Dangerously Attracted [Werewolves of Hanson Mall 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (12 page)

“Break-in at the professional suites. Since Dakota is on shift I don’t suppose you’re with Lewis.”

“No, sir, I’m at the fitness center. I don’t know where he is. Do you want me to find him?”

“I don’t want him wandering around anywhere to become a victim. He didn’t answer his cell phone but likely he’s asleep. As most normal people are at this hour.”

“He might be on the roof. He likes it up there. But I don’t have a swipe card to go look.”

“I don’t want anyone else running around inside the tower. They could easily end up as hostages or victims. We don’t know how many people Hamilton has with him but we do know he’s got equipment that smashes toughened glass very easily. I’ve called in some of the managers who live out at the apartments. This time of night they should be arriving in ten minutes. Dakota is going to let them in at the fourth-floor parking lot. Stay out of sight and then join them. I want the professional suites locked down so no one can get out. I plan to catch these people in the middle of a criminal act so they go to jail, not just have the judge slap them on the wrist.”

“Yes, sir. Ten minutes, sir.”

Andreas rushed into the shower and got washed and dressed as fast as he could, then he rummaged through the closet in his seldom-used office until he found a pair of heavy winter boots. If there was going to be kicking and broken glass, this was not a good time to be wearing gym shoes.

He figured the ten minutes would already be up so he grabbed his cell phone and swipe card and walked to the door of the gym. No one was around outside so he swiped himself out, checked the door was locked, then looked at his card. He didn’t have access to a lot of places, but he didn’t want anyone to take it from him either. Sighing, he tucked the keycard down inside his briefs, hard against his body. That was the safest place he could think of right now. Walking as quietly as he could in his boots, he made his way to the parking lot entry. Dakota was already there, looking as if she was working a perfectly normal shift. He was so proud of her. If Hamilton saw her she was toast. He’d know she was trying to set him up, not really looking for a home for her grandmother. Yet Dakota was calm, serene, and smiling.
Damn she’s amazing and I love her so much.

* * * *

Andreas had offered Lewis the use of the tent whenever he wanted it, but the weather was fine and Lewis was happy enough with just a blanket. Lying on concrete would be very cold in a month or two’s time, he knew, but right now the double thickness of the blanket underneath him was all he needed, and the big empty sky above brought deep peace to his soul.

He was deeply asleep, and transitioned to a lighter, shallower sleep with the thought that there was something he should do, or know, but the urge wasn’t strong enough to completely wake him, and it was a while later before he woke up knowing his cell phone had rung and he hadn’t answered it. “Only Dakota or Andreas would ring me at night. What’s happening?”

The phone number was neither of them and no message had been left. Lewis couldn’t imagine it would be someone trying to sell him something in the middle of the night, but he didn’t want to answer the call in case it was someone he shouldn’t talk to. Although he couldn’t imagine Jackson Hamilton being able to access his cell phone number either. Finally he texted Andreas.

I have a missed call from an unknown number. Is something wrong?

Almost instantly his phone rang. “I’m so glad you called me. Hamilton has broken into the professional suites. Don’t open your door to anyone for any reason at all.”

“I’m not in my room. I’m on the roof. He won’t be able to get up here unless he’s got one of a very few swipe cards.”

“Oh, good. You should be safe there. But go behind the wall just in case. He’s already smashed one door in and maybe others as well. Cadfael plans to flush him out of the professional suites and capture him and any helpers he might have with him. But it could take a while. There’s a hell of a lot of rooms to check.”

“I’ll be fine here. Let me know when he’s caught. And Andreas, look after Dakota, please. Don’t let him hurt her.”

“You have my promise on that.”

Lewis lay back down on his blanket. He really couldn’t imagine anyone coming up here and bothering him. For a start, a lot of people didn’t even know there was proper access to the roof, not just a workman’s ladder or something similar. And even fewer had a swipe card for the final level in the elevator.

He worried about Dakota. She’d been face-to-face with Jackson Hamilton and if he saw her here, especially in her uniform, he could become very angry indeed. Her safety was his biggest fear. Only the knowledge that Andreas was with her stopped him from running downstairs to protect her himself. That, and the knowledge that if he was with her it might actually place her in even greater danger. If Hamilton was looking for him, and not just for Hawthorne Cunliffe.

Sighing he picked up his blanket and moved behind the wall. If Hamilton came up here, likely he wouldn’t realize there was space behind the wall, and being invisible would be a whole lot better than being captured again.

But when he lay down again he still couldn’t rest. If Jackson was here, and if he got caught, what would happen to the people in the well-being center? Not the ones being looked after by the nurse, but the other ones locked up in the upper floors. The ones like him. Lewis pulled out his cell phone again and called Andreas.

“Trouble?”

“No, sorry, I was just thinking about the captives at the well-being center. If Hamilton is here, who is looking after them? If he is caught and taken by the police, even jailed, what will happen to them?”

“That’s a good point. I’ll talk to Cadfael. Likely he has it all under control, but just in case, I’ll mention it. Are you behind the wall?”

“Yes, I am. Are you guarding Dakota?”

“As much as she’ll let me, yes, I am.”

* * * *

Dakota guessed who Andreas was talking to and that Lewis was telling him to watch over her. Andreas was sticking to her closer than a shirt to her skin after an hour’s workout at the gym.

Cadfael was managing the search, sitting behind Sophie’s desk in the professional suites. Maelor had led a team of wolves to the tenth floor, and they were searching each floor and dead bolting the doors to the stairwell behind them so that even a swipe card wouldn’t open them. The elevator was jammed open on the fourth floor so no one could use it either.

Some levels were quicker to search than others, and the office floors would be easier still when they got lower down because there were far fewer places anyone could hide. Not that Dakota thought Hamilton would be hiding. She suspected he’d found out the apartment number for either Lewis or the Cunliffe women and was intent on capturing them. But she knew for a fact all three were safe and none of them had been in those apartments tonight. Willow had been living on the tenth floor with Cadfael and Rhion for several months now, and Hawthorne lived on the eighth floor with Maelor and Dylan in Dylan’s apartment. The women’s former apartment, 7C, was just an office now.

Dakota and Andreas had been left on the fourth floor with Cadfael to prevent anyone exiting without their permission. Dakota smiled at the line of shopping trolleys chained across the doorway. Hamilton might have some useful tool for smashing through toughened glass, but if he wanted to use it to get out again he’d have to do it from either behind the trolleys, or when balancing on them. It was a rough and ready blockade, but she thought it would make his life harder. Or at least slow him down enough for the police to arrive.

Cadfael had refused to call the police yet. “I want these men caught in the act. I don’t want anyone getting away this time,” he repeated.

Maelor was in constant contract with Cadfael who was crossing out room after room on a floor plan of the building as it was checked and locked.

In a way, it was incredibly boring standing here and waiting to find out if the team saw Hamilton. Or anyone who’d come with him. Or even other people if they were quite wrong and this wasn’t Hamilton at all.

She looked at her wristwatch. It was after five o’clock already. What if he wasn’t found until after six when the gym was supposed to open? There’d be a line of impatient people waiting to get in. Although likely not the wolves, of course, many of whom had been recruited to help with the search and were already in the professional suites.

Cadfael put down his cell phone. “Someone is in the elevator shaft. Wynn’s team has found where they’ve smashed the elevator doors open on the eighth floor.”

“Cadfael, do you want me to close the elevator doors? Leaving them open makes it easier for someone to climb down the elevator shaft, pop out a ceiling tile from the elevator, and exit through the open door,” said Dakota.

“But if we shut the doors they might be able to make the elevator work and then we’ll never know what floor they’re on. Right now they have to smash the stairwell door to get out, which is a pretty big clue,” said Andreas.

“Andreas is correct. Leave them open.”

“Okay how about a trip wire then?”

“What?”

“A trip wire. Whoever is coming down that elevator shaft is going to be in a big hurry to exit the building. They’ll jump down from the roof of the elevator and run out the open door. They won’t be looking for a trip wire and it might even the odds for us a bit if one or two of them fall over. There are only three of us and we don’t know how many there are of them,” said Dakota.

“Oh, nasty,” said Andreas.

“Do it,” added Cadfael.

“Wait here,” Dakota ordered Andreas, in her role as security expert. She hurried into the First Aid room, swiping her card and leaving the door open behind her to save time. She needed any kind of thin, fine, but strong thread or wire. Fishing line would be ideal but there was no time to go looking in the sports store. In one of the drawers she found exactly what she was looking for. She broke open a sterile packet and unrolled a few feet of suture thread. When she gave it a good tug it didn’t break. Perfect.

Dakota snatched up a pair of scissors as well and left the room, locking the door behind her this time. Andreas came across to help her and they tied the thread at knee height across the elevator opening, running a double row of it for extra strength.

Already Dakota could hear noises in the elevator shaft and hurried across to tell Cadfael but he nodded. Of course. As a werewolf his hearing was sharper than hers. Now, where should they stand? If they stood in front of the elevator the men might shoot at them as they ran. The same thing could happen if they stood blocking the exit door. Hmm. This was becoming a difficult professional question.

Dakota ignored the importance of finding an answer and took a deep breath to center herself. They would be focused on escaping. It was most unlikely that they’d look behind themselves. They would run straight for the exit. Therefore the best place to be was just behind the elevator, but also where she had a good line of sight, and could move quickly.

Dakota beckoned Andreas, who’d remained where she’d left him. He hurried across to her, obviously very relieved to be back by her side. But she shook her head, swiped open the center manager’s office, and indicated he should stand just behind the door there. She gave him direction signals with her hands, showing the way his body should be placed and the way he should be facing. Obediently he stood as she’d directed then mouthed, “Be careful, dammit.”

Dakota nodded. She did love this man. He was being very good, understanding that she knew what she was doing here, but still letting her see that he was worried about her safety. She patted his shoulder and took up a position herself just inside the First Aid room door.
I should have saved myself the effort of locking it before and left it open.

Dakota gave the “get down” signal to Cadfael, who was still sitting at Sophie’s desk. He slid off the seat until his head was below the desk. Hopefully he’d stay there. At least he and Andreas would be able to hear the approach of the interlopers. She kept the First Aid room door open just a crack so she could see through it. Without werewolf hearing she needed her vision as well. A weapon would be even better. Something she could throw at the men and hit them in the back, maybe slow them down until she could catch up to them. Assuming they didn’t fall over the wire, that was. Dakota looked around the room. Poor Nurse Eilidh. She kept the place so very neat and tidy and here was Dakota stealing all her equipment. Unfortunately she couldn’t see anything particularly heavy. Except a big medical textbook. Well, that would have to do.

Dakota took the few steps necessary to snatch the book up off Eilidh’s desk. Even without looking she knew the escapees were close. She could hear a metallic scrabbling sound, which was probably booted feet on the roof of the elevator. There was a muted crash and a thump. He’d opened a roof panel and jumped into the elevator. Any second now…

Dakota stepped to the gap between the door and doorjamb where she had a clear view to the elevator. A big man burst out of the elevator and fell flat on his face.
Yay!

A second man hurdled over his companion and raced toward the exit doors. Dakota stepped forward and threw the book at him with all her strength. He was a tall man with broad shoulders so a good, big target. She aimed for his center back so it wouldn’t matter too much if her effort was a little off-center. Instead, the book got him right on the spine, just below his neck. He staggered, half turned, and fell over. Cadfael was already racing to the first man who’d been tripped by the wire. Dakota sprinted for the second man and threw herself over his body, landing hard on him.

Andreas was there with her, grabbing the man’s hands and twisting his arm high up his back. Dakota kneeled on his hips, pressing down with all her weight as she pulled a pair of handcuffs out of her uniform pocket. She then went through the man’s pockets and tipped everything she found there into a Ziploc bag, which was also part of her equipment.