Page 61 of Protected By Her Mate

Roscoe moves his head back and forth in a slow shake. “Tried that… it won’t work.” His voice is getting stronger, as though he’s invigorated by his imminent rescue.

“Might if I help.” Little John stands next to Lennox and grips the chain in both hands. Together they yank.

Dust from the concrete wall powders us as the ring comes loose. Lennox grabs it before it can fall on Roscoe’s head.

As Roscoe collapses into Talon’s arms, an earsplitting BOOM shakes the building.

My heart leaps.

“That was an explosion,” I confirm when Lennox’s eyes seek mine. “Could be a bomb.”

He lifts his radio and tries to contact the other team.

Silence follows and we all stare at each other, fear our primary emotion. Did the other team accidentally set off a bomb?

“We have to move quickly,” Lennox says. His gaze meets mine and I know what he’s going to say before he says it. “Lopez, you leave with Roscoe, get him to safety. Take Officer Bates as backup. Everyone else with me. We’re going to find the other team.”

He wants me out of the building, but I can be useful if he comes across another bomb. I open my mouth to argue but his frantic thoughts cut me off.

Please do this, Charlie. I can’t have you in here with bombs going off. I can’t think straight. I’ll make a mistake. As if that wasn’t enough to convince me to leave, he adds,I love you. It would kill me if anything happened to you. Please go.

What choice do I have?

I give Roscoe the best smile I can manage. “Let’s get you out of here.” I help him heft the chains still manacled to his wrists and slip my arm under his shoulders. He’s taller than me by a foot and twice as wide, but he’s young and injured and leans heavily into me. He groans and clutches at his ribcage.

“I have you,” I assure him, my heart aching for the young man.

We make our way slowly out the door.

Lennox stops me, gripping my shoulder. “Go straight out the way we came in and back to our original position. Don’t come back inside. Ambulances and backup are on the way.”

“Be careful,” I beg him as he nods at the rest of the team to follow him.

Officer Bates draws his gun and takes position in front of us, leading us back down the stairs and into the maze of hallways in the basement. Everything is quiet, all the action taking place on the floors above us.

“You were very brave to come here on your own,” I say to Roscoe in a hushed voice, trying to distract him. “How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” he says, his voice stronger than it was before. “I was chosen because I’m smaller than most bear shifters, but I’m just as fierce and I’m fast.”

Not fast enough, I think to myself, glancing over his injuries. “What happened?”

“They caught me leaving the building with the bombing plans. I ran and was able to call Mr. Sharptooth to tell him, but they caught up to me.” There’s terror in his voice as he recounts his story. “Gave me the beating of a lifetime and strung me up on that wall.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how were a bunch of humans able to subdue a bear shifter?” If Duncan wasn’t exaggerating, then even a young bear shifter should have been able to take out a group of humans.

“There’s a shifter working with them,” he says grimly. “The humans took me down with a stun gun strong enough to drop an elephant and then the shifter was able to subdue me. She’s strong for a wolf shifter.”

A female wolf shifter.

Oh shit. Edie, definitely Edie.

I silently message Lennox, telling him about Edie’s complicity within the ASHRA organization. She might still be in the building –

My thought is cut off when a shadow falls from the ceiling on top of Officer Bates, gripping him by the neck and twisting until his head snaps to the side. I watch in horror as his body topples to the floor.

A naked woman separates from the shadows, stalking toward us. Roscoe growls, his chest vibrating my shoulder where he leans into me.

“Edie,” I acknowledge grimly.

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