Page 64 of Held By a Monster

A loud knock reverberated through the building. The world seemed to stop and hold its breath.

I heard Robert outside my door and hurried to press my ear against the metal.

“Of course you open it, idiot. They’ve figured out the situation and we can only assume they’re surrendering.”

I bit my cheek to keep from laughing as the saying about assuming things ran through my head.

I went back to the observation window and saw two figures moving through the gloom to a spot underneath me. The window faced a set of large, rolltop doors, so I guessed the walk-through door was beneath this office.

For a few seconds, all was quiet.

Then the entire space lit up as a wide river of flame swept from one side of the floor to the other. I didn’t have time to wonder where they managed to get a flamethrower, since the door to the office was flung open and Robert hurried inside.

Screams seemed to ring out from every direction, the sound pinging off the metal walls.

I smiled as Robert rushed across the room, yanked me in front of him and anchored me to his chest with an arm.

I nearly gagged being so close to him. Instead of Drym’s hard muscles and soft fur, I felt like I sank into a marshmallow. I pushed against his hold until I felt the cold steel of a gun barrel press into my temple.

“I’ll kill you if I must, so stay still.”

“Coward,” I hissed.

“I prefer the term realist. I know what I created, and I have no chance of winning against them if they make their way up here.”

The man at my back seemed calm, but the gun shook. He was smart to be afraid.

Orange light lit up the room and I wished I could see the floor. Robert held me in the far corner, so all I could see was the glow from the flames and the smoke that drifted in a thick sheet under the ceiling.

I don’t know if it was five minutes or thirty, but soon all the noise ceased and the whole place got eerily quiet. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed to whoever would listen that Drym and his brothers were okay.

I started when the door opened, revealing a man dressed head to toe in tactical gear, his gun held at his side. I felt Robert relax behind me until the man fell forward like a plank of wood, the door slamming shut behind him. Even in the dim light I could see his back was ripped open down the spine.

The gun jammed into my head, and I winced. Robert shuffled us sideways to the window and we both looked out.

The floor was littered with bodies. None of them were large and covered in fur.

Even as he tensed, I relaxed. He might not have flinched before, but he was now. He jerked me around to face the door and we both watched as the tips of five claws punched throughthe thin metal. The door yanked backward with a screech and disappeared to the side. Roul stepped through.

I grinned and gave him a finger wave.

“Kendal. You are unharmed?”

“I am.”

“Your leg?”

“Scraped when they shoved me into the van. Nothing serious.”

Roul’s eyes swung to the director. “It is still an injury.”

The gun pulsed against my temple.

“I’ll injure her a lot worse if you and the others don’t stand down immediately.”

Roul drew himself to his full, impressive height and crossed his arms. He didn’t respond.

“Did you hear me? I know you aren’t one of the bright ones, but even you have to see that this is an impossible situation for you to win.”

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