“And everyone loved it. It just wasn’t the show you planned.”
“No…,” he murmured, memories flooding back. The terror of a body gone insane. The hatred boiling in his mind and body. And then… they’d choked him! And shot him! His hands went to his throat in memory, and fury burst through him. “You fucking asshole!”
He shot forward, going for a grappling hold. He’d had a little martial arts training in college, and he used that in his attack. But whatever little training he’d had, Nero had more. The guy took his attack and rolled through it, sending Josh flying across the floor until he slid against the tranq gun cabinet.
That didn’t stop him, though. He jumped up and ran straight at Nero. He had no plan except to beat the guy senseless. Then he’d figure out how to open the girl’s cage and get them both out of there. Time after time, though, all he did was get tossed onto his ass. And once—as if the whole thing wasn’t insulting enough—Nero flipped him to the floor and protected the back of Josh’s head while doing it. The fucker was looking after him at the same time he was kicking his ass.
Which made Josh all the more pissed off. So he threw all his energy into what he was doing. If he couldn’t beat the bastard with skill, he’d do it with frenzy.
Didn’t make any difference.
Five minutes later he was on his back, sucking air. He tried to get up again but was too dizzy, and damn it, every single joint felt like it was on fire, and his muscles seemed to be weighed down with lead. He tried to roll over to at least crawl, but another wave of vertigo put him flat on his back again.
“Are you done yet?”
The fucker wasn’t even winded. Though he did have to retie the bandage.
“How could you do this to us?”
“You were going to change eventually. We just did it safely.”
It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t fucking possible.
Except he had the memories. He knew it was true. And if he doubted it, all he had to do was look at the cages. And damn it, the redhead was still curled into a tight little ball, her green eyes huge in a very pale face.
“At least let her out. She doesn’t deserve to be caged like that.” And maybe together they could take down the Mack Truck.
“Wiz will take care of her. You’re my problem.” That commanding tone was back, the one that made it clear that he meant what he said. Whatever else was going on, apparently Josh was stuck with Nero on his ass.
Great… not.
“Look, I’m hungry, and you’ve got to be starving. I think I ate a cow after my first shift.” Then, at Josh’s horrified look, he hastily amended his words. “Not literally. We went to McDonald’s and I ate like ten Big Macs.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “We’re not monsters. We’re the good guys.”
“Except when you turn them into werewolves and throw them in cages.” Josh couldn’t keep the bitter tone out of his voice, and he was childishly satisfied to see Nero wince.
“Do you want some food or not?” he finally said.
He hadn’t thought he was hungry before, but at Nero’s offer, his stomach cramped with need. Not hunger exactly. More like fury translated to his stomach. But even as he was struggling to his feet, his gaze caught on the girl. He couldn’t leave her behind. But what the hell could he do here?
“She’s hungry too. We go together or not at all.”
Nero’s brows rose in surprise. Apparently he’d thought Josh was an asshole. Sorry, dude. He didn’t abandon caged girls. Except Nero was shaking his head.
“Wiz has food for her. She’s gluten-intolerant.”
Then, before Josh could respond, the door unsealed and the guy called Wiz strode in. He’d been Doctor Strange when they’d met at the con, and the guy looked tired to the point of being haggard. But his eyes were bright, and they landed heavily on the girl, who Josh had started calling Red in his thoughts. And even better, Wiz had brought a full tray of food that included a rib eye, a few protein bars, a water bottle, soda, flourless chocolate cake, and buttered broccoli. Josh took a step toward it, but Nero grabbed his arm.
“That’s hers. We go upstairs.” Then he turned to Wiz. “You got this?”
“Yeah. How you doing with yours?”
Nero shrugged. “At least I didn’t have to put a bullet in his brain.” It didn’t sound like a joke, and the horror of that slid chills right down Josh’s spine.
Wiz nodded. “Yeah. Looks like I’m good too,” he said with a grin as he turned to the girl, though his smile faded pretty quick when he looked in the cage. “Shit,” he murmured under his breath so quietly that Josh shouldn’t have been able to hear it.
“Come on,” Nero said as he manhandled Josh to the door. “I’ve got a feast for you upstairs.”
Wiz snorted in response, but there was no way for Josh to ask. He could do something for the girl, at least. He dug in his feet and twisted to look at her.
