“What’s he saying?” Winters asked, frowning.
The guy leaned in, and Sloane slammed his head so hard against the Therian’s face, Dex heard bone cracking. The guy let out a howl and went stumbling against the equipment, everything going down with him as he hit the floor, tearing the wires attached to Sloane right off his body. Using the distraction, Dex jerked at the cuffs he’d been cutting away at, and they tore the rest of the way. He dropped to his feet and rolled as Winters lunged to stab Dex with a needle. Popping up, Dex swiped a sharp surgical knife from the tray before he could achieve his goal and swung it at Winters, who jumped out of the way, the knife slicing through his suit jacket like butter.
Winters shouted for backup, and next to Dex, Sloane had managed to slice through one of his straps, his left arm now free.
“You’re not getting out of here alive,” Winters snarled, grabbing one of the knives, the syringe still in his other hand. He lunged at Dex just as Dex snatched the tray, sending everything on it flying before the tray collided with the side of Winters’s head, momentarily stunning him and throwing him off-balance.
Dex bolted toward Sloane and managed to slice through the strap restraining Sloane’s right wrist. He handed Sloane the knife, then darted off to draw the guards away from Sloane. He swiped the tray as Winters shouted at his men.
“What are you waiting for? Get him!”
Dex hurled the tray at one of the guards, striking him in the neck. He choked and gurgled, grabbing on to his neck and dropping his rifle. Dex made a dive for it, snatched it up, and rolled onto his ba
ck. He shot at the guards charging toward him. While Winters wanted Dex alive to perform his little experiment, they had a fighting chance. Three guards went down and the others scattered, including Winters, who ducked behind a refrigerator that looked like it belonged in some fallout bunker. Dex scrambled to his feet as one of Winters’s men charged Sloane, who was busy cutting at the strap around his chest. Dex blocked the guard’s path, claws unsheathed and fangs extended. His blood boiled, his pulse quickened, and his muscles pulled tight. His vision grew sharp, and his senses were heightened as he hissed at anyone stupid enough to come between him and Sloane.
“Restrain him!”
“I got this,” Sloane told Dex as he stood, his knees buckling. Dex caught him and shook his head.
“We need to get you to a hospital.”
Sloane breathed in deep, rounded his shoulders, and straightened, his amber eyes ablaze. He stepped away from Dex, the calm fury coming off him in waves. Dex sniffed the air and grinned. His partner’s feral half was mighty pissed, and anyone who knew anything about Felid Therians knew you didn’t want to incur the wrath of a jaguar Therian.
The room wasn’t a room, but what looked like…. Shit. Dex stepped closer to Sloane. “I think we’re in a shipment container.” That would explain the lack of windows and just the one exit.
Sloane nodded. “That means there’s only one way out.”
The way out was currently open on one side as several armed Therians hurried inside. There was no telling where they were or how many more of the Makhai’s goons were out there.
The men charged, and Dex turned to his training and the fighting techniques he’d learned, along with some good old Human-Therian hybrid slashing the shit out of anyone who got close enough.
“The hell with this,” Winters snarled. “Just kill them!”
Shit. They needed to think fast. Turning the gurney Winters had planned to dissect Dex on onto its side, they lifted it, and tossed it at an approaching group of guards, knocking them off their feet. A rifle skidded past Sloane, and he dove for it and picked it up as he rolled to his feet.
“The crates!” Dex motioned behind them, and they fired at the group of guards as they made a break for the stack of armored crates. The shipping container filled with the sound of bullets hitting the crates and aluminum walls. Dex peered out around the side of the crates, and fired, while Sloane did the same on his side, shooting any and everything that moved. Several of the guards rushed back out, using the doors of the container to shield themselves since there was nowhere else for them to take cover inside. Well, there was one place, and it was currently occupied by Dex and Sloane. Dex set his sights on Winters, who was walking briskly toward the end of the container toward the doors. He was talking into his cell phone.
Shit. They couldn’t let that son of a bitch get away.
“Sloane, Winters.”
“Go! I got this!” Sloane provided cover while Dex made a break for it. Sloane could handle himself, and Dex trusted his partner to get the job done and survive. Judging by the way Sloane came at Winters’s men, his money was on Sloane.
Dex fired at the guards behind the left door as he slammed into the right door with all his strength, sending the guards on the other side flying. Between him and Sloane, they took out the guards, leaving the ones in the container and anymore that might show up. Dex took off after Winters, who turned, saw him, and bolted into a run, dropping his cell phone in the process. Dex swiped it up, dialed a code sequence, and put it to his ear as he sped after Winters. He’d been right. They were in a shipping yard. Outside it was bright, which meant they’d been in there for hours. The line rang once, and a somber voice picked up.
“Identify yourself.”
“Sparks, it’s me!”
“Dex? Where are you?”
“With the Makhai, chasing after Winters in a shipping yard. We need backup. Can you trace the phone?”
“We’re on our way.”
“Sloane’s inside one of the containers with these assholes. I’m going to get Winters.” He left the phone on and shoved it into his pocket. Fucker was fast, but Dex was part Felid now, so he was faster. He pushed himself and started closing in until Winters made a sharp left, then a right, tearing down the dock where several boats were anchored, including a speedboat. The bastard had been prepared.
Dex lunged at Winters and tackled him to the ground. Winters rolled onto his back, kicked at Dex, and landed a blow to Dex’s chest that sent him rolling, his back hitting one of the pier’s iron bollards. Pain rippled through Dex’s back, but he quickly pushed to his feet. Winters came at him fast and hard. The guy might have been playing doctor, but he was clearly trained. Dex had to push himself to keep up with Winters’s moves.