Landon punched in the shortest delay on the countdown timer-five seconds-then pressed the green button and raced after Derek.
He'd barely made it to the corner when he heard the sharp, distinctive crack of C4 plastic explosive going off. He immediately turned around to head back and almost got run over by the male hybrid with the slashed chest hauling ass past them toward the exit, the manacle and chain dragging behind him. Landon didn't even reach for his weapon. Not that it would have done much good. The hybrid was out of sight in the blink of an eye. Landon couldn't have brought himself to shoot the man anyway. He was a soldier just trying to get away.
"What the hell happened with him?" Derek asked as they ran back to the cells.
"The explosion must have freaked him out so much he ripped his manacle right out of the wall."
"Well, we wanted to get him out-he's out," Derek said. "Let's just hope he doesn't go after any of our people."
Derek checked for a pulse on each of the four unconscious hybrids before unlocking the manacles around their ankles.
"They're alive, but just barely. Get them out of here, and I'll try to figure out how I'm going to get the woman to let me in there with her."
Landon carried each of them outside, one after another, praying that getting them into the open air might help. He was just coming back inside after he'd taken the last out when he realized they'd run out of time. The ceiling was completely engulfed by fire now, with heavy pieces starting to fall to the floor and flames running down the walls so fast it looked like a burning waterfall. Unfortunately, Derek was still having problems with the last hybrid, the totally freaked-out female.
"Why haven't you gotten her unlocked yet?" he shouted.
"I'm fucking trying," Derek said, "but I can't get close enough to unlock the chain around her ankle."
Landon hurried over to help, but that only seemed to make the hybrid more agitated. She snarled, reaching out to try to claw Derek.
Shit.
How the hell could they save her if she wanted to kill them?
* * *
The beast was so eager to go after the doctors, it almost got Minka killed. She'd just entered the fenced-in area where the vehicles were parked when Renard stepped out from behind a dirt-covered Land Rover and started shooting at her.
She leaped to the side and rolled across the ground toward the protection offered by another vehicle. As fast as she moved, she still felt the hot sting as a bullet creased a line along her back, from her right shoulder to her left hip.
Scrambling to her feet, she ran around the vehicle, hoping to catch Renard from behind. She came out from behind the truck low and fast but didn't see him. She could smell his stench, though. Then she heard footsteps farther down the line of vehicles. She immediately changed direction, leaping on top of the Land Rover and bounding from one vehicle to the next.
She'd just landed on a big military truck when she felt that familiar tingle along the back of her neck. She'd been tricked. In the beast's desire to get to Renard, it had completely forgotten about the other hybrid … until now. Renard had been luring her into a trap. And she had fallen for it.
Minka twisted in midair, trying to change course, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the bullet coming at her. It hit her left hip, and she crashed to the ground with a yowl of pain. She tried to spring to her feet, but her left leg responded sluggishly, and she ended up tumbling to the ground again.
She shoved herself up with her hands, intending to crawl away if she had to, but by then it was too late. Gravel crunched on the ground in front of her, and she looked up to see Renard standing there, the big hybrid at his side. The creature held a large pistol in its hands, and it was pointed straight at her head. It seemed strange that a hybrid as big and terrifying as this one would prefer a gun over its natural weapons.
"You're one fast, vicious animal, I'll give you that, girl," Renard sneered. "But you're still just a dumb animal. I knew that all I had to do was get you separated from that feline shifter bitch and you would be easy to take down."
Trapped under the control of the beast, Minka flinched at the fact that she hadn't even thought about Ivy following her. What had they done to her?
Renard smiled and took a step closer. The beast inside Minka gave a soft growl. Renard had always liked to get as close as he could when he was going to hurt her, so he could see the pain in her eyes. He would stand within inches of her chains' limits, knowing she could not hurt him.
Well, there were no chains stopping her now. This time, there was nothing to keep the beast from making Renard pay for every single horrible thing he'd done to her and all the other people he'd tortured and killed. This time, he would be the one screaming in pain.
But then, just as she started to tense her good leg for a lunge, Renard motioned the hybrid forward. "Shoot her but don't kill her. We'll throw her in the back of the truck, and I'll deal with her later. Be quick about it. We need to help Johan before that shifter bitch gets him."
The beast inside Minka growled low and deep, preparing to go for the big hybrid instead of Renard. But the hybrid wasn't as stupid as the doctor. He moved to the side, out of Minka's attack range, and lifted the pistol, pointing it right at the base of her spine. Minka's blood went cold. The hybrid was going to paralyze her so Renard could do whatever he wanted to her when he got around to it.
Chapter 16
"Stay back," Derek ordered. "I think I almost had her."
"We don't have time for this," Landon shouted. "You need to figure out how to calm her down or sedate her. We have to go-now!"
Derek moved closer to the hybrid, his hands up in a peaceful gesture. The woman tilted her head sideways in a curious way, sniffing the air a little. And holy shit, the red glow started fading from her eyes, showing some amazing slate-gray coloring. But then a beam in the ceiling in the next cell over collapsed, sending flaming pieces down all around them. The hybrid's eyes flared red again, and she leaped straight at Derek. But instead of protecting himself, Derek wrapped his arms around the hybrid, taking her down. She snarled, trying to claw him.
"There's a syringe in the top left pocket of my shirt," Derek shouted as he tried to get control of the woman's claws. "It's a sedative. Get it and inject her!"
It was damn tough with the hybrid flailing around like a Tasmanian devil, but after a few seconds, Landon found the syringe. He yanked the top off it and pushed a little on the plunger to make sure there wasn't any air in the needle.
"How much do I inject?"
"All of it, and pray it's enough!" Derek yelled, struggling to keep the woman's claws away from his throat.
Landon got a tight grip on the syringe and jabbed the needle into her arm, fighting like hell to get it all into her. Then he tossed the needle aside and helped hold on to her. She quieted, but it took way too long. By the time Derek was able to let her go, he and Landon both had to slap their uniforms and her clothes as the burning embers raining down from the ceiling caught them on fire.
"Get the chain off her ankle and let's get the hell out of here," Landon ordered.
Derek rammed the key into the hole in the manacle. "Fuck, fuck, and triple fuck! She smashed at it so much trying to get free that it's completely mangled. The key is never going to fit in it."
Landon crawled over to check the lock as Derek scrambled to his feet and ran over to where the chain was attached to the wall. He yanked hard, but it wouldn't budge. Landon joined him, but there was no way it was coming out of the wall.
Landon glanced over his shoulder at the fire roaring down the wall toward them like some living creature, then turned back to Derek. "We're not going to be able to get her out of here. Not unless we take off her foot."
Derek shook his head violently. "No way in hell am I taking off her foot," he said, yanking on the chain again.
Landon grabbed his shoulder, stilling him. "If an enraged hybrid stronger than both of us combined couldn't get it out of the wall, we sure as hell can't."
Derek stared at him for a moment, then stubbornly went back to pulling on the chain. Landon did the same, though he knew it wasn't going to help.
"Get the fuck out of the way!" someone growled behind them.
Landon turned, expecting to see Trevor, but it was Diaz-with frigging claws, fangs, and yellow glowing eyes.
"What the hell?" he mumbled.