Page 233 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

His body thrummed against me. He was losing what little of his mind he had left.

“Youdarebetray me? After everything I’ve done for you both? After the sacrifices I’ve made? The people I’vekilled? You would rather be with that cockless bastard Cole Garrett?”

“What the hell is going on in here?” Dallas asked, striding in from the shadows, easy as you please, surveying the scene with a raised eyebrow.

“These—” Kyle yanked my hair again “—traitors were trying to get away. I heard them drop something and opened the safe room door. Goddammit, Dallas. Which of these fuckers let them out of their rooms? Someone on our team is in league with Cole and his people. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Grab that little brat,” he said, spitting the word. “We’ll get them back to their rooms and figure out what’s happening.”

Dallas took Ashton by the arm, but even in my ever-increasing panic, I could see that he wasn’t holding him firmly, his fingers barely wrapped around his bicep.

“Got it. I bet it’s that fucker, Leo,” Dallas said. “Money-hungry bitch. Cole probably paid him off.”

“Yeah,” Kyle grunted, his voice rising in pitch. “You’re right. That little prick was always asking for a raise.”

Dallas took a few steps closer, then released Ashton’s arm. He swiveled his eyes to meet mine, winked once, and launched himself at Kyle. The sheer violence and speed of the attack caught Kyle off-guard, and he released my hair. I fell to my knees as Dallas and Kyle tumbled to the ground.

“Run!” Dallas screamed as Kyle began cursing.

I grabbed Ashton’s hand and dragged him to the exit. Next to the door, a small red button read: “Lock.” Unsure what it would do, I slammed my palm against it as we rushed out of the room. The door began to swing shut automatically, and before it latched shut, a single gunshot tore through the silence around us. I screamed, but feeling no pain or blood, and seeing no injury onmy son, I pushed Ashton forward. If I’d been shot, I’d deal with it once we were out of here.

“Are you okay?” I shouted at Ashton as we ran.

“Fine,” he said, his voice tense.

The power had come back on, possibly from a backup generator. Dim lights flickered above us, but it allowed us to see the rest of the corridor. At the far end was a small hatch that looked like an old-fashioned coal chute. It was large and ornate, more than big enough for a person even Ashton’s size to crawl through.

“Hurry,” I shouted, as I heard muffled sounds of screaming and pounding as Kyle beat at the door.

If Kyle was able to scream and pound his fist to get out, that meant he couldn’t be hurt badly. Was Dallas dead? Had Kyle killed him? I shook the thought away. There was nothing I could do about that now. All I could do was get my son to safety.

Ashton got to the chute, but it was locked with a large padlock.

“Fuck,” he muttered, then cast a sideways glance at me and winced.

I let the curse slide. This situation called for it.

To the right was an ancient set of metal shelves, random pieces of scrap wood, rusty nails, and a single ball-peen hammer scattered on it. The wooden handle of the hammer looked to have been salvaged from Noah’s Ark, but it was our only choice. I grabbed it, raised it over my head, and slammed it onto the padlock. Sparks flew and the metal dented, but the lock remained intact.

“Let me,” Ashton said. “I’m stronger.”

I handed the hammer over, and he began to beat at the lock with far more force than I could. Risking a glance behind me, I watched in horror as the door to the safe room began to swing outward.

“Hurry, Ash,” I said, my throat dry as bone.

“Got it,” he said as the padlock dropped to the floor.

He yanked the door open and scurried through, moving with a frantic speed that could only come from panic. He turned around and grabbed my hand. “Here, I’ll help you.”

I climbed into the chute, but just before I could poke my head through, a vise-like set of fingers wrapped around my ankle, dragging me backward.

“Not so fast, bitch!”

Ashton’s muscles bunched and flexed as he tried to haul me up. Kyle pulled me backward. With the strength of two shifters tugging on me from opposite ends, I feared my limbs would be ripped from their sockets. I tried to kick back at Kyle’s face with my free foot and grabbed Ashton’s other hand. My son groaned loudly as he yanked me harder. My shoe slipped off, and my ankle slipped free of Kyle’s grip.

I tumbled to the grass on top of Ashton. Kyle’s scream of rage echoed up from the basement. In the distance, a familiar howl shattered the night. Cole. I’d know that sound anywhere. Hope surged through me, reducing me to tears. Ashton got to his knees and tried to help me up.

“I’m good. Right behind you,” I said.

Ashton turned in the direction of Cole’s howl. I made it ten steps when an arm wrapped around my neck, and the cold kiss of a gun barrel touched my temple.

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