Series: Shifter Ops Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
There’s a pause, and Parker nods.
“‘Tat’s right. We’re not gonna die like rats in a trap.”
“Of course not.” Allison carefully moves Laurie, so she can stand. “I’m going to call in help.”
She raises her hands through the bars, and a few seconds later, a coyote howls.
“No offense, lass, but what good will ‘tat do?”
“The vampires were right about one thing. When you’re small and weak, no one suspects how quickly you can make them bleed.” The quiet Alpha power in her gaze makes the hair on the back of my neck rise. An herbal scent pours out of her, filling the room. Like a shot of apple brandy, it gives me strength.
“Damn, Allison, that’s badass,” a familiar voice mutters from above.
Bright red eyes beam down from the high barn window. Fiona drops to the floor and strides over to us, her hands wrapped in white bandages. “Quickly.”
I surge to my feet. “Ya have the key?”
She scoffs and holds up a long metal pin. “There’s not a lock that can keep me out.” And sure enough, she picks each lock, her hands protected from the silver by her hand wrappings. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
“What about the vampires?” I ask.
“They’re trying to put out the fires I started. But the distraction won’t last long, so let’s hurry.”
Parker’s cage door swings open, but he still cringes in there.
“Come on,” I call, and he shakes his head. “I can’t. You go on.”
“We’re not leaving without ya.” I lean down and grab his shoulders, pulling him bodily out of the cage. Once he unfolds from his hunched position, a little more light comes back into his eyes. “We’re good. You made it.”
“We’re not out of the woods yet. The vampires–”
“We’ll figure something out.”
“Like what?”
“We’ll do what we do best. Cause mayhem and chaos, with a side of dynamite.”
Fiona snickers. “Sounds good to me.”
“Laurie,” Allison’s whispering. She crouches by the cage to shake him. “Laurie?”
Laurie sits up, narrowly missing banging his head on the bars. He’s awake but still dopey, blinking, out of it.
Allison turns to us, face stricken. “I can’t move him.”
Our chances of escaping are dropping by the second. There’s no way we’re leaving Laurie.
“Allison, can you shift?” Fiona suggests. “Fly him out? We can create a distraction long enough for you to get away.” She glances back at me, and I nod. Anything for Laurie.
“No.” Allison rises, squaring her shoulders. “You know what I say? Fuck these guys.”
Fiona gasps then laughs. “Damn, girl. I’ve never heard you cuss before.”
“I say we fight,” Allison continues, her sweet, melodic voice firm and unwavering. “Together we can take them.”
“We can?” I grimace.
“Yes, if we work together.” Allison bends down, tugging off her flowy skirt. “I’m done being prey.”
“Where are you going?” Fiona sounds alarmed.
Allison strips off her shirt and kicks off her shoes. “I called the coyotes. They’re peeing everywhere, obscuring our scent. She raises her arms, and an unearthly howl breaks out in the distance. It’s chilling, I’ll admit, but coyotes are nothing against vampires.
“Help is on the way to defeat the vampires,” Allison adds. “We just have to stall them.” She races out of the barn, large white feathers falling from her as she runs.
“Stall them? Until what, daybreak?”
Fiona shrugs.
“There’s no way we can do that. Is she daft? What’s she going on about?” I wonder.
Fiona shrugs. “No clue. You want to help her?”
“How?” Parker rasps. He still looks pale, but at least he’s upright.
“Do what we do best. Cause chaos and mayhem.”
I stare at the barn doors. Beyond them are two of the deadliest creatures on earth. Vampires. But in here are silver cages, so what do I have to lose? “Why not? It’ll be a grand last stand.”
Fiona just grins. “You wanted to know what my animal is?” She raises her brows and shrugs off her jacket, then peels off her crop top. Her scars glint silver in the moonlight.
I swallow hard, frozen in place for a new, more fun reason. “Aye.”
“Stick around and find out.” She winks and unbuttons her jeans, kicking them and her boots off before disappearing buck naked into the dark.
I race after her, but once I’m outside, she’s nowhere to be found.
I choke on the thick scent of burning rubber and coyote pee. To my left, the hearse is ablaze. The vampires blur around it, trying to figure out how to spray it down with a hose they must have found. I automatically back up and trip over something in the darkness. When I pick it up, I realize it’s not a stick. It’s Fiona’s shotgun.
I turn and slam it against Parker’s chest, holding it there until he shakes out of his trance and takes it.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” he shouts at me.
“Shoot something! Preferably the enemy.” I turn and trot away, trying to come up with a plan, muttering, “Just my luck to get shot in the back by me own matey–”