Shifting and leaping at Stacy, Emily knocked her to her side. She heard a whimper, but couldn’t let that stop her. She hated it, but she stood over Stacy, clamping her jaws over her neck. That seemed to wake her up because she shifted back to human.
“Em,” she whispered.
Emily shifted back and hugged Stacy to her. She'd found her. Her mission was over. Now she had a new one. She was going to make them pay for hurting her baby sister. She had to let them know that Stacy was hers and no one was going to hurt a hair on her head.
*** Stacy looked up at Emily and felt safe. She hadn’t felt that in weeks. Zeke may have been comforting, but he wasn’t her sister. Emily hugged her and she let out a painful groan.
“Are you okay?” Emily said. “No,” Stacy said weakly. All she wanted to do was curl up in bed, but she needed to get Richard for what he’d done. She had to make sure he couldn’t do it to anyone else ever again.
“Let me send you back with someone and we’ll get them,” Emily said kindly. Stacy could tell Emily was trying to contain her anger and she was grateful for that. Her sister could scare the shit out of her, even though she’d never hurt her.
“No. Richard,” she got out. “Does he need help?” Emily asked. “No… kill,” she whispered. “Okay.”
“Stacy!” she heard someone say from behind Emily.
Stacy looked behind her and saw Aunt Martha. “You called Aunt Martha?” “Yeah, I didn’t have a choice. I was having some personal problems and I needed her help,” Emily said with a smile.
“Yeah, she fell in love and didn’t have her sister to knock some sense into her,” Aunt Martha said with a grin.
“What?!” Not Emily. She didn’t do
relationships. She had her one night stands and that was it. Stacy never understood why, but that was just how it was. “Who?”
“See that hottie over there?” Aunt Martha said, pointing to the man Stacy had tackled.
“Yeah?” “Him.”
“Oh, sorry. I thought he was trying to hurt you,” she said a little sheepishly. “That’s okay, he probably deserved it. I’ll fill you in on him later. We need to get you to a doctor,” she said.
“No, I want to stay with you. That bastard has to die and I want to be the one to kill him,” she said angrily. Richard had put her in there. He had put her in a cell with a feral wolf shifter. She deserved to be the one to kill him.
***
Paul watched as Emily shifted back into a tiger, along with Martha and Stacy. Just one look at them and he could tell they were pissed. And he had every intention of staying out of their way. They were on a mission.
“Alpha One, Stacy has been found and we’re heading for the compound,” he said into his ear piece.
“Roger that. Is she injured?” Jason asked through the link. “Yeah, and the tigers are pissed off,” he said. All three of them looked back at him and he shrugged his shoulders. “What? You are.”
They turned back around and went back to stalking through the woods. He moved as quickly as he could, trying to keep up with them. They didn’t seem to care too much about being heard.
“Um, Jason, why don’t they care about the element of surprise anymore?” Paul asked. “Because they recovered Stacy and are seeking revenge. She got out somehow, so they had to have known they’d end up with some pissed off tigers at their door, so why try to hide it?”
“Good point,” he said with a smile.
They walked for about ten more minutes before the compound came into view. Paul hadn’t been to it in a few years, but it looked the same. He had thought that, since he’d changed so much, everything else had too.
“We’re going in,” Paul said. The tigers were at the steel doors, trying to push their way through, but they weren’t even making a dent in it. All they were doing was making a lot of noise. If they weren’t on a mission, Paul would have been laughing his ass off at the sight of three tigers trying to figure out a way to open a door.
He reached past them and opened the door. The thing about this compound was that, unlike the others, it didn’t have that much technology. The security was tight, but it was very easy to get in. It was the first one built.
CHAPTER 26
Paul watched as the tigers split up. Two stayed together while the third went down another hall. He guessed it was Martha who was going hunting. He had a feeling Emily wasn’t going to be leaving Stacy’s side for a very long time. Poor girl.
He followed the two tigers, wanting to stay close to Emily. A gun was fired and Paul’s heart stopped for a minute, afraid one of the tigers had been hit. That was when the larger of the two jumped the shooter before he could get another shot off. That was his girl.
They moved further down into the compound, killing any guards they saw. There were more than he had originally thought. They must have called in additional guards or have added security because of Stacy being there. Paul had his knives in his hands, covered in blood from the men he’d killed. Emily and Stacy had blood covering their front paws and Emily had it covering her mouth. She was just as ruthless as he’d read, more now that she could seek the revenge she needed.
A Hunter came out of a closet next to Paul. He was about to open it to check it when it slammed into him. The force of it made him cut himself on one of his knives. He was grateful it wasn’t too deep, but it still made fighting a little difficult when he had blood running down his arm. The knife was going to be hard to grip because of it.
Before he had a chance to defend himself, Emily was on the Hunter, ripping out his throat. She didn’t seem too happy about Paul getting hurt. Did that mean she cared about him? Maybe she didn’t plan on letting him go after all this. He could only hope.
“I need to get something on this to help with the bleeding,” he said to her. She nodded and went behind him with Stacy in front. He guessed they were trying to protect him in their own tiger way, but it was a little frightening and strange to be surrounded by tigers.
Pushing that thought out of his mind, Paul pulled off a large portion of his shirt and wrapped it around his arm tightly. He couldn’t let the blood slow him down, not when he was so close. He nodded to Emily, letting her know he was okay. She huffed at him and started back down the hall.
*** Emily watched Paul carefully as they made their way through the compound. She saw how much blood he was losing. It looked bad. She was hoping it was just a flesh wound, not something down into the tendons. She hated to see him trying to fight, she was afraid he’d lose his knife and get killed. She’d even be upset if he died. Okay, maybe a little more than upset.
As they went further into the compound, they started checking for any other shifters who had been kept there, and for more Hunters who needed to be killed. Emily had a feeling that, once this one had been taken down, it would take them a long time to regroup. It looked like a major one, based on the size and amount of men.
She hoped she was right. Maybe it would do enough so this couldn’t happen again. She hated the thought of her baby sister being there alone and scared.
Well, she wasn’t alone any more. She had Emily and Paul. Between the two of them, they could teach her how to defend herself better so it wouldn’t happen again. Emily had a feeling that Aunt Martha wasn’t going to be going anywhere any time soon either.
Emily saw a room that had a cell in the middle of it. Stacy growled at the sight of it. It must have been where she had been kept. Emily had to tear it apart. She didn’t know how, but she had to. She rammed herself into the bars a few times, breaking the door and denting the bars. It wasn’t completely destroyed, but it couldn’t be used again. That was the important thing. They were going to blow the whole building anyway, but now she knew it would never be recovered and used again.
*** Richard was in the camera room, watching as everything was being destroyed. There were two tigers and a man in the room where the girl had been kept, and one of the tigers was destroying the cage. It seemed that, even though he'd let the girl go,
they’d still found him and the compound anyway.
He knew he had to escape otherwise he wouldn’t survive, but he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the carnage.
So much work was being destroyed because of one girl. He didn’t know why she was worth so much. There were so many lives being lost. Didn’t they understand it was nothing compared to the lives that were being destroyed? She was just a kid. She meant nothing.
He looked over at another screen and saw a large group of his men being taken down by another tiger and some wolves. There were some humans he didn’t know fighting them too. They must have been brainwashed into thinking these animals were more than they were. He didn’t know how they could be so blind.
Something on the monitor with the two tigers caught his attention. He hadn’t had a good look at the human before, but now he knew who it was. Paul Mills. He had never met the man, but he knew his face very well. He was a traitor.
Richard was going to have to make sure he died, but not yet. The group of three was heading for him.
Hitting the secret release to get out, he left. He just hoped he was fast enough. He knew he was cutting it really close. Running as fast as he could, he ran into the woods, hoping to outrun them.
*** Emily had just finished taking down a Hunter when she saw Stacy running into a room. She wasn’t going to leave her alone. She couldn’t let them hurt her again. She had to protect her.
Running after her, Emily knew Stacy was on a hunt. She had smelled something. She followed Stacy and wondered if she had smelled the man who'd hurt her. It would make sense if she was that tuned in to the smell. She would want to kill the man who had hurt her.
Stacy went into what looked like a camera room. She was surprised they could all fit in there. Camera rooms were usually pretty small. It must have been a communication room to the other compounds as well. Most of the monitors were turned off, but there were some that showed either dead bodies or fighting.
There was a cracked portion of the wall on the other side of the room. It must have been a hidden room. Before she realized it, Stacy was pushing through it.
Emily followed, making sure she didn’t let her sister get too far ahead of her. It was dark, but with their heightened senses, they could see pretty easily. The doorway seemed to lead to a dusty hall. Great! Who knew what could be roaming down here? Snakes? Rats? Spiders? Emily hoped she wouldn’t see any of that, especially the spiders, until they reached fresh air.
Emily wasn’t sure what Stacy was planning, but she had every intention of being there when it did. Stacy was hurt, limping very badly and still bleeding, so was in no condition to fight. However, she was still standing and set on getting her revenge. She hoped Stacy knew what she was doing.
***
Paul killed the last man in the room and looked up to see both tigers gone. He couldn’t believe they left him here alone. He could have been killed if more men had rushed into the room.
He thought Emily cared more than that about him. Maybe she was chasing Stacy? That was the only thing that made sense to him. He started checking rooms that were off of the one they were in.
He found a bathroom, a couple of closets, and the camera room. That looked promising. Walking in, he saw all the monitors. There didn’t seem to be all that much fighting going on. They must have pretty much taken down the compound.
“Jason, Emily and Stacy took off after something. I’m going after them,” he said into his com link.
“Roger that. Let me know when you find them,” Jason replied. Paul looked around the room and saw part of the wall pushed open, revealing a passageway. He knew Zeke had installed a lot of those to make sure he always had an escape route. He didn’t know this particular one, but he'd never spent any time at this compound.
Pulling out his flashlight, he made his way down the dusty passageway. He could see the recent footprints and the large paw prints made by the tigers. He knew he was going the right way.
It seemed to be getting colder, so he guessed he was underground. Zeke always liked getting one over on people by having the exits far away from the compounds and where they thought he might come out. It was safer for him unless someone found the tunnels. He must not have been thinking about that part. But he also closed the door behind him when he used them.
When Paul started smelling fresh air, he knew he was almost at the end. He also knew something was going on when he heard a growl and a bone chilling scream. Stacy had found her captor.
CHAPTER 27
Richard heard the growls coming from the tigers behind him and knew they were close. He had to get to his Jeep before they got to him.
Running as fast as he could and out of breath, he had a feeling he wasn’t going to make it. The rumbling from the tiger got closer. He knew he was a dead man, but he wasn’t going down without a fight.
He pulled his gun out and spun on his heels, ready to kill anything that got near him. He was determined to take these monsters down with him. He couldn’t let them live, even if he had to die with them. They were just going to kill more and he couldn’t let that happen to innocent people.
He saw movement to his left and spun, trying to see what it was. There was a streak of orange. He fired at it, hoping he’d hurt it enough so it wouldn’t be able to attack. There wasn’t a sound, other than the leaves rustling. Nothing to alert him to where the other one was or if it was hurt.
There was a sound behind him. He turned and saw another streak of orange. He fired again. Both tigers were there, he knew it. They were just playing with him and it was time to end it. He was no one’s toy.
“Go ahead and come out so we can end this,” he yelled. A rustling to his right alerted him to the presence of one of the tigers. He squared his shoulders, ready to attack, but it just let out a hiss and kept moving. He hated this game.
“Don’t you want to kill me and be done with it?” he yelled out again.
Still nothing. “Why are you doing this? Are you trying to prove to me that you’re the animals I always knew you were?”
Nothing. “Are you afraid? Are you afraid I’ll win and kill you? Or are you afraid I’ll expose you for what you are?”
When Stacy heard Richard yell these words, she saw red. She couldn’t believe it. He thought THEY were the monsters? They were just trying to live their lives. He was the one who took her from her home, set a feral wolf on her, and beat her. He was the monster.
Emily let out a low warning growl to get her to wait, but she couldn’t, not after what he'd done to her and what he'd just said. No, he needed to die.
Stacy leapt. She couldn’t hold back. Before she reached him, she heard a gun go off. She felt a minor sting, but it was nothing compared to the anger she was feeling. She wouldn’t let something like that stop her.
She landed on him, biting at any skin she could find. The scream she heard coming from him made her feel much better. All the anger and fear was being replaced by those screams. It was so much better than therapy, better than talking, better than anything else. It was feeling safe and no longer feeling helpless or at his mercy. Even though she'd had Zeke with her, comforting her, and being a friend, this man was the reason she'd been there and not safe at home with her sister.
Paul entered the clearing and saw the man screaming. It was Richard. He didn’t really know him, but he’d met him once. The man was a little crazy. He thought he remembered telling Zeke that Richard was going to cause problems and take everything to the extreme. He had a feeling he was Zeke’s new second.
The screaming stopped and it was eerily quiet. He saw that Richard had stopped moving and his eyes were open, staring vacantly at him. He knew the man needed to die for what he’d done, but he still felt bad for the way it happened. There was blood everywhere and he could see some of his torn flesh. It was a very painful way to die.
He looked over at Emily. She was sitting on her haunches, taking everything in. He didn’t know how happy she was to have seen all that.
She
was a killer, but he had a feeling Stacy wasn’t. She was too young, and having your first kill wasn’t something anyone was ready for. She had killed plenty inside, but this was different. It was personal.
Emily started moving toward Stacy. That was when he saw her falling to the ground. Emily watched as Stacy ripped the man apart. She could see the hatred Stacy felt for him. She could tell he was the one who had hurt her just by the vicious way she killed him. She wished Stacy didn’t have to go through that, but she knew she needed to do it herself. She needed to put an end to it all. She needed to feel in control after everything she’d been through.
Stacy fell to the ground. Emily had heard the gun go off, but when Stacy kept going, she didn’t think it had hit her. But, she knew she was wrong when she saw the blood trailing down Stacy's side. Her sister was really hurt and it didn’t look like she could shift back. She wasn’t in control, her fear was. She had to get Stacy back to get help, but she didn’t know how.
Emily couldn’t shift back; she couldn’t chance them being attacked and risk them not having a way to protect themselves. While still in her tiger form, she was more than capable of taking down any threat. She looked around, trying to see if there was anyone who could help.
Paul. Paul was standing by the passageway, looking around. He could help. She didn’t like having to rely on him, but she didn’t really have a choice.
She nudged Stacy a little and tried to get her attention. She needed to shift back so they could get her back to Bill.
Stacy looked at her, her eyes drooping. Emily gave her another nudge, trying to get her to understand. Stacy moved her head in a half nod before shifting back. Emily let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t as bad as she’d thought.
She gave Stacy a lick on the cheek, letting her know she did good. Now she just needed to hold on for just a little bit longer.
Emily looked over at Paul and saw him walking her way. She knew she had to trust him to do it and she knew he would take care of her sister, but that didn’t make this any easier.
Emily's Captive (A Lilly Town Shifter Novel Book 2) Page 12