“What do you suggest?” Fiona inquired, shifting on her seat behind Gryke.
“Zaureth will go out first,” Melvin announced. “He can disable the surrounding guards without injuring them. Once they’re subdued, we’ll restrain them and lock them in a nearby structure to prevent them from sounding an alarm.”
Fiona cleared her throat. “Once we get to the lab, Jefferies is going to expect me to show up with the scrolls and Arcanum. If I arrive alone or with any of you, he will destroy Hauke.”
“It won’t come to that,” Tony interjected. “Vaulcron has already spoken to Hauke. There are a dozen armed men inside the lab. Zaureth and Gryke will disarm the ones guarding the outside, and slip in through the basement.”
Gryke felt Fiona stiffen. “But I’m sure that door will be locked and under heavy guard.”
“Do not concern yourself with that,” Gryke rumbled. “The human door will not stop us. Nor the men on the other side.”
Making eye contact with Melvin, Gryke voiced his concerns. “I do not want Fiona anywhere near the building.”
Melvin studied him for several heartbeats. “Neither do I. But there are at least fifty armed soldiers and only six of us. She knows how to fight, and she can shoot better than most of the men I’ve trained. We need her.”
“I’m going whether you like it or not,” Fiona bit out. “Now, let’s go. We’re wasting time.”
Gryke ground his teeth in anger, put the ATV in gear, and sped off toward the entrance.
Fiona had to be the most stubborn female he’d ever encountered. And as much as he respected her for the brave warrior she was, he couldn’t bear to think of her running into that building and risking her life.
“I don’t want to go in there any more than you want me to,” she whispered in his mind. “But I’m no coward, Gryke. I will do what needs to be done to stop Jefferies from destroying any more lives.”
“If something happens to you…”
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” she sent back. “I’m smarter than you think.”
Gryke wanted to stop the ATV and let her off. He wanted to rail at her for endangering herself. But he knew that wouldn’t work. She would only find another way to get there. Even if she had to run.
“You’re right,” Fiona admitted, reading his thoughts. “I would go regardless. Pissed off that I had to walk, but I would still go.”
Gryke shut down the connection he had with Fiona. He needed to concentrate, to keep his mind on the task at hand. They were riding into danger at a high rate of speed, and he couldn’t allow his thoughts to be consumed by Fiona, or he’d end up getting them both killed.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Fiona’s heart began to pound as Gryke stopped the ATV next to Vaulcron and Oz, while Zaureth jogged ahead to the entrance.
None of them spoke as the giant healer strode forward, his arms out to his sides, and his head slightly tilted back.
He suddenly threw his hands up, his palms facing forward. His head snapped up, and a powerful surge of energy pulsed through the entrance, startling Fiona with its intensity.
“Let’s go,” Tony barked.
Fiona locked her knees, half standing on the back of her ATV, to see over Gryke’s massive shoulder.
The dozen or so soldiers scattered around the entrance were on their knees, their hands holding the sides of their heads as they cried out in torment.
As one, the ATVs blasted up the ramp and slid to a stop in the middle of the chaos.
Melvin fished out several pieces of rope from the back of his mule and tossed them to Gryke, Fiona, Oz, Tony, and Vaulcron. “Secure them!”
Fiona tied two of the soldiers’ hands and feet while the others took care of the rest.
Zaureth lowered his hands, obviously pulling away from the fallen men’s minds, if the look of relief on their faces were any indication.
Helping the others drag the soldiers to a nearby house, Fiona noticed Gryke watching her with a look of pride in his eyes.
She winked at him.
“What does it mean to blink one eye in such a way?” Gryke questioned, pulling two men through the open doorway.
Fiona grinned. “It’s called a wink. And it’s normally used as a flirtatious gesture.”
Gryke paused for a moment. “I understand what flirt means. To outwardly show interest to someone that you want.”
“Pretty much,” Fiona agreed, her smile still in place.
“Does that mean that you want me?”
Fiona glanced around at the group she came with, wondering how many of them were listening. “We’ll discuss this later.”
Gryke tilted his head to the side. “You are ashamed to admit your feelings?”
“Not ashamed,” Fiona insisted. “I’d just rather not talk about my private life in front of a crowd.”
Gryke narrowed his eyes, but didn’t push. And for that, Fiona was grateful.
“How far is the lab from here?” Fiona hurried back to the ATV with Gryke right behind her.
The rest of her group filed out as well. Tony answered her question as he climbed into the passenger seat of the mule. “About five miles northeast of here. Are you ready?”
Fiona wrapped her arms tightly around Gryke’s waist, loving the feel of his rock-hard abs beneath her hands before glancing over at Tony. “As I’ll ever be.”
* * * *
Melvin stopped the mule about a mile from Winchester Industries and flagged the rest of them over into a copse of trees. “We go in the rest of the way on foot.”
Fiona climbed off the back of the ATV, waited for Gryke to dismount, and followed the rest of the crew through the foliage.
Tony held up a hand, grabbed a pair of binoculars from the bag he held, and lifted them to his eyes. “There are twenty to thirty heavily armed men along the front. And probably at least that many in back.”
“I will disable the ones I can see,” Zaureth answered, moving to step forward.
Tony gripped Zaureth’s arm, his gaze touching on everyone in the group. “We do this as quietly as possible. We don’t want to alert the trigger-happy idiots inside. That means no weapons unless absolutely necessary. Understood?”
Everyone nodded and followed the healer to the edge of the tree line.
Zaureth’s body began to vibrate, causing a strange humming noise in Fiona’s ears. His arms lifted out to his sides before snapping forward, sending a force of energy across the field, through the parking lot, to slam into the restless crowd of soldiers patrolling the front.
The unsuspecting soldiers dropped to their knees in unison, their mouths open on silent screams as their weapons fell to the ground in front of them.
“Move out,” Tony whispered, already slipping quietly from the tree line.
Fiona took off after him, noticing Gryke on her left and Vaulcron on her right.
They’re flanking me, she realized, watching as they closed in on her from both sides. Protecting me…
Melvin and Oz caught up with them in seconds, the five of them running across the field as Zaureth walked along behind them, tormenting the downed soldiers with the power of his mind.
Gryke abruptly blasted ahead, passing Fiona like she was tied to a tree.
Without slowing, Gryke gripped the head of the first man he came to, twisted, and broke the guy’s neck. He then spun toward the next one, slamming the heel of his boot into the soldier’s nose hard enough it splintered into his brain.
The rest of the Fiona’s group fought their way through the throng of soldiers, leaving no one alive.
Adrenaline surged through Fiona as she fought savagely alongside Gryke, the sounds of bone crunching ricocheting through the surrounding trees.
Jumping over a nearby body, Fiona pulled a knife from her belt, yanked the guy’s head back, and opened his throat.
“Go after the ones in back,” Zaureth commanded in a deadly soft tone.
Fiona hesitated, unable to look away from the healer’s glassy ey
es as he steadily moved toward the entrance to the lab. Though his gaze remained locked on the building in front of him, Fiona knew that his concentration was trained on the fighting around him. She also knew that he would die before allowing anything to happen to one of his people. Including her.
Straightening away from the lifeless man at her feet, Fiona darted toward the back of the lab with her knife in hand.
The sound of Gryke’s sharkskin boots thumping on the ground behind her could be heard over the thundering of her heart.
He flew past her, crashing into the closest soldier in her path.
Fiona barely spared him a glance as she headed toward the next man in her path. He staggered back a step, dropping his weapon, and gripping the sides of the head.
She sank her blade into his stomach, twisted it, and moved on to the next man she saw.
Tony rounded the corner with Melvin and Oz in tow, the three of them exacting retribution in the quickest, quietest way possible.
Thank God for Zaureth, Fiona thought, her breath pumping in and out of her lungs. There would have been no way for the six of them to take down fifty armed men without the healer’s help.
“Through the basement,” Melvin ordered, waving them toward the back door.
Fiona glanced around. “Where is Vaulcron?”
“He went in through the front with Zaureth,” Melvin assured her, racing to the basement door. He gripped the handle. “It’s locked.”
Gryke shouldered him aside. “Stand back.”
Fiona watched in disbelief as Gryke wrapped his large hand around the handle, bent his knees slightly, and pulled.
Muscles bulged through his arms and legs as he strained to open the door. It finally gave way with a loud pop, letting her know the lock had splintered under Gryke’s incredible strength.
She’d always known that Gryke was stronger than any man she’d ever known, but the power he’d just displayed in front of her left her reeling.
“Move!” Melvin hissed, holding the door open for the group to enter.
Gryke held out an arm in front of Fiona. “Behind me.”
Fiona understood that he wanted to go in first, just in case Jefferies had armed men in the basement. She gave a sharp nod and waited for Gryke to enter the building.
The basement was empty, save for unused equipment and stacks of boxes.
Melvin raised his arm, signaling for everyone to follow him toward the stairs. “Use caution. We don’t know what’s on the other side of that door.”
Gunfire exploded from the upper level, spurring the group into action. They darted up the stairs, bursting through the door to the first floor.
All hell broke loose.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The barbs on Gryke’s wrists and ankles became erect with the first round of gunfire that erupted around him.
He threw himself in front of Fiona, jerked the handgun from the waistband of his sharkskin shorts, and fired, taking out the man nearest him.
“Are you injured?” he growled over his shoulder, praying Fiona hadn’t been hit.
She rushed out from behind him, holding her weapon with both hands. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”
Gryke assessed the situation in one quick glance. Assured that none of his team had been injured, he jogged over to the door to the stairwell.
“What floor are they on?” Fiona breathed, staying close to his back.
More gunfire erupted, coming from outside this time. Gryke slowed his steps and spun to face the rest of the group. “We are surrounded. You stay below and attempt to hold them off. Fiona and I will go after Hauke and his mate.”
Melvin was already exiting the stairwell before Gryke finished speaking.
“Do not leave my side,” Gryke ordered Fiona. He turned and bounded up the stairs, trusting her to obey.
Following the sounds of gunfire, Gryke stopped at the door to the third floor and opened his mind to Vaulcron. “We are about to enter the third floor of the building. Tell me where I need to go.”
There was a brief pause. “Zaureth is injured. We are on the third floor in the last room on the right and taking fire from multiple points of entry,” Vaulcron sent back. “Jefferies was not alone, Gryke. He brought an army. A rather large one from what I could see from a window. I would guess over two hundred land walkers, carrying multiple weapons.”
Gryke snarled, torn between running toward the room that held his closest friend or staying in the stairwell and protecting the female he loved. And he did love her, he realized, probably too late.
“What is it?” Fiona hissed, anxiety prominent in her voice.
With regret squeezing his heart, Gryke slowly turned in Fiona’s direction. “Forgive me.” He locked his fingers on the nerve at her shoulder and clamped down hard.
Fiona would have crumpled at his feet had he not caught her in his arms. He bent and lifted her high against his chest, fighting an emotion that threatened to choke him. “I am so sorry.”
Carrying Fiona’s unconscious body back down the flight of stairs, Gryke stopped at the door leading to the second floor. Satisfied that all was clear, he eased the door opened and stepped out.
He rushed across the hall to a half-open door with the word JANITOR inscribed on a gold plate resting on the front.
Laying Fiona on the carpeted floor in the back, Gryke grabbed some empty boxes and stacked them in front of her. Hopefully it would be enough to keep her hidden until he could return for her.
The sound of gunfire continued to grow louder as Gryke turned the lock on the knob, pulled the door shut, and slipped back inside the stairwell.
He took the stairs three at a time back to the third floor, kicked the door open, and shot the first three men he encountered.
“I am here,” he mentally sent to Vaulcron while flattening himself against the wall. “I will take out as many as I can from this end. As soon I give you the word, you rush the door and box them in.”
Vaulcron answered immediately. “I comprehend.”
Gryke kept his connection open with Vaulcron, quickly reloaded his weapon, and dove into the open, landing on his side in the hall.
“Now,” Gryke demanded, opening fire on the unsuspecting soldiers.
Vaulcron burst through the door, firing at the ones closest to him, dropping them like flies until none were left standing.
Gryke rolled to his feet and jogged toward the room that held Hauke, Abbie, and an injured Zaureth.
“How bad is it?” Gryke growled, rushing past Hauke to kneel next to the healer.
Abbie answered for him. “He’s been shot and is losing a lot of blood. I need to get the bullet out.”
“Do what you can for him,” Gryke bit out, attempting to control his rage. “We will make certain that no one gets through.”
Vaulcron glanced back from his position at the door. “Where are the others?”
“Down below,” Gryke rumbled, hoping Melvin, Oz, and Tony were still alive. “We need to get to the basement. It is much safer down there.”
Abbie shook her head. “We can’t move Zaureth. He took a bullet to the chest. Moving him could cause more damage.”
“We cannot stay here,” Gryke argued. “It is far too dangerous. Jefferies has an army out there that outnumbers us a hundred to one.”
Abbie grabbed onto Gryke’s arm when he attempted to lift Zaureth’s body. “Then we are dead regardless. Our only hope is to get that bullet out of him and pray that he is able to subdue them long enough for us to escape.”
The glass suddenly shattered on one of the windows, and a cloud of smoke instantly filled the air.
Coughs began erupting from the room’s occupants. Gryke couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see. His vision blurred and his body grew sluggish. The last thought he had before another window shattered and more smoke filled the room, was of Fiona lying defenseless in that closet.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Fiona stirred as an explosion rocked the floor beneath her. Her shoulde
r ached something fierce, and the pounding in her head thrummed in time with her heartbeat.
She moaned and sat up, rolling her shoulder to test if it was functional.
Why was she in a closet? she wondered, pushing to her knees.
Memory came flooding back with a vengeance. Gryke had incapacitated her with what she could only describe as the Vulcan nerve pinch. Though Fiona knew it to be possible, she’d actually never experienced it until now.
“Damn him,” she snarled, staggering to her feet.
The sounds of gunfire erupting outside told her that things had gotten way out of hand. There were far more than a dozen or so rifles targeting the lab.
Stumbling to the door, Fiona unlocked it and eased it open. Her eyes instantly began to water with the evidence of tear gas seeping into the hall.
Darting back inside the janitor’s closet, Fiona began ripping open boxes until she found what she searched for. Medical masks. Finding a box of safety glasses, she grabbed a handful of them as well, donned one herself, and rushed back out into the hall while pulling on her mask.
Bodies were everywhere, lying in pools of blood that spread onto the carpet in bright puddles of crimson. She followed the trail of corpses to an open door at the end of the hall.
Blinking through the fog swirling in the room, Fiona hurried forward until she located Gryke.
“Here,” she ground out, slipping a mask over his head and helping him pull on his safety glasses. Thankfully the glasses were enclosed at the sides, preventing the gas from seeping inside.
She handed Gryke a couple more pairs of glasses and masks before moving off to help Abbie don hers.
“Let’s get out of here,” Fiona barked as soon as everyone had on their safety equipment.
Abbie grabbed onto her arm. “We can’t move Zaureth. He has a bullet in his chest, and I have no idea how bad it is.”
Fiona ground her teeth. “Across the hall. He will have to be dragged by the feet to keep his upper body from moving. But he can’t stay here.”
Gryke: A SciFi Alien Romance (Enigma Series Book 6) Page 10
