Wrath

  Mel’s door was open so she just entered. Her boss stood by the desk facing Brent and both of them turned to stare at Lauren. She tried to hide her shock at seeing him there. They’d somehow missed him passing by her office and she wished she could signal Wrath. She schooled her features, she hoped, and tried to appear calm. It was rough, knowing she was in the same room with a killer and someone who had abused New Species.

  John T and John B entered the office behind her and closed the door. Gina was absent. Mel quickly walked forward and gripped Lauren’s shoulders.

  “You need to tell me right now how that man in your office contacted you and when.”

  Alarm shot through Lauren. Her heart pounded in her ears and she stared mutely at her boss. She finally managed to get her brain working. “He called yesterday and set up the appointment. Why? What’s going on?”

  Brent glared at her. “Didn’t you notice something off about him?”

  Lauren shook her head. She hoped Wrath’s good hearing could detect what was going on in the office. Fear gripped her that they suspected the truth but she didn’t understand how they’d know Wrath wasn’t exactly a normal guy. Brent hadn’t seen him and he was the one who might recognize a New Species.

  “No. Why?”

  John T frowned. “He’s got glasses on. How the hell would she know unless she’s seen one of them, seen the facial differences? I doubt she ever has.”

  Oh my God. Lauren panicked but tried to control her features to hide her fear. John T knows for sure what Wrath is, but how?

  Mel nodded. “You need to leave now, Lauren. That man in your office is…a rapist. He gets realtors to show him properties and he attacks the second they’re alone. We’ll handle this.”

  “But…” Lauren was at a loss for words. She studied the people in the office and felt chilled to the bone. They were lying and all four of them knew Wrath was a New Species. “Okay but my purse is in my office. I’ll get it, make an excuse, and leave.” Warn Wrath.

  “Just leave it.” Brent suddenly grabbed Lauren. “Go now.” He shoved her toward the back door of Mel’s office.

  “But…”

  Lauren was pushed out the back door and into the alleyway before she could protest. It slammed in her face, the bolt slid loud enough for her to hear, and shock washed through her at being locked out.

  They knew Wrath was a New Species, had gotten rid of her, and they were protecting Brent for some reason. Terrified for Wrath’s safety she spun and ran down the alleyway to get to the SUV to tell his team what was going on. They needed to warn Wrath to get out or they needed to go in there.

  Amanda was with Wrath. More fear drove her to run faster. She almost broke an ankle in her haste, the high heels impeding her, but she was grateful when she spotted the SUV. A car nearly hit her when she forgot to look before crossing the street. The driver hit the brakes, honked his horn and flipped her off.

  Brass opened the passenger door, climbed out and caught her when she practically slammed into his big body. Firm hands gripped her arms.

  “What is wrong? Where is Wrath?”

  “I think they know he’s New Species. They fed me some bullshit about Wrath being a rapist before they shoved me out a back door. Brent is in there, they were all acting weird and my coworkers seem to be protecting him.”

  Brass cursed. “Stay here.” He lifted her off her feet, pressed her against the side of the SUV and let go. “We’re going in.”

  Lauren tried to catch her breath. “The alley.” She panted, swearing to buy a treadmill in her near future to get more in shape. “They can get out the back if they try to make a run for it.”

  Brass turned to Brian—both he and Shadow had exited the SUV. “You take the alley and make sure they don’t escape that way.” Brian took off at a run in the direction Lauren had just come from.

  “You stay, Lauren.” Brass checked the guns strapped to his hips. “You’re safe here.”

  “My friend Amanda is in there too. She’s a blonde wearing a blue shirt and a black skirt.”

  “Understood,” Shadow said.

  Both men jogged across the street and down the sidewalk toward her office building. Lauren finally caught her breath and frowned. She didn’t want to wait with the SUV, too worried about her friend and Wrath to be that patient. They might need her. She pushed away from the side of the vehicle and quickly followed them.

  She was so worried and distracted by what could be happening to Wrath, his team, and Amanda that she nearly fell on her butt when she spun to face the voice that called out.

  “Hey!”

  Amanda waved at her from the street, standing in front of the open driver’s door of her car, which was parked a few away from her at the curb. “God, that man was hot. I want to strip him down and sprinkle him with salt so I can take tequila shots off his body.”

  “I thought you were inside.”

  “Your boss ordered me to leave. She said she had sent you on an emergency call to let in a plumber at a property. That woman is such a bitch she probably wanted to take a shot at him herself but I’m not letting it go down. Tell me you have Mr. Williams’ number and what in God’s name, is that man’s first name? He wouldn’t tell me.”

  Lauren twisted her head to stare at the office building. “Stay here. Just…stay here. Don’t move!”

  “Okay! Bring me his number.”

  Lauren nodded, turning her attention back on the office, dying to know what was going on inside it. Amanda was safe. That was a big relief but she wouldn’t calm down until she saw Wrath. She walked across the grass and avoided the front sidewalk, which could be seen from the reception area. Kim’s desk was empty when she inched up to the window and peeked. Lauren frowned.

  Lauren eased around the side of the building and crept toward one of the windows of the office area. She hesitated, lifted her head and peered inside. What she saw made her gasp. Brass and Shadow were facing a wall and John T had a gun pointed at their backs while Mel and Brent stood close by, arguing. She could hear their raised voices but couldn’t understand the words. Where’s Wrath? Where’s Kim, Gina, and John B?

  Lauren ducked and kept low to prevent being seen through the windows. She practically crawled toward the back of the building until she reached the alley. She gasped. Brian was sprawled on his back on the ground next to the back door. She ran for him. Fresh blood was smeared on his forehead. Someone had hit him with something but he was breathing. Her hands shook badly as she searched his pockets and located a cell phone, glad he had one.

  The top number said BASE when she checked recent outgoing calls and she pressed it to have the cell dial it. A man answered on the first ring.

  “Hello?”

  “This is Lauren Henderson. Is this headquarters?”

  The man hesitated. “Who is this and how did you get Brian’s phone?”

  “He’s bleeding on the ground.” She rattled off the address and name of her work. “They have Brass, Shadow and Wrath inside. My coworker has a gun pointed at Brass and Shadow. I haven’t seen Wrath yet but he was inside. Should I call 9-1-1?”

  “No,” the man ground out. “We’re on our way. Stay with Brian. Is he breathing?”

  Lauren checked Brian over again, verified his chest rose and fell and took a calming breath, trying to control her panic. “Yes but he’s out cold. He was hit in the head by something but it’s not here next to him and I don’t see anything with blood on it. We’re in the alley behind the building.”

  “Don’t move and stay on the phone. Do not hang up. We will have teams out to you in minutes.”

  Lauren left the phone line open and tucked it into Brian’s vest so it wasn’t in sight but the guy could still hear what was going on. She had no intention of just standing there to wait for help to arrive when Wrath could be in danger. She got to her feet, rushed to the other side of the building and crawled past the windows until she reached her office.

  Lauren listened, heard nothing, and raised her head enough to stare
into her office through the window. Wrath remained in the same seat he’d been sitting in when she’d left her office but it appeared as if he’d fallen asleep—his head was tipped back and his arms dangled limply over the arms of the chair. A red-tipped dart stuck out of his chest. She could see it move as he breathed, which assured her he was alive but obviously drugged.

  Adrenaline rushed through her. Wrath needed help. She had no idea how long it would take for someone else to arrive. No way was she going to just stay there and do nothing. The screen came off easily and she gently rested it against the side of the building. Her gaze lifted to the inside lock, knew that window well since it stuck often when she opened it, and gripped the metal side with her fingers. She wiggled, tried to be quiet about it, and focused on her open office door. There was no movement but she’d have to hide if someone came.

  The lock popped and she paused, straining her ears for any sign that someone inside could have heard it. She faintly heard yelling but couldn’t make out what was being said. No one rushed into the room so she eased the glass along the track to get it all the way open. Wrath was so close. She had no idea what to do once she reached him, but maybe she could barricade her office door to lock them both inside until help arrived.

  The voices were loud enough with the window open that she could distinctly make out her coworkers’ angry shouting. She lifted up to the waist-high opening, raised a leg and jerked her skirt out of the way. Climbing in wasn’t easy but she managed and dropped to her knees to crawl behind her desk to hide.

  “What the hell are we going to do?” Mel demanded.

  “Just calm down,” Brent said. “I keep telling you that I’ll think of something.”

  “It’s probably your fault!” Mel yelled. “Did you get drunk and tell someone who you really are? Damn it, Bill. I told you that you were putting us all at risk but would you stop being such a selfish prick? Hell no!”

  “I didn’t.” His voice dropped and she couldn’t make out the rest of what he said.

  “They found us!” Mel shouted. “You said no one would be able to trace us here and I trusted you.”

  “They did find us.” It was John T speaking and he was obviously mad. “Let’s just think of what we’re going to do now. I say we kill them and get the hell out of here.”

  “And go where?” Glass broke, Mel was so irate, she’d probably thrown something. “We sank all our money into this place for our cover identities. They probably froze our account at the bank. We’re screwed! I’m going to have to call my sister and you know how much I don’t want to do that. I wanted away from this shit. I never wanted to see one of those bastards again and now we have three of them. In…our…offices!”

  “Enough!” John B roared. “They offer reward money for them. We have three. Everyone calm down. I can’t think when you’re shouting. We can use them to get fast cash and start over somewhere else.”

  “Who is going to exchange them? Huh?” Brent yelled. “Not me. That’s stupid. They’ll just set a trap and we’ll go to prison forever. They aren’t really going to pay us.”

  “We’ll get them out of here and it will buy us some time to think of a surefire way to get paid by the NSO to return these three. We’re smarter than those bastards. We just need to get out of here before more arrive.”

  “Don’t move or I’ll shoot you!” John T yelled.

  “Calm.” Brass’ deep voice barely reached Lauren since he wasn’t shouting. “The NSO will pay for us. Just don’t harm the women.”

  “See? I told you they were sappy enough to protect innocents. You move and I slit the receptionist’s throat. She isn’t a part of this and she’s two months pregnant. Fight us and she dies. I can take out Gina too before you reach me.” John B snorted loudly. “The NSO will pay us. We just need to get out of here. Bill, where are more darts? We’ll tranquilize these two, tie up the women, and split.” His voice rose. “More of them could be on the way. These three could be scouts or something. They are hunters, right? Shoot them with darts, we’ll carry them out and figure the rest of this out when we’re safe.”

  “Please,” Kim begged. “Let me go.”

  “Shut up. I didn’t bring enough darts.” Brent sounded furious. “You told me there was one of them. Not three.”

  “He came in alone!” John T yelled. “If I’d known there were more, I would have told you on the damn phone.”

  “Don’t move!” John B yelled. “I swear he’ll shoot you both and you won’t get another warning. These women will die too. Do you want their blood on your hands?”

  Lauren’s heart pounded and she knew she had to do something. She lifted her hand to call 9-1-1 from the phone on her desk but memory of the phone system stopped her cold. Every phone would show a line in use by flashing red. She couldn’t risk making a phone call but her coworkers were planning on taking Wrath and she couldn’t allow that to happen.

  She pushed on her desk to test the weight of it but it didn’t budge. It was the only thing big enough in the room to keep them from breaking down the door if she barricaded it. That plan wouldn’t work though because they could as she had—go around the building, and come in through the window.

  “Move,” John T ordered. “In that back office now. Keep your hands above your heads, move real slow. If you even twitch, I’m going to shoot you.”

  “Yeah,” Brent said, “do that. We have phone cords. We’ll tie them up, take them out the back and grab the last one after we get them settled in the van.” He paused. “Go get the van.”

  “My minivan?” John B gasped. “Everyone will see inside it.”

  “The company van, you idiot!” Mel shouted. “It’s bigger. It’s got the cargo area and tinted windows. Just dump the signs out of the back.”

  “Fuck,” he shouted. “Move, Gina. You too, Kim. You’re staying close to me. If they attack, you’re both dead.”

  “Keep moving,” John T ordered. “Keep your hands up. Mel, go rip out the phone cords. You have three in there. Use the ones to the fax machine too.”

  Lauren glanced around her desk, saw no one, and crawled forward until she could peek out the door. Her coworkers weren’t in sight and she leaned out enough to see Mel’s office. John T’s back was to her and he blocked most of the doorway, preventing her from seeing what was going on in Mel’s office. All of them seemed to be in there.

  Pure terror gripped her but she moved, shoved up to her feet and grabbed Wrath’s chair by the arms. The back of it dug into her belly as she pulled. As the wheels moved over the carpet his boots dragged, making it tougher on her. She pulled, prayed he wouldn’t slide out of the seat. He would be too heavy to put back if he did.

  She paused, listened, and heard her coworkers arguing in Mel’s office. She glanced around the corner again, saw John T’s back was to her, and she frantically pulled. The chair left her office, she bit back a groan, and kept pulling Wrath toward the front. She just needed to make it about ten feet to the reception area. She made it without anyone spotting her. Guilt ate at her over leaving the New Species and her coworkers being held at knifepoint. She couldn’t help them though. Wrath was the only one she could save. She needed to get him to safety first and just prayed the man she’d spoken to on Brian’s phone arrived in time to help them. It would be suicide to rush into Mel’s office to attempt to rescue anyone else.

  Her back hit the exterior glass door but it didn’t push open when she pressed against it. She hit it with her ass but the glass just barely moved. She twisted her head, realized someone had locked the door, and fought to turn the deadbolt. The glass door opened and fresh air filled her lungs as she sucked in a deep breath. She pulled, dragging the chair and Wrath out of the building.

  No one was on the sidewalk. Gravity helped move the chair since the building was higher than the street. She turned it, pulled frantically, and kept going. Her eyes remained on the building. She expected her coworkers to come out after them at any second when they realized they were missing a New Species bu
t she made it to where she’d left Amanda.

  “Open the back door now.” Lauren pulled harder, moving faster.

  Amanda saw Wrath, the chair and Lauren. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened.

  “Open the fucking door,” Lauren snapped at her. “Now! Move it. Back door. Get it the hell open. Now, Amanda. Now!”

  Amanda moved. She hit the button to unlock the doors and almost tripped on the curb as she ran around the car to open the back door but she swung it open just as a panting Lauren dragged the chair there.

  “Help me get him in.”

  “What the hell?” Amanda’s eyes were wide and she looked unusually pale.

  “I’ll explain later. Help me. He weighs a ton. We’ve got to get him out of here before someone sees us.” Lauren grabbed the protruding dart from Wrath’s chest and dropped it inside her skirt pocket. “Hurry.”

  Amanda grabbed Wrath’s other arm and Lauren positioned the chair facing the backseat of the car. She gripped him firmly and they lifted to maneuver his limp form out of the chair.

  “Jesus,” Amanda grunted. “My back is breaking. He’s got to weigh at least two hundred and fifty pounds.”

  The two of them managed to dump the unconscious Wrath into the backseat. Lauren bent his legs up to make him fit. Wrath didn’t look comfortable but he was in and his face wasn’t pushed against the seat. She slammed the door and yanked open the passenger one.

  “Get in the car,” she panted at Amanda.

  Amanda ran around the car and jerked open the driver’s door, collapsing into the seat. The engine started and Lauren’s pounding heart threatened to explode from exhaustion and fear. One glance at her office assured her no one had rushed out yet and she twisted in her seat to duck down in case that changed.

  “Drive, damn it. Get us out of here.”

  Amanda punched the gas. “Oh my God,” Amanda babbled. “You’re going to get us both arrested. I know I keep complaining about being single but have you lost your mind? You can’t just kidnap a man. He’s really hot but what were you thinking? Are you on drugs? Let’s just call the police and tell them you had a breakdown. We could take him to a hospital and have them admit you for an evaluation.”