Page 43 of Operation Wolf: Eli
CHAPTER 23
Eli
“WELL, WELL, WELL, LOOKwho’s here!” Carideo crowed.
I gritted my teeth as I stepped into the warehouse parking lot, alone. I knew my friends were waiting nearby, but I still felt incredibly exposed standing by myself, even though I’d taken the precaution of wearing a Kevlar vest under my jacket.
“Carideo.” I inclined my head at the old mobster, who stood in the middle of the parking lot, flanked by at least four soldiers who were all packing. “Didn’t realize you guys were outfitted for war,” I commented with a nod toward the guns being carried by several men. I spread my hands wide. “Don’t you think assault rifles are a bit of overkill for just one guy?”
Carideo raised an eyebrow. “I don’t really give a shit about what you think, McCauley,” he said, his tone almost conversational. But the cold glint in the dark eyes behind his glasses told me he meant business. “Especially not after all the trouble you’ve caused me. Did you really think you could disobey orders without consequences?”
He took a step forward, baring his teeth in a menacing grin that I was sure had scared the shit out of Carideo’s opponents back in his boxing days. It sent a chill down my spine even though I knew that Carideo couldn’t really hurt me now.
“Once you’re in with the Outfit, we own you. Your biggest mistake was forgetting that fact, and now, you’re going to pay for it.”
“Whatever,” I spat. “You going to bring out the girl already? You promised you’d let her go.”
“So I did.” Carideo gestured to one of his men, who turned and waved at the warehouse.
The entrance door opened, and two men stepped out, carrying a woman whose arms were tied behind her back. She had a burlap sack over her head, but her body shape was the same as Olivia’s, and I froze.
Was I wrong about Olivia’s location?
“Didn’t think we’d really bring her here, did you?” Carideo laughed at the look on my face. “Well, she’s real, and here she is.” The two men dragged the woman forward, and Carideo shoved her toward me. “See for yourself.”
I caught the woman in my arms instinctively, but before her skin even touched my hands, her scent hit me, and I knew it wasn’t Olivia. Relief washed over me along with anger, and I ripped the bag off the imposter’s head to find a scared blonde with wide, tear-filled brown eyes.
“Help me,” she whispered, her voice shaky, her entire body trembling in fear.
And that was when the soldiers opened fire.
“No!” I shouted, shoving the woman behind me to shield her from the spray of bullets. Three hit me in the chest, knocking me back as pain exploded in my upper body, but I managed to stay on my feet long enough to begin to shift.
“What the fuck?” one of the soldiers bellowed, his eyes widening in horror as I continued shifting.
There was a cacophony of shouts as my backup—consisting of Danny and Matt—raced in, already fully shifted. Behind them was Ian, equipped with a rifle.
The Mafia soldiers all raised their guns, but the shifters were already on them, moving with supernatural speed to get in before they could open fire once again.
I was about to jump into the fray myself when a hand suddenly grabbed at my leg. Whirling around in surprise, I looked down to find the woman was on the ground, clutching at her side with her other hand. Cursing, I saw that she was bleeding and knew that one of the bullets had hit her.
“Don’t leave me,” she pleaded.
I was torn between wanting to get in there to finish off Carideo myself and needing to help this defenseless woman. Another shot hit me in the back, causing me to nearly fall over. I spun around to see a soldier heading right for me. Snarling, I lunged at the man, my canines sinking into whatever skin they came into contact with. Blood exploded from the man’s throat, and he quickly collapsed in a heap.
“Ian!” I growled as my friend smashed the butt of his rifle into the back of a soldier. More of them had streamed out of the warehouse, and they outnumbered my group. “Get over here!”
I covered Ian until he arrived. Then I grabbed him by the shoulder and hauled him toward the woman. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
Ian shook his head. “Not yet. Been lucky so far.”
“Good. Stay here with the woman. I need you to guard her.”
“But I—”
“Do it.”
Ian was the only human in my group, and I didn’t want to see my friend get hurt or killed, especially not so soon after he’d turned over a new leaf.
