Maybe he was wrong.
She shook, clutching the glasses in one hand. “They have Mae too?”
“You know her?” he asked, surprise in his voice.
“She’s my best friend,” answered Alice, the fight and will to give them all hell rushing from her body. She sank to the floor and sat, holding the glasses to her chest. “She’s so innocent and always forgetting things. She’s not a fighter. She can’t handle this.”
“How long have you been here?” he asked, something off. His words didn’t match his emotions, that was easy to pick up on.
She didn’t respond at first, but when she finally did she knew she sounded tired. “At this facility, just today. I was at a different one for a couple of weeks. I think. Time is hard to keep without a clock.” He nodded, as if he understood her struggle to figure out nights from days and how hard it was to keep an accurate count. “They said I was too difficult to deal with at the other place. They brought me here. Something about it being higher security or something.”
A flicker of pride reflected back at her from him and she tipped her head, wondering why her confessions would cause him to fill with such an emotion. Her thoughts quickly returned to Mae. Alice knew what she’d endured at the hands of the people holding them. She couldn’t imagine what her best friend had been subjected to. “Oh gods, they’ve had Mae this whole time, haven’t they?”
Her succubus side continued to read his tells. While he still wanted her sexually, there was something else there. Was it genuine concern for her?
“She’s been here just over two weeks. She mentioned being taken the night of a blind date.”
Alice gasped and locked gazes with him. “I was taken then too.”
She nearly lost her grip on her tears, nearly let them win. There was a loud creaking noise, followed quickly by the door to her cell opening. Relief rushed through her as Ezra entered the room. Desperation clung to her. She needed to feed and soon and she needed to find her friend.
“They have my friend Mae,” she said, knowing her voice sounded weak.
Nodding, Ezra stepped into the cell more. “I know.”
He’d known they’d had Mae all along? Her temper rose, chasing away the urge to cry and replacing it with the sudden need to throw something at the man.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded, clutching Mae’s glasses to her chest. “You came with me from the other place and you never once mentioned they have my best friend too?”
There was a level of sadness in his otherwise handsome face. “I only just found out this morning. I didn’t know that two of you were taken from the same location. That information wasn’t presented to me prior. She’s fine, Alice. I promise.”
She trusted him. She’d read his thoughts enough before he’d learned to block her to know he was a good man stuck in a bad situation. “Did they force her to breed?” asked Alice, feeling sick at the idea. “Like they threatened to do to me?”
The question drew a snort from Ezra and a violent outburst from Brad as he punched the window separating them, his entire body coiled with rage. He then flipped Ezra off.
Alice’s eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t know her, yet he was irate and ready to blow on her behalf.
Ezra chuckled, partially under his breath as he shook his head, his long hair moving about. “Relax, wolf. I’m only laughing because any man who tries to get near Alice has been very sorry.”
She’d have taken offense but she was sort of proud of her reputation among the guards. She shrugged casually. “I told them they weren’t touching me. They should have listened.”
“Not sure the one you went at this morning will ever have use of his manhood again,” said Ezra, grinning wide before he winked.
She smiled back. “Good. Asshole should know it’s wrong to touch a woman who doesn’t want to be touched. Now every time his dick doesn’t work, he’ll remember why that is.”
Ezra held his hand out. “Mae needs her glasses. She’s resting now and I made sure to leave someone with her who will keep her safe.”
Alice stiffened, her gaze narrowing. “This Caesar guy you’re working with?”
“The fact you were able to read my thoughts before I figured it out and started blocking you is unnerving,” said Ezra. “And to answer your question, no. Caesar isn’t with her. He’s not checked in with me yet. He should have.”
“You think something happened to him, don’t you?”
Ezra offered a curt nod. “I have to say you’re one of the few people in my long life who can do that—who can read me. I’m not really a fan of it.”
Alice lifted her shoulders and let them fall slowly, trying to appear calm and collected. She was neither. She needed to feed and soon. “Never met a guy who could shift into a dragon. Hell, I didn’t think dragons were even real.”
“Most people assume werewolves aren’t real,” replied Ezra. “And I think Brad would be the first to dispute that claim.”
“I’m a lycan,” he said, posturing.
Ezra glanced at him. “You’re a hell of a lot more than just a lycan now after the Corporation got their hands on you and you know it.”
“The Corporation?” he asked and then stepped back from the glass. “The people who took me to start with?”
Ezra nodded and spoke, “I was planted with them, in one of their German facilities to start with. It became clear I was needed on this end more.”
Alice stepped closer to Ezra and handed him the glasses. “Tell Brad about the Shadow Agent Ops thing.”
Groaning, Ezra eyed her. “Announce it to everyone, why don’t you, little succubus?”
She glanced at Brad. He was a prisoner too. “Like he’s going to tell them. He wants them dead as much as me. Maybe more.”
Ezra stared in Brad’s direction. “I’m guessing much, much more, Alice. Brad has been held against his will nearly a year, at least from what I can tell by his paper trail.”
Brad touched the glass, his expression softening somewhat. “Do you know about Vic or Kimberly?”
Ezra glanced at the door and then back to the window. “Vic is still being held by the Corporation. They have him buried deep in one of the black sites. I suspect they intended the same for you, but you were liberated from their holding station.”
Alice tilted her head. What had Ezra meant by liberated?
Brad jutted out his chin. “I’m not going back.”
“Didn’t think you’d want to,” said Ezra.
“Kimberly?” Brad asked, desperation showing on his face, and for a second a small pang of jealousy struck Alice, though she wasn’t sure why. She had nothing to be jealous of. It wasn’t like she and Brad were an item.
Ezra nodded. “Kimberly has been free for months. That is all I know. I’ve been in too deep to keep up on it all.”
Exhaling, Brad put his head against the glass. He then drew in a deep breath and locked gazes with Ezra. “Get Mae and Alice out of here no matter the cost. Use me as a diversion if need be. I want them safe.”
He’d been locked up already for how long, and the nimrod wanted to make a martyr of himself for her? Something deep inside her snapped. She would not allow harm to come to him, no matter the personal cost to herself. With the knowledge came her famous temper. “You don’t even know me. Why would you sacrifice yourself for me? Are you stupid?”
“I still want you safe.”
Ezra stood tall. “I want all of you safe.”
The door to the cell opened and a different guard appeared. “Ezra, we have a problem. Something is happening at the other facility. Felix has given the green light on Operation Red.”
What was Operation Red?
She waited for additional information from the new guard but none came. From the expression on Ezra’s face and his tense body language, Operation Red was far from a good thing. Ezra inclined his head in the man’s direction. “Go to the main room. I’ll be there in a minute. I’ll deal with these two myself.”
The guard left and Ezra grabbed Alice’s arm. “Alice, you need to listen to Brad. Caesar isn’t responding to my calls, and with what Felix ordered, I know something bad has happened to him.” He looked to Brad. “Alice, I’m going to trust Brad to get you out of here.”
She stiffened. She was being put into the hot guy’s care? There was no way she’d be able to control her inner harlot if she was making contact with Brad. She’d use him and dry him up like what had happened to the first boy she’d ever kissed.
No! She wouldn’t let that happen.
Ezra kept his gaze on Brad. “I’m unlocking you. Can I trust you with her?”
“I’m not leaving this place without Mae,” pushed Alice, wanting both her friend safe and distance to be kept between her and Brad. It was for his own good.
Ezra held her firmly. “An operative I trust is with her. I need to get there and make sure he’s come out of the drugs given to him before any of these assholes decide to start the killings with him. The two of you need to get out. If Felix has Caesar, he’ll find a way to break him. It’s what he does. Caesar is strong, but not that strong.”
Couldn’t Ezra see she was on edge? That she was holding on by a thread? That her succubus was on the verge of doing something horrible to a good man? Digging her heels in, Alice tried to plant herself and remain in place. Ezra wasn’t having any of it. He lifted her with ease and carried her from her cell and right to the door of Brad’s cell. Alice’s mind raced. She couldn’t be close to him. Couldn’t allow contact.
Ezra opened the door and set Alice down, giving her a good shove right into the arms of the man Alice feared touching most at the moment.
Brad.
“Take her and go.”
For being locked up, Brad smelled great. Better than great. He smelled good enough to lick and her inner harlot wanted to do just that and more. Her succubus roared to life, wanting him, making heat flare throughout her body.
Ezra plucked the glasses from her hand. “Mae will need these.”
“I’m not leaving without my friend,” pressed Alice, trying and failing to get out of Brad’s grasp. His hands felt so good on her sexually starved skin that she nearly sank into his embrace, all while her mind wanted her to do the opposite. She could feel herself starting to draw upon his energy. She didn’t want to hurt him. Didn’t want to be what finally ended him when he’d clearly fought to survive for as long as he had. She opened her mouth to scream at the men and confess that she couldn’t control her lust, when all of a sudden Brad lifted her and tossed her over his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes.
Cream flooded her sex and she nearly moaned, only just managing to hold it in. She clung to what little control remained over her succubus, drawing on her anger to try to keep Brad safe. The stupid fool was going to get himself killed trying to save her and she was going to be the weapon that ended him. She hit at his back to no avail. “Put me down!”
He stiffened and she felt it then, his desire for her rolling off him in waves. He spanked her bottom with two good swats, drawing a yelp from her. “Silence, woman. I’m getting you out of here.”
Brad turned enough for her to see Ezra again. The dragon-shifter looked pleased. She wanted to hit him too.
Asshole.
Ezra spoke to Brad, “Left, right and then two lefts. An exit is there. I have a safe house not far from here.” He gave the address and then cast a worried look at Alice.
She had to close her eyes to focus on keeping her succubus side under control. It wanted her to stop struggling and start trying to jump Brad’s bones. It didn’t matter that there was obvious danger around them and something big was going down. All it cared about was getting laid and it wanted Brad to be the man doing the dirty deed.
“Copy that,” replied Brad.
He was a shifter. Couldn’t he sense how much of a threat she was?
Worst shifter instincts ever, she thought, opening her eyes, staring at his tight ass from her position over his strong shoulder. But best shifter ass ever.
She was about to reach down and try to feel the ass she was so focused on when loud sirens, their sound was nearly deafening, began going off. Brad’s entire body stiffened and he jerked, setting her down and then swaying. Something was wrong.
Very wrong with him.
She touched his shoulder, worry lacing her. “Brad?”
He bent, nearly going to one knee, his hands moving over his ears. It was clear he was in immense pain. The need to jump his bones subsided somewhat, as if her succubus was as worried about his safety as Alice was. She didn’t know what to do or how to stop the noises that were obviously hurting him. She did the only thing she could think to do—she put her hands over his ears, and bent, locking gazes with him. The need to kiss him was there, yet she resisted, scared she’d reduce him to a dried-up shell of a man all while trying to help him. Instead, she continued to stare into his dark gaze, willing him to know she was there and she wasn’t about to leave him.
There was movement at the end of the hall and at first she thought it might be Ezra. It wasn’t. It was one of the asshole guards. She gasped and Brad came upright, growling loudly as he yanked her behind him in a protective manner. In the blink of an eye he was charging the guards, seemingly unconcerned with the fact several of them were carrying shock sticks. One of them rammed a stick into Brad and his body jerked but he didn’t go down.
Holy crap!
Her man was alpha through and through.
My man? she thought, freezing for a moment at the shock of the idea of Brad being hers in any way. When she shook off the stunned moment of it all, she realized he was being converged upon from all sides by guards. Brad struck one and the man dropped his stick. Alice wasted no time snatching it up and thrusting it into the guard closest to her. The man not only jerked and went down, he started to drool too.
Yeah, her man was a total badass.
Stop with the my man thing, she scolded herself.
Brad twisted, his eyes wild as he glanced down at her holding the shock stick. From his expression he looked as though he thought she might actually use the thing on him. That was absurd. She was about to let him know as much when blood began to trickle from his nose. Worry slammed into her. She reached up, touching just under his nose. With a shaky hand, she held up her index finger that was coated in blood.
Brad shrugged, like it was no big deal he’d just sprung a leak from the nose. He grabbed her other hand and turned, heading in the direction they’d originally been going in. He practically dragged her along. She did her best to keep pace, but he was faster than she could ever hope to be. Huge pops and bangs sounded from what felt like all directions in the hallway. Brad whipped around and then slammed her into the unforgiving wall, pressing his powerful frame to hers, making her succubus shout with victory.
Her body was so starved for sex and sexual energy that at first she didn’t realize what the noises had been. As Brad jerked several times and grunted, she understood. Someone was shooting at them and they’d managed to hit Brad more than once.
“You’re bleeding!” yelled Alice a second before there was a massive explosion and heat and fire swelled around them.
Chapter Eight
Brad’s ears rang as he lifted his head, for a moment unsure where he was or who he was with. His head felt heavy and his body was hot, pain radiating throughout him. He tried to look around only to find his vision blurred to the point he couldn’t make out anything. He touched his temple lightly, trying to think, to focus on what had happened. Slowly, it came back to him. He remembered trying to make a run for it with someone.
Who?
His heart hammered quickly in his chest as he recalled everything. Alice. He’d been trying to get her to safety. To freedom. Something had happened. He’d been so close to the exit. So close to freedom and then everything had turned on its axis. The world had shifted beneath his feet and it had felt as if someone had dropped a truck on him.
Not a truck, he thoug
ht. The building. The fucking building had exploded around them.
Frantic, he felt around his immediate area, still unable to see through the smoke, in search of Alice. His fingers skimmed over broken pieces of the building. He lifted a portion and squeezed, reducing it to dust nearly instantly, his emotions were so high. He took a deep breath in, hoping to at least catch her scent, but all he could smell was the aftereffects of the explosion and charred flesh. Panic continued to assail him. Had Alice been injured? Had she been killed?
“No!” he roared, the sound deep and visceral. The wolf pounded at him from within, demanding to be free to hunt for the woman. With nothing more than adrenaline guiding his actions, he put his palms to the floor and pushed up. He hadn’t realized something had been on him until then. He didn’t stop to question what that something was. He used his worry and fear as a weapon as he burst free from the rubble and stood, his arms going out, his vision clearing slowly. He soaked in the destruction around him. Smoke filled the area and fires burned to his left and right. The air was thick and hard to breathe, but he didn’t care. His only concern was Alice.
Where the hell was she?
He’d been holding her to him as guards shot at them and then bam, everything had gone dark. Looking around, it seemed like the whole building had collapsed in his area. With a jerk, he spun to see that an entire cinderblock wall had been what had fallen on him.
Fear ate at him. Alice wouldn’t have survived something like that. He should have been more banged up than he was, especially considering that prior to the explosion he’d been riddled with bullet wounds. He didn’t want to dwell on what the scientists had done to him. Now wasn’t the time. Whatever they’d done had made it so he was able to at least search for his woman.
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