Chapter 494 Chapter 494
Instead of getting in her face, he went over to the man watching them with great interest, like they were here for his entertainment. “Get up.” His good mood was plummeting more with each second. He flipped the blanket off him and grabbed him under his arm to help him up. Even with the little movement he’d made since being bound, his wrists were a bloody mess. Shit. He was going to have to look like a soft heart in front of her, but if he didn’t bind the wrists and then put the wire over it, the bad guy was going to slowly bleed out before he made it back to the Alliance holding area. The man struggled to get up without moving his wrists and slicing deeper into his arms. “In the outside pocket of my bag is a med kit, grab it.”
She gave him a look that clearly said, why the hell would I do that?
“If we don’t bind his wrists, he’s going to bleed out before he’s picked up.”
She gave the man a ‘how dare you’ look, then turned and went to his bag. With jerky movements, she got the kit out for him. Standing beside the tent, she chucked it at him with great accuracy, it hit him in the chest. He caught it and then looked at her.
“I’m going for a run, the burning on my legs has stopped, but I don’t want permanent marks on them to remind me of this adventure.”
Tripp looked at her legs like he could see them through the denim. Was her mood like this because of that? Instead of taking a chance of saying anything else that might piss her off further, he nodded and then turned the guy toward the tent. “Did you destroy that collar they had on you?” He glanced to see her stomp over toward the tree and start kicking in the snow to find it. When she did, she picked it up and hucked it at him much like one would throw a knife. “Enjoy your run.” He said with a very big fake smile. Neither he nor the prisoner moved as she grabbed her backpack and walked out of sight.
He picked up the collar and looked at him, “maybe a run will improve her mood,” he shrugged, “or she’ll come back and maul us both.”
“Taking an alpha female wasn’t my idea.”
He paused and looked at him, that was the first sound he’d heard from him. “Pretty sure your friends,” he jerked his head toward the bodies, “regret their choices too right now.” He put the collar on his neck and then twisted it, so the buckle wasn’t near the front. They’d brought a big dog collar with them. Tripp didn’t care who or what, no one deserved to be shackled by the neck, not even dogs. He glowered at his wrist again. He needed to fix them up before his temper got the best of him. He motioned to the tent. “I’ll get the wire off and stop the red trail you’re leaving.” They’d had her chained up like a pet. His cat wasn’t happy with that any more than he was.
He checked in the direction she’d gone at least ten times while he did that. His cat was just as distracted by the ornery female and that was bad news, both needed to focus on what they were supposed to be doing. He scowled as he wrapped the second wrist. What was that again? Find Alpha’s daughter, check. Subdue bad guys, check. He smirked, okay one survivor so far, but close enough. Get intel, call in backup or clean up. Tripp glanced in her direction again, backup was a possibility, and it wasn’t going to be for the reason it usually was.
When the man grunted, he realized he’d put it a little too tight. An apology almost came out of his mouth. What the hell was wrong with him? Normally, he was hyper-focused on what he was doing. His cat was all over the place, which happened, but usually, he would ignore it and carry on. Maybe a short rest would be a good thing, he couldn’t remember when he’d slept last. That had to be it, he was tired. Even an energetic, crazy asshole needed downtime occasionally.
Pulling the wire out of his pocket, he wrapped his wrists and then stepped back and motioned to the tent. “I’m leaving the flap open, so you don’t hatch any stupid ideas.” He watched as the big guy lowered himself down to sit. Glancing at the wet sleeping bag, he went over and picked it up, then tossed it into the corner of the tent. Hopefully, the big guy had enough body heat to stay warm.
Moving away from the tent, Tripp pulled his phone out and checked for a signal, he knew wasn’t going to be there. He’d been so worried about her doing something stupid while he was gone, he didn’t go far enough down to get a signal and send an update. Even if they were in the mix of shit getting Konner’s clan folk out, Kenzo would still have the message waiting for him when they were done. He needed her to get back to where she belonged, so he could focus.
Pushing the wet hair back from his face, he studied the fire. With the snowfall increasing, it wasn’t exactly a roaring fire now. The coals hissed as snow fell on them. Dropping his hands, he went over and grabbed a few more branches and dry-ish foliage to toss in. With the amount gathered, the big guy must have been up here for at least a day to get all of this set up. He glanced to see him looking out the open flap, then again what else was he supposed to do? “What was your job in all of this?” He motioned around them, “find the locations and set things up?” He cocked his head to the side and studied him, he’d seen some action for sure, “are you the real brains behind this or the backup muscle?” He held the man’s look; he was definitely thinking about answering him.
“He’s butthurt the Alliance didn’t welcome him with open arms.”
Tripp spun around to see Miss-bad-timing coming out of the trees, nowhere in the direction she’d gone in. How long had she been there? He probably wouldn’t talk now. Recovering, he turned back to him, “Is that right?” He clenched his jaw for a moment, he understood all about being rejected. Keeping his eyes on the man, he couldn’t look at her right this second, the emotions were a little too close, and he might end up telling her that her own father had no problems turning others away.
“Snow’s coming down heavier in the direction we need to go.” She said and went over to put her bag in the tent.
The gasoline smell was less, but still there. Until he could get her somewhere to bathe, it wasn’t going to leave. “I’m hoping it lightens up closer to daylight,” he glanced up at the sky, “so the team can get in here.”
Amari turned and grinned at him, “they’ll come in choppers for this location.” She zipped up his jacket. “I’ve seen them drop from the sky before and twenty minutes later, they’re lifting shit up to them and gone.” She turned and looked at him, “one of us should head down and let our team leaders know what’s going on.”
Tripp kicked the end of the branch into the fire and put his hands on his hips. “We both need to grab some rest before we go running anywhere.” He motioned around them, “wildlife is sparse in weather like this, so hunting is going to be hard, and I didn’t bring a lot of rations with me because I was en route somewhere else when I got the call and had no time to stop and shop.”
The hard look left her face so briefly, he thought he may have only imagined it. “You made good time getting here.” She nodded her head twice, “thanks for that.”
Tripp was shocked but kept his mouth clamped shut. Maybe the run had helped her disposition a bit, or she was exhausted. He motioned to the tent, “why don’t you try to catch a nap.”
She studied the man watching them from inside the other tent, “Yeah, two hours. No more.”
Tripp had just been about to say a two-hour rest for each of them would refresh them. “Then I’ll grab a couple and we can head out after that.”
Amari looked him up and down for a long awkward moment and then turned and went into the tent without another word. Tripp stood motionless until she zipped the tent, then looked at the man and raised one eyebrow as if to convey how intense she was. “You should get some rest too; you have a long wait ahead of you.” Turning back to the fire, he leaned down and wiped the snow off the log he’d been sitting on earlier. It was going to be a good two-hour hike down to find a signal, then the team would have to get here.
Rubbing his jaw, he decided he’d have to do a little hunting before they left so he could fill up the man’s gut before they set out, big guys like that probably burned through the calories like wildfire. Tripp was used to be around large, bulked-up men—most of the teams were filled with them. He wasn’t exactly scrawny, but he kept his muscles toned without adding fifty extra pounds to his body. On two or four legs, he could outpace most others without needing to take a break. With the weather on this mountain, he was glad for it. He looked at the tent she’d gone in, it would probably be a slower trip down than he’d like with her trailing behind him.