Tall, Dark & Heartless (Pyte/Sentinel #3)(6)

So, for the past eleven years since Caine stopped training with her, she trained twice as hard and patrolled more hours than anyone in her unit until patrolling and fighting became second nature to her. Her hard work hadn't gone unnoticed. She was asked several times over the years to aide on missions like this one. More so in the past two years, but that would all change soon.

"I need you to head over to section G-8," Greg said in a hard tone he probably hoped she'd obey.

She snorted. No such luck. She wasn't one of those mindless drones who did what they were told without question. Especially since she knew that particular section of tunnel led to a dead end and more importantly it was located in the opposite direction of the nest.

"That's a dead end," she said, continuing forward.

"Negative. Go to channel 14B. All others continue with your assignments."

Danni rolled her eyes as she crouched with her back to the tunnel so she could scan the area while she had this asinine conversation. It only took a second to switch over to the secured channel they used to cut down on chatter and prepared herself for whatever bullshit he was about to throw her way.

She knew this tunnel system backwards and forwards, a skill she'd forced herself to learn. It saved time instead of having to find a safe spot to take out a map and of course kept her ass safe on more than one occasion.

"That section has no bisecting tunnels or access to manhole covers. It is a dead end and in the opposite side of where I need to be," she explained, unable to hide the irritation in her voice as her headache flared once again.

"I just got my hands on the blueprint of this tunnel system from 1907. It shows G-8 was finished as an emergency escape route. It wraps around and connects to C-24," Greg explained.

Dread filled Danni as she listened. She knew exactly what that meant. If the tunnel was still intact and the nest had a way out then all their planning would be for nothing. If this nest escaped then there wouldn't be any second chances to do this again. Worse, if they f**ked this mission up it was all their asses and Danni couldn't afford a suspension right now.

Not now.

"I'm a quarter of the way through the tunnel now, Danni. I might need help closing the emergency hatch that opens on C-24." Greg said, sounding out of breath.

The idea of saving his ass after he screwed up with the blueprints naturally rubbed her the wrong way, but not enough to risk screwing this mission up. Not when she had everything riding on this assignment.

"I'm on my way," she said, throwing one last glance in the direction of the nest.

"Received."

Ignoring the throbbing pain in her head, she turned and sprinted in the direction of the new emergency tunnel. She pulled her sidearm out and kept it ready. At this point the area she'd already covered was no longer secure and she'd have to worry about minions, vampire slaves whose sole purpose in life was to please and care for their Master, patrolling the tunnels for intruders.

If she or any of her teammates came across one their orders were shoot to kill. Not that she'd do it any differently. She wouldn't. Since minions willingly gave up their humanity and killed for their Master without question, they weren't to be trusted.

About three hundred years ago the Sentinel Council changed their rule of capture, interrogate, and reform minions to kill on sight. The rule was decided after a large group of minions managed to trap twenty Sentinels in the Catacombs of Paris and burned them alive. Not surprising ever since then, the Sentinels and their human members held no sympathy for minions. If she had any sympathy for them it would have flown out the window eight years ago when two minions shot and killed her parents in broad daylight.

Hunting down their killers and taking them out had been the first and only unsanctioned minion extermination she'd ever committed. At the time she hadn't cared what the council did to her. They could lock her up for life on one of their many private islands used to punish and reform Sentinels or they could have killed her for all she cared at the time. She'd hated the minions who took her only family away from her too much to follow the rules.

For months after she'd killed them she'd kept her focus on training and patrolling as she waited to be called in for the killings. When six months passed and nothing happened, she figured the council decided to look the other way.

"What's your location?" Greg suddenly demanded, sounding nervous. Not that she could blame him. He'd f**ked up big time with the blueprints.

She slowed her pace to check the dark tunnel to her right before proceeding down it. "I'm about twenty yards from G-8's opening."

"Good. I'll meet you at the opening," he said, sounding relieved.

Danni frowned. What the hell was he doing at the opening? He was supposed to be investigating the hatch to C-24. Maybe the tunnel was actually blocked. In that case he should have radioed her sooner than this so she could take up her original position.

Twenty feet from the opening she slowed her pace when she spotted Greg pacing. When he spotted her he gestured for her to come to him. Shoving aside her annoyance she walked over, stopping five feet from him.

"What's the problem, Greg? I thought you were checking out the hatch," she said, holstering her weapon.

Greg watched the action with a weird little smile playing on his lips. "There's no hatch," he announced with a careless shrug of his shoulders.