Primal Law (Alpha Pack #1)(90)

Bad shit was going down, and she wouldn't relax until Jax was safely in her arms again.

"I don't like this. It's too quiet," Aric hissed.

Ryon rolled his eyes. "It's after one in the morning and there's, like, nobody here except us. You were expecting a marching band?"

"Smartass. I got a bad feeling is all I'm saying."

"Goes with the territory of breaking and entering. Ready?"

"Shit, yeah. Let's get this over with."

"Be careful," Nick told them.

Ryon gave them a thumbs-up and the pair disappeared around the corner, headed to the back of the building and the fire escape. From there, they'd scale to the roof.

Jax and his group kept to the shadows, pressed next to the building at a side entrance, waiting. Eight minutes later, Ryon's voice pushed into their collective consciousness.

Roof is secure. Let's kick ass!

Nick and Hammer positioned themselves on each side of the door, guns drawn. Jax delivered a punishing kick, busting in the door with one try, a feat he wouldn't have been able to accomplish if he was still human. Nick and Hammer led the team inside. They ran at a fast clip down the side corridor and into the lobby.

Where there was no security guard at the desk.

The group fanned out, circling, eyeing the large space. Nothing moved.

"The alarm isn't going off," Nick snapped.

Fear shot down Jax's spine. They'd lived this scene before. Oh, God, it's a trap!

"It's a setup!" he yelled. "Get out-"

Figures burst from the shadows all around them, became armed men bringing up their weapons. Flashes of gunfire erupted, the noise deafening in the open lobby. Nick and Hammer crouched, returning fire, taking out as many as they could, covering for the team.

Jax shifted, not taking precious time to strip off his shirt, glimpsed Zan doing the same, and then he scrambled out of his pants and shoes. Putting on a burst of speed, he leaped for the nearest gunman, taking him down. Before the bastard could shoot again, Jax ripped out his throat. A quick, easy kill. He whirled, seeking his next target, and saw his team had dispatched a number of their enemy, but several more remained.

His boss and Hammer had taken cover behind the guard's desk and were keeping the goons on the defensive, picking them off. Zan was struggling in wolf form with two men who had him pinned. Kalen stood off to the side of the melee, palms out, chanting. God knows what the kid was doing. Hopefully, turning all the f**kers into toads.

Jax ran for the two men who had Zan, but a blast of heat scored his flank. He spun and attacked the ass**le who'd shot him, making short work of this one as he'd done the other. When he turned back, he spotted Zan unconscious, in human form, the two men dragging him to the closest exit.

In that moment, he understood that not all of them were meant to die. At least some of them were slated to be taken captive for use in Bowman and Chappell's hideous experiments. Just like the ambush six months ago.

Would Grant and the government have lied this time as well, told them Zan was dead?

Taking off across the distance, he launched himself at the man holding Zan's shoulders. Backpedaling, the guy dropped his burden, frantically reaching for the gun stuck in his pants. Jax was faster, clamping down on his wrist just as he drew the weapon and crushing flesh and bone in his jaws. Screaming, the gunman fell to the floor and, knowing he was incapacitated, Jax faced the other man, the one who'd had Zan's feet. Who now had his gun pointed right between Jax's eyes.

His heart stuttered and he waited for the shot that not even a shifter could heal.

The bastard grinned. "I'm gonna enjoy this."

But the shot never came. The grin became a grimace, his mouth twisting in pain, eyes going impossibly wide in their sockets. Jax watched, frozen by fascination and horror, as the guy just . . . shriveled. Like a grape drying out, turning into a raisin.

And then he collapsed, nothing but a bag of skin and bones. Just like all of his armed comrades, lying everywhere.

What the f**k?

At the edge of the lobby, Kalen lowered his palms and leaned against a support column, clearly drained. "People are mostly made of water," he informed his stunned team. "Remove that element and there isn't much left. As you can see."

Then he slid down the column and passed out.

Jax took a step toward Kalen, but Ryon's urgent voice pushed into his head.

Need some help up here-we're outnumbered! They're trying to take Aric!

Shit! Jax ran for the stairwell, shifted to human briefly just to get the access door open, shifted back and kept going. His preternatural speed was much greater in wolf form and he covered the floors quickly.

He just prayed he was fast enough to avert disaster.

Beside the van, Kira paced, chewing her thumbnail.

"Honey, he'll be all right," Mac soothed. "Come into the van and sit down."

"I can't. Something's wrong. This whole evening it's like the world has been slightly off its axis, and now it's worse."

"Trust him. He's an experienced soldier and-"

Oh, God, it's a trap!

Kira froze, gasping. "Jax."

Mac grabbed her arm. "What is it?"

"He said it's a trap." The blood drained from her face, and she wrenched her arm from Mac's hold. "They're in trouble!"