opens in a silent scream. The sound remains trapped inside of me, the lack of oxygen causes my body to crumble. With outstretched hands, I stop my fall. Exhale. Inhale. Breathe. Repeat. Oh God.I find my voice, a loud keening lament I cry out to the universe. “No. Please!” I beg, my eyes trained on the floor. Two simple words, my plea to the heavens that I haven’t lost my mate. I don’t need to see what happened to know that the ‘something wrong’ is him. The connection between us feels frayed, fragile, fractured.

Any minute now Damyn will come for me. I can’t force my legs to stand. My life force, the essence of who I am hangs in the balance. I know now our souls are intertwined; so entangled, if he goes, I will go with him and so will our child. Is this the price of a true mate? I wonder as the realization hits me. I need to get to him, touch him, hold him, even in his weakened state, his soul still reaches toward me. He. Needs. Me.

Boom!

The sound startles me, and I immediately fold myself into a ball, my chest to my thighs, my arms wrapped protectively over my head.

Boom!

I cry out, my fear palpable, I shiver violently, unsure what awaits me once the door is blown open.

Boom!

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