“Before we go, there’s something I need to handle first,” he said. “Spencer.”
Zarina bent to scoop up her revolver, then quickly came around to lend another shoulder for Cam to lean on. “We haven’t seen Spencer since we got here. I’m guessing you were chasing after him when you came this way?”
Tanner nodded, leading the way toward the main room, then down another side tunnel that took them to a set of stone steps leading to the luxury boxes. He’d been halfway up when he’d heard Zarina’s cry. He hated to think Spencer and Lillie’s lives had been the price he’d had to pay to save Zarina and Cam, but if the total silence from upstairs was any indication, that was exactly what had happened.
“Ryan put both of us in the cage and threatened to kill the other prisoners if we didn’t fight each other,” he said over his shoulder. “When Spencer saw they had a gun pointed at Lillie’s head, he completely lost it. The second he got out of the cage, he raced up here to help Lillie, but in his condition, I’m worried he’s just as likely to hurt her as save her.”
Tanner’s steps slowed as he approached the top of the stairs. The stench of blood coming from the luxury boxes was nearly overwhelming. He tried his best to separate the different scents and hone in on Lillie’s and Spencer’s, but there was simply too much blood for his nose to wade through.
The moment he got to the top of the stairs and looked down the well-lit corridor leading to the luxury boxes, it seemed his worst fears were realized. Four men lay on the floor, their bodies clawed and ripped apart.
He wasn’t sure he even wanted to keep going, but he heard a soft voice he recognized as Lillie’s. Beside him, Cam lifted his weapon higher while Zarina reloaded her revolver with trembling hands. As Tanner took off running in the direction of Lillie’s voice, he hoped neither of them had to use their weapons.
Tanner found Lillie sitting on the floor of one of the suites, Spencer in her arms. He was still in his hybrid form and covered in blood. It looked like he was one wrong move away from going into a rage and killing anyone he could reach, including Lillie.
“He can’t shift back,” Lillie whispered, her voice choking with emotion, tears running down her face. “He’s had bad episodes before, but nothing like this. He’s always settled down within minutes of being provoked. I’ve been trying to calm him down now for nearly five minutes, and it’s not helping.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Tanner saw Cam lower his weapon and take a small step back. Tanner didn’t blame his brother. This wasn’t a problem a cop could fix, not with a weapon at least.
Zarina holstered her pistol as well. “Will he let you touch his face?” she asked softly. “Gently caressing his jaw might help.”
Lillie shook her head, more tears spilling onto her cheeks. “I’ve tried that. And running my fingers through his hair, too. Nothing works. It’s like he pushed himself too hard, and now he’s trapped in this form.”
Tanner heard a commotion out in the corridor, and Cam darted out to deal with it, somehow knowing they sure as hell didn’t need any more stress in the room. Ten seconds later, he was back and looking even more worried than before.
“Diaz says SWAT is on their way down here from the club level,” Cam said. “They’re being held up a little by the crowd, but Diaz thinks we’ll be lucky to have another five minutes before our escape routes are cut off.”
Tanner cursed softly before stopping to wonder how the hell Diaz had gotten involved in this situation. Zarina had obviously called in for reinforcements, which had been smart as hell. He wanted to ask Cam who else was here, but there wasn’t time for that.
“Tell Diaz to get everyone else out of here. That includes you,” he told his brother. “I’ll deal with this situation as fast as I can, then track your scents to follow you out.”
“I’ll tell them to go, but there’s no way I’m leaving.” Cam’s mouth tightened. “You disappeared on me once. I’m not letting you out of my sight this time.”
Tanner would have argued, but there wasn’t time for that, either. He nodded, then turned back to figure out how to deal with Spencer. Maybe he could knock him out? It wasn’t the best plan, but he couldn’t come up with anything better at the moment.
Taking a deep breath, he started toward the hybrid, but the desperate look Spencer gave him brought him up short.
“Kill me, Tanner,” he begged. “I can’t live like this anymore. It’s like I’m going to fly apart into a million pieces. Just end it. Please.”
Lillie’s face filled with horror. “Spencer, no!”
Spencer lifted his gaze to hers, tears running from his blazing red eyes. “I’m sorry, Lillie. I know I promised to stay with you no matter what, but I can’t. Please let me go.”
She shook her head, turning pleading eyes on Tanner. “You have to help him. There has to be another way. I won’t let him die. I can’t.”
Tanner could never kill Spencer, even if he understood why the other hybrid was asking him to do it. Hell, there’d been enough times in his recent past when he’d wished someone would have put him out of his misery because there hadn’t seemed to be any other way out. Now, Spencer was dealing with the same situation, only worse.
But this time, there was another way out.
Cam poked his head through the door of the suite. “Tanner, whatever you’re going to do, you need to do it now. SWAT is heading this way.”
Tanner cursed and looked at Zarina to see her gazing at him as if she’d been thinking the exact same thing as him. Nodding,
