Cole
Cole had taken Maya into the office with him and got her settled in one of the rooms they kept for out-of-state agents. Until Tony and his employees had been rounded up, it wasn’t safe for Maya to stay at Cole’s house anymore. It had been compromised, the same as her apartment. He didn’t even like her being out of his sight, but right now he didn’t have a choice. Cole was confident that they would arrest Tony soon and then Maya would be safe. He would make sure of it.
It would be such a relief when his mate was no longer under threat, but he was just starting to get used to having her at his house. With no target on her back, she’d be free to go home to her condo. Cole didn’t like that idea, and his wolf liked it even less. The beast wanted her at Cole’s house where he could keep an eye on her. Permanently.
“You all set?” Flint asked when Cole met up with him and the rest of the team right a few minutes before ten.
Cole nodded. He’d been to the cage and gotten himself suited up. He’d checked and doubled checked his assault weapon. He was eager to get going so they could arrest the piece of crap who had tried to kill his mate. Part of him hoped one of his team got to Tony before he did. He thought he’d be able to act professionally, but just as with all things that concerned his mate, he didn’t want to test it. His wolf rumbled its discontent in his chest. It didn’t like the idea of one of his teammates being the one to protect their mate.
“All set,” Cole confirmed.
“Got your head on straight this time?” Flint enquired.
Cole narrowed his eyes, but before he could open his mouth to rip his team leader a new one, Flint grinned.
“Asshole,” Cole muttered.
Flint laughed richly and Cole shook his head. But this time, he was able to join in with his teammate’s amusement.
“All right, everyone. Let’s head out,” Flint said once his laughter subsided.
They split up, dividing themselves between three vehicles. Flint had managed to get another FBI SWAT team to play back up and they were already in their vehicles and waiting to go. It was only a twenty-minute ride to get to the club and their vehicles had barely screeched to a stop before they all piled out of them, running for the club.
They split up into pairs, half of them running for the front entrance and the other half taking the back in case Tony or any of his employees tried to make a run for it.
Cole and Nash, who always partnered Cole on these such operations, ran for the front door and the doormen dived out of their way as soon as they saw them approach.
“Lights on and music off,” Cole told one of the doormen, who nodded then scrambled off to comply with the order.
Inside, the club was filled with people enjoying their Saturday night out. Cole almost felt sorry for them, but their fun was most definitely over. No one would be allowed to leave until Cole and his team had differentiated the club’s patrons from its employees. And anyone even thinking about threatening his mate was brought to justice.
The music cut and light flooded the club, to the immediate protests of the revelers. Flint explained loudly and clearly what was going on and his explanation was met with a chorus of loud groans. They knew from their intel that Tony had a large round table in the VIP section of the club. Cole and Nash made a beeline for it, but their mark wasn’t there.
Cole had studied the building’s schematics, so he and Nash headed for the offices on the far wall. Most people jumped out of their way as they passed, many with wide-eyed wonder. The team were intimidating, even to people who didn’t know they were shifters.
Shifters were generally bigger than other people—taller and more muscled. And Cole and the others were bigger even than regular shifters because they were alphas. A couple of people glared at them, probably for spoiling their night out, but most people seemed too afraid to even meet their gazes.
“I didn’t get the chance to talk to you earlier,” Nash said, as they moved through the hole that opened up in the crowd. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, how is Maya doing after the second attempt on her life?”
“She’s okay,” Cole replied. “Better than I expected her to be doing, actually. After you and Flint left, I told her everything.”
“Holy crap! Really?”
“I had to. She saw my eyes and teeth shifted.” Cole frowned. “Jesus, I’ve never been as scared in my entire life as I was when I got home and saw that man standing on my doorstep with a gun pointed at her. For a moment…” He shook his head. “When Maya ran from him and he followed her into the house, I thought I wasn’t going to get to her in time.”
Cole shuddered. It was an experience he wouldn’t forget for as long as he lived.
“But you did,” Nash said.
Cole shook his head again. “No, I didn’t. By the time I charged into the room, the guy was already unconscious on the bedroom floor. Maya is lucky to be alive. If she hadn’t grabbed that hairdryer and knocked him out…”
Nash let out a low whistle, then shook his head. “You can’t let yourself think like that, man, you’ll drive yourself crazy with the what ifs.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“So, how did Maya take it—when you told her everything?”
“Again, surprisingly well. I mean, it was a shock, naturally, but she seemed to take it all in her stride. Just as an FYI, she knows about you too. The whole team, actually. Well, except Flint, because I’m not tired of living just yet. Be prepared, she’ll probably quiz you when you next see her. She asked me a ton of questions after I told her. Made my head spin.”
