She focused on the doctor, ducked the next strike before catching him twice in the throat. She moved with him when he reeled backwards, elbow to the jaw and a knee to the groin doubling him over. The syringe clattered to the ground, skittering under the bed as she stepped into him, knocked him out with a solid hook.
By the time she turned, Bodie had the first asshole in a choke hold as Dalton moved between them like a wraith, smooth, silent. Steel flashed in the harsh light, muffled thuds sounding through the room. Rowan raised her weapon, tried to find an open shot, when the two tangos collapsed on the floor, blood pooling beneath their heads, one of their legs twitching.
The cool air closed in around them as she spun, stared at the man still writhing in the wheelchair. Tierney crouched beside him, waited for him to settle, then sliced the restraints around his wrists and ankles. She didn’t talk, just watched the fabric fall to the floor before moving back, breath held, body so rigid Rowan thought she’d crack.
Alister grunted, his gaze clashing with hers when she kneeled in front of him, one weathered hand clasped in hers.
She smiled, tried to keep his focus as his eyes darted left and right, massive tremors shaking through him. “Dad? It’s me, Rowan.”
He snapped his focus to her, squinted, looked as if he might say her name before he surged to his feet, falling against Bodie a moment later, body slack, eyes closed.
Dalton shouldered in beside her, clipboard in his hand, that syringe in the other. He pointed to a few IV bags handing on the pole. “According to his chart, they were seeing if his original serum could counter the effects of the Lethe toxin. Noted a marked improvement.” He turned the needle over in his hands. “LETH-2. And I bet my ass this concentration’s lethal.”
She nodded, thoughts too scattered to pin down, when the lights brightened, a loud siren sounding throughout the level.
Nick’s voice exploded in her earpiece. “We’ve got a problem. Graves’ men discovered the hole in the fence. The bastard initiated a full lockdown. I’ve got magnetic doors sealing off corridors, alarms sounding on every level, with teams sweeping your way. They’re boxing you in.”
Rowan looked at her father’s limp form, then at the door, rifle lifting to her shoulder as those doors Nick had mentioned slammed shut in the outer corridor, each hit like a gunshot echoing down the hall. Heavy boots pounded in the distance, deep shouts rising above the wailing alarm.
She braced her feet apart. She wouldn’t lose him, again. Not if there was a chance she might get a version of him back.
Bodie placed Alister in the chair, then shouldered up beside her as he tapped his comms. “We’re not dying in here, Nick. Find me an option and do it now.” He leaned down, eyes level with hers. “Ride or die, sweetheart.”
Chapter Twenty
Red lights strobed through the ward, the alarm screaming like a banshee as Bodie searched for one last Hail Mary.
Dalton moved in beside him, face grim, a cut under his left eye already starting to bruise. “Windows are reinforced, doors magnetically sealed. By the time we bust through either, they’ll be on us. I activated the locks on the main entrance, but someone’s overriding the code. I can’t get them to fully engage. I give it a max of five minutes before they’re through.” He tapped the extra mags on his vest. “I’d like to say we’ve got more than enough firepower between us, but ours is finite. They’ve got an armory and unlimited time.”
Bodie nodded. “We can’t go toe-to-toe with them for long. We need a way out.” He glanced up. “What about?—”
A blast of static cut him off, Nick sounding through the comms. “Avery’s got a possible solution but…”
“We’re in a pretty tight spot, brother. Just lay it on me.”
“She pulled up some schematics. Looks like there’s an old laundry chute at the far end of the ward. It’s a four-story drop to the basement level, but if you brace yourselves going down, you might live to tell us how insane it was.”
Bodie coughed. “Not exactly the answer I was hoping for. Any chance the HVAC vents are an option?”
Nick snorted. “Not unless you can lose half your body mass. The main returns narrow partway down the building. I can’t guarantee you wouldn’t get stuck.”
Bodie sighed. “Looks like we’re all going for a ride, then.”
Dalton nodded, took off across the room.
Nick tapped on a keyboard in the background as he mumbled under his breath for a moment. “I can activate some countermeasures, buy you a bit of time, but you’d better be down that chute before they breach the main door.”
“Roger, that. We’ll see you at the LZ.”
Nick huffed. “I commend your optimism.” He cut off, then popped back on. “Don’t make me regret agreeing to help you, Bodie. I still need a job to retire to.”
“I’d hate to put a wrench in your plans.”
Nick snorted, ended the conversation a second before the main lights cut off, shrouding the room in utter darkness. Shouts rose outside the door as the emergency lighting kicked in — bathed every surface in an eerie crimson glow. A fire alarm blared to life somewhere down the hallway, the hiss of sprinklers rising above the other noise.
Trust Nick to get creative.
“Bodie.” Dalton waved him over. “I need another set of hands to move this shelf.”
