She had no choice but to stay and wait like some pathetic damsel in distress.
But the drug hadn’t dampened everything. She still felt their connection. Jake was close. Probably in the building.
Jake? she tried, feeling as tentative about contacting him as she was anxious she couldn’t.
Can’t talk now. His mental voice was choppy. Worry overpowered her relief that they could communicate. She didn’t want to imagine the danger that kept him from speaking.
As soon as Jake was in the lobby, time pinched. The guards seemed to move at half-speed, bringing up their weapons and opening fire, shooting rapidly from all sides.
The slight rise in pitch of the projectiles told him they were tranquilizer darts. He yanked a guard in front of him to block a dart. His plan worked and, unconscious, the man went limp.
Jake cast him aside and grabbed another guard by his arm, blocking a second dart on the tail of the first.
Jake?
Anjali’s mental voice sent a wave of relief over him, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. Can’t talk now.
He threw the man into a mass of guards and dodged around a wide pillar supporting the upper floors. A rush of air ruffled his hair. A dart had just missed him.
He craned around the column for a moment to note the guards’ positions and jerked back. A dart whistled and slammed into the wood on the other side. The structure would have been no protection at all if the men had been using high-caliber bullets, but no doubt Kincaid figured he’d be easier to finish off unconscious.
The men must have realized he didn’t have a weapon. He could hear their footsteps as they advanced. There were at least eight left. And, knowing Kincaid, he probably had more men on the upper floors.
The lion paced inside him, eager for action, but he refused to offer the guards a larger target.
The dragon whispered.
His scales would probably repel the darts, but the creature was far too big for this area, he’d never be able to maneuver. A wrong move and they could amble right up and shoot him in the body part of their choice.
Besides, both beasts killed far too easily. He’d had his fill of death, though he’d make an exception for Kincaid.
Jake spun around the pillar and took out the closest man with a double front kick, driving him into the man behind him.
The world became a whirl of action and reaction. His body flowed from offense to defense, keeping the men from getting off a decent shot.
As he fought, he guided them to the stairs. If he knew Kincaid at all, the man held Anjali in his former cage.
The shooting stopped. Maybe they were out of darts.
A man screamed as Jake bent his arm a way it didn’t go, breaking it.
The toll of fighting so many began to press on him. Like the event horizon in a black hole, the gravity of each action weighed down on him with crushing force.
Sensing weakness, the lion pressed for release, but again Jake repelled the urge.
He’d gained the space in front of the door to the stairs now. The last few men kept coming, shouting instructions to each other, but they were too slow. Jake tore the door open and used it to knock one man out. The guard slid down to the ground and propped open the door like a doorstop.
Jake blocked a punch to his face with a forearm, caught the man’s wrist before he could draw back, then slammed the man in the head with his forehead. Pain exploded at the site, but his blood was high and he shook it off.
The last man had come up behind him while he’d been occupied, and now the man wrapped a massive bicep around his neck, choking him. He was shorter than Jake, but his weight dragged Jake back.
He grabbed the man’s arm and bent at the knees, flipping the man over his body. The guard hit the opposite wall and slumped to the floor.
Heart racing, Anjali paced the cell. Although she was unable to call her forth, she could feel the lioness inside raging for escape.
She didn’t dare distract Jake, but her skin practically buzzed with nerves. Please let him be OK.
“Your boyfriend’s here.”
Kincaid. Anjali scanned for the source of the voice and realized it came from a speaker in the ceiling.
She stopped herself before she could say, “I know.” Whatever Kincaid’s reasons for goading her were, she wouldn’t buy into them. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
Kincaid’s rich laugh sounded over the speaker. How had she ever thought it was soothing?
A flicker of light at the corner of her eye turned her head and she saw a newly installed flat screen monitor across from the cell displaying a view of the lobby. The sight of Jake fighting several men in the lobby’s far corner sent her heart rocketing into her throat, making her dizzy.
She’d never really seen Jake fight. At her apartment, she’d hidden in the bathroom and the attack on the road had taken place in total darkness.
He moved in a blur, seeming to anticipate his adversaries’ moves before they made them.
Anjali stared at the monitors with awe and fear. Jake was amazing, but there were so many guards. How could he beat them all?
“Call out to him.” Kincaid’s voice echoed over the speaker.
“What?”
“Talk to him over the PA. Convince him to give himself up, and I’ll tell the guards to stand down.”
“What’s the matter, Kincaid? Is he doing too well?”
“For now, maybe, but the building’s full of guards. How long can one man—even a superhuman one—fight?”
Though his words sent a chill over her, Anjali grasped the bars. “I don’t believe you’ll call off the guards for a second.”
On the screen, Jake staggered. A man clung to his back, feet hanging off the ground, one thick arm wrapped around Jake’s neck, throttling him.
A wave of terror swelled over her so fast she couldn’t hold back a gasp of fear, but Jake threw the man off and bolted through a door marked, STAIRS.
She swallowed, her throat burning and her muscles cramping in sympathy, as if she had fought every step with him.
“Very well. You had your chance to end this quickly. Now, you can watch him destroyed.”
The Kincaid Building was curiously empty as Jake made his way to the cellblock.
He hated allowing Kincaid to pull his strings again, but no way was he going to let him abuse Anjali, or dog them the rest of their lives.
Kyle caught up with him as planned outside the vacant guard station.
“Any guards on the roof?” Jake asked.
“Not so you’d notice. Doesn’t anybody work in this place?” Kyle’s voice was casual, but the neon green banding of his irises told Jake the real story. The dragon simmered beneath the surface, ready to explode at the least provocation, almost rippling beneath Kyle’s skin.
Never shy, the lion reacted to the tension seeming to deform the air around Kyle. Jake closed eyes he knew must be yellow, and jammed the beast further into the depths of his mind.
“Long weekend,” he made himself joke. He lifted his chin at the cellblock door. “We’re probably late for the surprise party.”
Kyle nodded at the door. “Your lady through there?”
His lady. Warmth, a heady mix of pride and pleasure, suffused Jake’s chest at Kyle’s words. Had he ever thought he’d have anyone? Certainly not anyone like Anjali.
But he didn’t really have her, did he?
He shook off the painful thought. Hopefully, the next few minutes would leave them free to discuss options.
Kyle examined the hi-tech lock. “Your boss sure has a slick set-up.” He glanced at Jake. “I’m eager to meet him.” The growling tone of Kyle voice might have raised the hair on another man’s arms, but Jake smiled.
Kyle couldn’t want a piece of Kincaid more than Jake did.
“You can do the honors then.” Jake gestured to the door.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Kyle’s arm shifted into a black-scale armored limb tipped with dagger-like talons.
&nbs
p; Kyle flexed his claws. “Sometimes, changing one part at a time can come in handy.”
Jake shook his head. “After thinking I was crazy for so long, I can’t tell you what it feels like to see someone do that.”
Kyle’s face hardened. He wrapped his scaly fingers around the door handle and yanked. It gave with little more than a short screech and banged into the cement block wall. “Kincaid got robbed by whoever sold him this thing.”
Jake grimaced. “He put more effort into the cell locks.”
They strode together into the cellblock.
Jake swallowed against the distracting joy of having his brother at his side. “Where is everybody? I would have sworn Kincaid was going to throw us a party.”
“Jake!” Anjali yelled from the end of the corridor. “I’m down here.”
I’m coming Anjali, and Kyle’s with me.
As they strode past the cells, senses alert, scanning the row for an ambush, Kyle touched the bars. “This is where they kept you?” His voice was slurred, as if he had something in his mouth.
Jake nodded. The sight of the cells, the metallic industrial smell of this room, the residual odor of the guards, tightened his stomach, re-igniting the rage of his animal side.
They reached the last cell, his cell, where Anjali waited. The expression of welcome on her face was like a shot of adrenaline right to his heart. She reached out to him, and he took her hand.
He introduced Anjali to his brother, but Kyle’s attention was focused on the bars.
“Seven cells,” he said thickly. “Seven cells for seven brothers?”
Jake stopped. “You think Kincaid knew there were more of us?”
Kyle jerked his head at the cells. Fury sparked in his inhuman eyes. “Awful big coincidence otherwise.”
“You were pretty stupid to come here.” Anders spoke, and he and several men literally appeared before them out of thin air, drawing their weapons. Anders fired, the high whine of a dart screaming toward them. The others followed suit.
His brain spinning through the impossibility of what he’d just seen, Jake forced his body into action, twisting and leaping out of the way of several rapid shots.
He nailed a blocky guard with an inside crescent kick, driving the man’s gun arm to the floor, and followed with a back kick. The man flew through the air and hit the row of metal bars with a clank.
Kyle, don’t let the darts hit you. A scratch will drop you faster than a bullet to the brain.
Great. Kyle drove his elbow into a guard’s windpipe and grabbed the man’s gun as he fell. Now you tell me.
Kyle tossed the gun to Jake, who snatched it out of mid-air, dodged a flying dart, then shot the man who’d fired it. He pivoted, took aim again, but it clicked. Empty. Shit.
The man smiled. Jake closed the distance between them in a swift lunge and head-butted him, dropping the no-longer-smiling man to the floor.
Jake threw the useless weapon into an empty cell.
Go after your mate. Kyle growled, eyes glowing bright green as he knocked Anders back. I’ll take care of things here. He changed, filling the narrow room with his massive, primary form.
Transformed, Kyle was even bigger than Jake was, stuffing the space between the cells with his wicked, spiked hide, slashing teeth, and razor-tipped claws. The remaining men froze as if stunned, eyes wide.
Jake grinned. “Gentlemen. Meet big brother.”
Anjali blinked. “I’m surprised he fits in here.”
While Kyle blocked him with his huge body, Jake changed his arm into a dragon’s clawed limb and yanked the bars, trying to break the lock, first with one taloned hand and then with both. He met Anjali’s wide, dark gaze. “It won’t budge. Maybe, if we both try?”
Anjali’s forehead pleated, her eyes apologetic. “I haven’t been able to change. I think I still have the drug in my system.”
There was a loud crack. Someone had switched his darts for bullets. Kyle roared with anger.
Fear blasted through Jake. Kyle’s scales would resist most impacts, but there was such a thing as a lucky shot.
He tugged harder, grunting with effort. “Try again.”
“I’ve been trying.” Her eyelids half-lowered, as if they were too heavy to lift.
Now he noticed the sheen of sweat on her forehead, the sagging lines of her face. Goddamn it, she was exhausted.
He reached through the bars with his lizard-like hand and touched her face. “You have to try again. Or we’re all going to die here.”
Anjali turned her face into his alien-looking hand. His chest hurt at the trust and acceptance of the gesture. Then, she sighed deeply and nodded.
His hand fell to his side.
Air thickened in his lungs as her eyelids fluttered closed. Nothing happened for a long minute, then she shimmered before his eyes. Her clothes fell to the ground.
She seemed to disappear, and terror turned his chest to a block of ice.
“Anjali!”
She appeared naked and panting next to him. He knew he must appear as shocked as she had minutes earlier.
She touched his chest. “Grab my clothes. I’ll explain later.”
Though she was mostly screened by Kyle as he held off the guards, Jake shielded her with his body, snagging her clothing through the bars.
She flashed into her clothes and towed him toward Kyle’s bulk. “Let’s get out of here.”
Keep behind me, Kyle said. I’ll hold them off while you get your mate out of here.
Not happening. Jake stepped forward. The crack and whine of darts sliced through the air on every side.
Kyle brushed him back. Just do it. His mental voice was rough and something told Jake his brother was having trouble staying in control of the dragon.
His next words sounded a bit more human. I’m right behind you, little brother.
Jake growled with frustration, but he allowed Kyle to turn, sheltering them as they made their way to the door and out.
Chapter 33
Anjali stopped dead as they exited the cellblock, her chest tight with fear.
Kincaid waited at the end of the guards’ station with a chic blonde. Both held guns in their manicured hands.
The blonde pretended to clap, tapping her free hand on her wrist. “Very clever, Gareth. Tricking her into revealing her abilities on camera. My employers will be pleased.”
Anjali swallowed an inhuman growl. Jake towed her tight into the warmth of his large, solid frame.
Kincaid winced. “Shut up, Clara. I’m sorry it’s got to end this way, Jake, but you just won’t cooperate.” He shook his snowy head. “You’re exactly like your father.”
“You knew my father?” Jake’s words held only the merest thread of humanity, and Anjali knew he clung onto his human form by no more than a whisker.
“He was my first subject. And when I found out your mother had just had a cub, my plan seemed perfect. Kill the mate and a chimera will die. Just waste away. Leaving me with a child young enough to imprint and maybe the older ones as well.” He backed up as he spoke. The woman glanced at him and followed suit.
Anjali scrambled to delay whatever plan Kincaid had. “But it didn’t work that way, did it?”
The expression on Kincaid’s face was ugly. “That bitch hung on as long as she could, hiding the children all over the country. And then Jake was adopted. I couldn’t find him. Until he ended up on the streets.”
A flash signaled Jake’s change to lion form. Kincaid jumped back, slapping his palm against a button on the wall. A glass partition slid down with slicing speed. Jake lunged, hitting the barrier with the full force of his seven-hundred-plus pound body. It quivered, but held.
A loud hissing sounded above her. Anjali zeroed in on the source; a vent on the ceiling.
Kincaid waved mockingly and jammed his hands into his suit pockets as if he were settling in to watch a show.
Anjali met Jake’s golden gaze with her own, raising her sleeve to her face. “Cover your mouth and nose. It�
�s some sort of gas.”
He flashed back to his human body and grabbed his clothes, holding his sleeve in front of his face as he dressed, then ran his free hand over the junctions of the glass and the wall, probing for a vulnerable spot. He shook his head, voice muffled. “It’s airtight.”
A flash seared her eyes. When her vision cleared, Jake was in dragon form. “Let’s hope I really can breathe fire.”
He inhaled, pulling air into his massive lungs with a loud whoosh. Then the hiss of flame filled the corridor.
Hope surged through Anjali.
Jake blew a steady blaze at the glass. Orange flames licked in every direction, blackening the clear surface, but the barrier held firm.
Clara’s laughter rang out, high and strident over the intercom.
Anjali felt her chest tighten. Jake’s fire, while hot enough to sear flesh, couldn’t melt the tempered glass.
Jake’s vast chest expanded again. Anjali could see he planned another burst of fire, and she clutched his forelimb. “No. Stop! All you’ll do is burn our oxygen.”
Her head was beginning to feel foggy. She glanced up at the vent. “Maybe we can . . . stuff something in there?”
Jake took his shirt and reached out with a taloned claw to shove it in, but the fabric was too stiff to go into the narrow slots. He grasped the grate with his claws and ripped it free, cramming the gaping square with the shirt and the rest of his clothes. “It’s no use, the vent is too big.”
Anjali’s body started to feel heavy. She plopped down crossed-legged on the floor.
“Anjali!”
Jake’s large, alien-looking head appeared before her. Despite his strange appearance, concern almost radiated from him. She cupped his scaled cheek. “I can still see you in there.”
“Are you OK?”
She heaved a sigh and supported her head against the side of the desk. “I just need a little rest.” Her eyelids were leaden and she let them close.
He roared. The sound jolted her back to awareness.
He rammed the wall beside the barrier with a claw, punching a hole through the drywall, exposing the studs.
Kincaid’s eyes bugged with alarm. He dragged Clara away from the security wall and took off down the corridor.
In Like a Lion (The Chimera Chronicles) Page 25
