Page 19 of Coyote Underground (Monsters of New York #9)

A Not So Smooth Rescue

Ana Sofia

I’ve always heard that waiting is the hardest part. That’s almost true. For me, the hardest part of this situation is knowing that the assholes who locked me in here could come back at any moment and take my sister away from me.

When we hear the doors start to slide open, I know my worst fear has come to life. “We’re going to have a chance to fight our way out of here,” I tell Val.

She shakes her head. “No, we won’t.” I stare at her in disbelief. How can she have given up already? This is so unlike her. “You don’t understand that thing they put around your neck, sis. They can stop you from breathing if they want. It’s controlled remotely, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

Oh, shit. There is no escape. Not until this entire organization is taken down. Unless one of my guys accidentally brought something that will destroy the signal on these, I’m as stuck here as my sister. My shoulders slump in defeat. There is nothing we can do to escape this.

“I’m so sorry, Val. I ... we had a plan. I don’t know what we’re going to do now. If these collars are like you say, and I don’t doubt you, there’s no way we can get out of here.” I trust my pack, but I don’t think there’s anything they can even do for us.

I notice the noise of the doors opening has stopped, and the lights have not come on. Something about that seems strange, but when I turn my head, a familiar scent mix hits me. Citrus, amber rum, and coconut. My guys.

Tears start to fall, and I don’t bother trying to stop them. I hold my sister’s hand tightly. “These are the guys I was telling you about. They’re here to help.”

“Ana Sofia, come on, we have to get you two out of here so we can focus on everyone else,” Lorenzo says as he gently grabs my arm.

I shake my head. “It’s not going to be that easy. Those guys—they put this collar on me—Val says they can kill me with it. All of us. Everyone here is wearing one. There’s no way to get us out of here unless you disable each of these collars.” I hold up the flashlight to show him.

“Fuck. Let me get D over here. We didn’t know about those,” Lorenzo swears, dashing off to find our Alpha.

When he comes back, he has Diego and Isaac with him. The three of them pull me into a hug without making me let go of Val. “I’d love to do formal introductions, but there’s no time. What is Zo talking about, collars that can kill you?” He addresses Val, and she offers him a sad smile.

“When I got here, they put this on me. Another girl tried to fight, and they pushed a button on a remote. She started to convulse and died. It was enough to make the rest of us cooperate. I guess they trust us to tell the new people about it, or they don’t care if people die. I haven’t been able to find a way to get it off or power it down,” Val explains quickly.

“So, we need the remote or an EMP to take care of these. Damn, that’s not what I was hoping for,” he admits.

“What can we do?” I ask, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

“I’ll text Jack and see what he can do for us,” Isaac says, pressing a kiss to my temple before walking away.

****

Isaac

It’s hard to consider that we’ve essentially just given our Omega away with this plan. I pull my phone out and send a quick text to Jack, explaining the situation.

Sounds bad, but I’ve got you. I can be there in fifteen, he answers quickly. I realize it’s not gonna be as easy as it seems, but he’s given me hope. I send him our coordinates, and he promises to get her as quickly as possible with what we need.

I slip my phone back in my pocket, turning toward the container, and come face to face with one of the men who took our Omega. “Who are you? You can’t be here,” he says. Before he can yell for help, I throw my fist into his nose.

Violence is rarely the answer, but when it comes to protecting the woman I love, I realize I will kill every fucker in this place if I have to. I punch the asshole again, knocking him out, then drag him back into the container.

“We need to tie this one up and gag him,” I tell Mike, handing the guy over to one of the Betas who came to help us out. He nods and takes over dragging the guy into a corner.

I head to the back of the shipping container to let Diego know what’s going on. I find him, along with Zo, Ana Sofia, and Valerie. They’re checking the other prisoners for injuries to make sure everyone will be able to run when we’re ready.

D’s eyes meet mine, and I nod slightly. “Fifteen minutes at least. But he can handle it.”

“Good. I should try to call Scott again. With this new info, he may actually send backup,” Diego says, walking toward the front of the metal box we’re in. I don’t have to tell him to be careful, because he knows how dangerous this situation is.

****

Diego

Scott answers on the second ring. “What is it now?” his gruff greeting would be enough to scare most shifters away, but I’m not most shifters.

“The EV is using some sort of electronic collar to control their victims. It doesn’t tell us what they’re using the shifters for, but given the collars can be remote-triggered to kill, I thought I’d give you a chance to send me some backup,” I say.

“What? Fuck, I’ll see what I can do. How much time do we have?” he asks, finally seeing this is important.

“Probably ten minutes or so until they realize we’re here. We’ve got a guy coming to deal with the collars, but he’s at least fifteen minutes out. Valerie said they’ve been coming in almost every hour to check on them today. It’s getting close to departure time,” I answer.

“I’ll do what I can,” he responds, disconnecting the call.

Let’s hope he decides to send help. I’m not sure we can do this on our own. I head back inside to help the others figure out who will be able to fight with us, and who we need to protect when the battle starts. There is no doubt in my mind this will be a fight to the death for some of us. With any luck, the casualties for our side will be minimal, if any.

My pack has everything running smoothly when I return. It’s nice to know they won’t hesitate to do what’s required, even if I’m not here to supervise. As if I’ve ever truly had control of my pack. The thought is laughable. They trust me to lead them, but we don’t have that kind of relationship. I’m not that kind of Alpha.

“What now?” Zo asks when I approach.

“We wait, and hope those guys don’t come back,” I answer. With the shifter prisoners sorted, the ones able to fight move closer to the door, and the others remain against the back wall in the shadows. I hate that these people are in danger, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.

“If this starts to go bad, I think you guys should leave,” Ana Sofia tells me. I glare at her, shaking my head.

“That’s not going to happen,” I insist.

She steps closer, lowering her voice. “I know it will be hard to leave me here, but it’s the only way to keep everyone alive,” she argues.

I grab her by the shoulders, dragging her into my arms. “I will not leave here without you. Do you understand that?” I don’t give her a chance to answer, claiming her mouth with mine. I hear shocked gasps and mutters, but I don’t care. This is my Omega, and I will kiss her whenever and wherever I want. When I break the kiss, I give her an admonishing stare. “Don’t ever make that suggestion again.”

****

Ana Sofia

Diego’s insistence that they won’t leave me makes my heart hurt. I’m not sure if it’s excitement or fear. I love knowing they care so much about me, but I don’t want them to end up hurt when those men come back. In theory, a group of shifters this large should easily be able to take out those humans. Which is why they put these collars on us.

And that’s why I asked Diego to leave. I don’t want to see him or the others get collared the way I did. I can’t stand the thought of losing any of them, especially not in a permanent way. If they leave, there’s a chance they could get back up and find me. If they stay, there’s a chance we could all die.

I struggle to process the situation. None of the men who came here today will leave. They’re all as determined as I am to save these shifters. For me, it’s more about my baby sister than the others. I won’t leave them behind, though. Even if I wanted to, Val wouldn’t let me. She’s protective of the people she’s been locked up with. I’m proud of the way she’s handling this difficult situation. I’ll wait to tell her, because right now, it would sound too much like goodbye.

The container door creaks as it’s opened again. We all freeze, unsure if it’s the humans or the guy Isaac called to help us. I hold my breath, fighting back tears. I feel as if my entire life has come down to who is walking through that door.

Everyone who’s able to fight takes defensive positions, making sure to stay in front of those who need our protection. I get as low as possible, following Diego’s lead. It doesn’t escape my notice that no one shifts. I’m not sure I can with this collar on, but none of my guys do either.

A single man cautiously enters the container, letting the door close softly behind him. “Diego? Isaac? Lorenzo?” he whispers, staying close to the wall, as if expecting to be attacked himself.

Isaac sighs and stands up. “Jack! Did you bring what we need?” he asks the man, rushing over to him.

“I did. One of my guys has it pointed at the container now. You have to be aware of how dangerous this is. If anyone in here has a medical implant, this could kill them. And all electronics in here will be fried when we set this off. Phones, tablets, watches, all of it. So, if you need me to remove anything before we go ahead, now’s the time.” Jack speaks quietly, but his voice carries through the container.

I hadn’t considered asking if anyone had implants. At this point, I’m not sure it matters, because anyone with a collar on is in danger of dying anyway. From what Val told me, it only takes the push of a button to end everything.

I watch as Isaac looks around the room, carefully considering Jack’s warnings. “There’s no time. Those guys will be back soon. We have to do this now.”

Jack nods, whispers something to Isaac, and slips back out the door. I’m not sure what he said, but once he’s gone, Isaac comes back to us. “He’s gotta get far enough away from us so his electronics aren’t affected. Two minutes tops, and they’ll set off the device.”

Something occurs to me, and I realize we’ve made a mistake. “Guys, we can’t fight. Not yet.”

They all turn and look at me. “It’s okay if you’re scared. You can go hide in the back and we’ll protect you,” Lorenzo tells me. I shake my head at him.

“Listen to me. This is important. If those guys come in here before the device is activated, we can’t fight. If we do, they’ll use the remote to kill us, probably all of us. We have to be smarter about this. You guys need to hide, and we need to make them think everything is normal. That will buy us time until the device is activated.” I wonder if they’ll listen to me or not. I know I’m just an Omega, and I’m not trained in combat or anything.

Diego holds up a hand when everyone starts talking at once. “She’s right. Guys, hide the best you can. Try to blend in and don’t make it obvious that you’re not wearing a collar.”

Isaac, Lorenzo, Diego, and the other guys who came with them duck behind some of us, spreading out so they can blend in easier. When the door creaks open again, I know it’s not our allies. I don’t know how much time has passed or if Jack will even be able to use his device. It may be too late. They could have been caught.

Three men step inside the container. One holds a clipboard and the other two have big guns. I hear one of the guys whisper, “Semi-automatic,” and I think he’s referring to the type of guns. This situation just got even more dangerous.

Panic begins to grip my heart again. I lock eyes with Val, but she only smiles at me. “It’s okay,” she whispers. “This is going to be okay.” I have no idea what she’s talking about. The three men walk around the container, checking people against their list. If they’re taking inventory, they’ll realize my guys and their friends don’t belong.

How is this going to be okay? I don’t understand my sister’s sudden positive attitude. Everything seems hopeless right now. When they get to the middle of the container, a wave of something passes over us, and I feel the collar at my throat release. The metal rings hit the floor as every one of them dies at the same time. We’re free! Almost, anyway.

“What the fuck?” one of the humans asks. Before any of them can try to figure it out or shoot at us, the men working with my mates tackle them. The three men are tied up and their guns are destroyed.

The container doors swing open, faster this time. An entire team of shifters dressed in SWAT team gear enter the space. If I didn’t know better, I’d have been even more terrified that someone else was kidnapping me. Then I see Agent Gus Scott walk through the door. That fucker.

“We’ve got the rest of them rounded up. This was a lucrative mission. We’ve apprehended the entire management chain of the EV. They’ll be out of commission sooner than we expected. Thank you for your invaluable help.” He offers a hand to me, but I refuse to shake it. Diego steps in and takes the offered hand.

“Please forgive my Omega. She’s been through a lot lately, and the stress is getting to her,” he apologizes quickly.

With pleasantries out of the way, we’re escorted to ambulances and taken to the nearest hospital to be checked over. I stay with Val, and Isaac refuses to leave my side. I know Diego has things to tend to as the pack leader, so I don’t push for him or Lorenzo to join us. I know they’ll be at the hospital as soon as they can.

After being checked out by the doctor, I’m released. He insists that Val stay because she’s severely dehydrated, and they want to run some more tests to be sure she doesn’t have any hidden fractures they’ve missed. I like that he’s thorough, but I’m not happy. “I can’t leave her,” I argue after being told I have to leave. “She’s my family. I’ve taken care of her since our parents died.”

“Princess, no one is forcing you to leave. The doctor suggested it so you could rest. You’ve been through a lot—yes, I know Valerie has been through more—it’s not a competition. Jack and Pack Devereaux will stay and make sure she’s protected. We’ll all come back in the morning. I promise,” Diego says, pulling me into his arms.

As exhausted as I am, I know I won’t win this fight. I take a moment to threaten Jack with bodily harm if anything happens to my sister. I also insist he call me if anything changes overnight. His cheeks flush, and he agrees. I think he may have a crush on Val, but I don’t say anything.

I let my pack take me home and put me to bed, vowing that this will be the only time I ever back down from a fight.