Chapter 74 The Warehouse Raid
Dual POV
Grayson POV
The silver net was still draped over my back and it was eating into my fur like a web of hot needles, but the smell of the warehouse and the faint, lingering scent of Aria’s fear acted like a shot of adrenaline that pushed me past the point of exhaustion. I shifted back into my human form just enough to grab a discarded piece of rebar and wedge it into the links of the net, and with a roar that felt like it was tearing my vocal cords, I ripped the mesh apart and stood up in the middle of the dock. My pack was already arriving, and the sound of twenty heavy bikes roaring into the industrial lot was like a wave of thunder that drowned out the rain, so I looked over and saw Miller and Jax leading the charge with their headlights cutting through the darkness.
"Grayson, we’ve got the perimeter secure but the Iron Fangs have barricaded the main loading bay, so we’re going to have to blow the hinges if we want to get inside before they move her again!" Miller shouted, and he skidded his bike to a halt and pulled a breaching charge from his saddlebag while the rest of the men started returning fire against the guards on the catwalks.
"I don't care how you do it, just get those doors open and keep their shooters busy so I can get to the lower levels," I told him, and I grabbed a tactical vest from a fallen guard and shoved a fresh magazine into the handgun I had snatched off the floor. "Jax, I need you on the terminal in the security booth because the Syndicate defector told Aria there’s a manual override for the cells, so find it and kill the power to the silver-laced shackles before they burn her any worse than they already have."
"I’m on it, but you have to stay focused because your heart rate is still climbing and that mark on your chest is starting to bleed through your shirt again," Jax warned, but he didn't wait for me to argue as he scrambled toward the small glass booth near the entrance.
The breaching charge went off with a bone-shaking thump that sent a cloud of dust and splinters into the air, and I didn't wait for the smoke to clear before I was through the gap and heading for the stairs. I could hear the Iron Fangs shouting to each other in the rafters, and the sound of chains clinking against metal told me they were trying to drop more traps, but I didn't stop to look up because the pull of the bond was leading me straight down into the basement. I hit the first guard who tried to block my path with a shoulder check that sent him flying into a stack of pallets, and I didn't even look back as I fired two rounds into the floor to keep the others from closing in.
Aria POV
The cell door swung open with a screeching sound that made my teeth ache, and for a second I thought it was Darius coming back to finish me off, but the man standing there was covered in soot and blood and he was holding a Nightfang-issue shotgun. It was Silas, but he didn't look like he was there to help the Iron Fangs, because he looked like a man who had just seen his entire world turn into a lie and he was looking for someone to blame. He looked at me and then at Elias in the corner, and the way he gripped his weapon told me he was seconds away from pulling the trigger on anyone who moved.
"The whole place is crawling with Grayson’s men and the Syndicate is already burning the files in the upper offices, so if you want to get out of here alive, you’re going to have to follow me and do exactly what I say," Silas muttered, and he stepped into the cell and reached for my shackles with a pair of heavy-duty bolt cutters.
"Why are you helping us? You’re the one who helped Darius set the fire at the bakery and you’re the one who provided the toxins for the pack children, so don't act like you’re suddenly the hero of this story," I said, and I pulled my hands back even though the silver was still making my head swim.
"I didn't know about the children, and I didn't know that Darius was planning on handing the territory over to the Silverfangs as part of some ritual," Silas snapped, and he grabbed the chain between my wrists and snapped it with one clean motion of the cutters. "I wanted the docks and I wanted the respect that the Harts always kept for themselves, but I’m not a child-killer and I’m not a fan of being a puppet for a bunch of corporate suits who think they can replace us with a computer program."
"He’s telling the truth about the confusion in the ranks, Aria, because I can hear the Iron Fangs fighting with the Syndicate guards in the hallway above us," Elias added, and he stood up and leaned against the wall for support while Silas turned his attention to the lock on the other cell. "The alliance is falling apart because nobody trusts each other anymore, and that’s the only reason we have a window to get to the surface before the Silverfangs arrive to clean up the mess."
"Grayson is here, I can feel him in the building, and if you try to take me as a hostage, he’s going to kill you before you can even get to the parking lot," I told Silas, and I rubbed my raw wrists while the remaining metal of the cuffs continued to hum with a dull, dying vibration.
"I’m not taking you as a hostage, I’m taking you as a shield, because Grayson won't shoot through you and that’s the only way I’m getting past Miller and the rest of those lunatics," Silas admitted, and he grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the door just as a massive explosion from the floor above sent a shower of dust and concrete through the ceiling.
We stumbled out into the hallway and it was a scene of absolute carnage, with blue and red emergency lights strobing against the walls and the sound of shouting coming from every direction. I saw Grayson at the far end of the corridor, and even in the dim light, I could see the black fur starting to sprout along his jaw again as he tore through a group of guards like they were made of paper. He saw me and his eyes turned that terrifying shade of predatory red, but before he could reach us, a group of Syndicate soldiers stepped out from a side room and leveled their rifles at the three of us.
"Drop the girl and the old man, Silas, and maybe we'll let you walk out of here with your life," the lead soldier shouted, but Silas just laughed and pulled me closer to his chest, using me as a barrier while he raised his own weapon.
"You're going to have to do better than that, because the Alpha is right behind you and he looks like he’s in a really bad mood tonight!" Silas yelled back, and the sound of Grayson’s roar filled the narrow hallway as he launched himself toward the soldiers with a speed that didn't seem human.
The hallway erupted into a chaotic mess of gunfire and shouting, and I felt Silas shove me toward the ground to get me out of the line of fire while he started shooting at anything that moved in a grey uniform. I crawled toward the wall and tried to stay small, but as I looked up, I saw a familiar figure standing on the stairs above the fray, and my heart stopped when I saw Jess holding a remote detonator in his hand.