The three of them didn’t need to discuss what they’d do next. They trashed the lab as fast as they could, smashing computers and rummaging for data drives to destroy. Now that he wasn’t so worried about Catalina, Shane could relax and enjoy the sight of his amazing mate tearing metal with her bare hands.
Justin started opening bottles and pouring liquid over all the electronic equipment. Shane caught the scent of an inflammable cleaner.
“Got a match?” Shane asked.
Justin shook his head.
“I’ll look for a lighter,” Catalina volunteered.
“No need,” Shane said. “I can start it with a spark. Hold on.”
He surveyed the room. Everything seemed destroyed, but Justin was right to make sure Apex couldn’t salvage any data. Shane started to lead Catalina toward Justin, so they’d be on the same side of the lab when they set the fire.
Shouts and approaching footsteps sounded from several directions at once. Justin was perfectly positioned to torch the lab and get away before more enemies arrived. So was Shane, with Catalina. But once either of them set the lab on fire, the flames would separate them.
Shane and Justin looked at each other. It was if no time at all had passed between missions, and they were once again in combat together.
“Meet you outside,” said Shane.
There was no time for anything else. Justin snapped two wires and crouched, ready to touch them together.
“Go!” he shouted.
Shane grabbed Catalina’s arm and hauled her out the door. A puff of hot air rippled against his back as the lab went up in flames.
A startled guard jumped back from the corridor they entered. He was the only person who met them. Shane tranquilized him, and then he and Catalina ran down the corridor. It was lined with closed doors and blind turns, perfect for an ambush. Shane kept glancing backward as he ran, slowing him down. With her new agility and strength, Catalina instinctively ran faster, getting ahead of him. Too far ahead.
As he started to speed up to catch up with her, a flicker of movement caught Shane’s eye. He spun around. As he did so, Dr. Elihu stepped out silently from around a corner. He had a bulletproof vest strapped over his doctor’s coat, and he was aiming a pistol at Catalina.
Shane was too far from Catalina to throw himself over her. He was closer to the doctor, but still too far to jump him.
As a man.
Shane became a panther and leaped at Dr. Elihu. A hard impact slammed into his chest in mid-air, and then he knocked the doctor down. Dr. Elihu’s gun went flying. Shane crouched atop him, snarling. At last, he was face-to-face with his enemy.
The doctor flinched, then regained control of himself. His lips curled in a familiar contemptuous sneer. “You wouldn’t dare kill me. I’m the only person in the world who knows how to keep your girlfriend alive.”
Liar, his panther hissed. Kill him.
Shane snarled again. It would be so satisfying to sink his fangs into Dr. Elihu’s throat...
...but it would be quick, too. He wouldn’t suffer. After the ruin he’d brought to others, the lives he’d taken and broken, Shane wanted to show him the meaning of fear.
Shane became a man. As he leaned over Dr. Elihu, a drop of blood spattered down, staining the doctor’s white coat. Shane glanced down at himself.
The impact hadn’t been from a dart gun. He’d been shot in the chest. The wound wasn’t bleeding much, and he didn’t feel any pain. Yet.
Shane pressed the heel of his hand to his chest, sealing the wound. He’d worry about that later. Right now, he had some long-unfinished business to settle.
“You’re the ultimate predator,” Shane said. “You prey on people. You catch them. Kill them. Ruin their lives. I want you to know what it feels like to be on the other side. To be prey.”
Shane looked into Dr. Elihu’s eyes, and summoned his predator.
I stalk. I kill. I lurk unseen.
The doctor’s sneer slipped away. His eyes widened with terror. The blood drained out of his face, leaving him an unpleasant pasty color.
I am the teeth at your throat. I am the gun to your head. I am the blade in your heart.