Chapter 20
Shifting gears had never been easy for Simon. If he was in the middle of an intense relationship discussion with Alyssa, it would take something significant to jolt him into a fighting place. Something like a bomb going off in the laundromat. Still, his mind lurched as it tried to realign into tactical thinking. What he really wanted to do was grab Alyssa and run to the nearest bolt hole where they could finish what they were doing.
But as the acrid scent of gunpowder and smoke hit his nostrils, he knew that wasn’t possible. So he rushed to the door and ordered Alyssa to get her gun.
She switched mental gears faster than he did. He saw her blanch and then nod. And while he was quietly slipping open her front door to see what was out there, she returned to his side with her gun and a grim expression.
“What—” she began, but he cut her off with the answers she needed.
“I think that was a bomb,” he said softly. “How many other people in the building?”
“Um, a couple dozen, give or take.” Then she held up her phone. “I’ll call 911 and—”
He shook his head. “Call Detective Kennedy. Then get those people down here to go out your bedroom window.” It was opposite the fire, but more important, it was nearest the dumpster and other cover. “Tell them there are snipers at the doors. They have to go out here.”
“Snipers!” she gasped.
“Maybe.”
He watched her put it together in the time it took her to blink twice. Sure, it was possible that something had gone wrong in the laundromat. Or that this was random bad luck. But it was way more likely that Joey was making his move. With the quarantine, the cops were stretched thin. Perfect time to stage an attack on a cash business and be pretend sad when Simon was killed in the crossfire. Damn it, the man had even tipped his intention when he left, saying that he hoped Simon wasn’t inside when everything went boom. Why hadn’t he guessed that the bastard would act quickly and without care for the innocents in the building?
He had to get Alyssa far away from him. That was the safest place for her. He eased the apartment door open again. The smoke was thick, but no more than before. And he could hear a couple people hitting something hard in the laundromat. Probably trying to break into the vending machines to gather whatever money they could find. That meant if there was a fire, it was contained. But he still couldn’t take that risk.
He was about to dash forward when he saw a dark figure coming down the hallway. That was the last thing he needed to lock him into fighter mode. Someone was coming for Alyssa.
The grizzly in him stirred and pressed forward with murderous intent. It knew how to protect a mate. But Simon kept it locked down. He needed to think, not be a huge furry target. So he suppressed the claws that tried to burst through his fingers and though his mouth was pulled back to show his teeth, he didn’t grow a snout. He’d wait. The figure was slipping closer.
Another foot and he’d be able to kill him.
Six inches…
One…
“Vic!” Alyssa whispered.
Vic?
Yes.
Simon reached out and hauled the man inside. He came with a gasp and a struggle, but Simon was quick to muzzle him with a hand over his mouth. Then he leaned in and whispered, “Quiet. It’s me.”
Vic stopped struggling immediately and Simon dropped his hold. They both had their adrenaline amped and their hearts racing, but a quick look told him Vic was human and under control.
“What did you see?” Simon asked Vic.
“Smoke through the laundromat, but there are people in there. Robbing the place.”
“Fuckers,” Alyssa cursed. Vic ignored her.
“If we leave them alone, think they’ll just take the vending machine money and leave?”
He wanted to say yes. He wanted to reassure Alyssa, but he knew it wasn’t true. “If they were just thieves, they would have broken the door and robbed in quiet. These guys made a big, bad boom to get everybody running outside where they can be picked off one by one.”
Alyssa frowned. “But why kill my tenants?”
“Just a few. Cover for when they shoot me. That way it’s not a shifter revolt; it’s an accident because of a psycho. A shifter killing his alpha gets attention, but a random crazy person…”
“Is just crazy,” she murmured.
