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Dave gave Dio a long look, assessing him while still ignoring Sam, before a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he reached out to shake.
“I’m Dave. Everyone calls me Dave.”
What the hell, Dave?I needed to have a word with him about consorting with the enemy and acting professionally in hostage situations.
Dio’s smile grew so big it lit up his face, before he threw back his head and laughed so brightly I felt reflected warmth surround me. Like I’d suddenly stepped into the sunshine out of the shadows on a cool day. It mesmerized me. I could see even Sam relax at the sound, as he shook his head slightly and smiled affectionately at his friend.
“So I take it you’re in charge now?” Sam asked Dave when Dio finished laughing. The insinuation that someone else was in charge now that a man had shown up made me bristle.
“Nope. Lexie’s in charge. That’s the instruction Max relayed from Damon. I’m just here to back her up,” Dave said, casually shrugging like it was no big deal. But I could tell he was still alert. He kept flicking his gaze to the alphas on the ground, making sure no-one was moving, and assessing the surrounding situation.
“Good call. Lexie seems more than capable,” Dio countered, smiling as Dave glanced at me speculatively. Hearing Dio say my name made me shiver lightly. I reined it in, though, because Sam was back to watching me with an intent focus. As if he was trying to figure me out. Like I was a Rubik’s cube and my colors were all in the wrong place.
I rubbed my hip lightly and tried to focus, ignoring them all. We should move away for this conversation, but I wasn’t leaving two betas and two omegas alone to watch over the group of pissed-off alphas on the ground.
“What’s the security status of the farm, Dave?” My body was still trying to sway towards the alphas, but we weren’t out of danger yet and people were relying on us. I needed to shake off my hormonal crisis until I made sure everyone was safe.
Dave gave me a quick update. A few of the farm workers in the upper fields had secured the childcare cottage and had hunkered down there to protect the kids. The rest had headed for the upper and lower gates, as well as the breach point, to help keep them secure. They checked the boundary fence as they went.
We needed to do a sweep of the farm to check for more intruder alphas around the buildings, but we didn’t have the manpower. Dave was pretty confident all of them were here, tied up, but we couldn’t be sure.
I turned slightly to Sam and Dio, without making direct eye contact and trying not to breathe too deeply. “Damon mentioned you have back-up arriving. How soon and what can we expect?”
Sam answered me quickly, glancing at the alphas on the ground briefly as he did it. “We’ve got a small team in a black hawk helicopter. They’ll drop men at the top gate.”
Where the hell had they found fuel and how had they gotten it to pump with no electricity?I saw at least one alpha on the ground glance our way in surprise at that, too. Clearly wondering the same thing.
“I’ve got the rest of my squad on standby. I’d like to relocate them here and only leave a couple of guys watching the Palace. If you can accommodate us? I can have them here in a few hours.”
“We can do that,” I confirmed. It would stretch our food supplies, but our security was a more critical issue right now. Having a stash of food wouldn’t do any good if we were all dead or captured. I looked at Dave and he nodded in agreement, looking relieved.
I knew he’d been worrying about our security manpower. He was under-resourced for the threats we’d been facing since the Crash. Our security had been set-up to deal with one or two angry men looking for their partners. Not groups of military trained alphas. As capable as Dave was, he only had a couple of young cadets, supplemented by farm hands when needed, for security.
“Okay, tell them the password to get access at the gate is, Lexie kicked an alpha in the balls.” I smirked at the alpha on the ground, who was still curled around his junk while glaring at me. I heard Dio chuckle lightly.
“Can you let the gate team know, Dave?” He nodded and both he and Sam stepped away from each other to make calls. Dave from his two-way radio and Sam from a satellite phone.
“Could there be alpha-grade restraints in the PMV, Dave?” I asked him when he stepped back to my side. He looked thoughtful.
The guys had come back from the Palace last night with a stolen military truck, a Protected Mobility Vehicle, in addition to Ava and Cary.
“There’s a good chance, unless they ransacked it at the Palace. We haven’t looked through it yet.”
I gestured for Nick to approach. He’d been keeping us in his sights, as well as the alphas and the two new omegas. I smiled at him to put him at ease. He seemed nervous, suddenly.
“Can you run to the PMV and see if there are any alpha-grade restraints in there? The keys are in the security office safe.”
“Sure,” he said, seeming more confident at the request. Nick could have run and hidden today, but he hadn’t. He’d jumped into the fray with us, wielding a broomstick and rolls of duct tape against a unit of highly trained alphas. He’d been loyal and brave. We wouldn’t forget that.
“Keep your eyes open and don’t engage if you see anyone you don’t know,” I urged.
Nick nodded briefly before he turned and ran for the security office around the far side of the building. Max had been training Nick in our tech set-up, and I knew he would trust him with this task if he were here.
I sighed heavily as I turned to Sirena. “Can you duck inside the kitchen and let the girls know they can come out of hiding, but to stay inside until they hear otherwise? Also, give them a heads up about the military squad joining us. We’ll need to increase the meal prep, plus they deserve time to prepare themselves for strange, armed alphas wandering around.”
I tapped my lip as I thought about what else we needed, but stopped quickly when it drew the attention of Sam and Dio. “We’ll also need to send food supplies to Damon’s cottage for a while, and arrange a roster of women to pair up and monitor it, too. To make sure no men, especially alphas, are getting too close. They’re going to be vulnerable while they’re playing hide the sausage and it could last for days. We can’t trust alphas to keep them safe. This one’s on us.”
Sirena looked startled that I was asking her for help. We didn’t have the best history. But I honestly had little other option right now. Plus, I’d heard her tell Damon she would help, and I intended to hold her to that.
