“I don’t care, Caleb. Feel free to be creative.”
“Creative.” Caleb chuckled. “I can do creative.”
Jake didn’t have much time to wonder if he was going to regret giving Caleb so much freedom because just then, the doorknob rattled. A moment later, the door shuddered as whoever was on the other side tried to shove their way in.
Jake glanced at Misty and saw she seemed no closer to coming out of her trance than she’d been five minutes ago. She was so completely vulnerable right now that he didn’t want to think how bad it would be if Darby’s guards got past him.
He didn’t have to think about it because he wasn’t going to let that happen.
Jaw tight, Jake headed for the door when it burst open, swinging so hard on its hinges it bounced off the wall. It probably would have slammed shut again if not for the three big men shoving their way into the room.
They stared at Jake, clearly stunned to find him in there. All three of them held handguns, making Jake wish he had one of his own. He might have had fangs and claws, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like the comfort that came from holding on to a large-caliber automatic.
But as interested as they were in Jake, it was Misty—her hands still resting loosely on the keyboard, her eyes glowing white—that held their attention. The men seemed to realize at the same time that she was doing something to the computer because their weapons came up as one.
Letting out a low growl, Jake rushed the men, the muscles of his lower back and legs twisting and lengthening as he crossed the room. His claws and fangs ached to rip their way out too, but he forced them to stay where they were, praying he could get out of this without tearing the men completely apart. Yeah, they probably wouldn’t have any problem killing him and Misty, and if he’d had a weapon, it might have been a different story. Despite that, Jake still wasn’t keen on taking on the role of monster. Not unless he absolutely had to.
Jake was still a few feet away when the two men in front dropped to their knees and opened fire, while the one in the back took aim at Misty.
A bullet creased Jake’s rib. He felt the sting sure enough, but it didn’t slow him down. Ignoring it, he crashed into the middle of the three men. He expected them to stop shooting, but they didn’t—even if that meant they were as likely to shoot each other as him.
Jake tried to keep control over his inner wolf, tried to use the animal’s strength, speed, and agility without letting it take over. He succeeded for the most part. Snapping the wrist of the man who’d been aiming at Misty, Jake flung him on top of his buddy, then delivered a brutal punch to his throat before doing the same to the guy he’d landed on. A wrenching twist put the third man down with a broken neck.
It seemed like forever since the men had burst into the room, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. Still, there’d been a lot of gunshots, which meant there were probably more guards on the way.
Where the hell is Caleb and his distraction?
Jake turned to Misty, praying the noise had pulled her out of her trance. But what he saw dropped his heart into the pit of his stomach—actually, it was what he didn’t see.
Misty was gone, the desk where she’d been sitting shredded and scarred from multiple bullets, the keyboard nothing but tiny pieces of plastic strewn over the antique wood.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
Jake raced around the desk, sliding to a stop when he saw Misty sprawled on the carpet. He didn’t see any blood, but she was as pale as a sheet. Her eyes were even whiter and brighter than before, like two fluorescent bulbs.
He dropped down to her side, sighing in relief when he heard a heartbeat. But then he remembered what Forrest had said—just because she had a heartbeat didn’t mean she was okay.
What if she’s still in the computer?
“We have a problem,” he said into his radio mic even as he heard the thud of leather shoes on marble steps. More guards were coming this way. “Misty’s alive but she’s down, and I don’t think she was able to disconnect from Darby’s computer before it happened.”
Before Forrest or anyone else could reply, an explosion shook the entire manor. A split second later, a series of loud noises echoed through the house somewhere below him. Then the screaming started.
Caleb had finally caused a distraction.
Only Jake wasn’t sure that was a good thing.
Chapter 5
Jes was still wrapping her head around what Jake had said about Misty on the heels of those gunshots when the echo of an explosion bounced down the stairwell from the third floor and ricocheted around the art gallery. Even though she knew the noise had to be connected to the distraction Jake asked Caleb to create, she still jumped. Unlike the men and women around them, screaming and running for the exit in a stampede of panic, she played the part of a terrified socialite and cowered behind a god-awful sculpture so she could keep an eye on Darby and Damien. The two men didn’t so much as blink at the noise. In fact, Darby looked irritated more than anything else.
“Check it out,” he ordered Damien.
Like gunshots and explosions were completely normal at his parties. Then again, with the way MI6 had been trying to assassinate him over the past year, maybe itwascommon.
