Savage Hunger(4)

“What you are is a shitload of trouble,” he muttered, his head lowering slightly.

In that moment she felt it. The memory of what his mouth would feel like on hers. The firmness of his lips. How he’d taste again. But Warrick didn’t kiss her. Instead, his sensual mouth, just inches from hers, twisted into a scowl and the muscles in his shoulders coiled.

“I’m here.”

Sienna blinked, arousal and confusion slowing her ability to think as she glanced around but saw no one.

Her brows drew together. “What—”

Warrick lifted his hand to silence her, and angled his head so she saw his finger touching his ear. “Everything’s fine. Just had a bit of a…distraction.” His lips curled into a grimace. “Shut it, Larson. I’ll bring her out in a minute.”

Seriously? How had she not noticed the tiny little microphone running along his jaw? How much had the people listening on the other end heard? Ah crap, probably way too much.

“Get off me,” she whispered.

She’d had a purpose tonight. Dammit, while her teenage crush had been groping her on the floor, the creatures locked in the cell continued to suffer. And she was doing absolutely nothing to help them now. What in the hell was Warrick even doing here?

Though a tiny part of her—and she hated to acknowledge it—welcomed his sudden presence. Knowing that she wasn’t in this building alone with those things. Because, truth be told, the unknown scared the living hell out of her. And those creatures were about as unknown as it got.

“I said get off me,” she repeated with more force, pushing her hands against his chest.

Warrick moved off her, his jaw flexing and his gaze not quite meeting hers as he grabbed her hand to haul her to her feet beside him. He seemed taller and broader than he’d been years ago and another shiver of awareness slid through her.

Sienna moved away from him and smoothed her dress back into place, a wave of unease running through her as she discreetly confirmed the items in her bodice were still there. Before she could take two steps away from Warrick, strong arms wrapped around her waist.

“Sorry, kid.”

Sienna shrieked as the hallway tilted and the ceiling swung into view. The air whooshed from her lungs as her stomach slammed into his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. His hand slapped down against her bottom to hold her still. The floor of the hallway wavered beneath her stunned gaze as he started jogging as if she weighed nothing at all.

“Warrick! Put me down!” She clutched the bodice of her dress with one hand so the phone and jump drive she had hidden didn’t fall out, and used her other fist to beat against his back. Her pulse raced with panic and confusion. “What are you doing?”

“We need to talk.”

“No. We absolutely do not—” Her words died out as he turned a corner and the holding cell swung into view, even as he moved away from it.

Holy crap!

Her jaw nearly hit the floor as she watched two more men dressed in black break open the cell door and rush inside. But that wasn’t what had her insides twisting with horror. She blinked, unable to connect what she’d discovered on the jump drive earlier with the reality in front of her.





Chapter Two

The creatures inside the cell continued to howl and scream as their bodies contorted. Fingers splayed out at awkward angles, stretching longer and longer, while joints grew thick and gnarled. Hair poked through the human skin covering the—oh God, it was a wolf. The smell in the hall was rancid with sweat and human waste…animal waste.

Her heart stuttered at the sickening scene, and she wasn’t even aware that she’d stopped fighting Warrick, but was now clutching his shirt in fear.

Unable to close her eyes, Sienna watched as another creature appeared to shift back into human form, the fur on its body retracting as smooth, dark skin appeared. And the change kept happening to all the creatures. Obviously uncontrollable, inexorable and agonizing. They were human, and yet they were animal.

Her gaze landed on one of the creatures—a woman—inside the cell, and the glaze of pain in her stare had everything inside her clenching with compassion and helplessness.

“I’m taking the tango outside to the van,” Warrick said.

Her body jerked as he kicked open a door, his shoulder digging into her stomach. Then the door swung shut and the inside of the lab disappeared. But what she’d seen had been burned into her mind—she couldn’t get rid of the image.

Warrick’s grip on her tightened as he lowered her back over his shoulder and to the ground. Before she could get her balance or take note of their surroundings, she was forced up against the side of the building.