Tanner assumed they’d take him out next, but the remaining guards kept their weapons trained on him.
“You didn’t really think I’d let you leave already, did you, old buddy?” Ryan sneered. “Your night is just getting started, and something tells me this next matchup is going to be a bit more of a challenge for you.”
Smiling smugly, Ryan glanced over his shoulder at something behind him. Tanner’s gut clenched at the sight of Anton forcing Spencer down the aisle, the barrel of his weapon pressed against the hybrid’s back. If the crowd was concerned about the fact that a man was actually going to be forced to fight at gunpoint, they didn’t show it. If anything, they cheered louder.
At first, Tanner was relieved Spencer seemed to finally be fully aware of his surroundings, but then he noticed the hybrid’s eyes were glowing red, and the tips of two upper fangs were already visible as he breathed deep in an opened-mouth pant.
Shit.
Ryan must have seen the look on Tanner’s face, because he grinned. “Yeah, I think this fight is going to be so much better than the first one.” Gaze still on Tanner, he stepped aside to let Spencer enter the octagon. “Don’t you agree, Tanner?”
“You’re never going to be able to make us fight. You know that, right?” Tanner asked, praying he was right as Anton led Spencer into the center of the cage and removed the manacles from his wrists.
Ryan laughed. “Of course I will. If you don’t fight, I’m going to have Emilio put a bullet in the heads of those three people you just worked so hard to protect.”
Still smiling, Ryan took Spencer’s arm and turned him around until he was facing toward the luxury box where Ryan had been sitting earlier. Tanner cursed at the sight of a terrified Lillie standing there beside Nguyen, his gun pressed to her temple. Even from here, Tanner could see the tears in her eyes.
“And if your friend here doesn’t fight,” Ryan continued, “Mr. Nguyen will shoot that sweet girl in the head, and you can both watch her brains spatter all over the glass.”
Before Tanner could say anything, Ryan turned and walked out of the cage. On the other side of the octagon, Spencer growled long and low at Tanner, his fangs and claws fully extended.
Oh shit. This was going to be bad.
Chapter 17
“I’m picking up trace scents from that direction,” Diaz said softly, gesturing at a slightly narrower section of tunnel to his left.
Tate shined his flashlight down the dark opening, eyeing the rubble-strewn floor that looked like it hadn’t been disturbed in a hundred years, wondering if the shifter’s nose was playing tricks on him. Frowning, he played the light over the map in his hand, courtesy of Cam’s historian friend. As he traced the squiggles on the map with his finger, he decided maybe Diaz was onto something. It certainly looked like they should be getting close to their objective.
If Cam’s friend was right, somewhere just ahead of them should be a clear section of tunnel with half a dozen small rooms along it. Those rooms, which were two levels directly below the club, were where Tanner and the other kidnapping victims were most likely being held. Unless they were all in the club’s walk-in fridge, which, while scary sounding as hell, was highly unlikely.
Tate glanced over his shoulder to make sure the other members of his team were still sticking close. Chase, Chad, Burt, and Malcolm returned his look with expressions that suggested they were as ready to get the hell out of the dark, claustrophobic tunnels as Tate was. Like him and Diaz, all four of the men carried M4 carbines they’d gotten from the DCO storage unit. That worried Tate a little bit. He trusted Chase with an automatic rifle, but the other three, not so much. Hopefully, they wouldn’t get in a situation where the men had to use the weapons.
Behind Malcolm, who was bringing up the rear, Tate saw the glow of the green high-intensity ChemLights the team had left in their wake as they moved through the tunnels. While they were taking their time on the way in, there was a good chance they’d be hauling ass on the way out. They didn’t want to have to guess about which way to go if they were being chased.
He nodded at Diaz, motioning him forward, then followed as Burt popped another ChemLight and left it at the intersection of the two tunnels. Tate breathed deeply as he felt fresh air hit his face. They must be getting close. That was good.
Even so, Tate couldn’t help but worry about what was happening with the other team. They’d all entered the tunnels together about a mile back but had split up soon after, with Zarina, Cam, Clayne, and Danica heading through tunnels one level above. The map said there was a large open space between the rooms on this level and the club, so Danica’s plan called for her team to set up there and provide security for Tate’s team as he and the others rescued the kidnapping victims. If anyone tried to stop them during the rescue, Danica and her team would be positioned to take them down.
It was a good plan, giving Tate extra help in case they had to carry some of the prisoners, while also hopefully keeping Chad, Burt, and Malcolm out of the worst of the shooting, if it came to that. Tate would have preferred if Zarina were down here with him, too. Hell, he would have really liked it if she’d stayed outside. But that wasn’t an
