X-Ops Exposed Read online

  Chase scowled.

  “I can’t help but think I would be better off on my own out here,” Mahsood panted as Chase picked up the pace. “If you let me go and simply create a diversion, I can escape, then meet up with you somewhere later. Once I’m out of the area, they’ll ignore the two of you, since it’s obvious you have no value to anyone.”

  Chase pinned Tate with a look as they caught up to him. “Can we just leave him here? Maybe tie him to a tree with a bow around it?”

  Tate cursed and grabbed Mahsood’s free arm. “Unfortunately, no. So let’s get going.”

  He and Chase took off running again, making pretty good time. Almost good enough to convince Tate they were going to reach the highway before anyone caught up with them. He only hoped someone driving by would stop and pick them up.

  Behind him, Tate heard the sound of running feet. He barely drew his weapon, when two blurs slammed into him and Chase at the same time. Mahsood let out something that sounded like a screech, but Tate didn’t do more than grunt as he flew ten feet through the air like he’d been hit by a train.

  He lost his weapon when he hit the ground, pain exploding through his body from the force of the impact. The moment he bounced to a stop, the feline shifter was on him, straddling his body, one clawed hand cocked back and ready to rip out his throat. Tate immediately lifted an arm to protect himself, but before he could counterattack, the man’s curved claws sliced through his forearm. Ignoring the pain, Tate brought the heel of his right hand up and slammed it into the shifter’s nose. The crunching sound it made was rewarding as hell.

  The man threw back his head and roared, and while it didn’t incapacitate him, it definitely distracted him. Tate used that to his advantage, knocking the shifter off his chest. Tate jumped up, searching wildly for his weapon. Unfortunately, it was nowhere in sight. Neither was Mahsood. However, Chase was tussling with the female wolf shifter and having nearly as much trouble as he was. His arms were bloody from claw marks, and the way he was favoring his left side indicated he might be dealing with some cracked ribs. Getting blindsided by a shifter running at full speed could do that sometimes.

  The wolf shifter’s claws and fangs were fully extended, and she looked ready to kill. But as much as Tate would have liked to run over to help, he needed his damn weapon first. He spun in a slow circle, wishing for the first time in his life that he’d gotten a weapon in some color other than black.

  He caught sight of it half buried in the leaves and dirt just as the feline shifter pulled his hand away from his smashed nose. He looked at Tate with pure murder in his eyes.

  Tate lunged for the weapon at the same time as the shifter launched at him. Tate hit the ground, his fingers closing around the familiar grip of his pistol just as the man landed on him. Tate barely had a chance to tighten his hand on the weapon before the shifter yanked him over onto his back. He tried to bring the weapon up and point it in the right direction, but the shifter grabbed his wrist and slammed it to the ground.

  Tate twisted, reaching for the claws digging into his wrist. That was when he realized his pistol was now pointing straight at Chase. Or more precisely, the wolf shifter pinning his partner against a tree as she prepared to tear him apart.

  Tate didn’t hesitate, even though he knew it was likely to end up with him getting his own throat ripped out. He simply squeezed off four rounds in the general direction of the wolf shifter.

  The sounds of the gunshots shattered the morning calm, making everyone jump, and while three of the rounds completely missed their marks, the last one hit, going through the woman’s right thigh. She screamed in pain and tumbled to the side, hitting the ground hard, then spinning back up to throw Tate a look that suggested she couldn’t wait to shred the flesh off his bones.

  But instead of coming at him, she lifted her head and sniffed the air. Giving her feline partner a hard look, she turned and darted into the forest.

  Over by the tree, Chase was just dragging himself to his feet. Tate knew the man wasn’t going to be able to help him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the feline shifter lift his clawed hand for another killing slash and knew his forearm wasn’t going to stop it this time.

  Suddenly, a blur flashed past him, and all he could do was lay there stunned as Ashley appeared out of nowhere and landed on the feline shifter’s back. The guy’s eyes widened, but there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop the smaller, faster coyote shifter from sinking her fangs into the back of his neck.

  The man howled in pain and threw himself to the side. He hit the ground rolling as he tried to shake her off. He finally managed it, but not before she’d dealt a lot of damage. When they both came up snarling at each other like rabid animals, the feline shifter took one look at Ashley and apparently decided he had business elsewhere. He turned and hauled ass like his wolf partner had done earlier.

  Tate glanced at Ashley, and she snarled at him. He could see why the feline shifter had bailed. Ashley took batshit crazy to a whole new level.

  She stared at him for another second, then ran off into the woods, where she stopped and dug down into a thick section of brambles, dragging Mahsood out kicking and screaming. She cuffed him once in the head, then tossed him over her shoulder and disappeared into the trees.

  Tate blinked in shock, mostly at the fact that he and Chase were alive, but also at the realization that Ashley had stolen their prisoner.

  He climbed to his feet and ran over to check on Chase. The cop waved him away. “I’m fine. We need to go after her. She can’t run as fast while carrying Mahsood.”

  Tate nodded and started after the shifter and her prey. Chase kept up with him, cracked ribs be damned.

  Tate couldn’t believe they were risking their lives to save a man who’d experimented on dozens of people. Maybe he should just let Ashley have him.

  “Would now be a bad time to point out that Ashley didn’t seem to have an issue with carrying Mahsood?” Tate asked as they ran.

  “That’s because she’s part animal and I’m not,” Chase said, his breath coming a little labored. “Apparently, she has much more motivation to carry the man than I had. I’m pretty sure she’s planning to drag him off and kill him for all the crap he did to her over the past decade.”

  Tate couldn’t argue with that logic. The need for revenge could drive a person to some incredible lengths. He knew that for a fact.

  “Your arm is bleeding a lot,” Chase said. “You going to make it?”

  “Yeah, I’m good. How about your ribs? You able to breathe okay?”

  “I’m good,” the deputy said. “You think we’ve seen the last of those other two shifters and their mercenary buddies?”

  “That would be nice, but we need to be ready for them to catch up to us.”

  “Great,” Chase said. “Then we can fight them and Ashley at the same time.”

  “Exactly. They’ll be all together in one place, so that should make it easier.”

  * * *

  Zarina screamed as the ground exploded in a hail of bullets a few feet to her left. The sound was purely involuntary, just like her instincts to spin around and throw herself over the three children she and Lillie had been leading to safety. The poor kids were so terrified, they simply froze in place, their faces shoved tight to the ground as if they thought the crazy people shooting at them wouldn’t see them. She and Lillie quickly got the three kids moving, nudging them toward the corner of the nearest cabin as more bullets flew over their heads.

  Zarina was surprised and relieved when they reached the safety of the cabin and darted around the side of it. Upon seeing the three heavily armed men in their path, she’d been sure it was over. Even though the morning’s light was already beginning to brighten the eastern sky, somehow, the shooters had missed. So far.

  The crazy thing was, she wasn’t scared for herself. She was more worried about the kids. And T
anner. It would tear him apart if she got hurt—or worse.

  “Get them to the main building!” Lillie shouted, leaning around the corner of the building and peppering the three men with several shots from her oversized handgun. “I’ll keep these guys busy.”

  “I don’t think splitting up is a good idea,” Zarina said, holding her revolver ready in case she had to shoot someone. She prayed it wouldn’t come to that, because it would take a miracle for her to hit anything.

  Lillie pulled back from the corner, dropping the ammo clip from her weapon and loading another one so fast, Zarina had a hard time seeing exactly what she was doing. “We don’t have a choice. Someone has to slow them down a little, and there’s no way in hell I’m letting you do it. Take the kids and get them out of here. You can get some help and come back.”

  Before Zarina could protest anymore, Lillie slipped around the corner and disappeared. A moment later, Zarina heard the booming of the woman’s weapon and knew Lillie was doing something stupid to give her time to get these little kids to safety.

  Damn if Lillie wasn’t just like Tanner!

  Zarina turned and gathered the kid closest to her—a red-haired girl with eyes bulging in fear—and urged her forward. “All right, you heard Lillie. Let’s get back to the main building. Fast!”

  The trio obediently began moving as fast as their terrified feet could carry them. Zarina did her best to look in every direction at once, praying they didn’t stumble over any more bad guys.

  She’d run into Lillie only seconds after Tanner had taken off, and together they had immediately begun passing information to the confused preppers who’d just started sticking their heads out of their cabins, wondering what the hell Tanner had been yelling about.

  Then Chad had come running, getting some of the men out to the perimeter while directing everyone else back toward the main building. He’d asked Lillie and Zarina to take care of the youngest of the camp’s children so their parents could focus on defending the place. Zarina knew the older man had made the request because he thought it was the best way to keep his own daughter safe. How was he to know they’d stumble across a group of the men attacking the camp within minutes of leaving his side?

  Zarina heard Lillie’s big automatic go off several more times, but it sounded farther away, like she was leading the men toward the perimeter. By the time she and the kids reached the entrance of the main building, the shooting stopped. Zarina held her breath, praying she’d hear it again, but she didn’t. Even as she banged on the door of the building, she knew there was something wrong.

  The door swung open, and eager hands reached out to pull them inside, but Zarina resisted.

  “I have to go back,” she said firmly as Burt tried to tug her in.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked urgently.

  “Lillie is out there. I think she’s in trouble.”

  The other man didn’t hesitate. “Let me get my weapon.”

  He disappeared from sight for a few seconds, then slipped out the door, carrying the same kind of rifle she’d seen Tanner with earlier.

  “Where’s the last place you saw her?” Burt asked, yanking a handle on the top of the weapon, then releasing it with a metallic clank.

  Zarina turned and stepped off the porch, trying to remember exactly which direction Lillie’s last shot had come from. She knew she didn’t have a hybrid’s tracking ability, but she was sure she could find the girl.

  “Follow me,” she said, hoping she sounded confident.

  As they ran toward the north side of the camp, she realized she didn’t hear much gunfire. She prayed that was a good thing.

  As they rounded the last row of cabins before entering the tree line, she saw a man lying on the ground, bleeding from a gunshot wound, while two big men dressed in black tactical gear dragged Tanner into the woods. Lillie was nowhere in sight.

  Heart in her throat, Zarina ran after them, not sure what the hell she was going to do. She wasn’t deluded enough to think she was good enough with her revolver to hit the men taking Tanner while not hitting him.

  The pair must have heard her, because they both spun halfway around and fired off a burst of rounds in her direction. Burt tackled her, knocking her to the ground behind the dead man. That was fortunate, as the guy’s body absorbed half a dozen bullets while they hid behind it.

  She was trying to make herself as small as possible when she saw the man’s face had been clawed open. Tanner’s work for sure. She also saw Lillie’s big automatic pistol lying on the ground beside the man.

  Crap. There was no way Lillie would have given the weapon up without a fight. That meant the guys who had Tanner probably had Lillie, too. If she was lucky.

  The gunfire coming their way abruptly stopped, and she looked up to see the men disappearing into the woods. She climbed to her feet, but then hesitated, her eyes darting toward the machine gun beside the dead man.

  Zarina didn’t think about the fact that she had no idea how to use the weapon. She only knew it was better than the small revolver she was carrying. Shoving the pistol into the holster on her belt, she grabbed the machine gun and took off running after the men who had Tanner.

  Burt ran after her, but she ignored him, focused on catching up to the men she was after. Despite carrying someone as big as Tanner, the guys moved fast. It was all she could do to keep up with them, much less make up ground. Every time she did, one of them would turn around and shoot in her direction.

  Zarina was gasping for air by the time she saw the three SUVs ahead of her and Burt. Even as she watched, they tossed Tanner in the back of one of them alongside Lillie and a big man she thought was Spencer.

  The blond-haired man who’d abducted Tanner turned slightly as he opened the passenger door of the SUV, and Zarina gasped when she saw it was Ryan.

  She kept running, not understanding what Ryan was doing here or why he’d taken Tanner and the others. Beside her, Burt stumbled over something near the base of a fir tree, but she paid no attention. All she could focus on was Tanner and getting him back.

  All three of the vehicles were pulling away by the time she caught up to them. She pointed the machine gun in the general direction of the tires. She knew if she missed, she could kill Lillie. Tanner and Spencer would survive a bullet, but the girl might not. Zarina had no choice though. She couldn’t let them get away.

  She did her best to aim, even though her hands were shaking like crazy, then pulled the trigger. The weapon bucked in her hands, and the passenger side windshield of the front SUV exploded into pieces.

  She held the trigger down and lowered the weapon, trying again for the tires, but she missed. Undeterred, she kept shooting until the SUVs had completely disappeared from sight.

  Zarina dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face, her whole body trembling with fear. She wasn’t a shifter or a hybrid or any kind of hero like that. She wasn’t a fighter or a spy or even a computer hacker like everyone else at the DCO. She was simply a normal woman who wanted to help the man she loved, but she didn’t have a clue how she was supposed to do it.

  “Come on,” Burt said, gently taking her arm. “I found Peter back there. He’s still alive. We need to get him back to the main building, then let Chad know what happened. He’ll know what to do.”

  She let Burt help her to her feet, not understanding what the man was saying about Peter until she saw the hybrid lying unconscious on the ground, two tranquilizer darts sticking out of his back. She yanked the darts out and checked his pulse, relieved Burt was right about him being alive. But at the same time, her mind was spinning over the fact that talking to Chad or any of the other preppers wasn’t going to do anything to help Tanner, Lillie, or Spencer.

  Then it hit her that Chad wasn’t the person she should go to for help. She needed someone a lot better than Chad at dealing with dangerous men like Ryan.

  * * *<
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  “Who are you calling?” Chad asked suspiciously the moment Zarina took the satellite phone out of her pack. He wasn’t the only one who was suspicious. While half the people in the main building were eyeing her hopefully, just as many were staring at her with open distrust.

  She frowned at him, her finger hovering over the speed dial button Landon had programmed in for her. “Does it matter?”

  The older man nodded. He was still being stubborn, even after finding out that his daughter had been kidnapped along with Tanner and Spencer. “We don’t bring outsiders into our problems. It’s not our way.”

  Zarina felt like punching the man, no matter how much she knew he was hurting over Lillie being gone. “When it was just your people missing, it was your prerogative to try rescuing them on your own. But now your stubborn pride has gotten Tanner captured, so I’m done standing around wasting time. Your thick-headed belief that you don’t need help from anyone is part of the reason Lillie got kidnapped. But you’re too stuck in your ways to even see that.”

  Chad flinched a little at her words, along with everyone else in the room, but it was time they heard the harsh truth. For their own good.

  “You may be willing to let your daughter die because you can’t bring yourself to trust anybody, but I don’t have that problem,” she snapped. “I’m going to call the people Tanner and I work for, and they’re going to turn this world upside down to save him and your daughter and everyone else who was kidnapped, because that’s what they do.”

  Zarina didn’t give Chad the chance to argue. Satellite phone in hand, she turned and headed for the door. She thumbed Landon’s speed dial button the moment she stepped outside. She only prayed he’d answer. These days, Landon and Ivy were busy running all over the world, recruiting new operatives for the DCO or taking part in covert operations.

  “Donovan.”

  Thank God.

  “Landon, it’s Zarina. Tanner’s in trouble, and I need your help,” she said simply, then dumped everything on the man who’d been watching out for Tanner since the day the DCO had found him. If anyone could rescue Tanner, it would be Landon.