Chapter Twenty-Three

Reese remained on alert as they passed through the back door after picking the lock. The lab, from the outside, had appeared deserted. They’d watched it since the day before, seen the changes in guards, watched the scientists head home at nightfall. Cullen tended to like a lot of recon, and for once, Reese didn’t mind waiting. After all, this was about taking down these bastards to keep Kara safe. What did a little bit of waiting mean?

The large building was the sort of place that had been remodeled time and time again. It seemed like an office building now. A lobby area at the front, offices and a large stockroom near the back. He’d guess the second floor was modeled the same way, with offices and conference rooms.

They searched through the darkness, listening for anything. No camera, no guards that they could see. It meant they must be hiding somewhere. A basement? At least it made for an easy time moving about.

As they turned another corner, they nearly ran right into a small body. Reese was already reaching for them, ready to do whatever was needed to keep their presence a secret, when the scent hit them.

Kara.

She stood in the dark, and Reese struggled to believe it had only been a week since they’d seen her, since she’d walked out on them.

Damon did what the Reese wanted but hadn’t given in to. The kid was either young and foolish or maybe a lot smarter, because Damon set a hand behind her neck and pulled Kara in for a kiss without a word.

It was the sort of kiss that made even Reese want to look away, as if he were intruding, which was hilarious, since he had fucked her alongside Damon.

Kara’s body softened into the kiss, but just as quickly, she pulled back. “Down, boy,” she said on a breathless exhalation. “I’m not here for that.”

“Why are you here?” Cullen asked, his voice careful, as though he was hiding everything he felt.

Kara took another step away from Damon, away from all three of them, as though it helped her think. “This is my job, too, and I don’t quit. I’m going to help finish this, but that’s it. Us? We’re done.”

Cullen’s lips parted as though to object, but he silenced whatever he was going to say. That was probably for the best, as Cullen tended to say things that landed them all in trouble.

As much as Reese hated to hear Kara talk like that, he also knew arguing wouldn’t do anything, and arguing in the middle of breaking into a secret lab was probably not the right time.

Kara nodded behind him, and while she appeared mostly unfazed, Reese caught the slight hesitation in her gaze as she looked at each alpha. “There’s nothing on the upper levels. Well, there was one guard.”

“Was?” Cullen’s eyebrow cocked up at the past tense.

“He’s still there, but he isn’t guarding anything.” The curl of Kara’s lips showed no remorse. “He’ll wake up in a couple hours with a headache. However, I got this from him.” She held up a smaller keycard. “I’d guess it goes to a door on this level that’s locked.”

“Why is so much of this place empty?” Reese asked.

“Because they want it to look like nothing is going on. Even if someone comes in, they’ll look around and see nothing noteworthy.” Kara moved silently in the dark space, through the hallways and rooms, as if she’d already memorized them, the alphas following. They came to a storage room, and just inside sat the door she must have meant.

It didn’t look like much, except for the keycard reader to the right of it and the camera above it that pointed down.

No way to get to the door without being seen.

“I’d guess this goes to the basement, which is where they’re keeping the lab. There’s no way there’s enough room on this level, and being underground would hide them even better,” Kara said.

“What do we do about the camera?”

Kara looked around, taking her lip between her teeth as she seemed to consider the options. Finally, she shrugged. “To get close enough to use the keycard, we’ll be seen. If we manually disable the camera, they’ll be alerted. They don’t tend to like cameras going dead.”

“So we’ll be seen either way? Because I’d really prefer this not turn into a firefight,” Cullen said.

“Firefights are like cardio. Good for the heart.” Kara reached out and grabbed a broom from the side of the room, where actual supplies appeared to be kept. She inched to the left, to the side where the camera was, as close as she could without being seen.

Her balance was a thing of beauty. Reese couldn’t help but be impressed with the way Kara leaned, one hand on a shelf behind her, the other reaching the broom out above the line of sight of the camera. Her attention was locked on the camera, on the way the broom neared it, until she was able to touch the top. She pressed, tension in her face at the effort, until the camera’s hinge creaked, and it shifted down and to the side, away from the door.

She tossed the broom to the side and blew out a breath. “They’ll come check it, but it’ll probably take a while. A place like this doesn’t see a lot of action, so guards get complacent. Even if they do come check, it’ll just look like a loose hinge.”

Which was smart, Reese had to admit. Disconnect the camera and they’d be found out right away. Turn the camera and it bought them a little time and could easily be chalked up to mechanical failure.

Kara moved forward first, fingers pointed to the ground where the camera’s line of sight was, so the alphas could avoid it. At the door, she slid the card through the reader, and it seemed they all held their breaths as they waited.

The light flashed green and the door lock popped open.

Reese followed Kara into the darkness.

Kara had to admit, she’d missed them. As much as she chastised herself for the thought, Damon’s kiss had all but curled her toes like some stupid woman in a cheesy movie.

Finish the job. Save the alpha. Get the hell out of Dodge.

All easy, doable steps that would put these three and their highly disruptive tendencies so far in her rear-view mirror she’d have to squint to see shit.

Which suited her just fine.

The stairs were steep and dark, though Kara got the sense that the place tried to stay under the radar. That meant they would be careful about the amount of power they pulled at night, during times it would be harder to explain to anyone looking too closely.

Besides, the guards probably worked twelve-hour shifts, and she doubted anyone important came by in the night. Graveyard shift guards tended toward lazy.

Not that the reasons made it any easier as her eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. With no real source of light, the alphas’ scents tantalized her even more.

When she hadn’t felt the pull of the pseudo-heats, she’d called Marshall. He’d run her numbers again to tell her what she’d already feared. She’d bonded to the alphas. She’d ached from their absence, and that should have clued her in already. The only good part about bonding to males who didn’t want her was that it seemed to level out her hormones, lessened the clawing need she’d felt before. Will it last?

She hoped so, because she couldn’t imagine using strangers again like she had before. Somehow, the idea of falling into bed—or onto whatever solid surface could hold the combined weight of her and a partner that was close by—no longer seemed palatable.

Which was pretty fucking annoying. They could break her heart, but them making sex seem unappetizing pissed her off.

She missed a step, pitching forward when her distraction cost her her footing. Before she hit the floor, a strong hand grasped the back of her shirt and yanked her to a steady step.

Kara found herself pressed against a strong and familiar body that she instinctually leaned harder against.

A warm breath on her ear sent a shiver down her spine seconds before a voice accompanied it. “Careful.” Cullen’s voice woke her.

Pay attention, you idiot, she snapped at herself before pulling away and trailing her fingers down the wall for better balance. They made it to the bottom of the steps, where Kara peered in both directions. Dim lights cast the hallways in a subtle yellow glow, letting her see the details.

She recalled the layout of the building and where they had to be. Once she closed her eyes, she estimated how far the steps were and the direction of the walls.

To the right, unless the basement extended much farther than the building, there wasn’t a lot of room. Perhaps enough for an office or two.

Kara nodded toward the left, the better chance. The alphas didn’t argue, though whether that was because they trusted her or because they’d done the same calculation—or maybe they’d just figured she was picking something by dumb chance—she had no idea.

Kara stopped at the first door, pressing her ear to it. The roar of a TV came through—the news? She shook her head and kept moving. That sounded like a room with a bored guard in it, especially since no lock sat on the door.

Down the hallway, another card reader stood out on the wall.

Bingo. The door that housed the alpha would be secured. Kara slid the key through the reader, and the click of the lock said it had worked. She twisted the handle, but before she could enter, Cullen shouldered his way past.

Good. I hope he gets shot first.

Which was stupid, because she was pretty sure she didn’t actually want him to be shot. At least nowhere important. Still, when she pushed her way into the room with Reese right behind her and Damon keeping an eye out on the hallway, Kara realized she hadn’t needed to be worried.

The alpha in question sat on the bed, his gaze locked on the floor. The effects of the sedation on him were clear when he wavered in his spot.

“That’s Kash,” Reese said. “He matches the picture. Hey, we’re here to help.”

The alpha’s eyebrows inched toward each other and he lifted his gaze, but the vacant stare made Kara doubt he saw much of anything.

“We need to move him. I doubt we have a lot of time,” Cullen said, probably realizing the alpha wouldn’t be moving anywhere quickly.

The growled warning was the exact wrong sound, because the alpha’s tension ratcheted up, and the deep, rough sound that poured from him was quite a lot scarier than anything Kara had ever heard, and she’d once broken into a zoo and accidently ended up in a bear enclosure.

Right, alphas are territorial.

Kara ducked beneath Cullen’s arm, avoiding his attempt to grab her. She crouched to meet the alpha’s gaze head-on, or at least put herself right in front of him so he couldn’t see anything else. “Grace is waiting for you,” Kara said, trying to use the familiar bond to shake loose his thoughts.

It worked, sort of. His growling died down, though the tension didn’t fully leave. His eyes cleared up a fraction, his lip dropping from the snarl. “Grace?” The name came out on a croak, as though he hadn’t spoken in a long while.

Kara nodded quickly. “Yeah, Grace. She sent us to get you, but I need your help so you can see her. Can you stand?”

He frowned, and the unsteady move to his feet seemed to say he couldn’t stand on his own, at least not well. He was large, taller than any alpha had a right to be, though the muscles she suspected he normally carried had atrophied due to lack of use. That was probably a part of the reason he couldn’t quite keep his balance.

When it seemed like he’d topple, Kara slid to his side, wrapping an arm around his center to keep him upright.

Which none of her alphas seemed fond of, since all three broke into identical growls.

“Shut up,” Kara snapped. “We want to get out of here alive? How about we save all snarling and growling for enemies instead of our own team!” When Cullen didn’t back down, even as Reese and Damon did, she could feel the way the alpha at her side coiled. “He’s sedated, Cullen. Most of his brain is shut off right now, which means all higher thinking is gone. Maybe don’t poke the prime alpha who is literally running off instinct right now?”

“And if he decides those instincts include wanting you?” Cullen did that angry whisper thing back, which was hilarious, as it wasn’t like the alpha was tracking much of anything for conversation.

Kara dug her fingers tighter into the alpha’s side to keep him upright, which, given his far larger size, was not the easiest task. “He has so many drugs pumped into him, if he managed an erection, it would be a miracle. Trust me, okay? We need to get him moving and, in case you haven’t noticed, he isn’t doing it too well on his own. Let’s argue once we are outside and safe.”

Cullen’s gaze narrowed but he offered a sharp nod, then backed out. None of the alphas met the prime’s gaze, none of them wanting him to take it as a challenge. His feet scraped, bare and uncoordinated, against the tiled flooring. Kara wavered as she struggled with the alpha’s weight hitting the wall once, when the alpha toppled toward her with no way to catch them.

The going was slow—far slower than it needed to be—but eventually they made it to the staircase. Damon had snapped pictures with his phone as they went, wanting some sort of documentation. They weren’t in a place to deal with the lab as a whole just yet, but as soon as they got out, they could send someone back. Kara was sure Damon intended that to be the authorities, though Kara knew a few ball-busters who could make life hell for the lab folks. She preferred the eye-for-an-eye justice from her sort of people.

They just had to get out, first.

The trip up the stairs was long, with the alpha teetering so badly, Cullen once had to shove when he tripped backward.

The alpha showed his displeasure with another growl, this one accompanied by nearly sounded like a feral roar to go with it. Thankfully, he calmed easily enough at the mention of Grace and Kara managed him up the stairs and out of the door. They didn’t bother to check the camera—what did it matter anymore?—and headed instead for the outside. They had to get the alpha into a car and the hell away as quickly as possible.

As they left the storage room, with freedom only paces away, the lights all turned on, bathing them in such brightness that Kara couldn’t make anything out at first.

When her eyes did adjust, the man who had attacked her, who had dogged her every step for weeks, stood before her with more than a few armed men behind him.

Well, fuck.