by Olivia Arran
I committed the layout to memory, then shoved the phone back in my pocket.
Grace jiggled from one foot to the other beside me, her hands twitching at her sides, but she remained silent.
“Okay, I’m locked on,” Greg’s voice came back on the line, “jamming the cameras…now. Enemy are your problem. Sorry I can’t do more, if I were there…” he finished on a wistful sigh.
“Alarms?”
“Do I have to do everything for you?” he said in his most put-upon voice.
“You like looking after me. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.”
A grunt echoed in my ear, followed by a low chuckle. “It’s the only warm and fuzzy I’m getting at the moment.”
“It’s not going well with—”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Okay, then. “Alarms?”
“Done.”
“Stay on the line just in case.”
“Always, my man.”
I tapped the tiny earpiece twice, effectively putting him on mute. “Let’s go.” I set off at a jog, Grace flanking my rear. Crouching low, I leaped up the steps and threw myself against the wall.
A muffled thud and Grace was next to me.
According to the plans there was a side door just around the corner. Sliding inch by slow inch, I peered around. Four Dobermans stared back at me, their teeth bared and dripping saliva, their menacing growls breaking the silence.
“What is—?” Next thing I knew, Grace was peering around me, her face turning a deathly shade of white. “Oh, fuck…” she whispered.
Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t resist showing off a little. I stalked around the corner and right up to them. “Is this the best they can do?” I stared at the pack, willing them to submit.
The dogs cowered, their ears flicking back as they tried to make themselves as low as possible, one even going so far as to roll onto his back. Giving his stomach a quick scratch, I beckoned Grace over.
“Idiot,” she whispered, slugging me in the chest.
“I’m an alpha wolf, what did you expect?”
“And I’m a human, what did you expect?”
“Is this our first fight?”
She frowned, her brow creasing in concentration. “No. I think this is our third.”
I shook my head, trying to think. “Really? No, it can’t be. There was that time at the party, then on our first date…”
“Then at my house. I think that counts. That makes four.”
It dawned on us at the same time that we were standing in the open, next to the building we were trying to break into, having a full-blown discussion. About our relationship.
I grabbed her hand and tugged her into the shadows. Giving her a nod that I hoped she understood meant stay put, I assessed the door. It looked like stainless steel, probably solid, and it was missing something vital. A handle. A small metallic box was attached to the side, the kind that accepts a swipe card.
“Can your teammate pop it open for us?”
Dammit. I was going to have to work on my tough-guy expressions, at least with Grace. She wasn’t taking a bit of notice. I forced my jaw to relax. “No, I can handle this.” And as long as Greg hadn’t missed an alarm, nobody would hear us coming.
“How?” she hissed, which turned into an, “Oh,” when I grabbed the side of the door, wedged my fingers in and heaved. “Brute strength? How manly of you.”
I grunted, digging in with my heels. The metal was bending beneath my fingers, but the door still wasn’t budging.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t call Greg?”
I was pretty sure Greg was listening to this whole exchange and laughing his ass off right now. The door clicked and sprung open, sending me flying. I landed on my ass with a bone-jarring thud. Scratching my ear, I surreptitiously tapped my ear. “Asshole.”
“Not sorry. Couldn’t resist.”
“Still an asshole,” I muttered, jumping back to my feet.
“Is she your mate? She sounds fun. Tell her I said hi.”
I double tapped my ear, putting him back on mute, barely resisting the urge to turn him off altogether.
Then I looked around. Where the fuck was she? Heart lodged firmly in my throat, I slipped through the open door and belted down a corridor.
“Vin! I think it’s this way!”
I was going to strangle her!
I spotted her at the far end, her black outfit a stark contrast to the clinical white walls. She was peering around a corner, her ass wiggling enticingly.
Well, it wasn’t going to save her. In fact, a good spanking might be in order. Relief that she was okay crashed over me, sucking at the adrenaline that pounded through my system.
And then a man stepped out between us, his back to me as he raised his gun and took aim.
Running at the wall, I threw myself off it, twisting in mid-air, the sharp crack as the gun fired deafening in close quarters. Pain sliced through my bicep, the bullet entering and exiting without slowing. Landing on two feet, I slammed a fist into the man’s face, knocking him out cold. Then I turned to look, dread filling me at what I might see.
“Are you okay?” She slammed into me, nearly knocking me to the floor. “You’re hit! I saw it!” Her hands were all over me, searching for the wound.
“Grace, what were you thinking?” If I could have shouted, I would have. I grabbed her, heaving her close. I needed to feel her heart beating against mine, to know she was alive, that she was okay. In an instant my life had flashed before my eyes, one without her in it, and I’d known. I couldn’t live without her. Screw her being my mate—true mate, or not—I just needed her.
“I-I just wanted to find Elle.” Her voice broke on a suspicious-sounding sniffle.
“Are you crying?”
“No. ‘Course not. I thought you might be hurt.”
“I am hurt.”
“But you’ll heal?” Her hands were moving again, this time hitting the bullseye.
I winced when she nearly stuck a finger in the wound. “Easy, there. I’ll heal, but it’ll take a couple of minutes. I thought—” I couldn’t finish the sentence, the words sticking in my throat.
“It hit the wall. Must have changed direction after it hit you.”
Thank God. And no wonder it stung so bad. It had grazed bone. “Promise me you’ll stay right behind me from now on.”
This time when she nodded, I believed her. She looked shell shocked, the color only just starting to return to her cheeks. But she was still standing here, not running away screaming. “Come on tough girl, let’s go kick some ass.” I bent down next to the fallen guard and threaded a zip-tie around his wrists, looping them together. Giving it a vicious tug, I dragged him through the door Grace held open. Dumping him next to an exam bed, we exited and headed down the corridor, to where Grace had been earlier.
“I think it’s that way,” she said from behind me, and stuck her arm out, indicating left.
I mentally checked the plans. She was right.
She shrugged when I glanced at her, question in my eyes.
Setting off at a slow jog, we turned right, then left again, the corridors all looking the same. I slowed my pace, mentally reviewing our path against the plans. The basement should be right—
“There it is!”
“How did you know which way to go?”
“You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Try me.”
“I can feel Elle. It’s like she’s calling to me.”
“I believe you.” Hey, I was a shifter, and I’d witnessed magic at work. Why shouldn’t she sense her friend?
“Why aren’t there more guards?”
I nearly groaned out loud. She’d gone and said it, the one thing we avoided saying until free and clear. It was an unwritten rule, kind of superstitious, but it had served me well. Up until now.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Vin
I moved her safely to the side and cracked the door to the basement o
pen, half expecting twenty men to jump out with their guns shooting and fists flying.
Nothing.
A dark stairwell greeted us, disappearing down into a black hole. “Remember, stay behind me.”
“I was listening.”
I shot her a dark look, but she just smiled at me.
I knew what to expect: one corridor with multiple rooms off each side. Or cells. It meant that any guards would be directly in my line of sight once I reached the bottom, and I’d be in theirs. I contemplated leaving Grace up here, but decided against it. Too dangerous to leave her on her own, and I was pretty sure she wouldn’t stay put.
“I can’t see anything.”
I could only just see, so I wasn’t surprised. “Hold onto my back. If you hear shots fired, I want you to duck behind me. If I move away just stay completely still and I’ll come back to get you.”
“Or I could just put these night vision goggles on?” She waved a hand, dangling the aforementioned goggles from an extended finger.
She must have snagged them from the guard we had just downed.
Not waiting for an answer, she slipped them on, her mouth dropping open as her head flicked from side to side. “Cool!”
Biting back an inappropriate grin, I started down the stairs, rolling my weight silently from one foot to the other. The stench hit me first, a fetid mix of feces and urine and decaying food. My stomach rolled, bile rising in my throat and stinging my nose. A sharp intake of breath and I knew Grace had smelled it too. She was probably blessing her human nose right about now.
Bending down into a crouch, I closed my eyes. Ignoring the distracting presence of Grace pressed against me, her hot breath fanning my neck, I listened. Multiple heartbeats filled my ears. I counted. There were five shifters missing. Seven heartbeats. My guess was two guards. I didn’t want to consider the fact that one or more of the missing shifters might have been killed. I was going with two guards.
I separated the heartbeats, placing them on a mental map. Two on the far left, three on the far right. Two in the center, one drawing close.
Finding Grace’s ear, I whispered, “Stay here.” I felt her nod before I closed my eyes again, zeroing in on the enemy. Keeping them shut, I timed it, then leaped down off the stairs, landing a high kick to the first one’s head. He bounced off the wall and crumpled to the ground. Loudly.
Dammit! Staying blind, I listened. The other guard was coming toward me, his heart thundering like a train. I ran straight at the wall, ducking low at the last minute. A bullet sailed past my head and thudded into the wall. Then another, this time grazing my cheek. I switched directions, then back again, zigzagging erratically. I swept out with my leg in a low slide, crashing into him and knocking him down. My eyes flashed open as I grappled with him for the gun. A low growl trickled from my lips, my wolf bleeding my eyes to bronze.
Fear looked back at me, the stench of terrified human filling my nose.
Wrenching the gun away from him, I elbowed him in the face, his head flying back and crashing into the cement floor. He went limp.
Movement caught my eye. I looked up, ready to attack.
Grace was crouched over the first fallen guard, her hands making quick work of the zip-tie she’d somehow managed to snag out of my pocket. She met my gaze, her eyes traveling the length of my body in quick assessment.
Checking I was okay.
Faces appeared at the small window slots on the doors lining the corridor, peering out at us. I ran a quick head count, even though I already knew. We’d found them all.
I double tapped my earpiece. “We’re clear down here, make the call.” Greg would call Corbin and tell him where to find us. And Corbin could deal with this mess; his country, his Council, his decision. I had done my job.
The overhead lights burst to life, blinding me momentarily.
Ratcheting the zip-tie tight around the second guard’s wrists, I dug in his pockets, finally fishing out a set of keys. Throwing them to Grace, she snatched them out of mid-air and jogged over to the first door. Standing sentry at the bottom of the stairs, I watched as a group of painfully bedraggled and distinctly smelly people crowded into the central corridor, blinking and rubbing their eyes against the harsh light.
One of the women broke free from the group, running and throwing herself into Grace’s arms. The pair sank to the floor, their sobs and cries of relief heart-wrenching.
I caught Grace’s eye; we needed to get out of here.
She nodded, wiping her grief-stricken face and helped her friend to her feet.
“Everyone, stay behind me. I’ll make sure it’s clear and then call you over,” I ordered in a low voice. Once everyone had nodded, I led the way up the stairs. Cracking the door at the top, I scanned the corridor. Clear.
I set off, a ragtag line of abused shifters loping after me. Pausing, I scanned the next corridor. Clear. I had visual on the exit, we were nearly there. The hairs on the back of my neck rose, a sense of unease settling in my gut. This is too easy.
We set off again.
A door flew open ahead of me, three guards barreling out.
“Down! Grace, get them out of the way!” I shouted, as the first bullet hit me.
One of the shifters behind me screamed, “Shoot them!”
But I didn’t have a gun because I didn’t like to use them. Shifter vs. humans; I didn’t need firepower when I had my claws. My wolf barreled forward, ripping through my thin veneer of humanity and lending his strength. Claws sprung out from my fingers, my muscles bunching and growing as I advanced on the guards. I checked behind me. The corridor was empty.
“Shit! He’s one of them!” one muttered, reloading his gun with shaking hands.
“You think?” another sneered, taking aim and squeezing the trigger.
I dodged the bullet, flinging myself over his head. A single swipe of my claw and he dropped the gun, grabbing his arm in agony.
“He fucking sliced me! I’m going to turn into one of them!” he screamed, dragging himself off to the side and tearing at his shirt with his good hand.
I almost laughed out loud. He should be so lucky.
“What the—?” his friend was silenced by a punch to the stomach that sent him flying into the wall.
The third guard backed away from me, his bottom lip trembling and his hands held high in the air. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—” I punched him in the chest, pulling it at the last second. I wanted him unconscious, not dead. He crumbled to the floor, agony on his face.
“Vin!”
Grace’s scream had my head whipping around.
A fourth guard had his gun trained on me, his eyes narrowing as he steadied his hand. Sweat beaded on his top lip. He tilted the gun until it was aimed at my head.
I stood perfectly still, waiting for him to make the first move.
A black figure darted across the corridor behind him, her finger pressed to her lips.
I am going to fucking kill her…
She grabbed his gun hand, wrenching and twisting with a fluidity of motion that had the guard sailing over her head and crashing into the wall.
My mouth dropped open.
“Told you I could take care of myself,” she murmured, sauntering toward me. Then she grinned, the smile reaching from ear to ear and destroying her attempt at cool nonchalance.
I grabbed her, dragging her flush against me. “You are the craziest, bravest, most foolish, insubordinate woman I have ever—”
Silky smooth lips covered mine, smothering my rant until it all but disappeared from my mind. Heat surged, insistent and pounding through my blood. We crashed against the wall. I hiked up her legs, wrapping them around my waist. Mine… The word roared through me, drowning out all thought. Grinding my painfully hard cock against her, I palmed her breast.
A throat cleared in the distance. “Um, guys, I don’t think this is the right time.”
My head whipped around, a growl rolling from my chest.
A hand petted my chest. “Vin, he
’s right.”
I stared at her. My mate.
Regret shone in her eyes, along with the same desperation that rode me. Shoving my wolf back, I nodded and let her slide down my body. “Follow me,” I ordered, ignoring the husky growl that still coated my voice.
Grace shivered under my hands, her lips parting with a soft groan.
Stealing a quick kiss, I grabbed her hand and tugged her behind me. Two minutes later and we burst out into the fresh air and were sprinting across the grass. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Luis scoop up one of the women, his stride barely faltering.
The trees swallowed us up, obscuring the moonlight and providing much needed cover. Bodies emerged from the woodland, surrounding us. I tensed, pushing Grace behind me, ready to fight.
“Easy, Vin,” Corbin called in a low voice.
Forcing myself to relax, I waved the group forward.
“We’ve got this from here,” Corbin murmured, grasping my arm in gratitude.
I glanced around, looking for Grace, and found her seated on a fallen tree trunk, her arm wrapped around her friend.
“I wanted to say thank you.”
I turned to Luis, who stood off to the side. He looked fine, unharmed, but his eyes held that harrowed look I had seen many times before in victims of abuse. He’d get over it, but it would take time. “Your sister is worried sick about you. Give her a call.” I threw him my cell, accepting his grateful smile with a nod.
It was over. Time to go home.
I looked back over at Grace, drinking her in. Her long neck was bent as she listened to her friend, her dark eyes pools of sadness as she absorbed the other woman’s pain. I could still feel her pressed against me, could taste her on my lips.
If she won’t come with me, then I’ll stay. Corbin could certainly do with some help, if the team he’d turned up with tonight was anything to go by.
She turned, as if hearing my thoughts. A small smile broke through her sorrow as she stared at me.
She was worth it.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Grace
Twenty-four hours later…