Breed of Havoc (The Breed Chronicles #3)

by Lanie Jordan

  “One of you better start talking before I go to Director Greene.”

  Neither of us said anything. Linc continued to glare at the wall, his jaw working side to side. I wasn’t trying to ignore Mr. Connor, but I honestly wasn’t sure what to say because I had no idea what really happened. The only thing I knew was everything was wrong, so many levels of wrong.

  He gave it two minutes, then Mr. Connor’s chest heaved with a sigh. “Go see Doc, both of you. We’ll deal with things after you’ve been checked out. You’ve got a verbal ass-kicking coming.”

  Wordlessly, Linc stormed out of the room. I let out a breath and shrugged at Mr. Connor, then followed Linc.

  “You okay?” I asked once we were in the hall.

  “Perfect,” he snapped. “Just perfect.”

  “What’s your problem? You were pissed earlier, you’re pissed again. What the hell did I do this time?”

  “You hit him for me!”

  My jaw dropped and I stared at him for a full two minutes, at a complete loss for words. “Uh, I hit him for me. In case it escaped your suddenly limited memory, he attacked me. He insulted me, too.”

  “You shouldn’t have gotten in the middle of it.”

  “I was ‘it’, damnit. You’re the one who got in the middle, but you don’t see me complaining.”

  He shook his head. “You should’ve just left it alone, Jade.”

  “Well, excuse the hell out of me for not wanting to see my boyfriend bloodied.”

  He paused outside the elevator. “That’s my point. I can take care of myself. I don’t need you fighting my battles for me, even if you are stronger. So what if he’d kicked my ass? That’s better than being defended.”

  “You mean being defended by a girl.” I nodded as everything suddenly made sense. “I see. So this was an ego thing? And here I thought you were defending me.”

  “I was.”

  “Really? That’s funny, because I don’t remember you asking if I needed defending. Hell, I don’t remember you even asking if I was okay.”

  He turned to face me. His expression softened a tiny bit. “Are you okay?”

  “Perfect.” If he could pull that crap, then so could I.

  “Don’t be like that.” He jabbed the elevator button. “I’m just saying, there are some things worth getting your ass kicked over. This was one of those things. It’s bad enough having a girlfriend who’s stronger than you are, but the rest?”

  “What rest?”

  “Defending me, damnit! I’m not going to live that down.”

  “Well, I’m terribly sorry your ego is offended.”

  “This passive-aggressive thing doesn’t suit you.”

  “That’s because I skipped the passive part and moved straight to aggressive.” The elevator doors opened and Linc got on, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t believe him.

  Linc had started to defend me, but he hadn’t thrown the first punch until Brian told him he had a girlfriend stronger than him. That wasn’t about me. That was about him. I’d been worried Linc would get physically hurt, and all Linc was worried about was his damn ego.

  Everyone was great about protecting me from this, or wanting me for that, but in the end, none of it was about me. It was all about them. Honestly, I was sick and tired of it all.

  He looked at me expectantly. “You coming or what?”

  I shook my head. “I’ll take the stairs. Not sure the elevator will hold me and your ego.”

  I sure as hell didn’t want to be around him, anyway.

  CHAPTER 17

  Linc didn’t follow me. He said my name in that exasperated you’re-being-stubborn tone as the elevator closed, but I ignored it and kept right on walking. By the time I reached the stairs a few seconds later, exhaustion set in again. Just pushing the doors open took what little bit of energy I had left and made me groan. The fact that I made it down without falling on my face was a miracle.

  I hadn’t been this exhausted since…I couldn’t actually remember when. Maybe never.

  I didn’t go see Doc, though, because I didn’t want to run into Linc again. Instead, I went outside. I walked around the property for an hour or more. As I passed the North Tower for the umpteenth time, I saw all the Prospects gathering and heading for the stairs or elevators. I frowned. I walked closer to the building, trying to figure out what was going on. I heard a voice over the intercom system asking all Prospects to meet in the auditorium.

  I should have gone. I even started to go, but then I stopped and shook my head. The truth was, I didn’t want to be around anyone and I wasn’t sure I was safe to be—especially Linc and Brian, and even Tasha. I didn’t want to be around Linc because he was being an insufferable ass; I didn’t want to be around Brian for the same exact reason; and I didn’t want to be around Tasha because she’d sense my fight with Linc and question me. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I could see Linc or Brian without wanting to punch either of them, or maybe even both of them. Just thinking about the fight with them had my system flooding with anger again.

  So I kept walking. When I ended up at the back of the South Tower, I dropped to the ground, used my arms for a pillow, and just lay there watching the sky. Clouds rushed by, gaining speed and size, changing from white to dark gray. A storm, I thought. Since there was a storm brewing inside me, it seemed only right one brewed outside, too.

  I laid on the ground until the sky darkened, both with the storm and night fall. Until the birds stopped singing and the insects took over with their annoying chirps and crickety sounds.

  Lightning slashed across the sky, in bright blues and purples, like it was jumping from one cloud to the next. It lit up the clouds in front of it, clouds I couldn’t see until the lightning revealed them. In the distance, I heard the deep, angry-sounding rumble of thunder.

  I smelled the rain long before it fell from the sky, and when it did fall, it was in big, fat drops. I started to push up to go inside and then I decided against it. Screw it. A little rain never hurt anyone, did it? And so far, none of the lightning had hit the ground, so I was safe from that.

  I closed my eyes against the rain, letting it wash away my anger.

  The temperature dropped a little and cooled me down, and the rain started coming down a little faster and harder. Within a few minutes, I was soaked from head to toe and I still didn’t care.

  I debated whether to go back inside or not when everything changed. It got darker and quieter somehow. My eyes snapped open and I found the property pitch black. “What the hell?”

  There’d been lightning and thunder for a while, but none of it had hit the ground, had it? The storm had moved away from us, not closer, so why were the lights out? Even during the hurricane, when the power’d gone out, the generators had kicked in almost immediately. Where were they now?

  I rolled to my stomach and started to push up when I heard a faint chink sound to my right. Turning my head, I saw dark figures climbing and leaping over the fence. I heard the sound again, to my left this time, and I found more figures climbing a fence.

  Crawling, and staying low to the ground, I moved closer to the building and tried to count how many people I saw. Six, seven, eight. Eight. I held my breath and ducked down when the guys to my left started moving toward me. They passed right on by, quiet, stealthy. They met up with the others and huddled in a small circle.

  I heard footsteps and loud voices a few seconds later. “Search the property! Now!”

  CGE people.

  The group of intruders moved further into the shadows. I strained to listen and heard one of them saying, “…we weren’t told about the secondary silent alarm.”

  “Our mission is the same,” a second guy whispered. There was a cold quality to his voice. “We get in, we grab what we came for, and we get out.” The leader made motions at his team and they split up again. Half went to the far side of the North Tower, the other half stayed on the side closest to the South Tower.

  Silent alarms? Missions? What were they after?
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  When they moved out of sight, I got to my feet and, keeping low to the ground still, moved toward the North Tower. The masked men were nowhere to be seen, but there were CGE people running everywhere, carrying guns and flashlights.

  “Entrance to the North Tower clear,” someone said. The voice was slightly familiar, but I hadn’t heard it sound so rushed before.

  One of the masked men appeared behind him. I saw the glint of metal and, as I opened my mouth to warn the guard, the masked men jabbed the knife into the guard’s back. My eyes widened and I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.

  The masked man picked up the fallen guard’s feet and dragged him between the buildings. He reached down, pulling something from the guy’s belt before running off.

  Do something! Move! My mind shouted the words, but my body wouldn’t obey the command. The man had just stabbed someone right in front of me—someone I likely knew or had seen before—and I’d done nothing. Stabbed him for…I didn’t know what. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

  He’s not dead. He’s. Not. Dead. Think, Jade. Think!

  Where were all the other guards and agents who usually patrolled? I hadn’t seen anyone else since the masked men showed up.

  Nothing made sense.

  Quietly, I moved along the wall and then between the buildings, making my way toward the fallen guard. Don’t be dead. Don’t be dead. I knelt down beside him and pressed my hand to the wound at his lower back, forcing myself not to think about the wetness between my fingers. Forcing myself not to remember the last time I’d seen so much blood. It seeped and poured through my fingers.

  The guard was laying face down in the grass, but I saw enough of his face to see who it was now: Adam.

  I reached for his neck, then froze. My hand started to shake and nausea boiled in my stomach. What if he was dead?

  “Don’t be dead,” I whispered. “You are not dead, you hear me? If you are, I’ll kick your ass!” With still trembling hands, I reached the last few inches and pressed my fingers against the side of his neck, right under his jaw. I almost cried when I felt a weak pulse against my fingers. Unconscious and hurt I could deal with. Dead was absolutely unacceptable.

  I looked around wildly, hoping to see someone, but there wasn’t a soul in sight. Where had everyone gone? They’d taken off running, but then I hadn’t seen anyone else. Was it safe to call for help? I couldn’t just leave Adam here, out in the open and bleeding to death. He needed Doc, or even Dr. Asshat. Someone.

  I did a quick search for his radio but it wasn’t there. The masked men…that’s what he’d been doing. He’d taken Adam’s radio.

  Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Get Adam out of the open, then get help. We couldn’t stay here, not where anyone—friend or foe—could see us.

  “Sorry,” I whispered as I knelt by Adam’s head. I lifted him enough to get my arms under his, then dragged him toward the South Tower since the bad guys had all headed to the North. There were a few bushes on the side, so I pulled him behind those. I grabbed the knife from his belt and cut his shirt free. From it, I made a makeshift bandage.

  He moaned and started to move as I tied the bandage in place.

  “Shh. You’re going to be okay.”

  He let out a hiss. “What’s going on?” he said, his voice low and raspy.

  I leaned down close to his ear. “There are people here,” I said quickly. “Someone stabbed you. I’m going to find you some help, okay? Just stay here and stay quiet.”

  “Don’t—”

  I pushed him down when he tried sitting up. “Stay. You need help. You’re losing too much blood.”

  His eyes, which had been closed to that point, fluttered open. “Jade—”

  “Stay,” I said again, harsher this time. “Don’t make me knock you out.”

  Weakly, he reached down and pulled something from his belt. It was a gun. He shoved it in my bloody hands. “Take this.”

  I looked down at it and shook my head. I knew how to use a gun, but I didn’t want to use one, not on a person. Not if I could help it. “I—I can’t.”

  “Tranq.”

  “You need it.”

  “Boot.”

  Boot? It took a second for his meaning to sink in. “Oh.” I reached for his boot and pulled out a small gun. I put it in his hand and took the tranq since he’d shoved it into mine again. “I’ll hurry.”

  As I started to rise, he grabbed my hand. There was so little force behind it that I barely felt it. “Be careful.”

  “I will. Stay here, and for crying out loud, stay alive.”

  He shot me a weak, toothy smile. I didn’t want to leave him here looking so bad. His face was so, so pale. I swore, if he died before I got help, I’d bring his ass back just so I could kick it.

  With one last look, I did a quick search of the area and crept out behind the bushes. My heart raced as I ran for the North Tower. The rate was steady, but it was pumping so hard and fast I thought it’d burst through my chest.

  Where were the masked men? Had they found what they were looking for?

  More importantly, where the hell were the CGE people?

  I risked a quick glance through the doors. When I didn’t see anyone—good guy or bad guy—I tiptoed to the doors, opening them as quietly as I could. They didn’t creak or make any sounds, so I sent up a silent thanks to whoever kept them well oiled.

  With my ears strained, I moved my way across the floor, toward the infirmary. I heard voices midway there and froze. They were searching rooms, but I had no idea who was doing the searching: the good guys or the bad guys. The voices got quieter and quieter, so I started running again.

  Outside the infirmary doors, I heard something break. I raised the tranq gun in my hand, held it tight, and did my best to force my hands to stop shaking. I was training for this type of situation, wasn’t I? Maybe not a break-in with human intruders, but training to hunt, to be stealthy. To be smart, to be prepared.

  God, I wasn’t prepared for this.

  Taking a deep breath, I listened inside the room and heard one set of footsteps. I could take out one person…couldn’t I? Did I have a choice?

  Shit.

  I closed my eyes for a brief second and listened for more sounds. I just needed to know where the person in the room was standing and how close they were to the main door. After a second, I realized—hoped, really—they were near the rear exit.

  Nausea rolled in my stomach. What if I had to use the gun? Tranq or not, I’d never used one on a person before. It was one thing using a fake one in class, or against a demon, but a real person…that was different. I can do this, I can do this. Just aim and shoot. Don’t puke. Aim and shoot.

  With a last not-nearly-steadying-enough breath, I raised the gun and kicked the door open.

  “Don’t shoot!”

  “Shit,” I said, lowering the gun as Doc dropped to the floor and covered her head. I let out a loud breath and forced my legs not to collapse under me. “It’s me, Doc.”

  “Jade?” She didn’t lower her hands but did lift her head an inch. “What are you doing here?”

  “Adam’s been stabbed, so grab some stuff. He needs help.”

  Slowly, she got to her feet. “There are people here.”

  Instinct took over and I re-raised the gun halfway up as I moved closer to her. “I know. Just get a bag—gauze, tape, and whatever else you’ll need to patch him up. Hurry!” I moved to the panel on the wall and pressed the button for security. No response. No sound, no light. It was dead. How had the intruders killed the electricity and the generators?

  Doc dug through one of the supply cabinets to grab out a bag. She went to a machine beside one of the beds and pressed buttons on it. Quickly, it shot things out and she tossed them inside the bag. “Where is he stabbed, Jade? How bad is it?”

  “Bad enough. Lower back, right side. He’s lost a lot of blood. Come on.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door. After a quick check, I looked over my shoulde
r. “Stay behind me, okay? If I say run, run. He’s on the side of the South Tower behind some bushes.”

  Her eyes widened again and her head bobbed up and down.

  Taking her hand in my mine, I led her down the hallway and outside. I checked around the side of the building first, then motioned Doc to go so I could cover her. She had just reached the bushes when I heard a voice behind me whisper, “Turn around.”

  Doc started to move, but I saw Adam’s arm reach up and yank her down. I closed my eyes. Thank you. Slowly, keeping my tranq hand in front of me and out of sight, I turned around. It was one of the masked men.

  “I’ve got someone—” He trailed off, his eyes zeroing in on the gun at the same second I aimed and pulled the trigger. The dart hit him in the chest. He blinked at me once, then twice, before falling face-first to the ground.

  I had one minute of regret that wormed its way into my stomach because I’d had to shoot him. Then I glanced down at my hands and saw the mostly-dried blood. Adam’s blood. A friend’s blood. This guy—or one of people with him—had done that to Adam, had stabbed him when his back was turned. The regret turned to ice, then burned into fire. I narrowed my eyes and, though it might’ve been vindictive, kicked the guy at my feet. “One down, seven to go. That’ll teach you to—”

  “To what?” a new voice said.

  I couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like the guy I’d seen earlier, the one bossing people around.

  Turning to the side, I looked up and raised the gun. By the time I fired, the man had already ducked out of the way. The tranq dart bounced off the wall and dropped somewhere around Adam and Doc. Before I could fire again, the man grasped the gun and tried jerking it out of my hand. I used the moves I’d learned in Combat and Weapons—things to do when someone tried disarming you—but he had counter moves for my counter moves.

  Our eyes locked for an instant. His were a light blue, expressionless, and oddly creepy.

  Finally, I gave up and released the gun with a shrug. A smile crept into his eyes. I punched him in the face and kicked him in the groin. He blocked the punch, but I was happy to say he didn’t avoid the kick, and I had the pleasure of watching his eyes roll back into his head before he fell forward.