Page 66 of Soulmates
I nod, opening my jacket to show Connor’s holster. It says something about the Elite that they’ll plug any random vampire into their crew.
“Good.” His voice is smoky, soft, and his dark clothing molds to his muscular form. “Try not to get into a gunfight if you can help it.”
I shrug. Gunfights make for complications, and I avoid those whenever possible. The leader sends a text, and in moments, a pair of figures comes jogging across the parking lot. They take turns offering to shake my hand, mumbling their names like they don’t really want me to know. Tall, and lanky, their energy marks them as at least half elf, which means they can fight like the devil. They’re also both wearing hoods, but one has tatts covering his neck. I call him Mutt and his partner is Jeff.
“Joss said you’ve fed from the target, so you should be able to track him once we get inside.” Mutt’s got an accent, and from the flatness of his vowels, I’d say he’s from Australia. I just need oneg’day, mateto be sure.
“Yeah, I’ve been picking up his vibe from here.”
“Good.” Mutt pulls out an actual paper diagram and waves me and Jeff closer. “It looks like the front doors open into a small lobby with two offices on each side. There’s a bank of elevators here”—he points to the middle of the page—“and three big rooms run across the back. Upstairs, there’s the same basic configuration, with offices in the front, but only two big rooms in the back. The rest of the space is a locker area, and the big rooms are for training.”
He pauses, and Jeff clears his throat like he’s going to say something, but nothing comes out.
“Is that it? Because if it is, I’d like to get going.” The clock is ticking.
“There’s a basement, too.” He turns the diagram over. “Accessed by either the elevator or one of two stairwells. One stair is next to the elevator, and the other’s in the back.” As he tucks the paper away, his glare says he’s daring me to walk away. “From the look of it, there’s an infirmary down there, along with a bank of cages and two big rooms that are likely used for the wolves who need to learn to shift.”
Cages? I’m not real excited about the basement, and from his deep scowl, Mutt isn’t either. “Why do I think that’s likely where he is?”
“We’re going in the front door, but unless we run into anyone, I think we should start at the bottom.”
I shrug. I don’t want to do this, don’t want to walk into a building at night where there are an uncertain number of armed wolves.
But I really don’t want David to get hurt any more than he already has been.
And I really, really want to smash some heads together.Payback, you jackasses.
Mutt pulls an AK-47 from behind his back. “I lead, you come second, and he’ll follow.” He nods at his partner. “And try to let us do the shooting.”
Jeff doesn’t say anything, but his frown and his gun are the mirror images of Mutt.
I hold up a hand. “Let me check with Connor before we go in.” They shoot me a pair of matching impatient glances, but I pull out my phone anyway. I give him a quick call, asking what’s going on in David’s room. He says something about David having company, but it’s the things he doesn’t say that make me nervous. If they’ve killed him, the elves won’t need their fancy weapons. They’ll have to stand out of my way while I take down the lot of them.
When the call is done, I pull out Connor’s backup pistol, and the three of us head across the narrow lawn to the front door. The elder Collins gave us the code for the burglar alarm, but surprise, surprise, it hasn’t been armed. There’s no warning beep or flashing light when we come through the door.
I catch Mutt’s eye. He doesn’t like it either.
Jeff closes the door, and for a moment, we all stop in the entry. The place is dark except for the red glow given off by the exit sign over our heads. There’s no sign of anyone, no sound of any activity. Mutt takes a step toward the back of the building, but before I can follow, a wolf’s howl, long and mournful, freezes us in place.
The sound trails off, then swells, a second voice joining the first. The ceiling is covered with white acoustical tile, so the howling shouldn’t echo, but it does, and it’s impossible to tell where it’s coming from.
I give Mutt a look, basically letting him know he better move or I’ll take over. His brows arch—elves are nothing if not haughty—but my challenge prompts him toward a closed office door. I’m pretty sure all the offices are empty, because except for the howling, it’s quiet. Torturing a guy makes noise.
And it was torture. The acknowledgment burns on the way down. David’s a handful, a flaming, raucous, beautiful handful, but he doesn’t deserve this kind of betrayal. My incisors stretch and sharpen, something that only happens when I’m about to lose it. Yeah, I better catch at least one of these assholes alive.
The first office is empty, but before we go door-to-door, I close my eyes and reach out with all my senses. David’s essence tugs on me, drawing me toward the basement, but nothing else grabs me. I mouth the wordempty, but Mutt’s haughty expression doesn’t change. He moves to the next room, and my gut clenches, every instinct screaming that something bad will happen if he opens it. Without thinking, I make a running leap and tackle him.
“Fucking lay off,” he squawks, smacking at me until I get his hands pinned.
I catch his eye and calm him with my will. I’m about to ease up when the snub nose of a gun tags me in the back of the head.
“We don’t have time for this,” Jeff says, his accent less pronounced.
“Don’t open the door.” I keep my gaze on Mutt, who’s lying quietly underneath me. “There’s something in there.”
Muttering, Jeff reaches past us and opens the door. Nothing. He crosses to the other two, opens the closest. Nothing. Opens the next—
Boom.
