Page 50 of Gavin

“Stop!” he ordered.

Ryan braked hard and Gavin got out of the SUV. He could see the beams of the unfinished building, they were a few blocks closer. Something about that building.

His heart clenched and fear wove through him again, and he knew he was feeling Sadie’s fear.

“I think she’s in that building,” he said. “I’m going to shift. She’s in danger.”

As Ryan filled in the others, Gavin stripped and pushed himself to shift as fast as possible. When he was on his paws, he inhaled deeply and titled his head.

He heard something.

Sadie.

With a snarl, he raced away, following his heart.

When he reached the building, he could see it was two stories and the building had been stopped before it was finished, leaving the walls open and construction debris everywhere. There were vehicles parked on the side of the building, and he recognized them from the video.

He heard a gasp and a shriek of rage and trained his gaze on the second floor, where he saw Sadie swinging a piece of metal at a group of males.

A growl rumbling in his throat, he glanced back at his friends who’d arrived, and jutted his head toward the second floor. His friends spread out and moved with him as he moved into the building. A few males on the first floor shouted in alarm as thewave of people came into the building, but Gavin only had eyes for the ladder leaning on a beam up to the second floor.

Bounding to the ladder, he scaled it as fast as he could and balanced himself on the beam that ran across the floor. He saw Sadie fighting off the males, wildly swinging the metal bar.

One male stepped up, ducked her swing, and punched her in the face. She dropped the bar with a shout of pain and stumbled back.

Gavin let out a deep bellow of anger and moved across the beam, leaping between the male and Sadie and slashing out with his claws. Gavin wasted no time attacking the male who’d punched Sadie, taking the male to the ground. The male tried to scramble out of Gavin’s reach but he wasn’t fast enough, and Gavin used his claws to drag the male back to him.

Something whiffed over his head and a male grunted as blood exploded across his face. Sadie stood next to Gavin with the metal bar and had taken out a male who’d come for Gavin.

She spun with a yell and held the metal over her head as another male rushed them. Gavin sank his claws into the male he’d taken down and swung him in a circle, sending him flying into the male charging Sadie. As they tumbled together, they headed toward the hole in the floor and fell to the first floor in a tangle of arms and legs, screaming for help.

“Victor is here! He’s the one who took me,” Sadie said, breathing hard.

“We’ll find him,” Ryan said, scaling the ladder as Gavin’s friends dealt with the humans in the building.

Sadie dropped to her knees beside him with a sob and hugged him. “Oh, Gavin, I knew you’d find me, but I was so freaking scared.”

He wrapped a paw around her back and gently pulled her close to him with a purr. He wanted to tell her that he was sosorry she’d been taken and that he was crazy about her. But since he couldn’t talk right now, he’d save that for later.

Purring deeply, he closed his eyes, thankful she was safe.

Sadie couldn’t stop shaking.She’d thought she was a goner there for a minute. Or ten. She hoped that Gavin would come for her, but when those humans flooded the second floor, she hadn’t known what would happen to her. Victor might have told his males to not kill her, but she didn’t think she would have been in good shape after tangling with them. Especially once she’d started swinging that rebar and hurt a couple of them.

“It’s clear down here,” a male yelled across the room from where he was halfway up the ladder.

“Th-thanks,” Sadie called.

She sighed and cuddled into Gavin’s warm fur for a few moments longer. “I’ve got a few things to say to you,” she said, leaning back and cupping his big, furry head. “But I’m not going to say them while you’re a tiger. But when you can shift back, we need to talk.”

He nodded with amrrrsound.

She smiled. “You’re such a good looking tiger. I mean, you’re a sexy as hell male, but your fur is such a pretty orange color. In fact, it might be my new favorite color.”

His whiskers twitched and she smiled.

“Do you think they found Victor? I don’t want to think about him running around loose.”

He snarled.

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