Fighting For Their Mate (30 page)

“Possibly.”

Ford stopped. “Shit. Once Statler knows they have Bailey, he’ll tell them the new location.”

Ty’s gut twisted. He prayed that wasn’t the case. “Would you trust those two bozos? Statler had every reason to think it’s a trap. Remember, they are supposedly Pack members.”

Ford flashed him a quick smile. “Good point. Come on.”

As they rushed toward the research portion of the facility, each room remained empty. Ty was more convinced they wouldn’t find anything. They were able to run from hallway to hallway since all of the eye and fingers scanners were no longer working. A few of the doors to the women’s rooms sat open, but the insides were vacant. And by that, he meant the beds were gone, as well as the instruments.

Ty shook his head. “When did he do this? We haven’t been gone that long.”

“Fuck if I know. Might as well see how Statler left his office.” Ford’s shoulders were a bit slumped.

When they reached the inner sanctum, the place had been wiped clean. The floors had been swept and every placard and bookshelf gone. “Apparently, the only thing he didn’t bother to touch was the living quarters,” Ty said.

“We need to call the General and let him know what’s going down.”

“No. The first thing we need to do is prepare for Bailey’s arrival.”

Ford nodded. “We’ll have to assume they don’t know the lab has been closed down.”

Ty shrugged. “We didn’t know. Why should they?”

*     *     *

Bailey was exhausted. She tried to sleep in the backseat, but either the men were jabbering on about stupid stuff or they turned up the volume on the radio. She suspected it was to keep them awake rather than to piss her off, not that it mattered. It prevented her from sleeping, and she was becoming more irritable and probably more irrational with each passing minute.

They did stop for gas and food a few times, but they only let her out when the restroom had an outside access. Even then, they
escorted
her to the bathroom and planted their backs against the wall until she knocked to let them know she was finished. Asses.

The last time she was inside the stall, Brad was on the phone discussing something about meeting up with a group of people. They hadn’t crossed the Canadian border, so the people wouldn’t have been from the lab. She sensed they wanted these men to go with them to Falling Pines, but why would they need reinforcements? They couldn’t know Ford might be there.

Oh, crap
. Brad and Tom had probably asked a few of their former cohorts to call them should either Ford or Tyson show up at the lab. Her stomach almost heaved at the thought. Here she was being little miss smug, picturing her men beating the shit out of these two and saving her. Her hope now would be if Statler had told everyone to keep an eye out for Brad and Tom and to stop them at all cost. She almost smiled, picturing those two being dragged inside.

Then reality intruded. She’d be dragged inside, too. Once she entered that terrible place, she’d be escorted, probably in chains, directly to Statler’s office. She closed her eyes to keep the tears at bay and tried to think of happy thoughts—that of loving her men.

As evening drew near, Brad pulled off the highway. She sat up, wondering why he was getting off the main road. Nothing was out here. Surely, they didn’t plan on killing her. Tension gripped the muscles in her neck and she rolled her shoulders to relieve the pain, but it didn’t help. “What are you doing?”

“Pull off over there,” Tom said, completely ignoring her question.

Brad headed down a dark road, bordered on both side with thick shrubs. He drove onto the berm and stopped. Without a word, Tom got out. The trunk popped, and he returned with a piece of cloth and plastic tie wraps.

“Get out,” he commanded.

She debated disobeying, but she was no match for their strength. Dread swirling inside her veins, she eased out. Bailey did everything slowly. The longer she delayed, the sooner Tyson would find her. Hopefully, she’d be alive when he did.

Tom held up the cloth. “Turn around.”

“Why?”

He lifted a hand and smacked her across the face. The shock nearly stopped her heart. She’d never been hit before, and tears welled in her eyes. Her knees buckled. She dropped to the ground and covered her stinging face.

“Jesus Christ. Get up,” Tom shouted.

Her cheek pulsated and was swelling fast. When Ford and Tyson learned what he’d done, she hoped they did the same to him. Before Bailey had a chance to compose herself, Tom pulled her to her feet. He jerked her around and yanked her arms behind her back. Quickly, he wound plastic around her wrists and pulled it tight, pinching her skin.

“Why are you doing this?” She choked out the words.

“We’re going across the border. Can’t have you seen or make any noise.” He slid the cloth over her mouth and panic ripped up her spine. She inhaled and found it hard to breathe.

He lifted her up with ease and tossed her in the trunk, banging her elbow, knee, and hip. Fucking jerks.

“Be careful,” Brad said. Statler will be pissed if she’s too beat up.”

Tom shook his head, grabbed her ankles, and tied them together. “Make any noise and we’ll make sure you die a slow and painful death.”

Good thing she was gagged or else she’d have tossed back a sassy remark. Her ladylike filter had long since disappeared. The hood closed and the fear began.

*     *     *

“How do you want to do this?” Ford asked as they exited the lab with their gear in tow.

Ty leaned against the hood and glanced to the area behind the building. “The big question is: if you were Dram and Tony, how would you handle the exchange? Drive right up and escort Bailey inside?”

Ford had been trying to think like them, too. “It’s possible. They always were arrogant, especially Tony. He was the brighter of the two.”

“The real question is when they come here, how long will it take them to realize the place is deserted? Should we be inside or outside?”

Ford blew out a breath. “Inside or we won’t be able to shift without possible notice.”

Ty raised his brows. “Do you think they’re better fighters as humans or wolves?”

“Even though they had the extra week of instruction, I’m going to say I can take them down in either form. Just make sure you get Bailey out of here.”

“You don’t think they’ll bring backup?”

“If they have any sense they will. To stand watch, if nothing else. They won’t believe they can waltz in with the others, even if they are shifters.”

“Perhaps it’s time to call the General. He might be able to send someone over.”

His brother was grasping at straws. “We’re in bumfuck nowhere. There won’t be time. We can handle anything they can bring. Remember, they aren’t enhanced.”

Ty nodded. “I guess we need to head inside.”

“On second thought, how about if you stay out here and lie in wait? If they suspect something’s up, they might separate.”

Ty’s brows pinched. “Why do I get the cold end of things?”

“Because I’m the better fighter.”

Ty’s punch to the gut came so fast, Ford didn’t have time to twist aside. The blow wasn’t hard, but it served to remind him that he needed to be alert. “Ready?”

“As ever.”

T
he static from Ford’s radio mic jarred him to attention. “Car coming,” Ty said.

Chills consumed him, knowing that Bailey was near. They had to save her. Drawing on his training to remain alert, Ford worried it wouldn’t go as planned. This whole setup didn’t sit well with him. He truly had thought Dram and Tony would wait to drop off Bailey until morning because Statler wouldn’t be here at this hour. What was their plan? Find an empty room and strap her down for the night? It made little sense. Then again, this was Dram and Tony.

“Correction,” Ty said. “Two cars are arriving.”

Fuck. “How many men?”

“Looks like Dram and Tony are in the first car, and three others are in the second.”

Five against two. “What about Bailey?” His pulse shot up, worried they wouldn’t bring her yet.

“Can’t see her. They’re slowing down, though. The vehicle in front is shining his lights on our car.”

“I trust they haven’t seen you?” Ford didn’t know why he asked. Ty was an expert in staying hidden. His twin could remain still for hours.

“I’m not answering that. They’ve stopped. Over and out.”

From here on out, they’d play it by ear. Ford repositioned himself behind the main door. They wouldn’t expect an attack as soon as they entered, but he’d only have a second to charge since they’d sense someone was near. Ford removed his mic and set it on the floor. He then shifted. The attack would be more vicious with wolf against human—or in this case, wolf against humans, depending on who came in.

Voices sounded outside the main entrance. It was time. The click of the door release sounded louder than a gunshot. Ford sensed two men—probably Dram and Tony.

“Something’s not right,” Dram said to a man Ford didn’t recognize. Their backs were to him, but Tony was taller than Dram and this man was a good three inches shorter.

Just as Ford was about to attack, the door opened again. More men arrived, but this time with Bailey. He pushed his thoughts to Statler and the scum that he was in order not to let his hormones rule. If Ford thought about what she’d been through, he’d have lost his edge.

Dram turned around and his eyes widened. “You.”

Ford launched himself at Dram’s leg and bit hard.

The man yelped. Pussy. Attacking a leg wouldn’t have a big effect. He had to get to his jugular. As he released Dram’s leg, the man dropped to his knees. It was a small victory, but in seconds, he’d heal.

Around them chaos descended. Fur flew, bodies spun, and bones cracked. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ty, who’d raced in and shifted. As much as his brother probably wanted to grab Bailey and whisk her away, she’d be safer if—and that was a big if—they could take down all of these men. Right now, there were five adversaries against the two of them.

“Take the gir—” Dram, who hadn’t shifted, didn’t get to finish his sentence because Ford dragged him to the ground and leapt on his neck.

He didn’t give the poor bastard the chance to shift. In a fight, the five seconds it took to change was an eternity. Fangs extended, Ford chomped on the jugular and Dram collapsed, bleeding out. Ford gave him only seconds to live.

One down, four to go. Blood dripping from his teeth, Ford looked for his next prey. Tony was easy to recognize. He had a small gray tuff of hair above his right eye. The man who’d entered with Dram had an even brown coat. Another wolf was mostly gray and the last shifter had a mottled coat.

Ford chanced a look at Bailey, who seemed frozen, fear splashing across her features. If he’d been human, he would have told her to run. Before he could howl to get her to move, the brown wolf charged Ford’s flank. Rookie mistake. Ford spun around to attack the wolf’s neck, but that presented his rear to a second attacker who succeeded in taking a small piece of skin off Ford’s hind leg. All that would do was slow him down for a few seconds. His only vulnerable point was his neck.

Yelps sounded behind him from the two men trying to take Ty down. Good luck with that. Tony was a good fighter, but he wasn’t good enough. Ford dropped to his haunches for a better angle and to give him more power to leap. Brownie took the bait and lowered his head. Ignoring the second wolf who was noshing on Ford’s rear, he sprang up and clamped down hard on Brownie’s neck. Just as he was about to sever the artery, delicate footsteps sounded down the corridor. Distracted, Ford gazed up, giving his prey the chance to roll out of the way. While the bite might not kill him, the wolf would be down for a while.

Just as Ford was about to finish him off, the second wolf charged. Out of the corner of his eye, one of the two men trying to take down Ty shifted back to human and took off after Bailey. Ford had no time to spare. With savage focus, he opened his mouth and went for the mottled one’s neck. Teeth collided. They jostled for position, pawing, snarling, and biting. Ford feigned right and went left. With the neck exposed, he went for it. His attacker dropped, the life bleeding out of him, just as Brownie roused. A quick paw slice and he, too, was gone.

Time to find Bailey.

*     *     *

Run, run, run
.

Bailey wasn’t quite sure what just happened. One minute Brad was rushing her inside, and the next all hell had broken loose. With her hands tied behind her back with that damn piece of plastic, doing anything was hard, including moving fast. Brad had been holding her arm, keeping her captive. Then suddenly a wolf charged Tom and tore out his throat. Blood splattered everywhere, paralyzing her at the horrific sight. She should have been thrilled that one of her captors went down, but there were so many others.

Growls filled the entryway and their claws scraped against the tile floor. And then there were the howls and yelps. If her hands had been free, she would have plastered them over her ears.

The wolves looked alike, and she couldn’t tell who was winning the fight to save her. After staring at the fallen wolf, it had taken her a second to realize she was free—that Brad had shifted and rushed toward the wolves fighting on the other side. She had to assume it was Tyson or another Pack member.