“And,” Dr. Luntz tossed in for good measure, “there is something about Blayne Thorpe that just screams, ‘Drinks for everybody!’ Don’t ya think, Bold Novikov?”

With a short, outraged roar, Bo took off running before the damn woman could put him in the poor house.

CHAPTER 26

Josh Bergman couldn’t believe he’d done four years at Penn State to end up being a security guard. But he couldn’t ignore the fact that the money was worth every damn second that he sat in this same chair, night after night, staring at TV screens. Especially after his old man cut him off after he’d gotten expelled before his senior finals. He still couldn’t believe how that turned out. His own frat brothers turning on him because of what some girl said. Where was the loyalty?

Whatever. Things were already looking up. They’d lost a whole team a few days ago, and he’d already gotten word he’d be going in for training and would be assigned to a team of his own. The money for team members was just damn phenomenal. He already had the car and rims picked out for when he got that first paycheck. But until training started, he had at least another week to kill before he could give this bullshit job up for good.

Josh reached behind him to grab another bottle of water from the small fridge under the desk when something on one of the cameras caught his attention. Forgetting the water, he leaned in and studied the screen. After a moment, a girl walked into camera range. Josh tapped on the keyboard, zooming in. She was cute, he’d give her that but there was something . . .

She turned and her eyes glinted in the one streetlight across from her. They glinted just like a dog’s.

Josh keyed the com attached to his ear. “I’ve got an alert at Door Six. I repeat, an alert at Door Six.” He waited for a response, rolling his eyes. Tim probably smoking another joint behind the garages and not paying attention. That guy would have this job forever. “I need a call back, Tim. Are you hearing me?”

“Doubt he’s hearing much of anything anymore.”

Josh spun his chair around, not thinking, just reacting at the female voice behind him. As the chair turned, there was a flash of metal and he couldn’t say he felt anything—even when blood sprayed across the console—but even without that pain, without the feeling, he knew he was dying. Knowing this, however, he still put his hands to his throat, trying to stop the bleeding. The woman, a bitch as big as him and covered with bruises and cuts, was busy with the console and didn’t seem to notice or care that he was standing up and stumbling away from the desk.

He staggered over to the emergency exit. Once the doors opened, the alarm would go off and cops and ambulances would swarm this place. People who would keep him alive. He was too important to die. He knew that.

Josh reached the door, and removing one of his precious hands from his throat, he shoved the big metal bar with OPENING DOOR WILL ACTIVATE ALARM written across it. But as the door flewopen, there was no alarm. And standing right outside weren’t cops and ambulances and people who would keep him alive. But animals. Freaks. The biggest one he’d ever seen, even after working at this place for six months, stepped up to him and grabbed him around the face.

“And where were you going, genius?” the thing laughed, carrying Josh back inside and crushing his entire head with that one hand at the same time.

The She-lion pushed Dee aside, dropping into the seat the bleeding security guard just left. “Could you have gotten more blood on this goddamn keyboard?”

“Speed is your friend right now,” Dee snapped. It was one thing to put up with the pretty male lions but she had no patience for the females. And with the pain from her broken ribs as they knitted themselves back together and the fever slowly but surely coming on her, she had no patience for anyone. Male or otherwise.

The She-lion tapped on the keyboard for a few seconds. “We’re in.”

Dee shoved her a little to get past to join the rest of the team. Thankfully Van Holtz had only chosen the best for this. Good. She hated having to do everything on her own because she didn’t trust the ones working with her.

Using only hand gestures, she sent groups down one set of side stairs, another up, and after prying the elevator doors open, took a group with her, all of them climbing up the elevator cables to the top floors.

They waited until the She-lion still on the computer did what she needed to. She shut off all the power in the building. Already past nine o’clock, everything went pitch black. Good thing her team could see in the dark.

Motioning to the grizzly hanging underneath her, she watched him move up so he could pry open the doors. They could hear the full-humans trying to figure out what was going on. Some were laughing, thinking it was funny. But some were concerned, moving cautiously. Grabbing the hand held out to her by the grizzly, Dee let him haul her out of the elevator shaft and onto the floor. Again using only hand signals, she sent her team off to do what they’d been sent to do while Dee walked down the hallway toward big double-doors.

Before she reached them, she scented full-humans moving silently up behind her but ignored them, keeping her focus on reaching that door. She could do this because she knew her team would handle them.

Dee pulled out her bowie knife, the blood from the security guard still on it, and walked up to the double-doors. The bodies of full-humans silently dropped behind her.

Instead of kicking the doors open, she applied a small explosive to each door hinge. She stepped back, turning her face as the hinges blew. The doors fell forward and Dee walked in. Three guards protecting the one important male who ran this place pulled their guns but Dee moved fast and cut throats until she had the important full-human by the neck. Using the back of her hand, she smashed his face, knocking him out, and dragged him out of the office by his collar.