KnightForce Deuces, page 16
“Easy, easy…” Silas said sending a cooling blast of energy through Tyrese that eased the pain of his raw throat. “Inhale, let me get a feel of what they’re using.”
Tyrese inhaled.
“Lay still while I push the drug out of your system so that you’ll be ready when they come for you,” Silas said.
Tyrese slumped onto the concrete floor, the burning sensation in his chest and stomach abating. Sweat mixed with the toxic chemicals ran down his face. His breathing eased and his mind calmed.
“Tyrese?” Danielle called as she sent waves of love through their link.
“Much better. Now I have another reason to kick their asses.”
“I know. Just… just be careful. I can’t lose you,” Danielle said.
He recognized her fear. “I promise. I can’t lose you either.”
“Can you breathe?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. I’m going to cause your body to have a reaction so that they think the poison worked. Just continue to breathe,” Silas said.
“Huh?” Tyrese asked and then yelped as his body shook and shuddered so hard his teeth rattled. He flopped on the ground a few times like a fish seeking water.
“Hawke said this is how your body would react to the tranquilizer. Had to make it realistic, no permanent damage,” Silas said.
“Good to know, next time explain first… please,” Tyrese said. His head throbbed from the repeated hits on the concrete floor.
“They are heading toward that area, let them drag you out and see where this goes.”
“Rather than break their necks?” Tyrese asked.
“Yes, don’t kill them right away.”
Tyrese prepared to play along with the ruse. The sound of footsteps came closer. He closed his eyes. An outer door swung open. The cool air flowed over his skin as he inhaled the scents of the two men standing near him. Each grabbed him beneath an arm and dragged him out the room. He opened his eyes a bit as they continued down the hall and turned.
“Do you see this?” He asked Hank.
“No, you’re not on the security system I pulled up. They must have a separate panel for those rooms,” Hank said.
The men stopped.
“It’s cooler here and smells like the underground lab we took out in Pennsylvania.”
“Can you sense anything?” Silas asked.
“Not yet… wait, the door’s opening. Yes. There are three more people in this room. All human. This is some sort of lab.”
His arm stung. “They shot something in my arm,” he told Silas.
“Got it,” Silas said.
“That should keep him out for a while longer,” one of the men holding him said.
“How long before they come looking for him?”
“I don’t know. He’s been out for a while. Keep your eyes on those security cameras, they may try to override them again like they did before.”
“Yes, Sir,” one of the three men said.
Tyrese jerked and then vomited as Silas pushed the poison out of his system.
“What the hell? I told you it was too much right after the gas.” One of the men said stepping to the side, loosening his hold on Tyrese’s arm. “You, get a mop and clean this shit up.”
“Yes, Mr. Brown.”
They dragged Tyrese further into the area. His head reeled from the toxic mixtures colliding in his system.
“Just a few more minutes and I’ll have most of this out,” Silas said.
“Hang in there, Rese,” Tyrone said giving him an energy boost that helped him stabilize. “Make sure they pay for what they’ve done.”
“Will do,” Tyrese said as he was pushed onto a long metal table. “They are strapping me in, what do you want me to do?” he asked Silas.
“Wait. I still don’t understand who they are and what their end game is. Are they new threats? Or the arms and legs for the Liege? Maybe they knew Hickle was a weak link and fed him bullshit which he passed on.”
“They are expecting someone to come rescue me.”
“Who? Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Brown and Crawford strapped Tyrese to the table with metal cuffs and walked off.
“This isn’t the right one, what happened?” Brown asked the other man.
“I don’t know. Maybe one of them will be on the rescue team. If that’s the case, we need to repair that room and get ready. It took him a while to pass out. If they send more than one person to rescue him, we’ll need more.”
“That’s what makes their blood so valuable. Just think of how potent the drug will be, we won’t need to use as much and can double or triple our production. Already got buyers lined up,” Crawford said.
Tyrese’s stomach clenched. He told Silas what he heard.
“Blood? I thought we were finished with that crazy bullshit when the fool died in the hospital. Don’t allow them to take your blood; Angus was weak for days.”
“Yeah, I won’t.”
“Who are they expecting?” Silas asked the question Tyrese had given a lot of thought.
“I still don’t know. Could be anyone.”
“I wonder if the Liege is involved, Lancaster specifically. It’s hard to believe he wants them to make drugs. He’s never done that before, plus he knows better than anyone what the results would be,” Silas said.
“Is Lancaster here? They didn’t mention him.”
“We have not identified the third person in the room upstairs, he hasn’t moved. Listen and remain alert, I want to know more,” Silas said.
Tyrese moved his right foot, testing the metal. It held tight. “Yes, Sir.”
“I’m sending Asia.”
Tyrese didn’t think that was the best idea but he remained silent.
“Hawke is working on correcting the poison here at the compound. Tyrone and Davian are with Rose and my pups. Leon and Brix are on the coast. Angus… he’s not here. I’m running out of people I trust to help you shut down whatever is going on there. So, I’m sending Asia.”
“Yes, Sir. How do we handle things?”
“After she arrives, terminate Brown and Crawford, as well as the three others. I want both of you to go through everything in that area, bag and tag for transport here. I’m sending her and a complete forensics team. They’ll drop her off and then go to the underground parking area Hank found. You’ll need to open the gate for them.”
“They have a large operation here. I wonder how many pack members they’ve drained.” It sickened him to think of anyone falling victim to the greed of these men.
“Whatever they’ve been doing stops now. If they have an organization taking blood from full-bloods, I want names and addresses to pay them a visit. This shit will be addressed.”
Tyrese felt the heat of Silas’ anger through their link. “We’ll find it.”
“If Lancaster’s nearby, Asia’s father wants to settle a few things with him. If there is anything left of the man when Asia and Hawke finish, I’ll send him to Lord Barticus to remain in the dungeon with the rest of the Liege.”
“Have you heard from Hickle? He claimed to have some information on Knight and someone else,” Crawford said.
“No. Not that I’m surprised. He’s always been unstable,” Brown said
“But he sent this one to us as planned.”
“Only because we never told him much of anything. Chances are they know he stole the poison and he won’t ever see the light of day again,” Brown said. “If they don’t come, are you prepared to deal with Knight over his son?”
“Son? Is that who he sent?” Crawford asked.
“Yes. Don’t you recognize him? It’s one of the twins who works on Knight’s security team,” Brown said moving closer to Tyrese.
“I didn’t at first but you’re right. Which means he will definitely send someone to rescue him. We need to be prepared,” Crawford said.
“We don’t drain this one,” Brown said in a hard tone.
“Why not? The blood of La Patron is strong,” Crawford asked.
“Family, the retaliation will be harder when you mess with a man’s family. Which means Knight will not rest until he feels an appropriate price has been paid for violating this man. The others, yes. This one, no. I have kin I don’t want harmed behind this,” Brown said.
“Okay, okay, don’t get riled. You know more about that than I do,” Crawford said.
“Yes, I do.”
The footsteps walked away and Tyrese peeked beneath lowered lids. Brown and Crawford spoke to the few men, sending them scurrying out the room.
“Asia is over the fence,” Silas said.
“Has there been any movement upstairs?”
“Not yet, she’s waiting for my signal to proceed to the lab.”
Tyrese noticed Brown and Crawford staring at a small bank of monitors.
“I’ll be damned, she’s tall but a small thing,” Brown said. “Pretty and not what I expected to show up.”
“That’s her from the picture. The old man was right, he does understand Knight,” Crawford said.
“There’s movement on the first floor. Whoever was in that room is on the move,” Silas said.
“Three lab rats left here a few minutes ago, can you see them?” Tyrese asked.
“We have them in our sight and gave Asia, their location.” Silas paused. “You can shut down the lab now and then help her exterminate the rats.”
Tyrese morphed to his hybrid size. The metal around his arms and legs, twisted and popped. He jumped off the table and ran toward Brown and Crawford. Brown saw him first and ran. Crawford’s mouth dropped open as Tyrese barreled toward him. Grabbing the man by the top of his head, Tyrese twisted until it broke from the spinal cord and then dropped him. Inhaling, he sought out Brown’s scent and headed after him.
When he turned the corner, Brown threw down a syringe and shook his head. The stench of a chemical solution stung Tyrese’s nose. He reached for Brown. The man raced pass him, jumped on his back and wrapped his arm around Tyrese’s neck. It happened so fast, Tyrese stumbled back a bit.
“Bastards think you run the world,” Brown gritted, tightening his hold.
“What?” Tyrese asked trying to make sense of Brown’s enhanced abilities. The man shouldn’t have moved that fast or been able to wrap his arms around Tyrese’s thick neck, especially with such a tight grip.
Tyrese bulked to his largest hybrid.
“Hey!” Brown yelled as he slid down Tyrese’s back.
Tyrese caught him in one palm and stared at the red-faced man struggling to break free.
“Son of a bitch, I swear I’ll kick your ass for this,” Brown growled, throwing ineffective punches.
“He took something and it changed him. Could be the same thing the men at the Federal building took,” Tyrese said to Silas.
“Changed him how?” Silas asked.
Tyrese explained what happened in the past few minutes. “Should I kill him now?”
“Yes. I have forensics returning to the property now. Hank is bringing them in through a garage that should lead to the lab. After you finish with Brown, open all the doors and then remove the three men on the first floor.”
Tyrese morphed to his human form dropping Brown in the process. The man jumped up and charged. Tyrese stepped aside at the last moment and punched Brown beneath his chin hard enough to send him flying backward into the wall.
Bleeding from his nose, Brown stepped away from the wall, fists in front of him as he moved closer to Tyrese. When he was an arms-length, Brown threw a punch and bobbed to the side. Tyrese leaned back, watching the man responsible for the deaths of his pack-mates.
Brown did some fancy footwork dancing side to side in front of Tyrese and threw another punch. Tyrese caught his fist and twisted his arm until it cracked.
Brown’s face whitened as he cried out in pain. Tyrese released his arm and then powered down with his elbow into Brown’s back, snapping his spine. Brown dropped to the ground, gasping. Tyrese grabbed him by the hair and looked into his face. “You don’t fuck with pack, not ever.” He broke his neck and tossed him aside.
Next he moved to the security monitors. Asia had moved in the direction of the house. He searched for the controls and unlocked doors and turned off the security system.
“The gate to the garage is open, drive through and come in through that metal door on the left, follow the corridor and it should bring you into the lab.” He watched as the van pulled into the garage.
On another monitor Asia walked in the shadows toward the house. Tyrese searched for the three men on the monitors. “Hank, where are the three stooges?” he asked leaving the lab to find them.
“I don’t see them. They were on the first floor but now they’re gone. Can Asia see them?”
“How would I know, I can’t ask or warn her that they may be outside. Damn,” he yelled, running down the corridor toward the garage to get outside.
“They shot her. Get those bastards!” Silas yelled.
Chapter 22
Asia’s heart raced with excitement. La Patron found the men who poisoned the pack. The fools had done it for money and didn’t care about the lives lost or those fighting for their lives in the compound. For that, they were judged and sentenced. Thinking of the pups locked in the bomb shelter because of these men, she had no qualms administering hard justice. Her sword rested against her side and her beast yearned to hunt.
“Your eagerness to terminate prey is disturbing on a few levels,” Hawke said breaking into her thoughts.
Asia chuckled. “I smell your jealousy through our link. Admit it, you wish to change places with me.”
“Ah, I do miss the thrill of the hunt but I am close to finding a solution for the poison which will bring my little one back into my den, so I will live through your adventures.”
She smiled as the van stopped and she stepped into the dark shadows. “Thank you, I will attempt to entertain you.” The vehicle pulled off, she’d return to the compound with Tyrese.
“You’re cleared to go inside the fence,” Hawke said.
Asia took off running and jumped over the high enclosure. When she landed, she ran to the flower bed. Crouched low she waited for the all-clear to proceed.
“There is a chance Lancaster is behind this,” Hawke said.
“I heard.”
“If you see him, remember I would like a few moments alone with him, preferably alive,” Hawke said. A flash of anger mixed with determination ran through their link.
“If I see him, I’ll be sure to tell him that.”
“Don’t let them take your blood,” he said.
Mentally she rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of his comment. “That’s not on my to-do list.”
“Somehow they’ve developed some type of drug that enhances human abilities, affecting them in a similar manner as the collars the Liege created.”
“Hank told me.” She looked through the darkness and scanned the house. There was one heartbeat. Had Tyrese already terminated Brown and Crawford? Not being able to link directly to anyone other than her mate or mistress annoyed her more at times like these.
“Patience, La Patron seeks information and will release you to hunt soon,” Hawke said.
Asia made small steps in the direction of the house. “Someone’s moving around inside.”
“Hank’s looking for that person on the security cameras, you’re to wait for Tyrese to engage.”
Asia crept closer to the side of the house. “Where’s Tyrese?”
“Are you in the shadows?” Hawke asked.
“Not really.”
“We can’t locate the three men. Stay in the shadows,” Hawke said, his voice hard. “Can you sense them?”
She ran the few feet to the house, leaned against the wall and scanned the area for the men. “I think I see them.” She stepped away from the side and looked at the roof line for the rear of the house. A hazy shape moved but she couldn’t scent him and was unsure. She took another step to the right to get a better visual and spun halfway around. Her knee hit the ground as something hard slammed into her left shoulder. “Fuck,” she said. Holding her arm, she stood slowly scanning the area for the shooter. “Hawke, the bastard shot me.” Another bullet pierced her right thigh and her leg flew up from under her. She hit the ground hard. Gasping for air, fire shot through her body making her light-headed.
“Hawke this is…” She clawed the ground pulling herself to the shelter of the wall. When she reached it she tried to stand.
“Poison,” he said sending an avalanche of energy through their link to combat the toxin.
Every nerve-ending in her body vibrated, tingled and then burned. Her legs trembled, refusing to hold her weight. She slid down the wall to the ground. Each breath hurt. And then her chest refused to cooperate and expand as she desperately tried to inhale. The area in front of her wavered as her vision blurred. Her left arm lay useless by her side. Chest tightening, she gasped for air. “I can’t… I can’t breathe,” she whispered clutching her neck.
“Asia,” Hawke yelled, fear lined his voice.
A rush of warmth ran down her back, her teeth chattered, her muscles spasmed and then locked, trapping the scream of pain in her throat. Her wolf howled as it broke through her skin in an ungraceful transition. She tried to move but couldn’t.
“Tyrese is on the way, baby. Breathe with me, take my breath,” Hawke begged. His fear fed hers. Things had to be bad for him to fall apart like this.
“Asia, please. Trust me. Let me breathe for you.”
Weak, she locked onto Hawke’s energy, going deep into their link, finding his core and nesting in his heat. A stream of oxygen filled her lungs, her body shuddered as she released the air through her scorched throat.
“Forget about everything, just breathe with me,” Hawke said his voice softening. The tightness in her chest eased. Fire coursed through her blood reminding her of the presence of the devastating poison.
Her beast whimpered.
A twig snapped.
She looked up. Standing a few feet away, a man pointed a high-powered rifle at her. The fur on her neck rose. Her heart slammed in her chest as she tried to stand again and couldn’t. The rancid smell of the poison burned her nose. Growling, she bared her teeth but couldn’t back up her warning. She watched him step closer. Human. He pulled the rifle up to his eye and pointed down.
