“This isn’t over yet. I suggest you do as I say!” she snarled. Her patience was wearing thin. “It’s double the cash or nothing. You decide.”
“Don’t listen to her,” the shifter growled through clenched teeth.
“Please,” the pregnant woman pleaded.
Alex needed this to move along. “Shut up.” Time was running out. There would be more of them around. They always stayed in groups. Also, there was a risk of someone spotting them. “Do it!” she urged Janet.
“You’ll give me double?” Janet suddenly sounded animated. Any hint of nerves and apprehension was gone. Everybody had their price and it looked like Janet was cheap. Alex felt both relief and disappointment.
“Leave my mate,” the still bleeding shifter snarled. “I’ll pay you anything.”
This wasn’t about money. It never had been. Alex circumvented the male, making for the woman in question. She kept the gun trained on the dragon. The woman’s lip quivered. She was using both hands to shield her belly. “No,” she mumbled.
Alex gripped the woman by the hair and pushed the gun against her temple. “Enough bullshit!”
“Stop!” the shifter yelled.
The woman whimpered even though she had barely pulled her hair. Even though she wasn’t actually going to damn well shoot. The woman was pregnant, for goodness sake. Alex wasn’t a monster.
“Please,” the shifter begged. His voice filled with emotion. His eyes filled with fear. That, and anger. Burning anger.
“Cuff him and then her. Put up any resistance and she’s dead.” Alex tightened her grasp on the woman’s hair. The woman whimpered again. She needed to keep the dragon in line. There couldn’t be any mistakes.
Her heart beat faster. A dragon shifter and his mate. Here. Now. This was really happening, and Alex could hardly believe it. She wanted to pinch herself.
Excitement rushed through her. Finally! She forced herself to take a deep breath. To calm down. She didn’t have them yet. This was a big break. It was huge. She couldn’t wait to see her daddy’s face. The shock. Couldn’t wait to prove him wrong. All of their goals would finally come to fruition. A lifetime of training and work would have not been in vain.
Also, her father wouldn’t be able to ignore her. Treat her as if she were worthless. He would finally look her in the eyes and accept her. She would finally be worthy of being a Bell. Of being the daughter of the leader of all the houses. That was something of great importance to daddy. She’d finally be seen as a slayer. She’d never liked the term.
Janet unzipped the purse hanging off of Alex’s shoulder and removed the cuffs. She kneeled next to the shifter who held his arms up, accepting the cuffs easily.
“Make sure they’re on tight,” Alex insisted.
The male grimaced as Janet did as Alex asked.
“One more thing, open his shirt. I want to see.”
Janet knew what she was talking about. Her informant ripped open the first two or three buttons of the shifter’s shirt, exposing a tattoo. A golden tattoo.
Alex’s heart raced. The shifter growled low, his lip curling from teeth that looked too sharp to be human.
“Now her,” Alex instructed. The female shook as her hands were cuffed, nice and snug.
“Up,” Alex said, her eyes on the shifter.
“You put a bullet in my leg. I can’t…”
“If you want her to survive this, you will walk. We don’t have far to go.” She glanced at her watch. “We’re also almost out of time. Move now!”
The shifter groaned as he pulled himself onto his feet. His legs were shaky. He used the wall for support. A sheen of sweat collected on his forehead.
“Janet, I want you to go up front and check if all is clear.”
“Me?” Her employee’s eyes widened. “Why me?”
“Just do it.”
“I didn’t sign up for this,” Janet muttered as she took a step forward. Just then, one of the suite doors opened and the cleaner reappeared. She yelped as she saw what was happening in the hallway.
“Go back into the room and stay there.” Alex narrowed her eyes on the housekeeper, who didn’t need to be told twice. The terrified woman slammed the door. She would be on the line with reception within the next minute. It wouldn’t be long and the place would be swarming with security. The police would be there soon too. Good thing they’d be long gone.
“Move!” she yelled at Janet, who rushed ahead.
“Through there.” She pointed at the door that led to the stairwell. Alex had studied a blueprint of the hotel on her way there. Particularly for this floor. She had detailed three escape routes. Nothing could go wrong.
Janet gasped, reappearing almost immediately. A big, burly male held her by the throat. “Put the gun down or she dies,” the male said. Eyes cold and calculating.
“Let her go. Do it now.” Alex pushed the gun more firmly against the pregnant woman’s temple.
“Please,” the woman sobbed. “My baby,” she whimpered.
“I’ll kill her,” the unknown male rasped. Janet made a choking noise.
“Go right ahead,” Alex said, sure to keep her voice calm. “If you kill her, I will be forced to retaliate in kind.” She clenched the woman’s hair a little firmer so that she mewled.
“Stop,” the royal shifter groaned. “Let the female go. She’ll hurt Meghan.” He was panting heavily. Sweating profusely.
Confusion filled the shifters eyes. “But…”
“No buts. Let that female go.” The shifter turned his glassy eyes to Alex. “You take me. Only me! My mate stays here.”
Alex nodded once.
As soon as the shifter released Janet, Alex aimed and shot him in the stomach. The male flew backward, a groaning heap of bleeding muscle.
“What the fuck!” the royal shifter raged.
“Move or the next bullet will be in her,” Alex said.
“You won’t get away with this.” The wounded shifter moaned as they entered the stairwell. His hands were pressed tightly to his bleeding injury.
Janet began to descend.
“No.” Alex shook her head. “We’re going up.”
“Up?” Janet frowned.
Alex nodded. “To the roof.”
Chapter 4
Beck willed his arm to move. His whole body burned. He could quite literally feel the silver running through his veins, singeing all it came into contact with.
He should be dead.
He should be finished.
Dust.
At least, according to the crazy, fucked up female that was. Only, he wasn’t! Thank fuck for the resistance therapy he had endured. Months and months of it. All the pain. The blood, sweat and the tears hadn’t been for nothing. He was still breathing. Not only that, despite the searing pain, he could feel his body slowly coming back to him.
Too slowly.
“Cuff him…Put up any resistance and…dead.” Beck caught words here and there. “Make sure…tight…open his shirt…see.” Enough to know what was happening. Enough to know that the crazy bitch planned on taking Meghan and Tide with her. Fuck, he’d been wrong to underestimate the female. So wrong!
The silver.
This had all been planned out. Whoever she was, she knew what she was doing. Even worse, she knew who they were. What they were. This was all his fault. He’d been complacent. Let his guard down. Hell, his guard had barely been up to begin with.
Beck worked harder at breaking the effects of the silver. He managed to move his pinky finger. His pinky fucking finger.
Well, all right then. He would save them in no time. He had the use of one god-damned finger. Fuuuuck!!
“Up!” the bitch shouted.
“…bullet in my leg. I can’t…” Tide sounded like he was in a world of pain.
Beck could relate. He felt sweat drip down his brow. He was face down on the carpet, which tickled his nose. He figured it was a good thing that he could feel his face. That too was something.
“…out of time. Move now!” he heard her shout. If the crazy female left with Tide and his mate, it would be the last they would ever see of them. Beck knew this with a certainty that chilled him to his core.
The next few moments saw the female shouting instructions and all of them leaving.
Fucking leaving!
He had to do something. Had to stop them. So far, he had regained the use of two fingers on one hand and one on the other. He managed to grit his teeth as well. The pain was almost unbearable, but he shoved thoughts of that aside. This was no time to wallow in self-pity. He would never forgive himself if something happened to Meghan and Tide. To the baby. What the fuck had he been thinking? Oh yeah, he hadn’t been thinking. At least not with the head on his shoulders. The time for dicking around was over. Over for good. He vowed it to himself.
Then he heard a voice that was music to his ears. “Put the gun down or she dies.” It was Reef. The cavalry had arrived. Reef had the other female and was using her against the bitch.
Beck huffed out a breath. Still working hard at getting his body back. His arm twitched, followed by his opposite thigh muscle. It was taking too damned long.
“Let her go. Do it now.” The bitch said, sounding in complete control.
“Please,” Meghan sobbed. “My baby,” she begged. Oh, fuck! Beck fought against the silver. He made the softest moaning noise, which was muffled by the carpet. His muscles shook. His right hand clenched into a fist. Sweat dripped from his face. He needed to help Reef. Needed to…his muscles spasmed some more. Most of them useless.
“I’ll kill her,” Reef growled. Beck heard a choking noise, which told him that he had the female, Janet, by the neck.
Good!
Don’t back down! He silently projected the thought at Reef.
“Go right ahead.” The bitch’s voice was ice. It was clear she didn’t give so much as a damn for her colleague.
“Stop,” Tide groaned. He sounded completely out of it. “Let her go. She’ll hurt Meghan.” He was panting heavily. Beck wasn’t sure if he was putting on a show or if he really was as injured as he sounded.
“But…” Reef began.
Don’t listen to Tide! The male was thinking with his heart instead of his head. The moment Reef relinquished the female, it was over. They would have lost the slight edge they had.
Beck managed to move his arm at the elbow. Not much. It was still taking too fucking long. Shit!
“No buts. Let that female go,” Tide said, his voice so commanding even Beck wanted to obey. “You take me. Only me! My mate stays here.”
No!
Fuck!
Don’t do it, Reef!
He tried to talk but all that came out was a gurgle. Again, the rug soaked up the sound.
First, he heard a sharp intake of breath. Then he heard the telltale sound of a gun going off. Pop. Almost silent. There was a crashing noise, which would be Reef going down. The dumb fuck groaned. Thank god he was alive.
“What the fuck!” Tide snarled, like it was a big surprise.
“Move or the next bullet will be in her,” the bitch said. Beck could hear that she meant it. He also knew that Tide would do anything to keep Meghan safe. Even give his own life. Tide was second in command of all the water dragons. He was next in line to the throne should anything ever happen to Torrent. He would be extremely valuable to the right people.
“You won’t get away with this,” Reef groaned. Definitely alive. He needed to keep his mouth shut. If he kept on yapping, he’d catch another bullet.
Idiot!
By her footfalls, the other female had begun to descend the stairs.
“No,” the bitch said. “We’re going up.”
“Up?” He could hear the question in Janet’s voice.
“To the roof,” the bitch said.
The roof.
Fuck!
This was worse than he thought. Thankfully his right arm worked and his left was almost there. He could move his feet and the muscles in his thighs still twitched. He managed to turn his head to the right and to open his eyes, which he blinked a couple of times to acclimatize to the bright light.
All the while, he heard them climbing the stairs. Climbing and climbing. Slow but not nearly slow enough. They were getting away. Unacceptable. He had to do something.
Beck positioned his tongue between his teeth and bit down.
Fuck! He groaned loudly, tasting his own blood, thick and salty as it filled his mouth. He swallowed it down. The raw stinging pain gave him an instant headache, but it also caused a shot of adrenaline to course through him. He forced his limbs to move, clawing his way to his knees and then his feet. He shook all over. His muscles twitched involuntarily.
His tongue felt raw. It throbbed with every beat of his heart. His healing had slowed down due to the silver in his veins. He pushed his tongue onto the roof of his mouth, grunting as the pain flared back up.
Beck staggered forward, grabbing the door jamb. At first, Reef looked like he was sleeping, his head slumped against his chest. His eyes opened, blinking in confusion. “Beck?” then he half-smiled, but it quickly turned into a grimace. “You’re alive,” he managed.
“Yooou o-o-ka?” Beck slurred. This irritated the hell out of him. His brain was firing on all cylinders. His body was a fucking joke.
Reef nodded. He was clasping both hands to his belly, trying to staunch the flow of blood. “Fucking silver,” he rasped.
Beck managed a nod. Without wasting time or energy, he staggered to the stairs, gripping the railing. Then he began to climb.
“Kill them,” Reef urged from behind him. He heard the male grind his teeth. Clearly frustrated.
Beck kept on going. Each step tired him out more than the last. He was soaked in sweat. He could hear the sound of a chopper approaching. It was coming in fast. The movement might be tiring him out, but it also began to give him back more and more control. His muscles stopped spasming. Stopped with the erratic tics that threatened to cause him to fall over his own feet.
He could do this. He had to. There was no other option. Beck had one shot at this and one shot only. He needed to use the one advantage he had, that of surprise, because other than that, he had nothing. Absolutely nothing!
Beck only hoped he would survive. Moreover, he prayed Tide and Meghan would make it out. They had to. There was no other option! He was almost at the top of the stairs. He could scent blood, adrenaline and the stench of fear. That more than anything else fueled him. It spurred him on.
I’m coming!
Chapter 5
The rooftop was large. It was perfect for a quick getaway.
“You’ll pay me double?” Janet’s eyes were fixed on the descending chopper. She had to speak up to be heard above the noise of the rotors.
“I said I would,” Alex said. “As soon as we land at our destination, you get the money. I’ll make an immediate transfer.” She eased her hold on the woman, moving the barrel of the gun from her temple to her side. “Don’t try anything stupid.” She addressed the shifter who was looking at her like he wanted to kill her. “The last thing I want is to have to hurt her,” she bluffed. She’d sooner shoot the shifter in the other leg than hurt the human.
“That’s thirty thousand dollars…US dollars,” Janet quickly added, drawing Alex’s attention back to her. This conversation was growing tedious. She willed the helicopter to hurry up. By now, security was surely on their way. She was surprised she hadn’t heard the wail of a siren yet.
“Yes, you’ll get your 30K.” Alex’s heart beat faster. Just a few more minutes and she’d be home free. “You will get your money,” she repeated, seeing the uncertainty in the other woman’s eyes. “I would suggest you leave now though. The police will be here any minute. Thirty thousand won’t be worth anything from a jail cell.”
Janet’s eyes clouded with worry.
“I always pay my debts,” Alex assured her. She had to shout to be heard above the noise of the chopper, which would
touch down in mere seconds.
Janet nodded, her hair flew about her face. The female held her gaze for a few moments, blinking against the wind. Then she nodded once and left.
“Leave my female!” The shifter shouted. If Alex wasn’t reading his lips, she wouldn’t have known what he had said. “Meghan stays here.”
Leave the female. Like hell. They needed important information out of this shifter. It would be much easier to extract said info if they had something to use to get him to talk. “You promised!” he yelled when Alex didn’t respond. “We had a deal.”
Alex ignored him. As long as the gun was pointed at this woman, the shifter would do whatever she said. He didn’t need to know that the safety was on. She didn’t want to risk the unborn child. Dragons didn’t know much about human weapons. It was a mistake. Left them vulnerable. Know your enemy. Know them intimately. Up close and personal.
The chopper touched down about ten feet in front of them. She waited for the pilot to get out so that he could open the doors.
Nothing.
Alex frowned as she moved to the side of the chopper, taking the female with her. The shifter limped next to them. Staying close to his mate. Alex gestured for the pilot to get out. His eyes were wide. His mouth a thin line. The guy looked freaked out. That and very afraid. He kept his eyes resolutely ahead. Looking like he might take off at any second. Right then, she caught the sound of what sounded like a siren. Make that several sirens. Law enforcement had arrived. The pilot’s eyes darted from left to right. He looked like he was panicking.
Shit!
Alex needed to get them inside and into the air before this pathetic excuse for a man did something stupid, like take off, leaving them behind. Using her free hand, she fumbled with the door handle, trying to keep her gun fixed on the human.
That’s when the freight train hit her. She took her eyes off of Meghan for just a second as she pulled the chopper door open and boom! Alex wasn’t sure how she managed to keep her hold on the gun. One second she was standing and the next, she was flat on her back. Her shoulder took the brunt of the fall, followed a close second by her head. For a moment it felt like she might black out. Alex shook her pounding head. Her shoulder screamed with pain. She groaned. Hopefully it wasn’t broken…there was no telltale signs of nausea and that cold sensation that accompanied a break. She knew the feeling well. Maybe she would get off with bad bruising. She couldn’t move and could barely breathe.
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