Dark Wrath

by Anwar, Celeste

  Erin gave him an indignant look when he pulled away. “I’m not stupid!” she mouthed.

  He pretended he didn’t see that.

  “Asshole!” she mouthed at his back as he turned away to follow the others.

  Naturally, he missed that, too, but she knew better than to cross him. He’d stick her back in the dingy and shove it off--or something equally macho.

  Trailing the pack, she moved as quickly and quietly as she could manage given that she couldn’t see nearly as well in the dark as they could. Her calves began to protest almost at once as they followed a tunnel that curved sharply upward.

  The tunnel was narrow. Jesse’s broad shoulders blocked most of her view, and most of the light from the lantern Juan was carrying, but she could hear, faintly, the movements of the others in front of them, the brush of their arm or leg along the rocky surface of the corridor, the light scrape of a foot not lifted quite clear of the floor.

  She didn’t want to think about how much noise she was making. She was winded before they had climbed far at all, and wondered if her panting breaths sounded as loud to them as it did to her.

  When Jesse glanced back at her, she closed her mouth, certain she must be making as much noise as she’d feared, struggling to get enough air without using her mouth.

  The third time he looked back at her, she flicked a hand at him as if shooing a fly.

  “Rest?” he mouthed at her.

  She shook her head firmly. She did need to rest. She already had a stitch in her side and she’d reached the point where she had to pant just to get enough air in her lungs, but she wasn’t going to let him accuse her of holding them up later if things went badly.

  Thankfully, the tunnel they were following began to taper off after a while. It still sloped upward noticeably, but the angle was easier to handle. About fifteen minutes later, they reached a fork. As Erin followed them to the left, she peered down the corridor they’d abandoned. A few yards beyond the fork, rubble littered the corridor from floor to ceiling.

  This must be the part the Feds had blocked off, she decided.

  Did that mean they were close, she wondered?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Apparently they were. Less than ten minutes later they halted. Erin craned to see around Jesse, who was still blocking her view. To her dismay, she saw a huge boulder blocking the end of the tunnel. The light, she discovered, was no longer coming from the lantern Juan had used to guide them. At some point, he’d extinguished it. Through a narrow crevice along the top of the boulder, artificial light flooded the passage they were in.

  So close! Erin thought mournfully, wondering why they hadn’t turned around already. She realized then that both Juan and the Lycans had tensed, their heads cocked as if listening intently. Unconsciously, she strained to hear, too.

  She didn’t hear anything.

  Apparently, neither did they, for after a moment, Tavian moved up beside Juan and the two of them began to shove at the boulder. It could not be moved quietly, but she saw that they were able to move it with amazing ease--which explained everything. They’d paused to make certain no humans were close enough to hear, and the humans weren’t guarding it because it hadn’t occurred to them that the boulder didn’t present a problem to the werefolk.

  They emerged into a cavern that had been converted into a huge storage area. To Erin’s surprise, instead of crossing it immediately toward the elevator shaft on the other side, the men spread out, examining the cases quickly.

  Juan, who’d apparently been more than once before, went directly to a large crate, pried the lid off and began pulling AK47’s from it. Seeing him, the others hurried over to help themselves to weapons, as well … except for Jesse, who continued to search the crates and boxes.

  She didn’t know what he was looking for, but he was making her nervous as hell.

  She wondered if she should arm herself?

  Apparently not. When she held her hand out for a gun, Juan merely gave her a look. It irritated her, but since she really didn’t have a clue of how to use it she decided to let the insult slide.

  By the time the men had loaded the weapons, Jesse was back and loaded down with all sorts of things. He tossed coils of rope to several of his men and then some wicked looking knives.

  She hoped that was just to cut the rope.

  The vinyl bag he’d slung on one shoulder clanked quietly as if it contained metallic objects of some kind. More ammunition, she wondered? The men were armed to the teeth now.

  When he turned to look at her, Erin knew he was about to argue with her about going any further. She was tempted to let him bully her into staying where it was safe, but she wasn’t going to cower in safety while Jesse and the others took all of the risks to save her baby. Glancing away from him before he could start mouthing orders at her, she headed for the elevator shaft.

  Jesse caught her hand as she was reaching up to punch the button. She glanced up at him in surprise. He was glaring at her. Shaking his head, he pointed toward the stairs.

  Feeling a little sheepish, Erin allowed him to drag her toward the stairs. It wasn’t until they reached the first landing that it dawned on her that the elevators had security cameras in them.

  She was really, really bad at this.

  Again the Lycans paused to listen. Instinctively, Erin copied them, though she knew by now that she might as well be deaf compared to the Lycan. Gesturing to her to wait, Jesse moved to the front and eased the door open a fraction of an inch, peering into the corridor. He hesitated, as if waiting for something. After a moment, he snatched the door wide enough to push through and disappeared.

  Tavian grabbed her before she could move.

  A minute passed and then several more. Erin was sorry she wasn’t wearing a watch, though she wasn’t certain of how much better it would’ve made her feel to know how much time had elapsed. Finally, when she’d reached the point of considering trying to wrest free of Tavian and taking off, Jesse pushed the door open again and motioned for them to follow him.

  Erin glanced up and down the corridor, wondering what Jesse had been up to.

  She saw a camera lying on the floor at one end, the wire severed.

  As they raced down the corridor, they passed what looked like an electronic junction box. The panel had been ripped off of it and the wires inside were now a ragged tangle.

  He’d been disabling the video feed? Wouldn’t that alert the guards just as quickly, she thought?

  Maybe not. Although she tensed with the expectation that any moment an alarm would begin to blast, none did.

  There was nothing but labs on the lower level they discovered when they’d checked every room along the corridor. Backtracking, Jesse punched the elevator button and pushed her behind him while they waited for it to arrive.

  Thankfully, there was only one occupant when the doors opened. The man, who was wearing a lab coat, only managed to gape at them soundlessly before one of the Lycans slammed him into the rear wall, knocking him unconscious. When they’d piled onto the elevator, Jesse looked the panel over and punched every button. When the elevator halted on the next level, he motioned for two men to get off. Nodding, they stepped from the cubicle and the doors closed behind them. When they reached the next level and the doors opened, two lab techs were waiting. Two of the Lycans reached out, grabbed them and yanked them inside. Erin closed her eyes, swallowing against the bile that rose in her throat when she heard the sickening crunch of bone. They flew wide again as Jesse grabbed her and hauled her into the corridor.

  She looked up at him questioningly as he motioned to the others. Two more Lycans stepped out just as the doors began to close. The others remained where they were and went up to the next level.

  Lifting his head, Jesse sniffed the air and then pointed down the corridor.

  Frowning, Erin raced to keep up with him. Without any hesitation, he led her directly to the nursery. Erin’s heart slammed against her ribcage when she saw the wide observation window.r />
  Pushing her back against the opposite side of the corridor, Jesse tried the door knob. Finding it locked without much apparent surprise, he slammed his shoulder into it. The door burst inward, striking the wall so hard it bounced back. The man directly behind Jesse caught it, ripping the upper hinge loose.

  Through the glass, Erin saw the two techs inside freeze, gaping at the door in wide eyed horror, too petrified with fear even to scream. Before they could recover enough wit to do so, Jesse and the other two Lycans had bounded across the room. Erin looked away, but she pushed herself from the wall and rushed inside. The two techs lay crumpled in one corner.

  Joshua, screaming like a banshee, was lying in a crib in the center of the room.

  Pain clenched at Erin’s chest as she stared at him.

  He was so thin he looked almost malformed, his little body shrunken so that his head looked too big for him. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him, unable to force herself to move.

  Abruptly, rage ousted her devastation. Rushing toward the crib, Erin began frantically dismantling the monitors that had been strapped to him, removing the IV from his tiny foot carefully.

  Fucking low life bastards! She raged inwardly. What the hell had they been doing to him? He looked as if he was on the verge of starving to death. Mopping the tears from her eyes and cheeks with her hands once she’d disentangled him from the medical apparatus, Erin quickly bundled him in the blanket he was lying on and scooped him from the crib, holding him close.

  Almost instantly, as if he knew her though she knew he couldn’t possibly remember her after so long, he began to quiet, snuffling as he nuzzled his face against her chest. It took her several moments to realize he was searching for the milk he smelled.

  She looked up to discover that Jesse was watching her. Her chin wobbled so hard she could barely speak. “He’s hungry.”

  His lips tightened. “Wait here and feed him,” he said harshly, motioning for the men to precede him from the room.

  She wanted to, and yet she was fearful they would be caught if she lingered to feed the baby.

  Jesse wouldn’t have suggested it, though, if he’d thought they would be in danger.

  Moving away from the bodies of the techs, Erin quickly unfastened her shirt and pushed the cup of her bra down, guiding the baby to her breast.

  He snorted as he finally found what he’d been looking for, grabbing it and tugging on it for all he was worth. Such happiness filled Erin she thought for several moments that she wouldn’t be able to contain it. The urge to laugh was nearly overwhelming. She muffled the sound, which erupted as a little snort that was almost her undoing.

  Cuddling the baby close, she covered her mouth with one hand.

  Hysteria.

  He was so adorable, though.

  Ignoring the sounds of mass destruction--of muffled cries and screams and crashing--Erin carefully examined the baby while he ate, lifting his foot where the needle had been to kiss it. When she lifted her head again, she saw that Joshua had opened his eyes to look at her questioningly--as if he was wondering what the hell she was doing hanging over him while he was trying to eat.

  She bit her lip to keep from chuckling.

  He looked just like Jesse when he glared at her.

  As if the thought had summoned him, Jesse appeared in the doorway at that moment. “Time to go,” he said shortly.

  Nodding, Erin tugged her nipple from the baby’s mouth. The moment she did, he set up a wail of displeasure. She looked at Jesse a little helplessly.

  “He’s as hard headed as his mother, I see,” he murmured wryly. “He’ll have to eat on the run, though. We’ve got trouble heading our way.”

  A shockwave of fear rolled over Erin. Lifting her head, she heard the distant sound of gunfire and realized she’d been hearing sporadic fire for several minutes. Tightening her hold on the baby, she rushed from the room and down the corridor. Joshua lost his grip and began to complain again, but Erin doubted his weak cries were loud enough to filter very far.

  Jesse grabbed her when she headed toward the elevator, guiding her toward the stairwell instead. When he’d opened the door and examined the area from top to bottom, he swept Erin and Joshua into his arms and started pounding down the stairs. Alarmed at the rate of descent, Erin clutched at Jesse with her free hand. “I can run,” she finally managed to say.

  “I can run faster,” Jesse retorted.

  “You can’t shoot and run with us in your arms,” Erin shot back at him.

  He ignored that. Someone burst through the door on the next level down as they neared it. Before the guard could bring his weapon up, Jesse slammed into the door with his shoulder. The man flew backward, uttering a horrible gagging noise as he was crushed between the metal door and its frame.

  Erin shrieked as Jesse leapt over the railing. The impact when they landed on the landing below gave her whiplash. A headache blossomed behind her eyes almost instantly. Worriedly, she glanced down at the baby, but he seemed to have been cushioned from the controlled fall. His eyes were wide and curious when she leaned back to look at him. Relieved, she cuddled him against her chest again, cupping the back of his head to protect him from jarring injury as Jessie leapt over the next railing, sailing downward to the level below.

  When they landed jarringly, Jesse’s hand was cupped firmly against her head that time, protecting her as she protected the baby.

  The storage level, Erin was relieved to see, was still empty of threat.

  Setting Erin on her feet, Jesse dropped the vinyl bag he’d been carrying, jerked the zipper open and rifled through the contents until he’d unearthed a flashlight. The bag contained electronics of some sort, Erin saw, but she was still more in the dark than enlightened.

  Looking up at her, Jesse lifted the flashlight. “Go down to the cavern and wait for me there.”

  “You’re not coming?” Erin gasped, fear surging through her all over again.

  “I need five minutes… ten at the most with one of their terminals to plant a virus to destroy the data they’ve collected. Just be careful. I don’t think they’ve had time to send anyone to the cavern, but we can’t be sure of anything. Move quietly, quickly, and carefully. If you hear anything, anything at all, turn around and head back this way. We’ll be right behind you.”

  Erin nodded shakily. She wanted to argue with him, but she knew it was worse than useless. He wouldn’t listen and all she would be doing would be adding to the danger by delaying him.

  He grabbed her shoulders before she could leave, jerking her to him and hugging her and the baby briefly. Erin stumbled back when he released her almost as abruptly, staring up at him. “Jesse, I….” She stopped, licking her lips nervously, but she couldn’t bring herself to say what she wanted to. “We need you. Don’t take any unnecessary chances.”

  Nodding, Jesse hefted the bag and headed back toward the stairs.

  Erin watched him until he’d disappeared, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time she ever saw him. Resolutely, she turned when he’d vanished from her sight and rushed across the wide cavern toward the opening. She paused when she reached it, holding her breath to listen. When she heard nothing, she flicked the flashlight on and began the long trek down, pausing every few minutes to listen.

  Dismay filled Erin when she reached the cavern at last. The water had risen until it was lapping over the ledge where they’d come ashore and the dingy was nowhere in sight.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Joshua began to fuss as Erin paced the ledge that was growing narrower every moment, it seemed, as the water continued to rise.

  They weren’t going to make it. There was no way to get out. Soon, if the tide didn’t begin to turn, she would have to retreat back up the passageway.

  Stifling the urge to give in to despair, Erin gave the baby her other breast, stroking him soothingly while he fed. Within moments, he’d fallen asleep. Holding him awkwardly with one arm, Erin adjusted her clothing, then settled him against her shoulder
and commenced to pacing again, trying to think of some alternative other than simply returning and allowing them to be captured.

  There wasn’t an alternative and she knew it. This was the only way out, unless Jesse and the others killed everyone in the facility.

  She was tempted to march back and demand that he wipe them out so that she could take her baby home.

  She wasn’t an idiot or some weak minded female! She was intelligent. She was a scientist! She was accustomed to making her own decisions.

  She’d never had to make a decision for anyone else, though, particularly not a helpless baby.

  If not for Joshua, she could swim out.

  But what would be the point if she couldn’t take him?

  She’d wondered if it was right to risk his life to save him, but she no longer had any doubts. If they hadn’t come, he would not have lived much longer. She was his only hope. She had to think of something!

  Erin had already started back up the passage with no clear objective in her mind when she heard the sounds of men coming toward her. Panic instantly gripped her and she whirled and raced back to the cavern, looking wildly around for a place to hide.

  There was no place to hide.

  Rushing to the lantern, which was still lit, Erin blew the flame out and crouched against the cave wall furthest from the passage, curling into as tiny a ball as she could manage.