Ripper (Hunter #1)(98)

I didn’t point out that they’d done the same things as Sharpe. I chose another tactic because I wasn’t so hot on becoming victim number seven. “You’re underestimating Lieutenant Sloane. He won’t arrest Sharpe.”

“Of course he will. He doesn’t play favorites. He’ll arrest anyone he thinks has done something wrong. Look how he f*cked with Quinn last year. That was sweet. My dad laughed the whole time Sloane was hauling that pervert out. Too bad he couldn’t make it stick.”

“I assure you if he thinks Alexander Sharpe killed me, he will not arrest him. Sharpe will die and there won’t be anything left to identify. He loves me. He won’t leave it to the justice system.”

“He’s a Ranger.”

“He’s a man first. We’re getting married,” I explained logically. “Would you calmly arrest the man who killed your mate? If he kills Sharpe, then the king might have a problem with it, but everyone else will think justice is done.”

That seemed to flummox the younger man. He frowned as he thought about it. I felt my back touch the concrete barrier of the small elevator that led to the second and third floors. Darren was thinking and generally growing more panicked as he considered the angles. I considered the angles, too. Even if Darren decided I was right, he couldn’t call a mulligan and get a new hand. He had to play the one he’d dealt himself, and that included getting rid of the obnoxious PI who screwed everything up.

Very cautiously, I slipped my hand back and hit the button for the elevator. As I heard it start to ding, I reached into my bag and pulled the .45 Gray had given me. Without hesitation, I shot him squarely in the shoulder and watched as he was blown back by the impact. His entire left side flew around like he was attached to a chain someone had yanked. I threw my body into the open elevator and immediately hit the number two button and then punched close doors as many times as I could in the few seconds it took to work.

Even as the doors were closing, I watched Darren’s body jerk up from where he’d fallen. He turned to the elevator and he growled low in the back of his throat. It started as a growl, but before the doors were fully together, it was a howl that shook the garage.

It was the single, longest elevator ride in the history of time. I’m pretty sure of that. The whole time I stood there, holding the gun and waiting for the doors to open, I fought the instinct that threatened to take over. It was stronger, possibly because I’d let it loose the night before. There was something inside me, like a caged wolf, clawing to get out. Adrenaline rushed through my system, seeming to feed it. I couldn’t lose control. I’d been insane the night before, nearly unstoppable. Marcus wasn’t here and I wasn’t sure I could get control back without him. The first time someone had knocked me out with horse tranquilizers and the next time Marcus had been there. What if I went crazy? We were in a public place. No, it couldn’t happen.

I needed to get to the Jeep and drive like the wind to Gray’s office in Garland. I had the address. I would go there and dump everything in his lap. He would handle it and I wouldn’t have to find out how far gone I was. I forced that twitchy beast down. I shoved it away with every ounce of will I had.

When the doors opened, I ran. I ran as fast as I could toward the dark blue Jeep that represented freedom and safety. I might have made it if a big brown and white wolf hadn’t been between the car and me.

Wolves are way faster than elevators.

The force of stopping on a dime nearly set me on the ground. I managed to stop my fall, but the gun clattered to the floor. The wolf snarled and I wondered briefly if his clothes had ripped and torn around him or if he’d taken the time to unclothe before becoming the big, toothy predator in front of me. It’s funny the things that go through your brain when you know you’re going to die. Darren Castle was going to get his first blood and it would be mine. He wouldn’t knock me out and take me to a convenient location. He was going to kill me right here and right now.

What was more important? Survival or keeping my conscience clean? It was no question at all. One way I died and the other I had a chance at staying alive and being with Gray. That was all that mattered to me in that moment. I wanted to see Gray again. As the brown wolf leapt through the air, I let down every defense and let the beast take over.

This time it wasn’t a tiny ember that blossomed. It was a full-blown bonfire that raged through my body uncontrollably. Fear fled and in its place was a righteous certainty that I wanted to live.

The wolf flew through the air, his jaws opened wide. I felt the heat from his mouth as I kicked up and I shoved myself under the pouncing wolf, catching him in the chest and following through to shove him behind me.

Even before he hit the ground, I was up and looking. Through almost alien eyes, I took in everything in that sparse concrete-laden lot. During the times when I fully surrender to the beast, it’s as though I’m rewarded with superpowers. My every sense heightens and any fear I felt flees. I can still feel emotions, but they’re muted in comparison to the joy of the hunt, the anticipation of the kill.

There were only a few cars around at this time of day. Above me there was a wealth of pipes crisscrossing the ceiling and disappearing into the adjacent building. The wolf turned, growling in frustration as he got back up and began to run toward me again.

I leapt straight up, catching the pipe in both hands and swinging my legs back. The motion brought power with it and I timed it perfectly. I caught the werewolf in the jaw and was satisfied with the crack and the whimper as my opponent went down. I dropped down, knowing I had mere seconds before Darren recovered. My foot had caught him right across the jaw, but I hadn’t felt the bone break. I was still fighting my instincts on some level, and there was a part of me that was screaming to give it up and let them take over completely.