Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(66)

Soren swiftly searched his mind. He needed to distract the man. He doubted the idiot could pull the gun and shoot him before he could rip out his throat, but he didn’t want to risk it. Not with Cora depending on him.

“Chuck. I’m Senator Scott’s nephew,” he at last said, choosing the name of a politician who was well known for hating shifters. The bastard had made it clear he wasn’t going to be satisfied until every shifter had been caged like an animal in a zoo. “He promised me a job here if I wanted it.”

“Shit.” The man gave a resigned shake of his head. “That’s all I need. Some politician sending me his family rejects.”

“Hey.” Soren leaned forward, raising his voice. “Are you calling me a reject?”

As he’d hoped, the door to the security office was shoved open, and a slender man with short brown hair and a narrow, rat-like face stepped into the hallway.

“What the hell is going on out here?” the man demanded.

Soren shoved his way past the first guard, heading toward the open doorway.

“Whatcha doing in there?” he demanded, covertly making sure that the second man was unarmed. A quick glance revealed that nothing was hidden beneath the black slacks and white cotton shirt. Just the usual IT guy. “You got a TV?”

“They’re security monitors, you moron.”

“Oh. Let me see,” Soren pushed his head through the doorway, making a quick inventory of the long table that was loaded with computers, walkie-talkies, a sophisticated switchboard, and what looked like video recorders. There was also a narrow black box with a line of switches that he bet his left nut was attached to the alarm system.

His attention turned to the monitors that lined one wall, his heart clenching as he caught sight of Cora. Seated on a narrow cot, she was wearing an orange jumpsuit with her hair tangled and her face marred with dirt.

A toxic combination of relief that she was alive and rage at the sight of her locked in a f*cking cage sizzled through him. A low growl rumbled in his chest, his fangs elongating as a red mist clouded his mind.

“Get him out of there.” He heard the nerd command, feeling his shoulder being roughly grabbed.

“Goddammit. I knew he was going to be a pain in the ass,” the first guard grumbled, yanking Soren around to face him. “Look, you entitled piece of shit…” Belatedly catching sight of Soren’s eyes that glowed with the power of his wolf and the teeth that were more animal than human, the man took a step back, fumbling for his gun. “Oh, hell.”

With a swipe of his hand, Soren knocked the gun from the guard’s hand, sending it sliding down the hall to hit the wall with a metallic thud. At the same time, he wrapped his free hand around the man’s thick neck and began to squeeze.

The guard made a gurgling sound, desperately reaching up to grab Soren’s wrist in a futile attempt to break his ruthless grip.

Soren never wavered, his fingers biting deeply into the spongy flesh. Unfortunately, the bastard took longer than Soren expected to finally pass out. Which meant that the nerd had managed to dart into the security room and slam the door shut.

Shit.

Tossing the unconscious man to the floor, Soren lifted his leg and kicked open the door. It splinted in two beneath the impact. Stepping into the cramped room, he managed to grab the human by the back of his shirt. Giving him a sharp tug, he yanked him away from the wooden desk in the corner.

Just for a second, he thought he’d managed to prevent a disaster. Then, as he lifted the struggling man off the ground, he caught sight of a flashing light over the monitors.

Damn. The nerd must have set off an alarm.

Fear twisted his gut as he slammed the man into the wall, taking satisfaction in hearing his head smack with enough force to knock him out.

Dropping him to the floor, Soren gave him another kick just to make sure he wasn’t faking his unconsciousness before stepping over his limp body to grab the black box. With unsteady fingers, he flipped each switch, praying that he wasn’t too late.

Then, lifting his arm, he smashed the box against the edge of the table, shattering it into a hundred pieces. Hopefully, that would prevent the doors from being locked down before he could get Cora out.

With a last glance at the monitor that showed Cora now on her feet pacing the cell with obvious unease, he spun on his heel and headed out of the room.

He only had a few minutes to get in and out.

He couldn’t waste a single one.

****

Frank had his shifter samples hidden in the small refrigerator that was under the built-in bar, and was hurriedly pulling on his suit jacket when the door to his office was shoved open.

He tensed, knowing who had intruded into his private space even before he slowly turned to watch Markham stroll forward.

“Going somewhere, Talbot?” the older man demanded.

Frank adjusted his cuffs, pretending an indifference he was far from feeling. After all, this was his office. He might not usually work this late, but he could be there if he wanted. Right?

Maybe he could brazen his way out of danger.

“Home,” he said, pasting a smile on his lips. “I didn’t realize how late it was.”

“Yes.” The man folded his arms across his chest, his pale gaze studying Frank with an unnerving intensity. “Which makes me wonder why you’re here.”

Frank waved a hand toward his desk that was stacked with file folders.