Page 38 of Act of Command

Ezra snatched the glasses from her hand. “Mae will need these.”

“I’m not leaving without my friend,” pressed Alice, her temper showing.

Brad and Ezra locked gazes and there was no question of what had to be done. If Brad didn’t get Alice out of the place, she’d be killed. He wasn’t going to allow that to happen. Bending, he grabbed her and flung her over his shoulder, the smell of her washing over him, exciting his shifter side as well as the man.

She shouted and hit at his back with her tiny fists. “Put me down!”

He swatted her backside and she yelped. “Silence, woman. I’m getting you out of here.”

Ezra nodded and then pointed in the opposite direction. “Left, right and then two lefts. An exit is there. I have a safe house not far from here.” He gave the address and then cast a worried look at Alice.

“Copy that,” said Brad, moving quickly with Alice over his shoulder. He wasn’t far when sirens went off, hurting his sensitive hearing. He winced and had to set Alice down for a moment to gather his bearings. He feared she might run or try to rip his nuts off too.

She eased closer to him. “Brad?”

He swayed, the pain in his head great. Whatever the Corporation had done had intensified all his shifter aspects. The alarms felt as if they were loud enough to pierce his eardrums.

Alice was suddenly there, her hands over his ears, her face before his. The woman was stunning. Her gaze locked on his and it was if she was turning down the volume around them. He knew better. Knew she couldn’t be, but still, her presence helped him gain control.

She gasped and twisted. As she did, Brad realized they were no longer alone and the men descending upon them were not friendlies. With a roar, he pulled Alice behind him protectively and went at the guards. They rammed him with a shock stick. He’d been hit with them before. They were charged with volts of electricity. Enough to drop a shifter male. But Brad was no ordinary shifter male and he wasn’t about to let them near Alice.

He swung and knocked one off his feet. His charger dropped and Alice grabbed it, jabbing it at the man nearest her. Brad twisted, expecting the little minx to light him up too. She didn’t. She touched under his nose and came away with blood.

He couldn’t worry about his body right now or how long it would hold up. He had to get her out. He grabbed her free hand and spun, following the path Ezra had told him to take. They made it several more paces before gunfire erupted. Brad threw Alice against the wall, shielding her, taking a couple of bullets.

He winced but didn’t go down. He couldn’t. He had to get the woman to safety.

My woman, he thought.

The bullets continued and he felt the smallest of pinches in his legs and side. Ignoring the pain, he looked down at the redhead pinned to the wall to be sure she was safe.

He was about to ask when the compound rocked, the telltale sound of grenades sounding. Brad seized the moment to yank Alice from the wall and rush her down the hall, taking the last turn Ezra had told him would lead to freedom.

“You’re bleeding!” yelled Alice a second before heat swelled around them.

Chapter Sixteen

Striker nodded as Malik threw up the hand signal to enter the compound. Boomer tossed a flash grenade and the men went in hard, weapons out, ready to drop anyone who got between them and their teammate. It had taken them a bit to catch Corbin’s scent near the docks. His SUV was nowhere to be found. Once they’d caught the faint scent of their captain, the men had combined their tracking skills and figured out quickly that Corbin had engaged the enemy and had killed a few from the looks of the blood on the scene. From there, they’d tracked Corbin’s scent to the building they were now breaching.

Malik went first, and the men took turns, securing a spot, giving the signal to advance to the next man and so forth. Bounding forward, a well-oiled unit, having done similar insertions too many times to count in their long careers together. Within seconds they met with resistance and dealt with it accordingly.

Malik took down the first threat and Striker handled the next. Boomer slid up next to him and grinned as he held another grenade. The werepanther had too much love of anything that exploded. He probably should have seen a professional about it.

He threw it down the hall and laughed as it exploded, sending more of the enemy scattering out like rats. Boomer smiled. “Like fish in a barrel.”

“You worry me,” said Striker, shaking his head.

Malik glanced over his shoulder, his dark gaze landing on them both. “Imagine how I feel with the two of you at my back.”

Boomer and Striker shared a look and flashed wide smiles, making Malik groan. He motioned to the split in the hall ahead. “I’ll go in search of the woman and any other captives.”

Striker nodded. They’d cover more ground split up, and each was armed enough to deal with just about anything. Besides, this was hardly their first mission. “I’ll find the captain and whoever else may be near him.”

Boomer grinned. “I’ll set charges to blow this place when we’re done. Twenty minutes, okay?”

“Och, we do nae need twenty minutes.”

Malik grunted. “Give us twenty minutes.”

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