Seal of Destiny (26 page)

A boom sounded behind them and she jumped. A pair of hands grabbed her waist. She struggled against the foreign, ironclad grip, determined to get away. In the next breath, she found herself atop broad male shoulders.

“Blimey! It took me forever to find you guys out here in the frozen tundra.” Wyck grinned up at her. “I thought you could use a break there, half-pint.”

She gave him a thumbs-up from her perch and scanned the area around them.

Xander clapped Wyck on the shoulder. “Glad you joined us.”

“Sorry to be tardy. This storm’s bad.” Wyck flashed an apologetic half smile. “This is a set-up, Xan. They know we’re coming.”

“I’m sure they do. We don’t have a choice.”

Chago squinted through the driving snow and mumbled behind his thick scarf.

“Why yes, I am awesome. Thanks for saying so, Chay!” Wyck knocked him on the back.

Mira laughed. Chago’s white-hot glare blasted Wyck. His icy brows knitted and he struggled to form his gloved fingers into the appropriate gesture. After several failed attempts, Chago settled for giving Wyck a hard shove before stomping ahead to a grove of pine trees.

They approached the rise and Mira scanned the area below from her perch. “We’re here.”

At Xander’s nod, Wyck lowered Mira to the ground, then they skidded downhill to skirt the wall of the compound. After a check of the building’s outer defenses, Chago ducked behind a column and pulled off his thick gloves to pick the lock on the service door. He peered inside, then waved the others over.

They ducked into a supply closet to remove their outdoor gear then re-emerged into the hallway. Wyck checked for security cameras and found a secure hideout beneath the stairwell. They crouched and went over the building’s schematics again.

“Okay, Wyck. You and Mira head to this location.” Xander pointed to the space marked HC on the plans. Wyck nodded to Mira.

“Chago, you and I are going to the Director’s office. We rendezvous back here in one hour.” Xander stuffed the papers into a heating vent near the baseboard. “Let’s do it.”

• • •

Argus eyed the stranger while he pulled his torn shirt together. This was not going as he’d planned. He shifted in his seat and glanced at the mass of muscle to his side, noting the tailor-made suit, expensive leather shoes, and a military-grade weapon not available to the general public. These
chicken shit half-breeds are doing okay for themselves.

“Stop staring, you demon piece of filth.” The guard didn’t move a muscle, yet menace radiated off him like nuclear waste.

Argus yearned to rip those glasses off his smug face and show him just how filthy a Son of El could be. God, he loved the crunch of bones in the afternoon. “Who’s going to stop me, fucksqueak? You?”

“Don’t tempt me, demon.”

Rage boiled inside Argus, and he searched for a way to disarm the bastard. “Why not?”

“Because I’d have to kill you.”

“Go for it, smackweed!” Argus launched out of the chair and tumbled them both to the floor. He punched his opponent with a strong right hook and sent his glasses flying across the room.
No fucking way!
Argus shielded his eyes from the laser-bright glow now beaming back.

Shots rang out. Pain flooded Argus’s chest. The bullets shredded his regenerated heart and emerged out the other side. He slumped forward, then toppled to the ground. The man brushed off his suit and picked up his mangled shades. Argus sneered up into his opponent’s self-satisfied smirk. His shooter slid the broken glasses into place over his molten eyes and leaned down. “You should have listened to me, demon.”

• • •

Mira followed Wyck through the doors marked HC and slipped inside. Wyck surveyed the area and smiled. “Looks like we hit the jackpot.”

She spotted her best friend in the corner and ran to her, relief and renewed adrenaline flooding her system. “What happened, Zoe? How’d you get here?”

“I went out for some air, and these assholes grabbed me off the sidewalk. They drugged me. Next thing I knew, I woke up in this place.” Zoe jerked her head toward the next cell. “They brought him in this morning.”

Mira squinted at the large lump huddled on the floor. Kagan! She rushed to his side. “Shit! What did they do to him?”

Wyck squatted and reached through the bars to check his pulse. “He’s alive. They probably gave him something similar to the stuff we used on Argus.”

Mira shivered. She remembered those drugs all too well.

“You okay?” Wyck stood and walked over to Zoe.

“Yep. Can you get me out of here?”

“Can I get you out of here?” He held up a slim pack of tools and waggled his brows. A few minutes later, the door swung open and he waved her out.

“Thanks,” Zoe said as she passed.

He winked at her. “Least I could do for my accomplice.”

“Accomplice?” Mira frowned, looking between the two of them. Was that the reason Zoe ignored Xander? Did she have the hots for Wyck?

Zoe kept lookout at the main door while Wyck picked the lock on Kagan’s cell. Once it was open, Mira crawled to Kagan’s side and cradled his head in her lap. She patted his cheek lightly and shook his shoulder. “C’mon, baby, wake up.”

“That’s not going to get anybody up.” Wyck hoisted Kagan up by the collar of his shirt and belted him hard across the face.

Within moments, Kagan awakened and scrambled to his feet. He assumed an attack stance while his gaze darted around the room before finally coming to rest on Mira. “Where are we,
piccola
?”

“Tolbert Headquarters.” She smoothed a hand over his forehead. She’d never been so glad to touch someone. “They drugged you and brought you here this morning. I flashed in with the guys.”

Kagan scrubbed his face. “Those Nephilim bastards were in my apartment when I woke up.” He massaged the side of his neck and winced. “
Vaff!
They jabbed me with a syringe, paralyzed me.”

Wyck’s attention snapped toward the entrance. “Someone’s coming. We need to move!”

They bustled out the door and hid below the stairwell. Mallory passed into the holding area. Seconds later he burst out, his phone in hand. “Gone. No! I don’t give a shit. Find them!”

• • •

Xander and Chago snaked through the eerie silence of the compound, keeping a watchful eye out for anyone tracking their movements — for anyone, period. So far, they’d encountered no one. Not a single person. Xander’s head began to throb again.
Shit. Not now.

They crossed the plush carpet of the executive floor toward the Director’s office. Chago removed his gun while Xander palmed a dagger in each hand. Upon reaching their destination, the warriors flanked the entrance and counted to three.

Xander kicked in the door in and they burst through. Wood splintered along with his composure.
Jesus!
His head was killing him. He hovered for a moment, blinking to clear his blurring vision. Steady once more, he proceeded farther into the empty office. A light glowed above the large desk at the room’s center. The chair behind rotated slowly as though its occupant had made a recent, hurried departure.

Chago scanned the files strewn about the desktop. “Xan, check this out.”

“How the hell did they get Mira’s file?” Xander stared at the tattered manila folder.

“Looks like she’s not the only one they’re keeping tabs on.” Chago held up Zoe’s photo.

“Goddammit! Anything else?” Xander snatched Zoe’s picture from Chago’s hand. His head throbbed, and his hands started to shake. He fought the psychic barrage pounding on his consciousness and shoved the photo in his pocket.

At Xander’s command, Chago grabbed Mira’s information and tucked it under his arm. They turned to leave.

“Going so soon, gentlemen?”

The Director lounged against the doorway.

Chago pointed his gun between the man’s eyes. “Out of our way,
mestizo
.”

“Is that any way to talk to your superior?”

The door slammed shut as the Nephilim leader shook his head in mock sorrow. Excruciating ripples of agony tore through Xander’s temples.
Christos!
They needed to escape.
Now!

Xander shot Chago a look, and they both attempted to flash. After a few moments, they each peeked an eye open and realized they were still in the office.

Ierá skatá!
Xander’s mind flooded with images of Zoe surrounded by Nephilim. Experiments. Torture. Death. His daggers dropped from his hands, and warm moisture trickled from his ears. He clutched his ravaged skull and fell to his knees.

The Director clapped as he approached. “Nice try, Xander. Your abilities will serve us well.” He stepped over Xander’s writhing body and smiled, taking his seat behind the desk. “Now, Chago. If you’ll be so kind as to return my files, I’d appreciate it.”

Chago aimed for his enemy’s head and pulled the trigger. The gun clicked. Nothing happened.

The other man lowered his raised hand. “Really, Scion. This is the best you can do?”

Xander was lost in a world of hurt. He’d not been without strong mental shields since his childhood. Now, his barriers lay crumbled and tattered by the onslaught of torture ripping through his psyche. He was vaguely aware of a sudden grip on his arm, of being hoisted into the air. Chago’s shouts ricocheted beside the screams in his head — so many screams, so much pain, so little time. More shots fired followed by the sound of shattering glass. Chago grabbed him, hurled him toward the opening and then he was airborne. Falling from the top story of the building. Falling like the snow around him. Falling to oblivion.

• • •

After Mallory blustered through, the group eased from the stairwell to the rendezvous point. Mira’s curiosity was piqued, and she wanted answers. She grabbed Zoe’s arm while they snaked through the maze of service hallways. “Do you and Wyck have something going on?”

Zoe pulled free. “I’m not a complete idiot, you know.”

“I never said you were. I thought with the way Xander … ” Mira frowned. “Never mind.”

“What about Xander?” Zoe arched a brow and moved ahead to stand near Wyck.

Mira followed after her, only to be halted by a tug from behind. Kagan twined a finger through her belt loop and smiled, following her until they reached the rendezvous point.

Wyck pulled out their gear, then checked the time. “Five minutes past the hour. Where the hell are they?”

Mira shook her head and zipped up her coat. She glanced at Kagan’s lack of cover and handed him her gloves. “You’ll freeze with nothing on.”

He grabbed her hand and kissed the palm. “Thanks,
piccola.
But you keep them. As soon as we get outside, I’m flashing you home.”

Footsteps echoed from the opposite end of the hallway. Wyck grabbed Zoe, and Kagan pulled Mira to him. Together they crammed inside the small supply closet. Another alarm sounded, and armed guards stormed out the service door to check the perimeter.

“Shit! Where the hell are Xander and Chago?” Wyck whispered.

“Captured?” Kagan tightened his hold on Mira’s waist. She covered his hand with her own and squeezed. His warmth blossomed around her and she smiled. She’d never felt safer.

A loud boom shook the building and sent them tumbling from the closet. The lights flickered and debris rained from the ceiling. Mira clutched Kagan’s arm with one hand and covered her nose and mouth with the other as dust choked her lungs.

Zoe shielded her head and glanced around. “What the hell’s going on?”

The smell of sulfur permeated the air, and black smoke billowed from the heating vent. Wyck and Kagan spoke in unison. “Lucifer.”

“We can’t wait.” Kagan grabbed Mira’s arm and headed for the exit. “We need to go now!”

Wyck helped Zoe slip into a janitor’s uniform then pushed her out the door after Kagan.

“We have to reach the tree line in order to flash out of here.”

Kagan exited into the blinding white snowpack. He pulled out his gun, high-tailing for a small group of pines at the edge of the property, oblivious to the bitter cold. He gave Mira what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he plowed along beside Wyck.

The gunfire increased and snow exploded around them as they plunged into the snowscape outside. Wyck seized Zoe’s wrist and yanked her ahead, only to stop a few feet later when Zoe crumpled to the ground in a heap. A large, feathered-tipped dart protruded from her back. “Bloody hell!”

Mira screamed and struggled against Kagan. “Let me go, dammit! She’s hurt.” He drew her closer, quelling her resistance.

“The best way to help her is to get her out of here,
piccola
.” Kagan knelt on one knee, squinting into the horizon. Shots rang out from the forest ahead. “
Vaff!
We’re surrounded.”

Bullets whizzed past. Wyck crouched beside Zoe, checking her pulse before picking her up and trudging forward again. A bullet struck dead center in the back of his day-glow orange jacket. He face-planted in the snow before Kagan could reach his side. His limp form continued to twitch as more ammo riddled his body.

Blood soaked the snow around Wyck and stained his hair and clothes. Weapon drawn, Kagan returned fire to keep their pursuers at bay until Wyck revived. He kept Mira close behind him as he swiveled and fired repeatedly. Her arms locked around his waist gave him both comfort and energy. A brief respite in the gunplay allowed Kagan time to drop a quick kiss on her wind-chapped cheek and tuck her beneath his chin. He would get them out of this, no matter the cost.

The pine grove hovered close. Kagan urged Mira toward it and moved to follow behind. He took one step and a bullet tore through his side. Kagan stumbled, then fell to one knee. A second bullet ripped into the muscle of his left thigh. He gritted his teeth and attempted to regain his footing. Mira turned and screamed, started back toward him. He tried to wave her off, tell her to stay away. She ignored his warning and continued toward him amidst the blitz of shots.

Mira disappeared from his peripheral vision. Then a sudden weight tumbled on top of him. Mira slumped across his back. Her shallow breathing did little to ease his rising panic. He reached back, his fingers pressing into the side of her neck. Kagan located her faint, thready pulse.
Madre de Dio!
She was alive, but how badly injured?