Into the Mist (Falcon Mercenary Group #1)(68)

* * *

Eli shoved himself off the ground, trying to shake off the effects of the paralytic. His mind was clearing now. Fear replaced the fog.

Two men, guns up, sprinted toward him. He recognized them as members of Falcon. The ones who’d shown up in Germany. Neither was Damiano which only left Jonah and Mad Dog. The man in front clearly had to be Jonah.

As he rose to meet the potential threat, two cats burst from the exit he and Tyana had come through.

Falcon halted, their guns up and trained on the cats. But they didn’t immediately shoot.

The cats collapsed on the ground and began their excruciating shift. Eli stumbled over to their naked bodies.

“Tyana. Where is Tyana?” he demanded.

Ian stared at him in confusion. “I don’t know,” he said in a weak voice.

The two men from Falcon knelt over Ian and Braden. They dug fatigues out of their packs and thrust them at the naked men.

“Get them on,” Jonah barked. “Then tell me where the f**k Tyana is.”

“She went back in after you,” Eli explained to the men as they dressed. “You came out. She didn’t.”

Jonah cupped a hand to his ear then cursed. Mad Dog paled.

“She’s taken another round. She’s down,” Jonah reported.

He dug into his pocket then thrust a small ear piece at Eli. “Put this on. You won’t have voice, but you’ll be able to hear. We’re going in after Ty.”

Eli pushed the receiver into his ear and immediately heard the voice of another man urgently asking for Tyana to report her condition.

“We’re going too,” Ian said. “If she went down saving us, we’re not leaving her.”

Jonah didn’t argue. He and Mad Dog tossed the two men extra guns.

“Jonah, she’s on the move.” The voice crackled in Eli’s ear. Damiano. “Not under her own power. They’re Esteban’s men. They’re moving her.”

There was another moment of silence. “Lower level. They said lower level and goddamn it, Jonah, I’ve lost her location. She’s not showing up anymore. You need to move.”

“All right, we’re going in,” Jonah said to the four men. “Fan out. Damiano has lost her location. He mentioned a lower level so we have to find our way down. We don’t have time to waste.”

“Jonah, Falcon secondary has secured the south wing,” Damiano reported.

“Have them close in on our location from the opposite direction,” Jonah said. “I want no stone unturned.”

As he turned to go into the building, Eli reached out and grabbed his arm.

“I can shift. The drug has worn off enough. I can go into places you guys can’t. I need voice, though.”

Without hesitation, Jonah reached over and tore Mad Dog’s receiver from the front of his vest and slapped it on Eli’s chest. “Go,” he ordered.

Eli summoned every bit of his mental energy and evaporated into a fine mist. He streaked into the building and disappeared into the ventilation system. Behind him, he heard the steady footsteps of the others as they ran inside.

* * *

Damiano was about to go mad. He itched from the inside out. It took every ounce of his strength not to give in to the urge to shift. To become a predator and go after the ones who held Ty.

Only the fact that he knew he was her only voice, her only comfort, prevented his complete loss of control.

The men who’d taken her were angry. They argued among themselves, cursing the fact that Esteban had disappeared when the compound was attacked. Damiano flinched when he heard Ty cry out in pain.

God, what were they doing to her? He needed to see. He needed her location. He felt so goddamn helpless.

“Bitch won’t live long enough for us to use her as a bargaining tool,” one of them complained.

She cried out again, and one of them laughed cruelly.

Damiano summoned every bit of control. He had to help her. Just like he had in Prague. He wouldn’t let her suffer like this.

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he drew in a shaky breath. “Ty, listen to me.” He purposely made his voice soft and low, soothing. “I want you to go to our place. You remember it, don’t you? Remember back at the orphanage, we’d go to our special place where no one could touch us. No one could hurt us. It was just you and me in the most wonderful place we could imagine. Go there now, Ty. Do it for me.”

“I love you, D,” she whispered in a choked voice. Was she choking on her own blood? Had she taken a hit to the chest? “Tell Jonah I’m sorry.”

Jonah and Mad Dog paused for just a second as Damiano’s haunted voice filled their ears. And then Tyana’s apology. Grief, thick and relentless grabbed hold of Jonah. For the first time in two decades, he faced losing someone important to him. He’d sworn after Adharji that he’d never let anyone close again. Would never allow himself to bleed over anyone. But Falcon was his family and Tyana, Mad Dog and Damiano had, despite his best efforts, become all-important. He wouldn’t lose them. Not now. Not ever.

“We won’t lose her,” Jonah vowed. “Do you hear me, D? We won’t lose her. You tell her that. Tell her we’re coming for her and goddamn it, she’s not allowed to die.”

Eli streaked downward, to the lower level of the building. He’d found the single elevator shaft in the center of the facility. There was blood in the shuttle. Tyana’s blood.