"Sergeant, let's start with the doctor's fingers, I think."
Hammond kept his eyes on Sam while he said it, so he saw when she sat back on her haunches and bared her teeth. He also saw when she stretched and shimmered and shifted right in front of them.
Noah swore a blue streak. Sam was stark raving naked, and judging by the expressions on the faces of the other soldiers, he wasn't the only one who had noticed. Only Sam seemed oblivious. She stood as naturally as if she'd worn full body armor, her head up and shoulders back and pale skin almost glowing in the harsh, uneven glow of the overhead lights.
"Don't touch her," she growled, sounding just as feral as she'd looked when she'd been covered in bristling fur. "Don't you lay a single fucking hand on her, or I'll chew it off. No matter which shape I happen to be wearing."
"That's not a very cooperative attitude," the general scolded, his eyes raking over Sam's bare body in a way that made Noah want to rip them out and feed them to him. "I would think you would want to play nicely, Ms. Carstairs, in order to protect your friend."
"I'd rather give birth to kittens than play anything with you, Hammond. So let Annie go, and then maybe we'll have something to talk about."
Hammond chuckled. "I'm afraid that's not the way this works, my dear. You see, while I have you and your friend here, I hold all the power; and while I hold the power, I make the rules."
"I was never much good at following the rules."
The general's dark eyes narrowed. "Now might be a very good time for you to learn."
"Eh, I'm not that ambitious."
"Her fingers, gentlemen."
Noah saw Sam's face pale and her eyes shoot daggers at his former commander.
"Fine," she snapped, her eyes darting between Annie's dazed form and the figure of evil in front of her. "I'll tell you what you want to know, but you'll have to repeat the question. I'm afraid it slipped my mind."
The general's eyes narrowed, but he maintained his cheerful smile. "Very well, I'll repeat it once," he said. "But if you have trouble remembering it again, I'll assume it has something to do with me, and I'll let one of my men ask you. Alone."
Noah was afraid his jaw would snap in half from the pressure he was putting on it. He had it clenched so tightly, he figured he'd have molars in his sinus cavity before the night was over.
Sam, though, didn't flinch. She faced the monster with dignity and disgust and waited for the question.
"Where are the rest of Dr. Cryer's notes?"
Sam shrugged. "I brought them to the Alpha for safekeeping."
Hammond glared at her. "You're lying. Farley, start with the right hand. Dr. Cryer already informed us that neither of you told Winters about her work until last night, and she gave you those papers a week ago."
"I'm not lying," Sam snapped, her voice tense and convincing. "I couldn't think of any place safer to put them than on the other side of the Alpha. But I didn't give them to him personally. I brought them to his office and put them in his safe."
She had her eyes fixed on Annie, still swaying where she stood, but at least all of her fingers were whole. For now.
Noah swore silently and wondered how long Tobias and Rule were going to wait before they came to the rescue.
"All right, if that's true, then you'll need to retrieve them for me."
"Let Annie and Noah and me out of here, and I'll go fetch them lickety-split."
Hammond laughed through a sneer. "What a novel idea! But I have a better one. You can call Winters and instruct him to bring the papers here. He'll come alone to the gate, and Banks and McCray here will escort him inside. If he attempts anything heroic, I will kill him myself and then let you watch while I take my anger out on the lovely doctor. How does that sound?"
"Like the plan of a man who's going to spend all of eternity roasting in a fiery hell."
"How quaint. Farley, bring me a secure cell."
Noah interrupted. "That's not necessary. I have one right here in my pocket."
The general shook his head. "I'm sorry, Major, but I'm afraid the phone I sent you is a fairly long way from being secure. But then how else was I supposed to keep track of you? Farley's cell will do very nicely."
Shit.
Noah knew damned good and well the phone wasn't secure. That's why he'd wanted Sam on it. He'd asked Carter to have Jammer locate the cell frequency and find a way to listen in. If his team heard the call Sam was about to make, they'd be all over this place like white on rice in fifteen minutes flat. All Noah would have to do would be stall Hammond that long.
Helplessly Noah's gaze strayed to Sam and found her staring at him intently. Her honey gold eyes seemed to hold a message for him, and when she nodded her head infinitesimally he had to force his muscles to relax enough to return the gesture. She had something in mind, and at this point all he could do was trust her.
Sam's hands were itching for the chance to get on that phone—any phone—and she had to fight hard to keep from letting her excitement show. She had a plan. She couldn't be certain it was a very good plan, but it might give them a chance, and at this point a chance was all she needed. Annie looked ready to collapse at any second, and she needed to get out of here as soon as possible. Goddess know what they had done to her, but Sam would worry about that later. She would worry about revenge later, after the people she loved were safe.
She could feel Noah vibrating with rage across the five feet separating them, but even if she hadn't felt it, she would have smelled it. It poured off him in waves, sharp and acrid and smoky. She knew exactly how badly he wanted to wrap his hands around the general's throat and squeeze; she knew how badly he wanted to find a blanket to wrap around her to cover her nudity, and she was so proud of him for his control. Any move on his part would have brought the general's fury down on Annie's head, and it was for her sake that Noah was reining in his murderous fury.
Sam didn't like the feel of the soldiers' gazes on her body any more than he did, but she ignored them because she knew reacting with embarrassment or shame was exactly what they wanted. She wouldn't give them even that much satisfaction.
Ignoring them completely, she held out her hand for the phone. "Do you want to write that down for me, or do you think I'm smart enough to remember all that?"
"Oh, I think you're definitely smart enough to realize what will happen to your friend if you forget, Ms. Carstairs." The general stepped closer to Annie and wrapped his fingers around her elbow. The gun he kept trained on Noah. "Go ahead. Place the call."
Sam's fingers flew over the buttons, and she fought to keep them steady as she raised the phone to her ear. She heard the line open, but the person on the other end didn't answer.
"Graham," she said, trying to keep from sounding excited or worried or anything other than wary. "This is Sam."
"Shit."
"I'm fine. Listen, I need you to do me a favor. I put some things in your safe the other day, and I need them back. I need you to bring them to me."
Rule growled into the phone, "We know you ran into trouble in back. Did you take any of them out?"
"Yes. A sheet of loose paper and a notebook. They're in the bottom drawer. They're Annie's."
She felt the general watching her and sent up a quick and heartfelt prayer that she could get make this happen without anyone dying.
"So you took out three, which means there are three more in there with you. And Annie as well. Is she hurt?"
"No, don't be silly. I'm fine. I promise."
Rule muttered a curse in a language Sam was just as happy she didn't understand. "More than three? Sam, what is wrong? Is their boss there as well?"
Hammond tightened his grip on Annie, making her whimper. "Tell him to bring the documents here and wait by the gate. The men will meet him outside."
"Yes. I really need you to bring me those papers. I'm on the piers, the abandoned pier just south of Chelsea. If you bring them here, come to the fence and wait by the gate. Two people will meet you there and get t
he documents from you. Once you get here everything will be fine."
Sam heard a murmur as Rule and Tobias briefly conferred; then Rule growled, "Two more minutes, Samantha. Hold on that long, and I promise everything will be okay."
Then the line went dead in her ear. She kept talking.
"No, that's it. Just remember to come by yourself and stay out by the gate till someone comes for you. If you do that, we'll be just fine. But hurry, okay?"
She let a little quiver enter her voice at the end and saw the general's satisfaction at the sound. He wanted her to be frightened. The bastard got off on it. Sam couldn't wait to see if he liked being on the wrong end of his petty little threats.
"Good," Hammond said, and his grip loosened a tiny bit around Annie's arm. Sam could see the blood rushing back where his knuckles had been white. "At this time of night, it should take Winters about twenty minutes to get here. Add another two minutes to open his safe and gather the papers, and I estimate we have twenty-two more minutes to enjoy each other's company. However shall we pass the time?"
Sam stared at him with an expression of unmasked loathing, but her real attention was focused on the far side of the room, the front of the building and the two men she could sense just outside the door. In another minute they would be inside. She wanted to warn Noah, but there was nothing she could say without alerting Hammond to the impending attack, so she settled for sending him a look filled with every ounce of love she had for him and hoped it was enough.
That was when the room exploded.
* * *
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Three things registered for Noah all at once. The first was that Sam loved him. That was obvious from the look she gave him just before the front door to the building burst in and a six-foot, four-inch demon launched through with a five-foot sword in one hand and a hound of hell at his heels.
Noah assumed the hound was actually Tobias, but knowing that didn't take away from the impressive entrance.
The second thing to register was that Hammond and his three goons had been taken by surprise by the invasion, and the third was that Sam had not. In the instant the door parted from its frame, she was already in the air, throwing herself at Annie, knocking her free of the general's grip and carrying her to the floor. A shot rang out, but Noah couldn't see if it hit. Sam was already rolling herself and Annie several feet away before tucking the other woman underneath a table. Then Sam sprang to her feet and launched herself back into the fray, this time on four feet.
Noah barely had time to process revelation number three before he found himself in action, his instincts automatically taking over to guide his muscles in the necessary movements. He heard two more shots, but he didn't have time to look for them. One leg swept out and caught the redheaded soldier directly in the left kneecap. The soldier's legs buckled and he collapsed on a scream, his hands cupping protectively around his injury. Noah snatched up the rifle the soldier dropped and turned immediately toward Hammond.
Out of the corner of his eye, Noah could see soldier number three pinned to the floor beneath a snarling, snapping Tobias, and Baldy was currently working on keeping his head attached to his neck. The way Rule swung that sword of his, the poor bastard wouldn't be able to manage it much longer.
Noah's eyes locked on Samantha and he felt his heart go cold. A crease in her side bled heavily, the red liquid staining and matting her thick fur. She lay half on her side, her front feet planted on the concrete, and she struggled to right herself. Hammond had his arms outstretched, one eye squinted as he peered down at them with Samantha directly in his pistol's sights.
Noah didn't even hesitate. He didn't think about his career or his future or the prospect of a court-martial or a murder trial. He just lifted the rifle to his shoulder and squeezed the trigger.
Hammond's body jerked in shock, his arms shaking, his shot going wild and pinging through the metal wall of the warehouse somewhere to the right. He dropped to his knees, then collapsed facedown on the concrete.
Noah threw down the rifle and sprinted to Sam's side, gathering her up in his arms, not caring about the blood or the fur or the tail. All he cared about was Sam and knowing that she would be all right.
"Sam! Samantha, honey, I'm so sorry. God! He hurt you." Noah heard his voice trembling as he ripped his T-shirt off over his head and pressed it to the wound in her side. All he could think about was stopping the bleeding. Stop the bleeding and get her to a hospital and God, please let her be okay. "I'm so sorry, baby. Let me help. I'll apply pressure and then we'll call an ambulance and get you in for some stitches. You're going to be okay. I promise."
He felt a ripple as she shifted in his arms, and when he looked down her very human face was smiling up at him.
"I know I will," she said, tugging at the hand he had pressing the T-shirt to her side. "Noah, it's all right. You can let go. I'm not bleeding anymore. See?"
She pushed his trembling hand away and he looked down at the red, puckered skin on her side. The open wound from the bullet crease was gone, partially healed over as if it had happened weeks ago instead of only a few minutes.
He moaned and squeezed his eyes shut, burying his face in her neck. "Oh, my God, I almost died!" He fought to catch his breath, to force the memory of seeing her wounded from his mind, but he knew even then than the picture would never leave him. "I saw you bleeding and I almost died. You can't ever do that to me again, baby. Promise you'll never scare me like that again."
She wrapped her arms around him and stroked her hands up and down his trembling back. "I'm certainly not planning to get shot again," she told him, sounding almost amused. "It hurt like hell!"
As he choked back a cry, his arms tightened around her until she squeaked and pressed against his shoulders to give herself room to breathe. "Don't even joke about it!" he scolded fiercely. "I love you! God, I love you so much. Do you have any idea what it would have done to me to lose you? Do you?"
He felt her hand cup his cheek and urge him to look at her. Through the glitter of tears, he saw that her eyes were warm and golden and loving, as sweet as summer honey.
"I think it would have done the same thing to you that it would have done to me," she told him, her voice achingly tender. "It would have killed me."
She brushed her lips against his and he clutched her to him as if he would never let her go.
When she whispered to him that she loved him, he knew he never would.
* * *
EPILOGUE
It had been exactly one month since the incident at the piers, and Sam knew she loved Noah even more now than she had that night when he'd cradled her against him and told her he loved her. But if he didn't stop treating her with kid gloves, she swore to the moon she was going to kill him.
For four weeks he'd been all sweet kisses and gentle caresses, tender embraces and whispered words of love. At first, she'd understood. He'd had a shock, seeing her shot like that, and even though she'd healed a hell of a lot faster than any human, it had still been a couple of days before the last twinges had left her side. She'd thought it was very sweet of him to be so solicitous, so careful and undemanding of her. But she'd had enough of it three and a half weeks ago. She wanted the old Noah back, the one who threw her to her living room floor and took her until she screamed his name.
And damn it, she was going to get him back if it killed her.
She set the stage carefully, beginning with the timing. Noah had gotten the letter officially informing him of the U.S. Army's decision to clear him of any and all wrongdoing in the death of General Elijah Edward Hammond just yesterday. They'd been expecting it, but it had still been a relief for Noah to see it in black-and-white. Tobias and Rule had been very helpful in offering testimony to the investigation committee, as well as in cleaning up the mess they'd left on the pier. They had stuck around while Noah carried Sam back to the club to assure himself she didn't have any further injuries, so by the time the police arrived, and the MPs shortly after that
the three soldiers Hammond had used in his experiment had been more than ready to testify as well in return for the lighter sentences of life in prison.
Now that the whole mess was behind them, she figured it would be a good time for Noah to concentrate on the really important things. Like bringing her to a mind-blowing orgasm or three.
She had left the office early, never mind the usual Friday end of the week chaos, and had rushed home to prepare. She had cold cooked meats, beer, and snacks in the fridge, candles glowing in strategic parts of the apartment, and she was wearing the kind of thing she'd once despaired of Noah ever getting to see, since he used to be so eager to get her clothes off, he never even bothered to look at what was underneath.
Tonight, she wanted him to look. And touch. And hopefully drool.
She heard his key in the lock and posed herself in the bedroom doorway, clearly visible when he opened the door.
"Sam? Where are you, sweetheart?"
"Over here," she purred, and watched as the keys fell from his hands and the blood rushed from his head to pool someplace farther south.
"Holy Christ," he groaned, stumbling back against the apartment door and knocking it shut. "You're trying to kill me."
"Absolutely not." She grinned and walked slowly toward him, loving the way his eyes locked on the sway of her hips as if a tow truck couldn't have pulled them away. "Why would I want to kill you when I'm not nearly done with you yet?"
Wrapping her arms around him, she pressed herself up against his starchy uniform and kissed him until she guessed his eyes had crossed. She knew for sure that hers had.
"God," he whispered against her lips, and she felt his hands on her hips, felt the tiny tremor that shook them. "You're driving me crazy," he said. "I don't think I can hold back any more. I want you so bad, I think I might die from it."
But still he didn't make a move to lower her to the entry carpet. Of which she had some very fond memories. "Well, then quit wasting time and do something about it!" she shouted. "Who the heck asked you to hold back? I'm pretty certain it wasn't me, since I've spent the last month fantasizing about what it would be like the next time you pinned me up against the shower wall. Only you haven't done any pinning."
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