Kelley Armstrong - Stolen

Adam tore a wire from the computer and wrapped it around Matasumi's neck. For a second, Matasumi didn't seem to realize what was happening. Then his hands flew to his throat. Too late. As Adam wrenched the wire tight, it ignited, flared, then died as Matasumi slumped sideways, garrotted.

"You enjoyed that far too much," Paige said.

Adam only grinned. "What do you expect? I'm a demon."

" Half -demon."

"And a full demon would have tortured the poor guy first. At least I was merciful."

"Finish destroying the files and the computer," Clay said. "Then we move."

"Should I contact Kenneth now?" Paige asked as we left the room.

Clay shook his head and kept walking.

"But Jeremy said to notify them once we were inside and had the systems down."

"No, he said to notify him when Elena told you to."

Paige glanced at me.

I shook my head. "Not yet."

"But we could use their help."

"Whose help?" Clay said, stopping suddenly and wheeling on her. "Kenneth's? He can't fight. Cassandra's? She might fight, if she feels like it. We'll call them in when it's clear."

"But-"

"But nothing." Clay glowered at Paige. "You're asking me to put my Alpha in a potentially dangerous position where he's not only the lone fighter, but where he's responsible for two other people. I won't do that."

"I'm sorry," Paige murmured as Clay turned away.

Clay spun on her. "What?"

"I said, I'm sorry."

Clay hesitated, gave a brusque nod, then motioned us to silence and started forward again.

We found the gun locker. To my surprise, it was actually a whole room. Hey, I've never been in the military. I hear the term "gun locker" and I picture a high-school locker stuffed with AK-47s and grenades instead of smelly socks and week-old ham sandwiches.

I sneaked up to an open doorway, peeked around the corner, and saw Tucker scribbling on a clipboard. Not only was he alone, but he had his back to us. Maybe Bauer had a point when she made that little speech about overreliance on technology in the post-industrial age. These guys were so convinced of the impenetrability of their high-tech security system that, so long as no alarms blared, they felt safe. Tucker wasn't even armed. Really, where was the challenge?

I backed away from the door and motioned to Clay. He crept to my side, glanced around the door, and shook his head. We broke into a flurry of sign language. Then I nodded, stepped back, and waved Adam and Paige forward. Clay glided around the door, shoes silent on the linoleum. When Adam tried to follow, I put out my hands to stop him. Clay could handle this alone. Better if we stayed hidden.

I closed my eyes to sharpen my hearing and tracked the whisper of Clay's breathing, mapping it against Tucker's. The gap between them closed. Then, as I waited for the scuffle of the attack, two loud clicks shattered the silence. Guns.

I lunged into the open doorway. Paige grabbed the back of my shirt, stopping me just as two guards stepped from their hiding places, guns trained on Clay's head.

Clay froze in mid-step. His eyes flickered from one guard to the other, but he didn't move, didn't even complete his stride. Tucker turned to face him, smiling.

"So it is you," Tucker said. "The brute who took out my men near Augusta. If we hadn't found the camera, I wouldn't have believed it. Three of my best men. Killed by one rabid dog."

Clay said nothing. Adam, Paige, and I stood in the open doorway. Tucker ignored us.

"Not a bad idea, disabling the radios and alarms," Tucker said. "Not bad, but not brilliant either. You underestimated how well I've trained my men. As soon as Jackson realized we had a breach, he sent one of his team to warn me personally."

Paige held my arm. As Tucker spoke, she squeezed it. Thinking she was frightened, I didn't brush her off. Then she pinched me so hard I had to bite back a yelp. When I glared down at her, she nodded almost imperceptibly toward the nearer guard. I returned an equally discreet head shake. No way was I endangering Clay's life by attacking a guard. Paige squeezed my arm harder and shot me an impatient look. I turned away.

Tucker continued, "Yes, I know it's four to three right now. Not outstanding odds for our side, but I expect them to improve at any moment. One of my men is gathering backup as we speak." He tilted his head. "Do I hear footsteps? I think I do. But you're the one with bionic hearing. Tell me, how many men are approaching? Four? Six? Ten?"

Paige murmured under her breath. It didn't sound like English… Shit! She was casting a spell. Before I could stop her, the guard who was farther from us tensed. He looked from side to side, only his eyes moving, slowly flooding with panic. I knew then what Paige had cast: a binding spell. Paige released her grip on my arm and I flew at the nearer guard. As I slammed into him, a shot fired at the ceiling. I wrenched the gun from his hands as we fell to the floor. The second guard was turning now, the spell broken.

Adam hurdled over me and threw the other guard into the wall. Clay grabbed Tucker by the neck. As I drove my fists into my target's gut, his knee caught me in the chest, winding me. The stink of burning flesh filled the room. The other guard screamed. At the sound, my guard hesitated just long enough for me to catch my breath. I heaved him over my head and into a set of heavy steel shelves. The back of his head slammed into the top shelf corner. He hung there a minute, suspended in midair. His eyes blinked once, then he toppled face first to the floor, blood gushing from a crevice in the back of his skull. Clay checked the guard's pulse as I stood.

"Dead," he said.

One glance at Tucker and the other guard told me they suffered from the same condition.

"Can you hear anyone coming, darling?" Clay asked.

"Tucker was bluffing earlier," I said. "But they're coming now. At least four. As many as seven. We should run."

"Run?" Adam said. "Their seven to our four? That's decent odds."

"I want excellent, not decent. Seven to four almost guarantees a loss on our side. Are you volunteering for the position?"

Adam glanced at Clay.

"Elena's right," Clay said. "We run now and hope they split up. If they don't, we pick the battlefield. Here, we're cornered."

We left the gun locker.

Though I could hear the guards coming, they weren't in sight yet. We made it around the corner. Then we ducked into an open doorway.

"They're at the gun locker," I whispered as I listened. "They're talking… they see Tucker. One-no, two are staying to check for vital signs. The rest are going to keep looking. They've slowed to a walk, but they're coming this way."

"They've separated," Clay murmured. "But not for long."

I turned to Paige. "Can you cast that cover spell?"

"Sure," she said.

"Does it work… reliably?"

Her face darkened. "Of course-" She stopped herself and nodded. "It'll work. It's a level-three spell. I'm a level-four apprentice. Binding is fourth level, which is why it gives me some trouble."

"Good. You three wait here in the doorway. Paige will cast her cover spell. Stay still and they won't see you. Don't cover me, Paige. I'll be the decoy and lead them past you three. Clay and Adam can attack from behind. Once the guards' attention-and their guns-are off me, I'll join the fight."

Paige shook her head. " I'll be the decoy."

"We don't have time to argue," Clay said.

"You, Adam, and Elena are fighters. I'm not. Better to have you three attack. Besides, Elena may not look too threatening, but when these guys see me, the words 'kick-ass bitch' won't even enter their minds. They won't expect a fight."