won't be over until John is certain we're dead."
A growl rose up in Aric's throat. When those bastards came for him, he would damn sure be ready to tear them in half. He had no illusions of winning a fight against that kind of firepower, but he'd die fighting—after he made sure that Jo escaped. With any luck, he'd give them something to remember him by.
Aric was about to shake off Jo's hand when he was stilled by the look in her eyes. He'd seen her terrified before. Had smelled her fear and sensed her anxiety's ebb and flow.
But this time, all these emotions centered on him.
The realization hit Aric hard enough to stop him in his tracks. Jo had forgotten her fears for her own life. In this moment, all she was thinking about was the threat of losing him.
Which meant Jo…cared about him. It wasn't exactly a declaration of undying love, but it was a far cry from her screaming I hate you just days ago.
"Please, Aric, trust me just this one time," she implored him.
A deep grumble rattled in his throat, but Aric sank back down to the floor, unable to refuse her. He had only a moment to second-guess his decision when the shooting started again, more deafening than ever.
Jo had been right. John was nowhere near done—he and his men had paused only long enough to reload. If his omega hadn't stopped him, Aric would have gotten them both killed.
But before he could process that, he detected a new sound underneath the thundering storm of bullets. Racing up his dirt drive was the roar of truck engines. As loud as the old clunkers sounded, Aric knew they had to be owned by his alpha brothers.
Thank God.
They'd just been given their first advantage in this damn fight. The shooters outgunned and outnumbered him—but they were still betas. Without their weapons, they posed as much threat as a swarm of mosquitoes. And with their dull beta senses, there was no way in hell the bastards could hear the approaching trucks. They wouldn't know they had company until it was too late.
A satisfied smile spread across Aric's face when that moment finally came. The gunfire paused just long enough for screams of alarm to echo through the trees. A short burst of bullets flew again—this time in the other direction. Then the shouts turned to wails.
One was silenced with the sound of shattering bones and torn flesh. The other escalated into an otherworldly howl before something slammed against the house with the force of a speeding bus, spraying jets of red onto the deck.
Then it was silent.
Underneath him, Aric could feel Jo holding her breath, her body tense.
"It's all right," he told her, easing off her so he could take her in his arms.
Jo's eyes were wide and uncomprehending. "What's happening?"
"It's going to be all right," he repeated. "That's the sound of the cavalry. The good guys."
He sat up and leaned his back against what was left of the wall, holding her close, fighting his own frustration that he hadn't been the one to take the bastards down.
Seconds later, the splintered remains of his front door swung open, and two of Aric's alpha brothers stood silhouetted in the doorway.
Samson spotted Aric first and whistled at the sight of him on the floor with an omega in his arms. "What the fuck kind of parties have you started throwing around here, brother?"
At the sight of the two huge alphas at the door, Jocelyn twisted out of Aric's arms and crawled behind the kitchen island, peeking out around the corner. Despite Aric's repeated assurances that the alphas were friendly and she had nothing to fear, she told him she'd come out when she was ready. After what they'd just been through, she needed a few moments to collect herself.
Aric, on the other hand, had no such reservations. After satisfying himself that she was unhurt, he went to greet the alphas, embracing them in turn.
"Samson—Zeke—holy shit, am I glad to see you two."
"I don't doubt it," the dark, brooding one named Zeke said. "What the hell is going on here? Who were those guys?"
"Trouble," Aric muttered grimly.
The first alpha, a giant with light coloring and an easy grin, shook his head. "No way. 'Trouble' is the little shit truck driver who thought he could skim off the supply shipments without Ty noticing. Those betas with fucking assault rifles whose skulls we just crushed?—those guys were something else."
"Yeah—omega-level trouble," the dark one