Nine.
Eight.
Maisie stumbled, and Rhys caught her by the shoulder before she could fall, keeping her upright and moving forward.
Seven.
Seemingly from nowhere, a bunch of large, intimidating-looking men and women materialized in front of them. Rhys didn’t need his griffin’s unhelpful interjections to know that they were not here to help.
He gritted his teeth.Shit.
For now, they were keeping their distance, but they were closing in in a way that would head Rhys and Maisie off from the only path down to the docks. They were dressed respectably in clean black suits and white shirts – so Rhys knew exactly what their game plan would be.
They look like professionals. So if any other tourists happen to see them taking us down, they’ll assume it’s security removing some unruly guests.
Six.
He knew from experience that Hargreaves – if that’s who these people evenwere– preferred to keep a low profile, but clearly they were now running out of options and they were doing what they had to do to prevent Rhys and Maisie from getting off this island.
Well, that’s what they think, anyway,Rhys thought grimly.
What they didn’t know was that Rhys was fighting for his mate. He would never, ever let anything happen to her, and he didn’t care who he had to go through to ensure her safety.
Five.
Right now, the suits and ties were trying to position themselves in such a way as to cut them off before they could reach the steps leading down to the docks – and with the yachtjust leaving now, slowly maneuvering its way out of its berth, they only really needed to slow Rhys and Maisie down rather than capture them. If they held them up long enough, the yacht would make its way out to open waters before they could jump on board.
And then it’s Plan B – helicopter theft,Rhys thought grimly.Or Plan C – griffin mode.
If he had to shift in front of an island’s worth of tourists to keep Maisie safe, then that’s what he’d do.
Four.
Rhys tensed, trying to calculate whether he could burst through the lot of them with Maisie in his arms without hurting her, and still make the yacht. There were nine of them… and, while Rhys couldn’tseeany weapons on them, that meant nothing if you were dealing with shifters. Shifters who may or may not be equipped with Hargreaves’ shifter-derived chemical weapons.
He didn’t like their chances.
Three.
Still, it was their best option. The helicopter was probably out of the question at this point, given that he’d have to take out all of these suits in order to have enough time to hotwire it and get it off the ground.
On the other hand, if these guys were Hargreaves, then they wouldn’t risk causing a scene by shifting or trying to attack the yacht. And hehadalready managed to outrun a few of them, so it wasn’t like he’d have to get through nine agents. Just five or six of them. Piece of cake.
One of the agents lunged at him – Rhys took him out with a swift elbow to the throat, determination to protect his mate sharpening his reflexes even beyond their usual speed. Still, the guy went down remarkably easy – even Rhys was a little surprised, though right now, he wasn’t about to question it.
Two.
Seeing how he’d dealt with the first guy, the next attackers came at him in a wave of four, though they seemed more intent on blocking his path than physically attacking him.
There was nothing for it – he’d have to try and burst past them and make a leap for it. If that failed, he’d have a split second to turn into a griffin and get Maisie out of there before they both plunged into the ocean. Rhys could only hope that no one on board the yacht had their camera out… but, well, he’d deal with that later. Maisie’s safety was the only thing that mattered.
The remaining agents tensed at the edge of the dock, clearly readying themselves to block him.
His griffin squawked in his ear –Danger!– and Rhys shot back an irritatedNo shit!as he prepared to jump.
One.
He reached over to pull Maisie into his arms – and skidded to a stop, heart in his throat, as she was suddenly yanked back from him, her fingers slipping from his grasp, her body jerking back before he could get his arm around her waist.
