by Cara Adams
She looked at her wristwatch. It was after five o’clock already. What if he wasn’t found until after six when the gym was supposed to open? There’d be a line of impatient people waiting to get in. Although likely not the wolves, of course, many of whom had been recruited to help with the search and were already in the professional suites.
Cadfael put down his cell phone. “Someone is in the elevator shaft. Wynn’s team has found where they’ve smashed the elevator doors open on the eighth floor.”
“Cadfael, do you want me to close the elevator doors? Leaving them open makes it easier for someone to climb down the elevator shaft, pop out a ceiling tile from the elevator, and exit through the open door,” said Dakota.
“But if we shut the doors they might be able to make the elevator work and then we’ll never know what floor they’re on. Right now they have to smash the stairwell door to get out, which is a pretty big clue,” said Andreas.
“Andreas is correct. Leave them open.”
“Okay how about a trip wire then?”
“What?”
“A trip wire. Whoever is coming down that elevator shaft is going to be in a big hurry to exit the building. They’ll jump down from the roof of the elevator and run out the open door. They won’t be looking for a trip wire and it might even the odds for us a bit if one or two of them fall over. There are only three of us and we don’t know how many there are of them,” said Dakota.
“Oh, nasty,” said Andreas.
“Do it,” added Cadfael.
“Wait here,” Dakota ordered Andreas, in her role as security expert. She hurried into the First Aid room, swiping her card and leaving the door open behind her to save time. She needed any kind of thin, fine, but strong thread or wire. Fishing line would be ideal but there was no time to go looking in the sports store. In one of the drawers she found exactly what she was looking for. She broke open a sterile packet and unrolled a few feet of suture thread. When she gave it a good tug it didn’t break. Perfect.
Dakota snatched up a pair of scissors as well and left the room, locking the door behind her this time. Andreas came across to help her and they tied the thread at knee height across the elevator opening, running a double row of it for extra strength.
Already Dakota could hear noises in the elevator shaft and hurried across to tell Cadfael but he nodded. Of course. As a werewolf his hearing was sharper than hers. Now, where should they stand? If they stood in front of the elevator the men might shoot at them as they ran. The same thing could happen if they stood blocking the exit door. Hmm. This was becoming a difficult professional question.
Dakota ignored the importance of finding an answer and took a deep breath to center herself. They would be focused on escaping. It was most unlikely that they’d look behind themselves. They would run straight for the exit. Therefore the best place to be was just behind the elevator, but also where she had a good line of sight, and could move quickly.
Dakota beckoned Andreas, who’d remained where she’d left him. He hurried across to her, obviously very relieved to be back by her side. But she shook her head, swiped open the center manager’s office, and indicated he should stand just behind the door there. She gave him direction signals with her hands, showing the way his body should be placed and the way he should be facing. Obediently he stood as she’d directed then mouthed, “Be careful, dammit.”
Dakota nodded. She did love this man. He was being very good, understanding that she knew what she was doing here, but still letting her see that he was worried about her safety. She patted his shoulder and took up a position herself just inside the First Aid room door. I should have saved myself the effort of locking it before and left it open.
Dakota gave the “get down” signal to Cadfael, who was still sitting at Sophie’s desk. He slid off the seat until his head was below the desk. Hopefully he’d stay there. At least he and Andreas would be able to hear the approach of the interlopers. She kept the First Aid room door open just a crack so she could see through it. Without werewolf hearing she needed her vision as well. A weapon would be even better. Something she could throw at the men and hit them in the back, maybe slow them down until she could catch up to them. Assuming they didn’t fall over the wire, that was. Dakota looked around the room. Poor Nurse Eilidh. She kept the place so very neat and tidy and here was Dakota stealing all her equipment. Unfortunately she couldn’t see anything particularly heavy. Except a big medical textbook. Well, that would have to do.
Dakota took the few steps necessary to snatch the book up off Eilidh’s desk. Even without looking she knew the escapees were close. She could hear a metallic scrabbling sound, which was probably booted feet on the roof of the elevator. There was a muted crash and a thump. He’d opened a roof panel and jumped into the elevator. Any second now…
Dakota stepped to the gap between the door and doorjamb where she had a clear view to the elevator. A big man burst out of the elevator and fell flat on his face. Yay!
A second man hurdled over his companion and raced toward the exit doors. Dakota stepped forward and threw the book at him with all her strength. He was a tall man with broad shoulders so a good, big target. She aimed for his center back so it wouldn’t matter too much if her effort was a little off-center. Instead, the book got him right on the spine, just below his neck. He staggered, half turned, and fell over. Cadfael was already racing to the first man who’d been tripped by the wire. Dakota sprinted for the second man and threw herself over his body, landing hard on him.
Andreas was there with her, grabbing the man’s hands and twisting his arm high up his back. Dakota kneeled on his hips, pressing down with all her weight as she pulled a pair of handcuffs out of her uniform pocket. She then went through the man’s pockets and tipped everything she found there into a Ziploc bag, which was also part of her equipment.
While Andreas looked after that man, Dakota went back to the first man who Cadfael had in a headlock. She pulled Eilidh’s scissors from her pocket, cut off a length of the trip wire, and used it to tie the man’s hands, and a second length for his feet. She then went back to the first man and tied his feet as Cadfael emptied the second man’s pockets. Fortunately she had a second Ziploc bag with her as well.
“You think you’re so smart, you stupid cunt. Jackson’s got your precious wolf. If you don’t let all of us go, he’ll push him off the roof,” said the man who Cadfael had captured.
Lewis!
* * * *
Lewis didn’t want to sit and hide. He longed to do something, anything, to help capture whoever had breached the Hanson Mall Werewolf pack’s defenses. He wanted to shift, and run, and search. To sniff out clues and track whoever was here. But he couldn’t. If it was Jackson Hamilton—and it very likely was—then he could well be his primary target, and by associating with anyone else he’d bring danger to them.
Lewis sat on the blanket and tried to wait patiently but it was a very difficult thing to do. Also, it reminded him of when he’d been held in captivity, forced to wait until someone else said he could move or go outside. The memories weren’t a nice feeling at all. Oh sure, he was free again now, but at what potential cost to the wonderful people who’d accepted him?
His mind told him it wasn’t his fault. He was the victim here, not the perpetrator. But that didn’t help him feel any better about it. Had he not been here, had the pack refused to accept him, then these men wouldn’t be here either, threatening the safety of the women and the rest of the pack.
Damn, it was hard waiting. His entire body itched to change, to run, to fight.
Lewis forced himself to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of being in wolf form. An advantage would be surprise. A second one would be that he could leap and attack. His werewolf teeth could deliver a very painful and effective bite. His body could move faster and change direction faster as well, making him harder to catch.
The disadvantages were not being able to speak—although potentially not being able to enter into an argume
nt could be a positive as well as a negative. Of course he couldn’t answer his cell phone if anyone was trying to contact him either. Also if he needed to change into human form again he’d be defenseless with no clothing and in particular no footwear.
The more he thought about it the more Lewis decided he’d be better off as a wolf. Quickly he stripped off his clothes, folding them and putting them in a neat pile behind the wall where he was hiding before changing into a wolf.
Almost immediately he felt less stressed, less restless. He gripped the edge of the blanket in his teeth and dragged it forward a bit so most of his body lay on it then put his head on his paws with just his eyes peeking around the edge of the wall. It was a long way from the elevator, and right at ground level. He really didn’t think anyone would see him here. Well, he didn’t think anyone would come up to the roof either. They’d expect him to be in his apartment, not up here. But he supposed someone might have told Hamilton he liked to be on the roof, so there was the possibility of Hamilton coming up here. Well, he was ready.
Lewis waited for a long time. So long he wished he could look at his cell phone and find out what the time was. But the sky told him dawn was approaching. The deepest black and darkest navy shades had disappeared, and even the heavy gray had lightened somewhat. So five o’clock or a little after.
Shock ran through his body when he heard a noise at the elevator. His ears picked up and his nose twitched, seeking any new scents. He wiggled his body another inch closer to the wall as he fixed his gaze on the elevator across on the far side of the roof. There it was again. A muted sort of thump as if someone was trying to move quietly and not succeeding very well.
A metallic screech caused his ears to twitch some more and then he saw the hook of a crowbar appear between the elevator doors and one door was ripped backward. A crowbar and a sledgehammer were thrown through the gap and then Jackson Hamilton appeared, carrying a wolf in his arms.
Lewis had to work hard to prevent himself from howling his pain out loud. He narrowed his eyes gazing at the limp form of the wolf. It was a smaller wolf, so likely a female. And then he knew. Ay-lee! The fucking bastard had Ay-lee. Unable to restrain himself, Lewis leaped to his feet and sprinted across the roof, his speed faster than he’d ever run before except when he’d escaped from Hamilton the first time. He launched himself into the air, opened his mouth wide, and grabbed the monster by the throat.
They fell back onto the hard, unforgiving concrete in a tangle of man and wolves, with Hamilton on the bottom of the pile. The man’s head hit the concrete with a loud thump and he went limp under Lewis.
Oh fuck I’ve killed him. I’ve never killed anyone before. But he killed Ay-lee first.
Hastily Lewis transformed and picked up the nurse, running his hand over her head, ears, and muzzle. There was a lump on the back of her head, and a collar tied tightly around her neck. Much too tightly, he thought. Lewis kneeled down and dug his fingers into her fur, trying to find where it buckled. It was hard to undo, it’d been fastened so tightly, but finally he pulled it off. Almost at once Eilidh took deep breaths, then coughed and rolled over, shaking her head.
Only now did Lewis look at Jackson Hamilton. He wasn’t dead either, but when Lewis lifted up his eyelid it didn’t seem to Lewis’s untutored guess that he’d wake up any time soon.
Lewis ran back across the roof and scrambled into his clothes, only taking the time to do up his boots because he might need to run later. He picked up the blanket to offer Eilidh as he pulled out his cell phone.
“Andreas? Hamilton’s up here on the roof. At the moment he’s unconscious but I don’t know how long that’ll last. Also Ay-lee has been hurt. Send someone to look after her.”
“Don’t hang up. Give me the phone,” said the nurse. Her voice was raspy and hoarse, and nowhere near as firm as usual, but Lewis unquestioningly handed her his cell phone.
“There are spare clothes in the closet in the First Aid room. Please bring them here.”
Averting his eyes hastily, Lewis handed Eilidh the blanket which she wrapped around herself before bending over Hamilton and capably rolling him into the recovery position.
“However, if he looks like waking up, sit on him,” she ordered.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Half a dozen Hanson Mall men poured through the broken elevator door, led by Maelor, who said, “Your clothing will be here soon, Eilidh.”
Lewis was glad to step back and let them tie up Jackson Hamilton and ask Eilidh questions. The thing that intrigued him though was when she said, “I don’t think he knew who I was. He saw a wolf and that’s what he’d come looking for.”
When Dakota and Andreas arrived, Dakota carrying Eilidh’s change of clothing, Lewis ran over to them and kissed Dakota.
“We three need to talk. We need to be together. I don’t want to experience anything like tonight ever again.”
“I feel the same,” said Dakota.
“Yes. Me, too.”
* * * *
It was several hours later before they were all in Andreas’s apartment together. Harry Harrison had sent a team of security staff to protect the mall so the mall security team, most of whom had been up all night, could rest. He’d also sent another team to the well-being center armed with a court order to search for a missing shape-shifter. Not that the word shape-shifter was on the paperwork.
That man wasn’t there, but the police freed three other people who’d been locked up against their will, and the three men captured at Hanson Mall were facing a long list of police charges. Hamilton had been accompanied there by his two security guards.
Meanwhile workmen were repairing the elevator doors, several apartment doors, and the toughened glass doors in the professional suites.
Lewis, Dakota, and Andreas had all answered police questions, but none of them were considered important, and all had been allowed to leave. Now Andreas wanted to talk with them both.
“I’ve never been as frightened as I was tonight. I was terrified for both of you. I want us to have a future together. I need us to be a committed triad. Tonight everything could have been taken away from us. Either of you, or both of you, could have been killed or captured. Hell, even I could have been hurt and none of this was about me at all. Dakota, I know you weren’t ready to commit to Lewis and me, but please, you have to see it’s the logical next step. We love you and need you.” Andreas hoped he didn’t sound like a whiny pup. But fuck, after last night he felt like a whiny pup. He’d spent half the night worried sick about Dakota being at risk and the rest of the time shit-scared about was happening to Lewis. “Another night like that and likely I’ll be dead of a heart attack.”
“I thought I’d killed Hamilton. I wondered if I’d only ever see you again from the inside of a jail,” said Lewis.
“I know how you feel. Although, Lewis, since you escaped from the well-being center, I’m almost positive you could escape from a jail as well.”
They all laughed and Andreas knew that was what Dakota had intended. She was an amazing woman. She knew they’d needed something to break the tension and she’d provided it. He could never love her enough. She was so wonderful.
“You both do understand that I’m a security guard. Some small amount of danger is inherent in my job. I love my job and don’t plan to be wrapped in Bubble Wrap.”
Andreas nodded. It was a statement and a warning. “I would never try to change you. But I do ask that you be careful and not rush stupidly into danger.”
“That’s a reasonable request.”
“Is that a yes?” asked Lewis.
“Yes,” said Dakota.
Andreas sighed with relief and picked her up in his arms. He jogged the few paces into the bedroom and dropped her on the bed.
“You understand we fuck without protection and then bite you?” It was half question, half statement. He was certain she did know the procedure but he needed to hear her agree to it.
“Biting sounds kinky.”
; “If you like it, we can make it a regular part of our sex,” said Lewis.
And suddenly Andreas wasn’t in charge anymore. Dakota was busy pulling their clothes off as Lewis was trying to undress her. Andreas concentrated on collecting the lube out of the bathroom and was welcomed back by Dakota sliding her hand into his pants and gripping his cock. All the blood left his brain and flowed south so fast there was a serious risk he’d come in her hand before the party even started.
“Wait. Slow down. I want tonight to be very good.”
“It’s not night it’s lunchtime already. Let’s get on with the action,” said Dakota.
He laughed. “You’re right. We’ve got the whole of today. Tomorrow everything will be back to normal, but right now, we have hours to be together. So slow down.”
Dakota lay down and let the men pull the rest of her uniform off her, and then roll her onto her front. Lewis lay beside her and kissed her face and played with her hair, while Andreas squeezed lube into her ass, then slid a finger inside her. She was always so very hot and welcoming. He loved fucking her cunt, but he also loved her ass. It was incredibly tight and even touching her there made him harder than a rock.
He licked down her spine, sucking each little knob as he passed over it and spending extra time with the lowest one just above her ass. Then he nibbled lightly across the round cheeks, nipping just enough to bring the blood into her skin and to make her aware of what he was doing, without bruising her. He wanted everyone to know she was theirs. But he didn’t want her in pain at all.
By the time she was open, stretched, and ready, he had a hard-on from hell and knew Lewis would be the same, but Dakota was fully aroused, and this should be good for her.
He supposed if he’d spent more time thinking about it, he should have planned something romantic, but really after the stress and fear of the last twenty-four hours he couldn’t bear to wait a moment longer to have her promise to belong to them. They could do romantic another time, but for now, he needed to keep her out of danger, safe in his arms.