“We’ll manage,” Riley said through gritted teeth. “Open. The door.”
Wolfe shrugged and pulled out his phone. The hacker had instructed them to embed some satellite software so they’d have service even in the bunker.
Wolfe muttered something into the phone, but Riley wasn’t paying attention to the words. His eyes were focused on Seth, who was still on his cot, staring blankly through the barrier, unable to see through the darkness that engulfed them.
Our mate. Whole. Breathing. Waiting.
Yes, Riley agreed.Our mate.
He flinched as the lights came on, bright and just as sterile as this horrible place’s scent.
Seth was on his feet in an instant, running at the barrier. “Riley!”
The door slid open as he reached it, and then he was in Riley’s arms, whole and unharmed and smelling of buttery orange and sharp disinfectant.
Riley tucked his face into the crook of Seth’s neck, holding him tightly and breathing him in. He wished he could hold him even tighter. Wished he could hold him so tightly that he merged into Riley’s skin, encased in Riley’s body, protected and secure and never allowed to leave Riley ever again.
But Seth was tugging at Riley’s shirt, pulling back even as Riley tried to get him closer. “Riley! Listen! They can’t be compelled—the glasses and the goggles. You have to knock them off if they come. And they have—they have tranquilizers. Good ones. We need to go.”
“Are there any other creatures on this floor?” Wolfe asked almost idly, still peering up and down the hallway.
Seth turned to him, distracted and impatient. Then his eyes widened. He blinked, his hand still twisted in Riley’s shirt. “I know you.”
Riley bristled. Had Wolfe beenstalkingSeth?
Wolfe barely glanced at Seth as he answered, “I doubt that.”
“You came into the bakery in Seacliff once,” Seth insisted. “Your blond boyfriend got a pecan streusel scone and a maple-bacon muffin. He said you knew Sascha.”
Wolfe cocked his head, his gaze running over Seth with considerably more interest than he’d shown before. “Ah, yes. He enjoyed those immensely, my mate. He wanted the recipe for the muffin. You’ll give it to him.”
“Um.”
They were interrupted by the sound of thundering footsteps, and then a horde of humans was spilling from the stairwell into the hallway. Mr. Perkins was securely in the middle of the charge, surrounded by what looked like soldiers, all of them holding guns, probably the tranquilizers Seth had been talking about. One of them was also holding Violet, and Seth inhaled sharply at the sight of her.
Damn it. Riley shouldn’t have let her help. He should have realized Seth wouldn’t like it.
“This is why I wanted to wait for backup,” Wolfe murmured.
Riley ignored him.
“Gentleman,” Mr. Perkins announced loudly. “You’re trespassing here.”
He sounded calm, but sweat was beading on his brow, his heart pounding loud enough for Riley to hear. He was, at the very least, rattled by their presence.
Riley would like to do more than that. He’d like to tear those vocal cords out with his nails, make sure without a doubt that no more slippery, slimy words would ever leave that slippery, slimy mouth.
Yess, his voice hissed.Rip. Tear. Crush. Drain.
Riley ignored the bloodthirsty thoughts and shoved Seth behind him. Wolfe stepped forward, stopping immediately when the soldiers all raised their guns higher. Wolfe lifted his hands, as if to show he was unarmed. It almost made Riley laugh.
As if Wolfe needed a weapon.
“Mr. Perkins, I presume? I’m afraid the game is up. Your unauthorized research facility is now known to two major supernatural organizations, neither of which will allow such an atrocity to stand. Any further action on your part would be ill-advised.”
Riley almost choked. Two major supernatural organizations? Was the Colorado den included in that? They were barely more than a big, dysfunctional family. They certainly weren’torganized.
It was weird how Riley had never realized how similar Mr. Perkins and Wolfe sounded until they were in the same room together. Maybe Wolfe had missed his calling as a slimy lawyer.
