Page 75 of The Runaway

“Pull up a chair,” Hugo said, moving away from the door and sitting down on the end of one of the beds. “I think it’s time we all got to know each other.”

Later that night, as they lay down on the lumpy rug to try and get some sleep, Gabriel reached out and ran a hand over Connor’s shoulder. He was sure it was no accident that Connor had managed to claim a spot to sleep right next to Gabriel. “Thanks,” Gabriel said, keeping his voice low. “For speaking up for the rest of us earlier.”

Connor leaned over in the dark and pressed a chaste kiss to Gabriel’s lips. “Of course,” he said, a hint of mischief in his voice. “You would have done the same for me.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Even before they arrived at the site of the protests the following morning, Gabriel could already tell the mood was different. Instead of lingering on the street, the shoppers hustled quickly along, wary glances cast over their shoulders. Shopkeepers peered at them from behind half-drawn blinds, and the roads were noticeably empty of the well-dressed aristocrats from the day before.

The protestors seemed more on edge, their slogans becoming more angry, and by mid-morning, Gabriel and his group had learned the reason why; overnight, the army had shot the first group of ten omegas. It was supposed to be a closely guarded secret, but somehow the news had escaped the military barracks and leaked out into the infuriated crowd. The line of soldiers was having trouble holding the crowds back this morning, as they pushed further towards the centre of town, and a number of people at the front of the crowd had started throwing rocks.

Sensing the mood heading rapidly towards boiling point, Gabriel moved their little group towards the edge of the street where shelter might be taken inside shops or down back alleys if tensions spilled over. Connor and Adalene were particularly fired up today, and Gabriel couldn’t say he blamed them. He was disgusted with the army’s cowardice and ashamed that he’d ever once ‘proudly’ served his country in their ranks. Things continued much the same way for the rest of the morning and into the early hours of the afternoon. A couple of protestors smashed a few shop windows – those whose owners hadn’t had the foresight to board them up. More rocks were thrown at the soldiers, and a scuffle broke out in which the soldiers beat the omegas back with batons, until the crowd temporarily retreated.

But the change came mid-afternoon. A heavy-set man in a military uniform climbed up onto the top of a carriage just inside the line of soldiers. Gabriel couldn’t tell from this distance what the man’s rank was, but at a guess, he might have been a colonel.

“These protests are breaching the peace,” he yelled at the crowd, most of whom had the good grace to stop and listen. “Any omegas among you are runaways and are expected to return to your masters promptly. Further dissension willnotbe tolerated. Disperse and return to your homes or wewillopen fire.”

The crowd seemed to completely ignore the threat, pressing forward more fervently, their shouts increasing in volume, but Gabriel had seen enough of military life to know better. A thrill of panic surged up through his chest, and he ruthlessly suppressed it, knowing that keeping his head was absolutely necessary if they were going to get out of this alive.

“We’re leaving,” Gabriel barked at the others, already dragging Lucas and Connor away down the street. He kept glancing back to make sure Niles and Adalene were still with them, along with checking how the crowd was reacting. Righteous indignation could turn to uncontrolled panic in a matter of seconds, and they needed to be further away when that happened.

“Are they really going to open fire?” Connor asked, struggling to keep up as people kept getting in their way.

“Sooner or later, yes,” Gabriel said. He looked around, trying to find a clear path to get out of the area, but all the side streets were blocked with people. “Maybe not right now, but soon. If anyone gets separated, head back to the hotel,” he advised everyone. “We’ll meet up there and-”

The sharp static of gunfire echoed off the tall stone buildings, and a split second later, Gabriel’s predicted nightmare came true. As one single mass, the crowd panicked. Screams split the air, rolling in a wave that started at the military line and flowed backwards down the street. People began to stampede, some fleeing to doorways and alleys to escape the gunfire, others swarming down the middle of the street. People were knocked to the ground and trampled by those coming behind them. Gabriel dragged Lucas and Connor over to the side of a building, jamming them in against a doorway and sheltering them both with his body. “Niles! Get over here,” he yelled, seeing Niles fighting his way though the crowd, Adalene clinging to his shirt to keep from losing him. Niles punched an omega in the face then shoved a beta out of the way. He dragged Adalene forward and reached for Gabriel’s hand, desperately trying to get to shelter as the crowd swarmed around him. Then another burst of gunfire came, and Gabriel cursed and ducked down as the bricks just above his head shattered in a shower of dust and rocks. Fucking hell, these assholes weren’t messing around.

The volley passed, and he checked his two companions. “You both okay? Anyone hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Lucas said.

“I’m good,” Connor said, sounding more pissed off than scared. Gabriel looked up, trying to see how far away the soldiers were. So far they hadn’t moved from their line. But with some of the crowd regrouping and heading back their way, that wasn’t going to last long.

“Niles?” Gabriel called, trying to see over the top of the crowd. He was taller than most of the people here, and he stretched up to see if he could spot either Niles or Adalene. But with the crowd still swarming around them, it was impossible to find them.

“Fuck. We’ve lost Niles and Adalene,” he told the others, feeling a sick lurch in his gut. Antoine would kill him if anything happened to Niles, and Adalene, for all her bravado, was woefully unprepared for a stampede. “All we can do is hope they make it to the hotel and meet up there. But for right now, we need to-”

A booming explosion shook the street, the sound rolling over them like thunder.

“Fuck! Move!” Gabriel yelled, grabbing Connor and Lucas by the collar and dragging them down the street. If some idiot had started lobbing explosives, God only knew what would happen next. People had started smashing shop windows and smoke began billowing out of one of the holes. He heard the terrified whinny of a horse, then another explosion behind them, followed by more gunfire.

“This way, move,” he barked, ducking down a side street. A few brave shopkeepers were attempting to defend their shops, armed with metal pipes and wooden planks. One man lay dying in the street, a knife sticking out of his gut.

A volley of gunfire sounded from their left, loud enough to make Gabriel’s head ring. He swore again, slamming Connor up against a wall and then dragging Lucas in to try and shelter him. Half the crowd were fleeing in terror, while the other half were inciting more violence. As he watched, a group of three omegas took on two soldiers. One of the soldiers jammed the barrel of his gun into an omega’s face, breaking his nose and knocking him out. The other soldier used his bayonet to stab one of the omegas in the eye. He dropped like a stone, right there on the street.

Don’t panic, don’t panic, Gabriel chanted to himself.Keep your head, or you’ll all end up in an early grave.

“This way,” he ordered, dashing across the street and down a narrow alley, Connor and Lucas close behind. They wove their way along the alley, past firmly closed doors and steaming piles of rubbish. From the windows above them, a lady screamed abuse at the crowd. Gabriel steered them left, then right, heading away from the centre of the city. But the crowd had spread out all through the streets and alleys now, and the soldiers were in hot pursuit.

They turned a corner and found a soldier being beaten to death by a mob of five omegas. Gabriel felt a stab of sympathy for the man. In a slightly different world, that could have been him, ordered to maintain control of the city, regardless of his personal beliefs on the matter, and murdered for trying to do his job. But as guilty as he might feel later, Gabriel forced himself to ignore the soldier, to dismiss any possibility of trying to help him. He was here to protect Connor and Lucas – and, God willing, Niles and Adalene, if they managed to find them again. They moved on, taking a right to avoid the angry mob, and then darting out onto a wider street where there were fewer people.

“Hold it right there,” a voice barked at them, and Gabriel froze. He recognised the tone, if not the voice, and he’d have bet a year’s pay that the man threatening them was a soldier. He turned slowly, holding his hands out wide – partially to appease the soldier and partially to be ready to fight back if the man did anything stupid. The soldier was indeed holding a gun, though it was pointed more at the ground than at Gabriel at the moment.

But as he got a look at the man’s face, Gabriel’s heart skipped a beat. “Lieutenant Garnier,” he said, not quite able to believe it.

Garnier did a double take. “Sergent Calvet? What on earth are you doing here?” Gabriel couldn’t quite tell if it was admiration or disbelief in his voice. He and Garnier had got along well enough during Gabriel’s service, sharing a dissatisfaction with a number of the army’s decisions, but even so, Gabriel wouldn’t have gone so far as to say they werefriends. Garnier glanced at Connor, and Gabriel swiftly stepped sideways, inserting his body between the two men.

“I’m righting some of the wrongs about the way omegas have been treated during the war,” Gabriel said, in answer to Garnier’s question. “Fighting the English was a bloody business, but a necessary one. Shooting the people who helped us win is beyond low.”