by Zoe Chant
Justin didn’t smile, but his forehead creased with faint amusement. “They were. Their best search teams got nowhere. They told me you’d broken into the base, grabbed their new recruit, and taken off.”
“Never,” swore Shane. “I wouldn’t leave a wounded comrade. I wouldn’t leave a wounded stranger. I wouldn’t leave Catalina. I wouldn’t have left you. And I won’t leave you now.”
“I know.” Justin sounded like he was being choked. “I think I always knew, deep down. My leopard believed in you! But I wouldn’t listen.”
“Join us. I’m going to try to download the data for ultimate predator, so Catalina can live away from here. Then we’ll destroy it, so it can never be used again.” Shane indicated a bank of computers.
“Oh, you don’t need the data,” Justin said. “Catalina went through 2.0. Dr. Elihu lied about why it’s different. It’s just as likely to kill you as 1.0. The improvement is that if you survive, it adapts to you. She doesn’t need any treatments. He was going to do fake ones so she’d think she needs to stay here to survive.”
The relief Shane felt at this nearly made him dizzy. He looked to Catalina for her reaction, but she looked no more than ordinarily pleased. His brave mate had already known she’d have the strength and will to survive, no matter what.
The three of them didn’t need to discuss what they’d do next. They trashed the lab as fast as they could, smashing computers and rummaging for data drives to destroy. Now that he wasn’t so worried about Catalina, Shane could relax and enjoy the sight of his amazing mate tearing metal with her bare hands.
Justin started opening bottles and pouring liquid over all the electronic equipment. Shane caught the scent of an inflammable cleaner.
“Got a match?” Shane asked.
Justin shook his head.
“I’ll look for a lighter,” Catalina volunteered.
“No need,” Shane said. “I can start it with a spark. Hold on.”
He surveyed the room. Everything seemed destroyed, but Justin was right to make sure Apex couldn’t salvage any data. Shane started to lead Catalina toward Justin, so they’d be on the same side of the lab when they set the fire.
Shouts and approaching footsteps sounded from several directions at once. Justin was perfectly positioned to torch the lab and get away before more enemies arrived. So was Shane, with Catalina. But once either of them set the lab on fire, the flames would separate them.
Shane and Justin looked at each other. It was if no time at all had passed between missions, and they were once again in combat together.
“Meet you outside,” said Shane.
There was no time for anything else. Justin snapped two wires and crouched, ready to touch them together.
“Go!” he shouted.
Shane grabbed Catalina’s arm and hauled her out the door. A puff of hot air rippled against his back as the lab went up in flames.
A startled guard jumped back from the corridor they entered. He was the only person who met them. Shane tranquilized him, and then he and Catalina ran down the corridor. It was lined with closed doors and blind turns, perfect for an ambush. Shane kept glancing backward as he ran, slowing him down. With her new agility and strength, Catalina instinctively ran faster, getting ahead of him. Too far ahead.
As he started to speed up to catch up with her, a flicker of movement caught Shane’s eye. He spun around. As he did so, Dr. Elihu stepped out silently from around a corner. He had a bulletproof vest strapped over his doctor’s coat, and he was aiming a pistol at Catalina.
Shane was too far from Catalina to throw himself over her. He was closer to the doctor, but still too far to jump him.
As a man.
Shane became a panther and leaped at Dr. Elihu. A hard impact slammed into his chest in mid-air, and then he knocked the doctor down. Dr. Elihu’s gun went flying. Shane crouched atop him, snarling. At last, he was face-to-face with his enemy.
The doctor flinched, then regained control of himself. His lips curled in a familiar contemptuous sneer. “You wouldn’t dare kill me. I’m the only person in the world who knows how to keep your girlfriend alive.”
Liar, his panther hissed. Kill him.
Shane snarled again. It would be so satisfying to sink his fangs into Dr. Elihu’s throat...
...but it would be quick, too. He wouldn’t suffer. After the ruin he’d brought to others, the lives he’d taken and broken, Shane wanted to show him the meaning of fear.
Shane became a man. As he leaned over Dr. Elihu, a drop of blood spattered down, staining the doctor’s white coat. Shane glanced down at himself.
The impact hadn’t been from a dart gun. He’d been shot in the chest. The wound wasn’t bleeding much, and he didn’t feel any pain. Yet.
Shane pressed the heel of his hand to his chest, sealing the wound. He’d worry about that later. Right now, he had some long-unfinished business to settle.
“You’re the ultimate predator,” Shane said. “You prey on people. You catch them. Kill them. Ruin their lives. I want you to know what it feels like to be on the other side. To be prey.”
Shane looked into Dr. Elihu’s eyes, and summoned his predator.
I stalk. I kill. I lurk unseen.
The doctor’s sneer slipped away. His eyes widened with terror. The blood drained out of his face, leaving him an unpleasant pasty color.
I am the teeth at your throat. I am the gun to your head. I am the blade in your heart.
Dr. Elihu struggled frantically.
Nothing can stop me. Nowhere is safe from me. No one can save you.
The doctor thrashed so hard that he banged his own head against the floor. But he was no match for Shane’s strength, nor could he break eye contact.
I am the panther in the trees. I am the shark beneath the waves. I am the man with a knife.
The doctor began to scream.
I am the death you see coming. I am the fear in the dark. I am the nightmare turned real.
Dr. Elihu’s shriek of terror rose to an ear-piercing pitch, then suddenly stopped. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his entire body went limp.
Shane blinked in surprise. He’d scared the hell out a lot of people, but nobody had ever actually passed out before.
He got off Dr. Elihu, sat down on the floor, and took a second look. The doctor’s chest wasn’t moving. Shane touched the side of his throat. He had no pulse.
“I scared him to death,” Shane said aloud. “I didn’t even know I could do that.”
“Serves him right.” Catalina stepped up from behind him. “Shane, are you hurt?”
Whether it was the gunshot wound or the intensity with which he’d used his power or both, he suddenly felt shaky and weak. He could feel the bullet inside his body, jammed against one of his ribs like a burning coal.
“Yeah,” Shane said. “He shot me.”
“Oh, God.” Catalina’s hand closed convulsively over his shoulder. “I couldn’t see from behind.”
Shane covered her hand with his, trying to reassure her. He’d completely lost it when he’d thought she was dying. It was much easier to be on the other side. “Don’t be scared. I have shifter healing.”
Catalina took a few deep breaths, then regained her paramedic cool. “Sit tight and keep pressure on it. I saw a sign a little way back that said emergency supplies. I’ll fetch a medical kit. It’ll take two minutes, tops.”
“Wait!” Shane hated the idea of her going into danger alone, even for a minute or two.
He forced himself to his feet. Everything went black around the edges. Next thing he knew, he was kneeling on the floor again.
“Shane!” Catalina was clutching his shoulders.
His vision cleared. “I’ll be fine. Right here.”
Catalina frowned anxiously, glancing from him to the direction of the emergency supplies and back. “Now I’m scared to leave you alone.”
“Shifter healing, remember?” Shane put some force into his voice. “Just pass me Dr. Elihu�
��s gun.”
With a last worried look, Catalina handed it to him, then took off. With her astonishing new speed, she was out of sight in the blink of an eye.
“Keep a look-out,” he called after her, but his voice didn’t come out as loudly as he’d expected. His vision kept slipping ever so slightly out of focus. The gun, a lightweight Glock 22, felt heavy. He couldn’t stop shivering.
Shock, he thought. Internal bleeding. Stabilize the patient on-scene, then medevac immediately.
His mate could handle the stabilization, but medevac was another story. The base could be fifty miles from anywhere. Shifter healing alone would keep him alive for a few more hours, no problem. But not for a few more days.
Catalina returned with a medical kit, plus an armful of clothing she must have taken off the tranquilized security guard they’d left outside of the lab. Or maybe she’d tranquilized a different guard she’d happened to come across on her way to the kit.
“Lie down,” she said.
She put her arm behind his back and cupped his neck and head in her hands. Shane wasn’t so far gone as to need help lying down, but he let her ease him to the floor. Her hands were warm against his bare skin, and he felt colder than ever when she slid them out from under him.
“Keep your back to the wall,” he reminded her. Enemies could appear at any second. He was surprised they hadn’t already.
“Oh, right.” Catalina moved as he directed. She re-checked his breathing and pulse, then opened the kit and took out an airtight dressing.
He admired her professional deftness as she moved his hand aside and instantly applied the dressing, then neatly taped it down. “Good work.”
“It better be.” She touched his cheek. “You’re freezing. You need to get warmed up. Here, have some clothes from a guy who’s going to wake up cold and very confused.”
Catalina started to slide her arm under his back.
“I can—” Shane began, then found that in fact, he couldn’t sit up unaided. “This better not be a repeat of how we met.”
Catalina helped him sit up and lean against the wall. He managed to haul on the guard’s shirt and pants himself, but the effort left him alarmingly breathless.
“Just give me a second,” he muttered.
She kissed him, the brush of her lips feather-light. “You saved my life. If you hadn’t jumped him, I’d be the one with a bullet in my chest.”
A bullet in your head, Shane thought. Dr. Elihu hadn’t had time to shift his aim, and Catalina was much shorter than him.
With absolute sincerity, he said, “I’m glad I had the chance.”
The stillness was broken by a series of distant shouts, gunshots, and running footsteps. Shane didn’t waste his energy trying to get up. He could shoot perfectly well sitting down. Catalina crouched, ready to pounce, as Shane leveled his gun at the approaching enemies.
A familiar deep voice shouted, “Hold fire!”
“Hal?” Shane said incredulously.
The door at the end of the hall flew open as if it had been kicked. Hal stood in the doorway, nearly filling it with his burly frame. His brown hair brushed the frame as he ducked to step through without hitting his head.
He was followed by two more members of Shane’s team from Protection, Inc. Destiny came first, holding a big gun in each of her small brown hands. Nick followed. His shirt was ripped halfway off his back, exposing his werewolf gang tats.
Despite his physical chill, Shane felt warm inside. His team had come for him. He’d hoped they would— he’d believed that they’d try— but on some level, he hadn’t expected the cavalry to come. But here they were, shooting up a secret government base to rescue him.
“Hal Brennan?” Catalina said, a startled grin spreading across her face.
Hal and Nick came forward to crouch beside Shane. Destiny hung back, guarding the door. All of them spoke at once.
“Are you all right, Shane?” Destiny called, still watching the door.
“You look fucked up,” Nick pronounced, inspecting him. “What’s the matter with you?”
“You’re hurt,” said Hal. “Where?”
“Bullet in the chest,” Shane said. Identical expressions of alarm flashed across the very dissimilar faces of Hal, Nick, and Destiny. Hastily, Shane added, “I’m fine. Catalina treated me.”
“Whoa, no,” Catalina interrupted. Speaking to Hal more than to Shane, she said, “He is not remotely fine. I did some emergency first aid, but he needs an ER.”
Shane shook his head. “I can’t go to an ER.”
“You don’t have to,” Hal said. To Catalina, he explained, “We’re not too far from my hometown. There’s a doctor there who can take care of him.”
Catalina visibly relaxed. “Oh, the one who had him on life support. Yeah, that should be fine.”
“He told you about that?” Hal asked.
“When did you need life support?” Nick demanded. His green eyes fixed on Shane, intense and angry. “You never told us this place existed. Why didn’t you ever fucking mention that there was an entire fucking black ops agency gunning for you?”
“Nick,” Hal said. “Later.”
“How did you find us?” Catalina asked.
“That’s what we do,” Shane said, at the same time that Hal replied, “Tracking, research, detective work. The usual.”
Shane went on, “Where’s the rest of the team?”
“Rafa, Fiona, and Lucas are on the other side of the building,” Hal said in his rumbling voice. “They created a very large distraction so we could get to you, and they’re about to create another.”
“Did you see Justin?” Shane asked.
“Who’s that?” Hal replied.
Catalina saved Shane the breath of attempting to summarize that whole story. “He has black hair and eyes. Pale skin. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt.”
The team looked at each other and shook their heads.
“We’ve only seen guards and medical people,” Destiny said. “No one like that.”
An explosion shook the building. Plaster dust drifted down.
“That’s our cue,” said Hal. “I’ll carry Shane.”
“Just help me walk. I don’t want to tie up your gun-hand. Or mine.” Shane didn’t care how badly he was wounded or how shaky he felt. As long as he could hold a gun, he’d defend his mate and his team.
Hal helped Shane stand. Even that small movement dizzied him. The pain in his chest increased, threatening to double him over. Shane gritted his teeth and held tight to his gun, but his hands were shaking. He’d never be able to hit anything.
Destiny raised her arm in a signal. “We’re clear! Come on!”
They went through the door. Shane could barely feel his feet touching the floor. Catalina’s eyes were on nothing but him, her soft lips tight and narrow with concern. He was about to warn her to forget about him and watch for enemies when about fifteen guards burst out of closed doors.
Their enemies closed in on all sides in a final ambush. Destiny and Nick moved efficiently to cover each other and return fire. Hal fired at the guards, his trained arm moving steadily from one to the next.
Catalina leaped across the room, tackling a burly guard. He went down under her predator strength. The two of them went flying across the room. Catalina twisted impossibly in mid-air, landed in a crouch atop him, and banged his head into the floor. He went limp. Without hesitation, she jumped up and lunged to the side, knocking the weapon from another enemy’s grip with a lightning-fast swat of her hand.
Shane could do nothing but observe his mate’s agility and courage. His gun felt too heavy to lift. His body felt too heavy to lift. He could barely summon the strength to hold himself upright, let alone fight.
An explosion sent dust and bits of the ceiling showering down on their heads. Everyone staggered. Catalina, who had been mid-jump at the time, collided with a guard who had stumbled into her path. They both went down hard.
Catalina scrambled to her feet, bl
inking as if the impact had dazed her. The enemy she’d slammed into lay still. But another guard whipped around, swinging his pistol to bear on her.
Shane’s gun hand had never been so steady. He fired, dropping the man aiming at his mate.
Think of your weapon as an extension of your hand. His long-ago drill instructor’s voice echoed in Shane’s ears. Then you’ll never drop it.
The gun slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor.
Next thing he knew, he was lying across Hal’s shoulders. The team was running up a flight of stairs. Catalina ran beside them, clutching Shane’s hand. He was infinitely relieved to see that she was unhurt.
Destiny kicked open a door. A cold, clear mountain breeze ruffled Shane’s hair. The sky was the pale gray of pre-dawn. They ran outside and into the forest, not looking back. Then the loudest explosion of all echoed in Shane’s ears. Hal and his team slowed as if that had been the signal they’d been waiting for.
“Fiona set charges,” Hal said. “Apex won’t be coming after you any more. Or anyone.”
Fiona was very careful, Shane knew. So was everyone on their team. They would never set explosives without checking for bystanders first. Justin must have already made it out.
They came to Hal’s car, parked off-road under a clump of pine trees.
“All clear!” a man called. “Clear by you?”
Shane recognized the voice as that of Ellie’s brother, a Recon Marine. Ethan stepped out from where he’d been concealing himself, guarding the car.
“Clear by us!” Hal shouted.
Catalina stared at Ethan. “What are you doing here? You’re not on the team.”
“I was on leave,” he said with a shrug. “Someone had to stay with the car to guard Ellie. She came in case anyone got hurt.”
Hal’s mate Ellie jumped out of the car, holding a medical kit.
“What happened to Shane?” Ellie asked, then broke off with a delighted gasp of, “Catalina!”
“Put me down,” Shane demanded.