Page 5 of Verses and Blooms
Either way, I’d take it.
We made a beeline for the truck. I ripped it open and stepped aside. Ledger licked his lips, excitement dancing in his eyes as he plucked out two guns, stashing them away after checking they were loaded, and tucked a knife in his boot. He pulled out a vest and snagged a box of ammo, finally ending with a police baton in hand.
“How they simply let a few psych patients touch all this is insane,” Kane snorted, watching Rydell step in to suit up next.
“They’ve got full dossiers on our pack,” I admitted. “I’ve vetted you guys and the Chief isn’t an idiot. He knows you aren’t fucking crazy.”
“Oh, we are,” Ledger grinned. “But we’re stable enough to get our fuckin’ girl back. Hurry up.”
He reached past Rydell to toss Kane and Ansel a vest. Then tucked a knife into Ansel’s waistband, hiding it easily. The omega didn’t even flinch at the contact.
Kane, Caspian, and Rydell didn’t take a weapon, but they didn’t need to. I’d have trusted soldiers at their side if we went anywhere they couldn’t follow.
“Brady,” I barked out as we walked back in. “Get Cooke and Vance in here. They’re on me.”
“Cooke. Vance. Murphy wants you in the lobby,” he said into the comm.
The two men were in front of me in under a minute. Cooke was a big alpha, nearly as big as Rydell. I chose him on purpose. He was also dominant, and one of our most controlled soldiers. Vance was a beta who had more skill with a gun and stealth than any soldier I’d ever seen.
“These are two of my best men,” I told the others, making quick introductions.
“You’re dominant,” Rydell said, stunned at the revelation.
“Yup. I’ve got your back, kid. We’re going to get her back.”
“I’ll rip this place apart,” Rydell warned, not for the first time.
“My favorite kind of mission,” Cooke grinned back, a rumble of satisfaction at the idea alone.
“Lead the way,” Vance said. “Time is ticking.”
Chapter Three
Ledger
Rydell was still convinced she was close… just hidden. He led us right back to that office now that the staff had been cleared out.
I hoped to god he was right.
“Clear the shelves and pull out furniture,” he ordered. His voice was deeper now, reverberating off the walls with each growled order.
Cooke and Vance didn’t hesitate to jump in alongside us, clearing the office until we had the hall outside the infirmary full of a mountain of medication and debris.
My money was on Malik’s office more than the intake and lab. If he was smart, he would have kept it a secret if he had another entrance somewhere.
Rydell had the same idea, already ripping the bookshelves away from the walls in Malik’s office. My muscles burned as I helped, everything was either sturdy or bolted, but between the two of us we made easy work of clearing it out.
When the walls were left bare, the room looked innocuous. There were no grooves in the floor to show there was a hidden room, the window looked normal. Even the small coat closet was plain.
“Fuck,” Rydell cursed, glaring at the walls as if the answers would materialize in front of him.
Pounding footsteps had us both turning, guns raised until Ares burst through, eyes wild.
“Malik is fucking gone,” he shouted. I’d never seen this alpha frantic but he was freaking the fuck out now. As his words hit me, I felt the same.
“How? He was in custody!” I protested, already rushing past him.
“He was. Which means one of our guys was a fucking mole. Chief is losing it and everyone is searching,” Ares explained. His eyes were as wild as Rydell’s now.
