Dex stared at him. “What?”
Wolf walked over to his chair. “I was hoping you would be like the others, eventually look to save yourself and thereby give me what I want, but I see now you’re every inch the man I believed you to be. You have no trouble sacrificing yourself for your cause.” He removed his gloves before turning them inside out, then tossing them onto the chair. With a sigh, he rolled down his sleeves. “I can’t get through to you like this. The only way to get to you is through someone you love.”
Dex’s heart almost stopped.
Wolf finished with his cuff links, then slipped into his jacket. “I’m going to bring back your boyfriend or your brother, I’ll let you choose which, and then I will take him apart piece by piece until you give me the information I want.”
“I’m telling you the truth! I don’t know what file you’re talking about. There was nothing like that left behind. No letter, note, nothing addressing a file. Please.” Dex struggled against the restraints. The thought of Sloane or Cael in this room terrified him. “I’ll do what you want. Just leave them out of this.”
Wolf walked over and bent forward, his gaze holding Dex’s. “Who’s it going to be? The love of your life or your baby brother?” A thought seemed to strike him, and he snapped his fingers. “I have a better idea. How about I bring them both, and then you can look them in the eye when I make you choose who lives and who dies. Either way, I’ll make them both bleed.”
Rage erupted through Dex like a fiery geyser. He let out a fierce cry and wrenched at the zip ties with all the strength he could summon. They snapped. The ones around his wrists first, then his ankles.
Wolf’s eyes went wide, and Dex thrust his head forward, head-butting Wolf and sending him stumbling back. He rubbed his forehead before staring at Dex.
“How did you do that?”
“Guess you don’t know everything,” Dex growled, lunging at Wolf.
The two of them hit the floor, thrashing and trying to do as much damage to the other as possible. Wolf was undoubtedly cursing his luck right now. If he hadn’t pumped Dex with that Therian shit, Dex wouldn’t have had the strength to stand much less fight.
Wolf was a trained professional and a Therian, but Dex wasn’t without skill. Thanks to Sparks, months of special training, of getting his ass handed to him by TIN specialists, of pushing himself beyond his limits, was finally paying off. He was never more grateful to Sparks for kicking his ass like she had than he was at this moment.
They got to their feet and circled each other. How many people had Wolf tortured and killed? And who the hell did the guy work for? Whoever he was, Dex couldn’t let him near his family.
“How did you get out of those restraints?” Wolf demanded.
Dex had no idea, but he wasn’t about to let Wolf know that. “Who are you working for?”
Wolf charged him, using his elbows in the hopes of inflicting as much damage as possible, but Dex remembered Sparks’s training. Wolf’s blows were continually blocked, with Dex quickly picking up on the guy’s technique. He matched Wolf’s speed, anticipating where Wolf would hit rather than reacting. It was something Dex discovered he was good at. Sparks had noticed right away, so rather than simply teaching him new techniques, she had him mimic his opponent’s and use what he’d learned against them. Dex threw his hands up, blocking the blow Wolf intended for Dex’s ears. Recovering swiftly, Dex threw an uppercut, catching Wolf under his chin, followed by an onslaught of fierce punches before Wolf could get his bearings.
Dex’s muscles pulled and burned, but his adrenaline had spiked. He was so close to freedom he could taste it, so he reached even deeper, putting all his strength behind every blow, making sure not to get too cocky. Wolf let out a fierce growl and lashed out, snatching a hold of Dex’s jacket. Dex went with the momentum, spinning and pulling his arms out of the sleeves. With a frustrated grunt, Wolf chucked the jacket to one side and lunged at Dex, who spun out of the way. If Wolf got his hands on Dex, it’d be over. He couldn’t allow that. Sloane…. He had to get back to Sloane.
“You won’t make it out of here,” Wolf warned, his breath unsteady.
Dex met Wolf’s eyes and grinned. “Like how I wouldn’t be getting out of that chair? How’d that work out for you?”
Wolf smoothed back his hair, and Dex readied himself. The guy was rethinking his strategy. Dex gingerly inched away from the door, his eyes locked on Wolf. He didn’t have to wait long. Wolf’s gray eyes turned hard, empty, and he charged Dex, fangs elongated as he attacked, just as Dex had hoped.
Dex had maneuvered Wolf exactly where he wanted him. Before Wolf could grab him, Dex snatched hold of Wolf’s chair, swung it around, and slammed the steel piece of furniture into Wolf. The guy hit the floor hard, his head banging against the concrete. He didn’t stir. Dex quickly rummaged through Wolf’s pockets. There was nothing.
Leaving the guy on the floor, Dex ran farther into the shadows, and he immediately spotted the faint light coming in from under the door. He grabbed the handle and carefully cracked it open. There was no one on the other side. Slipping out, he closed the door behind him. More darkness and more concrete walls. Where the hell was he? Why was it so damned dark?
It was time to get the hell out of here. His body protested every movement, his head was killing him, but he got moving, sucking in a sharp breath and holding on to his side in a feeble attempt to keep some of the pain at bay. His ribs were bruised, and his lungs burned as his breath quickened. He wouldn’t be able to st
ay on his feet much longer, but the thought he might blow his only chance at getting out of here, at getting back to Sloane, had him pushing forward.
The corridor seemed to stretch on forever, and he stilled when he caught a whiff of something familiar. It was faint, but he could smell it. Something mixed with licorice. Dex hated licorice. One too many shots of Sambuca in college. Ahead of him in the shadows, he spotted movement. Shit. Had he really thought he could just walk out of here? Several pairs of glowing eyes grew nearer, and Dex stopped, leaning against the wall for support as the figures stalked forward, their shapes soon becoming visible. Three Therians. Dex grinned. One of them had a tranq gun holstered to his belt.
Dex pushed away from the wall and put his hands up in front of him. “I don’t want any trouble, fellas.” He turned his gaze on the lion Therian with the tranq gun and motioned to his face.
“You know, I got a friend with that same scowl. Is that, like, a lion Therian thing, or are you both members of the same Scowler’s Association? No? Okay.”
The guy was short-tempered. Not surprising. The lion Therian lunged at him, and Dex dropped to his knees, twisting his body despite the cry from his muscles. He swiped the guy’s tranq gun, then shot him in the back and sent him stumbling forward. Not skipping a beat, Dex jumped to his feet and fired at the two Therians charging him. One managed to grab him by the neck, lifting him off his feet. Dex grabbed the guy’s wrist while shooting him a second and third time in the chest. Another gasp for air later, Dex was released. He dropped to the floor and coughed before staggering forward. A red light flared to life up on the ceiling, and Dex cursed under his breath. The jig was up.
“Time to get out of Dodge,” Dex grunted, willing his feet to move faster. It was like running through a fog. His vision blurred, and he alternated between squinting and shutting his eyes tight in an attempt to clear them. He took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead end.
“Fuck.” He doubled back quickly, the tranq gun held close. Rounding a corner, he was met with two more Therian goons. He fired, taking one down, and then he was out of darts. Fucking fuck fuck! Tossing the gun to one side, he charged the leopard Therian. He had no idea what the hell he thought would happen, but when he tackled the guy and sent him slamming into the wall behind him, Dex was just as surprised as his foe. Swiftly recovering, Dex pulled back a fist and punched the guy across the head. The guy crumpled to the floor, out cold.