Knox didn’t think as he snapped his Glock into position out of pure instinct and put three rounds into the chest of the guy on the catwalk. He was already turning his attention to the stairwell and the other two attackers there before the first man tumbled to the floor of the hallway with a heavy thud.
For a moment, it looked like both he and Rachel were going to go down in the storm of bullets coming from the stairwell. Hell, the rounds were so close he felt a few of them tug at the material of his suit. But the remaining two bad guys must have realized this whole thing wasn’t going to end well for them because they turned and bailed up the stairs.
“Stay with Jennifer and the kids!” Rachel yelled over her shoulder before charging up the steps after the escaping men.
Knox growled in frustration and started to go after her only to stop when he realized he couldn’t leave the ADA and two teenagers alone. There could still be other hired killers lurking around the service area waiting for an opening to make their move.
So he was forced to stay where he was and stand guard, the seconds ticking down as Rachel moved farther away. Heart beating fast, gums and fingertips on fire, it was all he could do not to shift. He was so freaked out he nearly shot Ethan when the other man came running up from the third passageway near the stairwell. Ethan had his weapon drawn and his eyes widened when he saw the dead body on the floor.
“Mrs. Lloyd and the kids are in there,” Knox shouted, pointing with his free hand as he ran past Ethan. “Stay with them. I’m going after the two that got away.”
Knox raced up the steps, desperate to catch up to Rachel and the men she was chasing. But she had a good thirty-second head start, and as fast as she’d been moving, he wasn’t sure he could get to her in time.
When he reached the third-floor landing, he yanked open the door, then sprinted down the hall. He took the first left-hand turn followed by a right, then another right. He had no idea where the hell he was headed, but everything inside him told him to keep going, so he did.
He was sure he was completely lost when he heard shooting from up ahead. Snarling, he ran faster.
Knox finally caught up to Rachel as she opened a heavy steel door to another stairwell. She glanced over her shoulder as she led the way down the steps, taking them three and four at a time. Damn, she was so graceful it was difficult not to stop and stare.
“Is someone guarding Jennifer and the kids?” she asked.
Below, Knox heard heavy footsteps, then the clanging of a door. “Ethan is with them.”
When they got to the first floor, Rachel yanked open the door and rushed out of the building. Knox had enough time to realize they were in the parking garage before a burst of automatic weapon fire sent both of them diving for the pavement. He didn’t get hit, but Knox’s heart slammed into his ribs when he heard Rachel grunt in pain. But before he could even see where she’d been shot, she was up and running after the bad guys again.
He raced after her to see a black SUV with heavily tinted windows speed up to the curb, where the two would-be assassins were waiting. The moment the men jumped in, the vehicle squealed away. He and Rachel put round after round of bullets through the back window, but while the glass shattered, the big SUV didn’t slow.
Knox cursed and lowered his weapon, knowing there was no chance they could catch them. The vehicle was already racing out of the garage and gaining speed.
Beside him, Rachel growled and took off running so fast she was almost a blur. He automatically followed, stunned when they started to catch up to the vehicle. The bad guys must have realized he and Rachel were chasing them because the SUV turned onto the exit road so fast it almost flipped. Rachel jumped a row of hedges and took off cross-country to cut them off.
Knox did the same, throwing a quick glance left and right, praying no one saw them. He couldn’t imagine explaining how they were able to chase down a speeding vehicle. Thankfully, it was poorly lit and no one else was around.
He knew Rachel was better at this werewolf thing than he was, but he was still shocked at how fast she could run, and it was all he could do not to get left behind. She snarled at him over her shoulder, her eyes glowing red instead of their usual green when she shifted.
Okay, that’s different.
Knox pushed harder to catch up to her, but no matter how fast he ran, she stayed ahead of him.
As they reached the access road that led toward the tollway, Knox opened his mouth to call out to her, but his head abruptly stopped working when he caught a scent he didn’t recognize. The werewolf inside him did, though.
It was blood.
Rachel’s blood.
Panic like he’d never felt before overwhelmed him. Rachel had been shot and the smell of her blood was driving his inner wolf insane with fear.
Knox ran faster, and when he demanded more speed from his body, this time it delivered. He vaguely felt the muscles of his legs and back twisting and tearing as they changed into a different, more powerful shape. He leaned forward so far he was damn near close to dropping down on all fours. He didn’t know what was happening—and he didn’t care—as long as he caught up to Rachel. As his concern for her grew, so did the need to punish the men who’d hurt her.
He didn’t even realize he was growling until Rachel snapped her head around to look at him again. All at once, the red glow in her eyes faded and she slid to a stop in front of him, her hands coming up to his chest to halt him.
“Knox, calm down,” she said. “You’re losing control.”
He had no clue what the hell she was talking about. In fact, he was having a hard time thinking at all. Then he lifted a hand and saw that his claws were extended even farther than they’d been the other night at her apartment. He carefully lifted his hand to his face and confirmed his fangs were out, too. Hell, his whole jawline had changed shape to fit all the teeth he’d suddenly sprouted.
He glanced at the SUV that was getting away, the urge to chase it down and kill the men who’d shot her impossible to ignore. But Rachel’s hand on his chest kept him where he was.
“Let them go,” she said firmly. “You can’t chase after them when you’re so out of control. If you do, you’ll probably end up tearing them apart right in the middle of Interstate 635. The cops are already on their way, and we can’t have anyone seeing you like this.”
