“This particular creature possesses an unparalleled talent.” Yegor casually rested a hand on the fabric draped over the crate. “She can meld her consciousness with any complex electronic device. This allows her to bypass any existing security features, then extract and memorize megabytes of information. In fact, I found her a few minutes ago in the process of stealing secrets from my own network.”
Sawyer cursed. “That asshole has Misty.”
Over the radio, he heard Forrest let out an anguished “No!” accompanied by boots on stone as he and Jake ran toward the main room.
The sound was still echoing in Sawyer’s earpiece when Yegor yanked the fabric away from the cage to reveal an unconscious Misty. The auburn wig she’d been wearing was gone and her long, purple hair cascaded over her slim shoulders. Beside the cage, Seamus flicked open his switchblade, casually holding it down at his side.
Eyes locked on Sawyer from across the room, Yegor’s mouth twisted in an evil smile.
Gunfire suddenly erupted from somewhere off the main room and Sawyer heard Jes shouting over the radio that Yegor’s men had found them even as she, Rory, and Elliot returned fire.
Shit.
From the corner of his eye, Sawyer saw the guards lining the perimeter of the room close in, guns coming up as the people with their iPads and serving trays hurriedly left the room. The guests looked around in confusion, realizing something was happening but not knowing what.
Sawyer had to admire the way Yegor had manipulated this entire evening. He’d gotten them all on the mountaintop, separated from any backup support, and then split them up into smaller groups, making it easier to take them down. Now, he was using Misty to control the situation. If Sawyer, Harley, or Erin made the first move, Seamus would kill Misty. If they didn’t make the first move, the guards would put a bullet through all of their heads. And Misty would die anyway—if she wasn’t sold off to this disgusting collection of morally corrupt assholes.
Cursing, Erin pulled the handgun from the holster hidden under the jacket of her pantsuit, aimed it at Seamus, and pulled the trigger. The guy immediately disappeared, but not before Sawyer saw a splatter of blood exit his right shoulder, staining the black curtain behind him.
Harley ran for Misty’s cage as the entire room erupted into gunfire. A hail of bullets zipped past Sawyer as he brought his own weapon up to cover Harley. He fired a burst of automatic weapon fire from his MP5, aiming for Yegor and the other men near Misty’s cage, driving most of them back. The huge shifter didn’t seem to care at all about being shot at, even when one of the 9mm rounds from Sawyer’s submachine gun hit him in the thigh. With a guttural growl that would have been right at home in a swamp, the shifter charged off the dais, skin thickening and turning more greenish brown with every stride.
Sawyer felt multiple rounds slam into the back of his tactical vest, but he ignored it as the shifter charged him. He aimed for the guy’s knees, remembering how little effect bullets had on the thing the first time around but hoping he could at least slow the creature down a little.
Then out of nowhere, Erin came running in, throwing herself on the shifter’s back and shoving her weapon against the side of his head, squeezing off round after round as the creature spun around, trying to throw her off.
Sawyer moved to help her, his fingertips and gums already tingling from the adrenaline pouring through him. But before he could take more than two steps toward them, a blur of movement near the cage caught his attention. He spun in time to see Seamus popping into existence behind Harley as she knelt by the door of the cage, frantically working at the lock with a pick set. Murder in his eyes, Seamus lifted the knife, ready to plunge it into her back.
Keeping his inner wolf in check wasn’t an option anymore. Sawyer’s claws and fangs fully extended as rage filled him. But the partial shift didn’t keep him from bringing his MP5 up and firing a three-round burst at Seamus. None of the 9mm’s bullets hit the supernatural, but it made the a-hole jump back. It also alerted Harley to the danger. Throwing herself to the side, she brought up her gun to put a round through Seamus’s head, but the bastard disappeared again.
A scream of pain pierced the air and Sawyer snapped his head around in time to see the big, green shifter toss Erin across the room like a rag doll. Growling in frustration, Sawyer looked around wildly, trying to figure out where that damn disappearing psycho Seamus would show up next while at the same time attempting to avoid the bullets Yegor and the guards were sending his way.
Sawyer fired the remainder of his magazines at the guards and Yegor, hitting some and making the rest of them duck. Then he dropped his MP5 and launched himself at the big shifter, knocking the huge creature to the ground and pulling his handgun from the holster low on his thigh. Knowing the scaly monster was as close to bulletproof as any living thing could get, Sawyer didn’t waste time going for the usual targets like the stomach, chest, or head. Instead, he shoved the barrel of the large caliber weapon right against the shifter’s crotch and emptied half a magazine into his private parts. The creature immediately yanked himself into a fetal position, screaming like Sawyer had dumped acid on him.
Maybe the thing wasn’t covered in armored scales everywhere.
Sawyer didn’t pause to enjoy the moment. Jumping to his feet with a snarl, he sprinted toward Harley, arriving just as Seamus popped back into view. Sawyer didn’t even slow as he wrapped one clawed hand in the man’s long hair and shoved
