A half-second later, she learned why he'd tackled her. Something whizzed over their heads. Hope felt more than heard it pass.
But she couldn't miss the loud crack of a bullet burying itself deep inside the hard wood of the cabin wall.
Oh shit.
Hope's heart pounded. Her mouth opened, but there was no breath to scream.
The narcos were back. And this time they'd managed to get close before Maddox had noticed. Close enough to take a good shot at both of them.
They wanted her dead, and they weren't going to stop until she was in the ground. Just like Dave and Sandra.
Hope knew she should have fought harder to get to a phone yesterday, to call the police and let them know what was happening.
But instead, she'd let herself get distracted by Maddox's cock. By the hypnotic feel of his touch.
And now they were both going to pay the price.
Maddox wrapped his arms around her and rolled them toward the foundation of the cabin. Once there, he pushed her underneath, into the crawlspace.
"Stay here," he commanded. "Don't run. Don't move. Don't make a single sound."
Hope was left nodding frantically as Maddox bolted to his feet and took off running. She closed her eyes the moment his boots disappeared into the shadows of the trees. She forced herself to take in slow and steady breaths.
Silent breaths.
And then she listened to the silence.
* * *
The bastards had come back. Maddox should have known they would. Betas never learned their lessons.
But how the hell had they made it so deep into his land without him noticing? How the fuck had he let them get close enough to take another shot at Hope?
Despite all the hammering, he should have heard the gunman's footsteps. And even if his incessant pounding had drowned out the sound of their approach, he still should have been able to catch his scent in the air.
But he hadn't.
Even now, he was having trouble zeroing in on anything concrete. There were a few traces of bold and reckless beta in the air, but they were patchy, constantly shifting in the wind.
Fortunately, the beta's retreat wasn't half as quiet as his advance had been. Maddox was able to make out every trampled leaf and broken branch.
He followed the trail of sound the beta left behind, his own footsteps silent and sure. Maddox was the best hunter in the Borderlands. He would not fail.
This was the last time this man would set foot on his land. The last time he would dare to come near his omega. The last time he would threaten anyone ever again.
But even as Maddox made the pledge, he knew the shooter wouldn't be the last man that would come after Hope. That had become clear.
Whatever she and her friends had stumbled on during their hike, it was no small operation. It had to be extremely well-funded with a crew large enough to keep sacrificing men to suicide missions to the Boundarylands. Whoever ran it was determined to destroy Hope before she could tell her story to the beta authorities.
Maddox pumped his legs even harder as he neared this round's sacrifice. He was closing in on the man when the roar of an engine signaled the approach of an ATV. The shooter must have come on foot, with another waiting until he heard the gunshot to come get him.
The bastards had learned they couldn't win a face-to-face battle with an alpha, so they'd brought vehicles and reinforcements. What they lacked in strength, they hoped to make up for with technology.
But it didn't matter now. Maddox had them. An ATV might be able to outrun him on flat open land, but not in the forest. Not through dense groves of towering evergreens whose contours only he knew by heart.
But even as the engines grew louder, Maddox still couldn't detect the individual scents of the betas. They had to be using blockers. Military-grade. Just as he'd heard the army had done on Ty's land all those months ago.
Maddox would hunt down every last one of them. He would make them pay.
He ran flat-out, pushing himself to his limits, and in less than a minute spotted the ATV.
The driver pushed the engine to its limit as Maddox crested the hill. The gunman on the back spotted him and lifted his rifle.
But Maddox didn't slow his stride. He knew he didn't have to.
Sure enough, one of the tires hit a deep rut, forcing the rifle barrel high in the air just as the shooter squeezed the trigger. The shot went wild, and the gunman lost his grip as he fought to stay on his seat.
Maddox seized that moment to close the distance. When he came close enough, he threw himself into the side of the vehicle.
It toppled like a toy, rolling side over side through the sea of green on the forest floor.
Maddox roared in victory as the heavy heap of metal landed on the driver, pinning his lifeless body to the ground. Then Maddox turned his attention to the shooter.
He found the beta broken and bloody beneath a toppled tree. Maddox didn't have to get any closer to know the man's legs were broken. His sputtering breath was wet, indicating that his ribs were shattered, the shards stabbing into his lungs.
If Maddox walked away now, the man would die—alone, afraid, and in terrible pain.
But it wouldn't be enough. It wouldn't be justice.
This man had to die by Maddox's own hand.
Maddox bent down on his haunches in front of the beta. The man's eyes widened with terror as Maddox clasped his hands on either side of the man's head.
But he still couldn't smell his fear, just the faint chemical signature of the powerful blocker.
Then Maddox wrenched hard, twisting the beta's head clean off.
He tossed it to the side like trash as he rose to his feet. Before it hit the ground, Maddox's thoughts were already consumed with what the hell he was going to do next.
He couldn't keep picking off these drug runners one by one. Each attempt they made was more advanced, more focused than the last. They'd almost got to Hope this time. They'd made it to the edge of his cabin.
Maddox had gotten lucky this time. The shot had missed. Hope had survived. The betas were dead.
But what about next time?
How the hell could he fight scent blockers and military-grade tech on his own?
The answer was as simple as it was maddening—he couldn't.
If he was going to protect Hope, he was going to have to ask for help.
Chapter Twelve
Hope didn't know how much longer she could take lying still on the ground. She knew why Maddox had pushed her under here. She needed to keep quiet and still to stay alive.
But he'd been gone so long.
And there had been a gunshot.
Hope couldn't stop her brain from spinning, imagining what might be happening out there. Was Maddox hit? Was he bleeding out? Were the narcos already digging his shallow grave? Were they coming back for her?
The snap of a twig near the corner of the cabin made the breath catch in Hope's throat. Her blood froze, and despite her best efforts, she couldn't keep her hands from shaking. Her splayed fingers trembled in the dry dirt in front of her face.
She wished she had a weapon—a gun, a knife, anything. Just so when they pulled her out, she had something other than quaking fists to pummel them with. Just so she could put up a fight.
Her heart hammered as heavy footsteps came closer. But the second the pair of freshly cleaned, familiar, brown leather boots came into view, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Maddox." His name spilled from her lips like a prayer, thankful and praising.
"You can come out," he said, dropping down to his knees and offering her his hand. She grabbed onto it like a lifeline, and he pulled her out from under the crawlspace. She felt herself being lifted her feet and threw her arms around him.
His body felt warm and hard as always, but also wet and sticky. Hope stepped back and looked down at the thick red splotches on her clothes, then back up at Maddox in horror.
His face, his hands, his clothes—all of them were
drenched in blood. More blood than anyone—beta or alpha—could stand to lose.
Hope felt her heart skip in fear. "Are you hurt? Were you shot? Are you—"
"I'm fine," Maddox assured her.
"But I heard a gunshot."
"He missed," Maddox said darkly. "It was the last mistake he ever made."
"So, he's…" Hope didn't know why but she couldn't bring herself to say the word. Even though the man had tried to kill her, even though he wouldn't have thought twice about spilling her blood, she still couldn't find joy in his death.
She'd seen more blood and death in the last two weeks than she could bear. There was nothing but grief in her heart over all of the carnage.
"There were two men this time," Maddox told her. "One on foot, and one with an ATV. I caught up with them about a mile into the forest."
Hope didn't need any more explanation. The fact that Maddox was alive and standing in front of her, that he was covered in another man's blood, told her everything she needed to know.
Those men had died. She and Maddox would live.
At least, for now.
Maddox must have sensed how unsteady she felt because he wrapped his arm around her waist to support as he led her away from the house…and toward the old truck at the side of the clearing.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"To Evander's."
That bar he'd talked about yesterday? Had Maddox finally come to his senses and realized that they needed to get the beta cops involved? That none of this would end until justice—real justice—was served?
"Don't you want to wash the blood off?" she asked.
Maddox shook his head. The angry energy pouring off of him was focused and intense. His mind was set. "No time."
Hope was more than a little surprised when Maddox turned the ignition, and the engine sputtered to life. The truck was old, but more than that, it was neglected. It was obvious that he didn't use it often, so he probably didn't see the point of maintaining it.
She focused her prayers on keeping the old vehicle running as he headed down the drive. It was good to have something other than death and blood to keep her mind engaged.
"How long have you had this truck?" she asked as they turned on to the Central Road.
"Twelve years." That seemed to be his go-to answer for a lot of things. "I traded an old alpha a stack of pelts for it when I first came to the Boundarylands."
A smile played at Hope's lips at his response. It just sounded so much like something Maddox would do. She had no trouble imagining the young alpha in her mind, throwing down a pile of animal skins as payment for an ancient truck.
"I take it you don't go to town often," she said.
"There is no town, only Evander's," he said. "But no, I don't socialize much."
"Don't you ever get lonely?"
To her surprise, Maddox didn't immediately deny it. Instead, his expression darkened, and he focused on the road ahead of him.
"I learned a long time ago that people are more trouble than they're worth," he finally said. "You're better off without them."
Hope bit her lip. She understood what he was saying. She'd been there too.
There had been so many times before she'd left her parents and their church behind that she'd fallen into despair, believing that the darkness of her own world meant that there couldn't possibly be light anywhere.
It wasn't until she'd walked away from her pain that she'd learned to trust others again. That she'd gained enough inner strength to risk reaching out and making connections with others. It wasn't easy, and it didn't always go well.
There were still plenty of people in the world who were only too willing to let her down. But somewhere along the way, Hope had learned that she was strong enough to weather the disappointment.
"Some of them, sure," she agreed. "But not all."
Maddox answered with a noncommittal grunt.
Hope couldn't help wondering if she was included in his more trouble than they're worth assessment.
Probably.
Even though Maddox was showing signs of letting down his guard, even warming to her, he was obviously still annoyed by their connection. He seemed especially irritated by how much work it had taken to bring her back to health. By how she'd interrupted his routine and thrown his life into chaos.
Hope hadn't meant to. She sure as hell hadn't planned any of this. But it was her doing all the same.
"I'm sorry," she said, not bothering to explain why.
Maddox must have understood, though, because he gave another grunt, tightened his grip around the steering wheel, and pushed the accelerator down to the floor.
Hope didn't know what she'd been expecting from Evander's bar, but it didn't disappoint. The long, weather-worn building was everything she'd come to expect from the Boundarylands—sturdy, rustic, and simple. There was a porch that ran around the front and sides, and the parking lot was little more than a layer of gravel packed on top of the dirt. Other than the sign that hung on rusty hinges by the side of the road, there was nothing to call attention to the place.
Hope stayed close to Maddox's side as he jumped down from the truck and started for the entrance. She grabbed his arm as he entered the bar and waited for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light.
The inside of the place was as straightforward as the outside. There were pine paneled walls, a handful of vintage beer signs, and a line old-fashioned red leather barstools.
Hope counted eight alphas in the place. Strange, seeing as it was still morning.
Then again, maybe day drinking was only frowned upon in the beta world. Maybe here in the Boundarylands, it was a regular Wednesday morning thing.
Every alpha had turned to face them by the time she and Maddox stepped inside as if they'd been waiting for them this whole time. With their heightened senses, the alphas had probably known they were coming before they'd pulled into the parking lot.
"Maddox." After a tense moment passed, the tallest alpha in the place called his name warmly. "I thought I caught signs of life on your property the other day. I'm glad to see I was right."
Really? She and Maddox were both covered in blood, and that was the conversation starter?
Maddox let out a sigh and pulled Hope toward the bar where the other alpha was standing. "Hope, this is Samson. My—" He stopped and corrected himself. "Our neighbor."
Hope blinked up at towering alpha. He was almost a foot taller than Maddox, though somehow not half as intimidating. Though his lack of reaction to the gore covering her clothes and hands was beyond her.
Maybe these alphas were all so used to violence that they didn't even blink at the evidence of it.
Apparently, that was the case because the bartender, a rugged-looking alpha with the biggest hands she'd ever seen, simply slapped a towel over his shoulder before coming over.
"Wasn't expecting to see you for a few months, Maddox," he said, sounding tense. "You drinking?"
Maddox looked at the man for a long second before finally ordering. "Two beers."
"Why hasn't anyone said anything about the blood?" Hope finally asked Maddox in a whisper.
Samson spoke first, reminding Hope that no conversation around an alpha was private. "We learned a long time ago not to ask too many questions when it comes to your alpha."
"I just figured it was from a deer," the bartender chimed in. Both of them looked slightly amused.
"It's not," Maddox said. A silence fell over the room, but he didn't say another word until the bartender finished pouring his beer and slid the mug in front of him. "It's beta blood."
"Randall said your omega had been shot, but he also said you took care of the man who did it," Samson said.
"I got one of them. The other got away when I…" Maddox took a long drink before continuing. "Anyway, he hasn't been back, but he's been sending his friends."
"Friends?" Samson echoed, the friendliness vanishing from his voice, his body tensing. "Plural?"
"Thre
e more, total," Maddox said. "These last two were dripping in scent blockers."
"Shit," the bartender cursed in a disgusted voice. The mention of scent blockers seemed especially offensive to him. "Military?"
Maddox shook his head. "Drug runners. Highly organized and well-funded." He looked down at the bar, his hands curling into fists at his side. "That's why I'm here. I need…help."
Samson and the bartender shared an astonished look. Hope had a feeling there wasn't much that could shock an alpha, but this did.
After a long second, the bartender nodded firmly. "You got it, brother," he said. "Samson, go round up whoever is available and get them here quick. We're going to need to put together a plan."
* * *
Hope went outside to the porch as the alphas strategized inside the bar. She needed a little air. A little space.
She was happy to see the Boundaryland community coming together to help Maddox, even though it was clear they were more than a little wary of him.
She understood their reaction. He was…intense, even among alphas.
But he was also hers, and the truth was that she liked him. No. Not like. With each passing moment, Hope realized that she was in danger of loving him.
Hope knew Maddox hadn't wanted to come down here to the bar to ask for help…but he had. And he'd done it for her. Just like he was building the bathroom and fighting the betas. All of it for her.
But she couldn't stop wondering if he was doing all of this because of his feelings for her—or because his natural instincts were compelling him.
"Hi." A cheery voice broke through Hope's thoughts. "We thought you might like some company."
Hope turned around to find that two women had emerged from the bar. One was a pale redhead, and the other was blonde and blue-eyed.
"I'm Cassidy," the cheery redhead said. "You met my mate Samson inside. And this is Mia."
"Yes, of course," Hope said, trying to match her bright tone. It was hard while still smeared with a dead man's blood. "I'm Hope."
Maddox (The Boundarylands Omegaverse Book 4) Page 9