by Paige Tyler
One of the two remaining hybrids charged her, but his friend slowed long enough for her to get the first one, then shift over to pop the one who was having doubts. Knowing there were only a few rounds left in the magazine, she dropped it and put in a fresh one as she scanned the camp for more hybrids. Thankfully, there weren’t any.
Kendra chambered a round, then spun to point the rifle at Marcus. Maybe she could get a clean shot at the big hybrid and put a quick end to this.
But that hope died quickly. Declan and Marcus were going at each other like a couple of deranged werebeasts, twisting and turning across the ground one moment, clawing and pounding at one another the next. She was too terrified of hitting Declan to even try and take a shot.
She’d seen a lot of shifters—and a lot of hybrids, too—fight, but none of them could match the pure, unbridled rage and violence of what she was seeing now. Declan and Marcus pounded and clawed at each other like something out of a prehistoric movie, growling and roaring at each other so loud the entire jungle had to hear them. She cringed as ribbons of blood hit the ground. Even if Declan lived through the fight, she wasn’t sure he’d survive all the punishment he was taking.
Her heart squeezed in her chest. But there was nothing she could do, except wait and pray she’d get a chance to take a shot.
Kendra was just lifting the weapon to her cheek again when she heard the sounds of fighting on the far side of the camp. That had to be Tate, Brent, and Gavin. Who else would be willing to fight with a whole camp full of hybrids?
She opened her mouth to tell Declan that help was on the way, but he and Marcus smashed right through the side of a building. Crap.
Kendra looked over her shoulder again, wishing someone would come running around one of the buildings right that second. But they didn’t. She was the only help Declan was going to get. She tightened her grip on her weapon and headed for the building and the fight inside.
Kendra got there just in time to see Marcus grab a huge computer monitor and smash it against Declan’s shoulder. Declan barely noticed it. He simply lunged forward and raked his long claws across the hybrid’s chest. Marcus ignored the pain the same way Declan had and brought his fist down on Declan’s shoulder. It was hard to be sure over the growling, but Kendra swore she heard something break.
How long could a shifter, even one as strong as Declan, keep fighting at such a savage pace before he slipped up and let a fatal strike slip through? Kendra didn’t know, and she didn’t want to find out.
She darted behind a heavy desk and got her weapon into position. The time was coming when she was going to have to make a decision. She could keep praying that Declan would be able to end the fight without her getting involved, or take a shot she was uncertain she could make.
Chapter 14
Angelo jumped over a dead hybrid to get to Ivy, intent on making good on his promise to Landon about protecting her, and found Tanner, who was still in the grips of his own hybrid rage, stepping in front of Ivy just as three hybrids advanced on her. Angelo dropped to one knee, raised his M4 to his shoulder, and started taking slow, careful shots at the snarling monsters.
“What the hell are you two doing?” Ivy demanded, squeezing off a three-round burst over Angelo’s head. “Get out of my way!”
“Fall back to the wall!” Angelo yelled over his shoulder. “Tanner and I will give you time to get to safety.”
Ivy kept shooting over his head. “You stupid ass. Landon told you to do this, didn’t he?”
“He never said a word,” Angelo shouted. “Now hurry up and go. Carter’s injured, and Butler and Derek need your help getting him out of here. They didn’t sign up for this.”
Angelo glanced over his shoulder, prepared to argue some more, but Ivy was already running across the rocky ground to where Derek and Butler were trying to get Carter up on his feet. Angelo dropped his magazine to the ground, loaded his last fresh thirty-rounder, and flipped to full auto, then threw a quick glance at Tanner. He returned Angelo’s look, eyes flashing red as hell and claws flexing.
“You know, you’re not so bad.” Angelo wasn’t sure Tanner could even understand him when he was in beast mode like this, but he grinned at the man anyway as he added, “For a Ranger.”
Angelo made his ammo last as long as he could. When the bolt of his M4 locked back on an empty magazine, he dropped the weapon and pulled out his knife, then jumped to his feet. But before he could get in a jab, gunfire erupted from somewhere to his right. Tanner growled and crouched, clearly intending to launch himself at the hybrids.
Shit. What the hell was he doing?
Angelo sheathed his knife and jumped on Tanner’s back, trying to keep him out of the line of fire, but all it did was freak out the ex-Ranger. Angelo ducked as Tanner reached back and tried to take off his face with those daggers that passed for claws. He’d be damned if he’d let go, though. More copper-jacketed rounds were coming their way. Landon’s slow-ass help had finally gotten there. No way was he going to let Tanner die now.
More bullets zipped over their heads, taking out most of the remaining hybrids. The few who hadn’t gone down ran for cover in the jungle.
Beneath Angelo, Tanner roared. One second the ex-Ranger was wiggling under Angelo’s grip, the next he was tossing Angelo over his shoulder. Angelo hit the ground hard, pain shooting up his back and lancing through his skull. He opened his eyes just in time to see Tanner jump over him and tear off into the jungle in hot pursuit of the hybrids who’d escaped.
Double shit.
“Tanner, no!” Ivy shouted.
But it was no good. Tanner was way too far gone to come back.
Angelo closed his eyes and didn’t open them again until he heard boots thumping in his direction. He blinked. Landon and Ivy were standing above him, concern on their faces. Angelo pushed himself up into a sitting position with a groan.
“About frigging time you showed up,” he said. “I thought maybe you stopped for breakfast or something.”
Landon reached down and helped him up. “Sorry about that. It took a lot longer to get here than I thought. You okay?”
“Yeah,” Angelo said.
Well, except for the concussion. His head was still spinning.
Ivy punched Angelo in the shoulder—hard. The thump made him stagger back a step, which was a good thing, since she probably would have poked out his eye with the finger she was pointing at him.
“Don’t you ever do anything that stupid again,” she said. “No matter what Landon tells you, or doesn’t tell you, to do! You could have gotten yourself killed.”
Ivy gave Landon a hard look, then touched the rings on the necklace she wore hidden under her shirt before turning and running back to where everyone else was clustered around Carter over by the rock wall.
“What the hell was that about?” Landon asked.
Angelo opened his mouth to tell Landon that Ivy obviously didn’t appreciate his chivalrous attempt to sacrifice himself for her, or the fact that Landon had put him up to it, but a roar from one of the buildings reminded him that their work wasn’t done.
“You didn’t find Declan?” he asked, picking up his M4 and falling into step beside Landon.
Landon flipped him a magazine, which he caught and smoothly loaded on the run. “Never got a chance. Had to come save your ass, remember?”
“Well, let’s hope you didn’t lose one friend trying to save another,” Angelo said.
It wasn’t hard to figure out where Declan was. If the growling and snarls didn’t give it away, the big-ass hole in the side of the building did.
Angelo swore. What the hell kind of fight had the bear shifter gotten himself into?
***
Kendra darted across the room to see if she could get a shot lined up at Marcus and almost got crushed between him and Declan and the wall. She stifled a scream and quickly darted behind a filing cabinet. Throwing the barrel of her rifle on top of it, she sighted in on Marcus and started to squeeze the trigger. But al
most as if he somehow sensed what she was doing, the big hybrid suddenly twisted Declan around so that he was the one in her sights instead.
Kendra clenched her jaw and aimed at the hybrid, but he moved out of her sight again.
Dammit!
She wasn’t going to be able to wait for a perfect shot. But the way Marcus seemed to know what she was doing made it even more likely than ever that she’d end up hitting Declan if she did shoot. As if proving her right, Marcus jerked aside the next time she started putting pressure on the trigger.
What the hell was giving her away? Could he hear her squeeze the trigger?
Shifting the weapon, she took aim again, but this time she didn’t sight in on Marcus, she aimed at Declan. It was dangerous to shoot anywhere in his direction, but she didn’t have time to think about it. They were moving too quickly.
Kendra said a quick prayer, then squeezed the trigger. As she hoped, Marcus jerked Declan around…and put himself right in the path of her bullet.
She only grazed his leg, but the fact that she hit Marcus at all surprised the big hybrid so much that he twisted around with a glare. Lip curling into a snarl, he advanced on her.
Declan moved faster than she’d ever seen him move. He jerked Marcus around with one hand at the same time he slashed the hybrid’s throat with the claws of the other. The hybrid went down but regained his feet just as quickly and came at her again.
Kendra stumbled back, falling over her own feet. She landed hard on her butt, her rifle sliding across the floor out of reach.
Marcus reached out and got a crushing grip on her boot, dragging her toward him. Kendra screamed and tried to kick him with her other foot, but she couldn’t reach him. Marcus growled and yanked even harder.
A deafening roar echoed in the confines of the small room, and she covered her ears afraid they might actually burst. Eyes wide, she watched as Declan reached out and wrapped a hand around one of the creature’s big fangs, then twisted his head all the way around backward. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch.
And then there was silence.
Kendra opened her eyes to find Declan gazing down at her. His face was covered in so many scrapes and cuts that she could barely recognize him. But it was him. It was her bear shifter.
And his face wasn’t the only part that was slashed up. There were similar cuts and gashes all over his arms, chest, and legs. There didn’t seem to be an inch of him that wasn’t injured. After seeing the way he’d survived the horrible gashes to his chest not so long ago, Kendra knew in her heart that he would heal from these wounds as well. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to be there to wipe away the blood and pain anyway. The need to just put her hands on him and convince herself that he was okay was overwhelming.
She didn’t wait for him to help her up, but instead of welcoming her with open arms, Declan took a step back. Then another. Kendra stopped, too. Fear flashed in his eyes and was quickly replaced by regret, and then sadness.
“Declan, what’s—?” she began, but the words ended on a gasp as Ivy, Landon, and Angelo came charging through the hole in the side of the building.
There was silence as they all stared at her and Declan, then Ivy hugged her and mumbled something over and over that sounded like, “Thank God,” but Kendra couldn’t be sure. Her ears were still ringing a little from Declan’s roar. She wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her back just as fiercely.
Someone patted her back, and Kendra pulled away from Ivy to see Landon grinning down at her. Behind him, Angelo was smiling, too. She stared in amazement as Clayne climbed through the opening in the wall. He was followed by Tate, Brent, and Gavin. Where the heck had they all come from?
Ivy pulled her in for another hug. “God, I’m so happy to see you.”
“I’m happy to see you, too,” Kendra said. “All of you.”
She turned to see where Declan was, figuring that Tate, Gavin, and Brent would probably be hovering around him, but someone else put their arms around her, pulling her in for a hug and blocking her view. She hugged the person even though she didn’t know who it was—he had risked his life to rescue her and Declan, after all. But when she stepped back, whoever it was cupped her cheek and kissed her hard on the lips. And it wasn’t Declan. She jerked away.
What the hell?
Derek was smiling at her and saying something about being so happy that she was safe. She didn’t quite hear exactly what he said, because she was busy trying to figure out why he’d just kissed her. Sure, they’d danced a few times at Ivy and Landon’s wedding, but then again, she’d danced with a lot of people that night, including Angelo, and he hadn’t kissed her.
Derek must have picked up on her vibe, because he quickly dropped his arms from around her and stepped back, running his hand through his hair. “Sorry about that. I, um, I’m just happy to see you safe.”
She didn’t know which of them felt more awkward. “No problem. Thanks. For coming to the rescue, I mean.”
He nodded and probably would have said more, but Tate, Brent, and Gavin showed up to save both of them from further embarrassment.
“Good to see you in one piece,” he said.
Her lips curved. “Thanks to Declan.”
Kendra scanned the room, looking for him. But her big bear shifter was nowhere to be seen. Her stomach clenched. Maybe his wounds were worse than she’d feared.
“Where’s Declan?” she asked.
“He’s out with Clayne, tracking down the hybrids who got away,” Tate answered.
She understood that. Nobody liked the idea of a couple hybrids roaming around loose in the jungle. While chasing down rogue shifters—or hybrids—was technically part of Declan’s job description, it still hurt that he’d left without talking to her first.
“Oh,” she said.
Landon called out to Ivy from across the room. “Hey, Ivy! Angelo and I are going to check out the rest of the camp.”
Kendra jerked her head up. Crap. Harry and the other doctors. She almost forgot. “Landon,” she called. “The hybrids were keeping some doctors locked up in one of the small buildings on the other side of the camp. They were pretty beat up.”
“We’re on it,” he said.
Ivy frowned at her. “You okay?”
Kendra gave herself a shake. “What? Yeah.”
Her friend didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? Maybe Derek should take a look at you.”
Kendra cringed. She’d rather not. “I’m fine, really. It’s just…”
“Just what?” Ivy prompted.
Kendra didn’t answer. She’d always confided in Ivy about everything. So why was she having such a hard time now? “Declan and I…well, we got really close out here. He got pretty beat up in the fight with the hybrid running the place and…”
“And you’re worried about him,” Ivy finished.
Kendra nodded.
“He’s a shifter, remember?” Ivy smiled. “That means he heals fast.”
Ivy was right. And if that’s all it was, she’d probably only be half as worried as she was. But it was more than that. The fearful way Declan had looked at her right before Ivy and the guys had shown up, well, it had freaked her out. But how could she explain that to her friend when she couldn’t make sense of it herself?
“Even so, I’ll breathe easier when he gets back,” was all she said.
To keep from going crazy until he did, Kendra tagged along with Ivy, Landon, and Tate to search the lab. Landon figured they only had a day or so before the Costa Rican government finally got bold enough to come see what all the shooting had been about. He wanted them to be long gone before that happened.
As she skimmed the files on one of the computers, Kendra filled Ivy, Landon, and Tate in on everything she’d learned from Harry and the other two doctors. She’d hoped the men would be able to tell the story themselves, but when Landon and Angelo found them, the doctors were already dead. All three of them had been shot in the head.
“You do
n’t seem surprised that the doctors who were working for Stutmeir aren’t the ones who made these hybrids,” Kendra said, glancing at Ivy and Landon.
“We’ve searched enough of their labs to know that this place doesn’t look anything like those,” Landon said.
“Which is too bad.” Ivy tossed a folder down on the desk she was searching. “I was hoping to find Klaus and Renard when we kicked in the door—preferably dead.”
Kendra silently agreed. Ivy would sleep a lot better knowing the two doctors who had tortured her were no longer a threat.
Tate looked up from the notebook he was reading. “So if Klaus and Renard didn’t make these hybrids, who did?”
Kendra explained about the research files that Harry and the other doctors had been given. “The way Harry described those documents makes me think they came from the DCO.”
Tate’s eyes widened. “The DCO? Seriously?”
Kendra nodded.
He dropped the notebook on the table with a curse. “First, someone in the DCO purposely put my team in the middle of a hybrid ambush, for reasons we haven’t figured out yet. Now, you’re telling me it’s possible that this same someone in the DCO set a group of doctors up here and gave them the research necessary to create the hybrids? Someone like John?”
Kendra didn’t answer. Even after everything that had happened, she flat-out refused to believe John was involved. Ivy, Landon, and the others hadn’t known John as long as she had. They hadn’t seen how hard he worked to keep the Committee and people like Dick from turning the organization into something that would be capable of doing exactly what it seemed to be doing now. But how was she going to convince them of that?
“Maybe,” Landon said, answering Tate’s question.
Tate’s face fell as Landon filled him in on what had been happening on the hybrid front, specifically their fear that Dick and others within the DCO were trying to replace shifters with hybrids, as well as what Landon had found while searching the DCO’s classified records repository a few months ago.