“Claws, fangs, or muscles. I don’t care how you do it,” he’d said. “Those men took Mackenzie. By the time we’re done, I want them to be sorry they were ever born.”
Gage only prayed the pure and simple shock value of a pack of werewolves hitting them would be the kind of distraction he needed.
When they reached the airfield side of the hangars a few buildings down from South Salinas, Gage tapped his radio mic three times in rapid succession—the go signal.
Immediately, a long, drawn-out howl shattered the normal background noises of the airfield. Moments later, another howl sounded a little farther away, and then another one closer. At the same time, Gage knew Mike would be killing all power to the hangar, throwing everything in the area into total darkness.
“I think that should do the job of attracting some attention,” Xander whispered.
A few seconds later, Gage heard gunfire coming from the front of the South Salinas hangar, followed closely by shouts as Mike’s team hit the men there.
“Yup, that’s a distraction all right,” Brooks agreed.
Gage started toward the hangar when the sounds of running footsteps caught his attention. Shit, Hardy must have had some of his men stationed along this side of the hangar, too.
Time for Plan B.
He pointed at Xander and Brooks, then in the direction of the footsteps. He pointed at himself and motioned he’d continue on to the hangar.
Xander frowned, clearly less than thrilled with the idea of Gage going in alone, but his squad leader didn’t argue. The goal here was to get Mackenzie out, and Gage wouldn’t be able to do that with bad guys chasing him from behind.
Gage hesitated for half a second as Xander and Brooks stepped out from behind the concealment of the little alley they were in and streaked toward the approaching men. Their attack was so sudden and vicious that Hardy’s men barely had time to raise their weapons and fire.
Gage didn’t wait to see more. Turning, he sprinted toward the target, hoping the noise on this side of the hangar didn’t ruin their plan.
The savage growls behind him told him Xander had shifted at least partially—human vocal cords couldn’t make those sounds. He had no doubt that at some point Brooks would be dropping his tactical gear and shifting to his full wolf form. While several of the team’s members could handle a full wolf shift—Xander, Cooper, Brady, Remy, and Carter included—Brooks was the only one besides Gage who could handle anything close to an instantaneous transformation. Gage imagined when that happened, the shouts were going to get a lot louder. He needed to get to Mackenzie out before that.
Gage was nearing the big open doors of the South Salinas hangar and the private jet running its engines when an unexpectedly powerful scent hit him, forcing him to slow. It was Mackenzie’s. But the scent wasn’t coming from inside the hangar. It was coming from outside. And it was close.
Then he saw Mackenzie step out from an entry alcove twenty feet away. Gage almost dropped to his knees in relief. She’d gotten away and was already safe. That was when he realized she wasn’t alone. Hardy was right behind her, holding that big Desert Eagle of his to her head.
“You and your cop friends are going to let me get on my plane and fly out of here,” Hardy ordered from where he hid behind Mackenzie. “If you don’t, I’ll shoot your girlfriend right in front of you.”
***
Mac tried to run to Gage, but Hardy tightened his hold in her hair, yanking her back. She stifled a scream and attempted to twist in his grip, but it was useless. He literally had her by the scruff.
She tensed, ready to jab her elbow back and smash the jerk in the face, but immediately went still as Hardy pressed his pistol harder against her temple.
“Drop it, Dixon, or I’ll shoot her right now.” Hardy pulled her backward so that most of his body was hidden by the edge of the door. “I swear I’ll put a bullet right through her head.”
It took everything in Mac not to give in to the overwhelming urge to struggle against Hardy. Now wasn’t the time to do anything stupid. Gage was here and obviously had a plan on how to deal with the situation. This was what he did for a living. She just had to be ready to react once she figured out what his plan was.
She searched Gage’s face, silently begging him to give her a hint, but he was focused on Hardy. Then, faster than she could have imagined, he moved in a blur, slipping inside the open door of the hangar with them, and disappeared into the darkness. The rapid move shocked Hardy just as much as it shocked her. The man turned, yanking her around with him like a shield.
“I’m telling you—I’ll shoot her!”
A low chuckle came out of the darkness. “Then what will you do without a woman to hide behind?”
Hardy moved slightly away from the corner he was hiding behind, careful to keep her in front of him as he tried to get an angle on Gage. Now the thug couldn’t seem to figure out who he wanted to cover with his pistol—her or the patch of darkness where Gage was hiding.
“Come out and show yourself, Dixon,” Hardy ordered. “And you’d better not be holding a weapon, or we’ll both get to find out what I’ll do without her to hide behind.”
No answer.
Mac strained to see in the darkness. She couldn’t even guess where Gage was. Could he shoot Hardy while the man was hiding behind her?
Hardy backed out of the hangar and onto the tarmac, the pistol still firmly planted against her head. “Come out where I can see you, Dixon, or I’ll kill her!”
