Her Fierce Warrior (X-Ops #4)(47)

"Later," Diaz said. "I could hear you two bitching and moaning from  halfway across the compound. Let's get her out of here before we all  roast."

Landon and Derek scrambled to make room for Diaz as the smallest guy on  his former A-team grabbed the chain and heaved. The chain immediately  started to pull away from the wall. Diaz snarled, growled, and heaved  again-then ripped the damn thing out of the concrete wall.

Landon stared, wondering if the smoke had finally gotten to him because  his mind was a completely confused mess. Derek must have had the same  befuddled look on his face, because Diaz bared his long frigging teeth  at them and growled.

"You want me to carry the woman too, or would you rather let her die from smoke inhalation?"

"I got her," Derek said. Without another word, he scooped up the sedated  hybrid in his arms and headed for the exit through the flames and  falling debris.

Diaz looked at Landon, his eyes slowly changing from glowing yellow to their normal brown. "You coming, Captain?"

* * *

Angelo was charging toward the big hybrid before he even saw Minka lying  on the ground. He was already coming in fast, but when he saw the dark  blood staining the ground beside her, anger made him run even faster.

The hybrid must have sensed him because it turned his way and growled,  eyes going red and fangs growing long. But it was too late for the  creature to do anything to stop Angelo. He rammed his shoulder solidly  into the side of the hybrid's rib cage. The pistol went flying from its  hand, and Angelo felt the creature's ribs crack from the impact. A few  more gave way when he slammed the hybrid to the ground.

Angelo hoped the impact would stun the creature enough to allow him to  stick his knife in it and kill the thing quickly. Unfortunately, the  hybrid didn't seem bothered by a few busted-up ribs. He tossed Angelo  aside like he weighed nothing.

A gunshot sounded nearby, but Angelo couldn't spare a second to even look in Minka's direction-everything was moving too fast.

He and the hybrid came up swinging. Angelo ducked the first few swipes  the thing took at his face with those sharp claws, and jabbed with his  knife. If he could kill the damn thing, great. But disabling the  creature would work, too. He simply wanted to keep it away from Minka.  Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said of the raging monster with the  sharp teeth and claws-it was trying to rip off Angelo's head.                       
       
           



       

Another shot rang out, and this time, Angelo instinctively looked in  Minka's direction. He had a fraction of a second to realize she was okay  before the hybrid smashed into him and practically caved in his chest.

Everything went fuzzy as he hit the ground. Pain exploded through his  entire body, especially at the center of his back, which had come down  on something particularly hard and unyielding.

Angelo tried to get air into his lungs, but they didn't seem to work. He  opened his eyes to see the hybrid pulling a clawed hand back to tear  out his throat. And there wasn't a whole lot Angelo could do to stop  him. But he sure as hell wasn't going down without a fight, not with  Minka struggling for her life a few feet away.

So he did the only thing he could think of. He lunged upward with his  knife just as the hybrid's clawed hand came down. They met in the  middle, Angelo's left shoulder absorbing most of the impact of its claws  while his blade found its way deep into its gut.

The creature roared and plucked out the knife, flinging it aside.

Angelo rolled to the right, both to gather himself for a last-ditch  punch and to get off of whatever the hell he was lying on. He reached  behind his back, expecting to find a rock, but instead came up with  something much more familiar and useful-a gun.

The big hybrid's eyes widened in alarm. It tried to rake Angelo with its  claws, but it was too late. Angelo squeezed the trigger and put two  rounds through the thing's heart at point-blank range, then another  under its jaw, just in case. He would have shot the thing a couple more  times, but the gun was out of bullets.

Angelo rolled over, stumbling to his feet as he searched for Minka. What he saw made his heart nearly stop.

Fuck.

* * *

Minka closed the distance between her and the doctor in a single lunge.  Renard pulled the trigger on the gun in his hand, but she was too fast,  and the round missed her completely. She hit Renard, driving him  backward and slamming him to the ground. Then she swiped at the hand  wrapped around the pistol, her claws digging in deep and knocking the  weapon aside.

Now that she'd disarmed Renard, Minka screamed at the beast to help  Angelo, but the beast was completely in charge now. As Renard tried to  take a swing at her, she casually batted the hand away, playing with  him. Minka darted her head closer to Renard, showing off the long fangs  she was going to use to tear him apart. Renard stared up at her  wide-eyed, in fear, as if he knew he was about to die at the hands of  the monster he'd helped make.

And all Minka could do was watch.

Gunshots rang out nearby, distracting the beast for a moment, but not  long. She leaned forward, her fangs centimeters from Renard's neck.

"Minka, stop!"

She latched on to Angelo's voice like a lifeline, using it to give her  the leverage she needed to turn her head and look at him. The beast  snarled at the interruption, fighting her for control, but Minka refused  to give it back.

Angelo was kneeling beside her, a look of concern on his face. She tried  to tell him that she needed his help to regain control, but no words  came out. While Minka never wanted Renard to hurt anyone ever again, she  didn't want it to be like this. She didn't want the beast in charge of  her body, using her hands to kill while she was forced to watch  helplessly.

Angelo moved closer, and Minka knew it would be okay once he wrapped his arms around her. He would make the beast go away.

But he didn't touch her. "Minka, I know you don't want to do this. You  don't want the animal inside you running your life, taking over like  this. But you have to be the one to fight this battle. I know you can do  it. But you need to know it, too."

Minka began to panic. Why did her angel not simply hold her like he  always had and make this all stop? Then she looked in his face and saw  the love and concern there-and she knew the answer.

Angelo would be leaving soon. He wanted her to learn how to do this on her own because he wouldn't always be there for her.

Minka's heart tore a little more with that realization. But she couldn't  think of that now. So she pushed her fear and pain aside, forcing  herself to relax and imagine the door of the cage like Tanner had taught  her. But when the image appeared, Minka was shocked to realize the door  was closed … with her inside.

The beast had trapped her in the cage of her own making, and as she  shoved against the door, the beast shoved back, fighting her for  control. The beast was going to take over, and she'd be trapped in this  cage in her own head forever.

Then she felt Angelo's hand holding hers there in the darkness. The  warmth and love coming from that contact felt so very real. This was the  anchor Tanner had described to her, the thing that would keep her calm  and always lead her back to herself.                       
       
           



       

Minka kicked the door of the cage over and over until she saw the bars bend. Then she shoved against the door, pushing it open.

The big, dark cat she had come to associate with the beast was waiting  outside. She knew this was a fight she had to win if she wished to be  truly free of the rage inside her, but this wasn't a battle she could  win with rage and anger. The beast was a part of her. She needed it to  survive, and it needed her.

Minka slowly approached the big cat. It snarled and reared up before  her. She placed her hand against the animal's chest, feeling the rage  and heat pound against her palm, but she was no longer terrified of it.

When Minka opened her eyes, the darkness of the surrounding night let  her know her eyes had returned to normal. She looked over and saw Angelo  still kneeling beside her, his face etched with worry. She let her eyes  shift, so she could see him better.

Angelo smiled and reached out to gently pull her off Renard and move her to the side, a few meters away from the doctor.

"Don't fucking move," Angelo ordered the man.

Tears trickling down her cheeks, Minka wrapped her arms around Angelo,  squeezing him tightly and wishing she never had to let him go. "You  saved me."

Angelo pulled back enough to look at her. "No, you saved yourself. That  was a fight you had to have with the beast, and you won."

Minka would have argued with him, but right then Ivy jogged into the clearing. She eyed Renard, then put an arm around Minka.