Federal Paranormal Unit Bundle: Shape Shifter Paranormal Romance (38 page)

NINETEEN

Standing in the middle of the long aisle with armed men aiming straight for them, Tony was ready to bust out fang and fur to defend the crate on the hand dolly he pushed. Seams on his jacket popped.

The leader of the small group pivoted a few feet from him and continued down the corridor Tony had just traveled. After a heavy sigh to settle his tiger, he looked over his shoulder and watched the men retreat into the distance, chrome M&M ships on both sides of the aisle.

It was obvious Liand planned an invasion. But where? With this many ships he could take over the planet. Tony’s stomach turned. He could take over
this
planet. Every movie he ever saw with people panicking and running crazy flowed through his mind. Then small rebel pockets would come about and uselessly fight the supreme technology.

He’d take Jane and they’d go to her planet. He wanted to reunite her with her family. He knew what it was like to have no one to love or share with. Being around her siblings would make her happy. They’d have to make plans after he came back to get the group. Sari needed him now.

He mumbled quietly, “Okay, we’re moving again. Be ready.” He leaned the dolly toward him, lifting the crate and hurrying forward.

In front of him was the strangest looking interior wall he’d seen. It stretched the entire width of the bunker, solid concrete with one tiny door in the middle. Actually, the door was probably normal size, but among the sea of a wall, it looked like a mouse hole. As he neared, he saw the card reader next to the door frame like all the others.

The lid to the crate slid back and a scrawny arm reached out and wiggled its fingers as if saying,
get me closer
.

Tony glanced back, hoping no one saw them or was paying attention. Again, he was so very thankful it was nighttime. It was probably after midnight by now. The breakfast he ate at the cabin seemed a week ago. Man, he’d kill for a steak.

As close to the door as he could get, he tipped the dolly to the floor and Sari lifted enough to grab the handle and pull down. Tony pushed the dolly and crate forward to open the door enough for him to get a hand out to hold it to pass through. He quietly closed the barrier behind him.

When he turned to the new space, a sense of bugs and crawly spiders gave him a full body wiggle. A giggle came from the closed crate. He knocked on the wood top and smiled. “Hey, in there, no laughing at the grown-up who’s creeped out by spiders.” A muffled giggle reached his ears, making his tiger as happily content as the sound made him feel.

His tiger’s eyes searched the dim area. They were inside what looked like an abandoned warehouse filled with old, long-unused construction equipment and crates everywhere. Hooked to the rafters thirty feet up, a maze of pipes filled the space to almost solid, several snaked through the concrete wall and several dove into the floor.

Tony followed the maze with his eyes to the side where most of the piping originated. Large tubes led to pumpers attached to mega cement mixers. If he understood correctly, this place at one time created concrete and pumped it into the underground bunker. So that’s how the compound was built right under the nose of anyone’s radar. Ingenious.

A thought struck him. The crate he took to hide Sari in had machine parts stored inside. What if the crates were used to bring in things for the bunker, then when empty, stored upstairs for re-use when needed? That would make the warehouse look like a legitimate business. No one would be the wiser.

Noise came from the crate. He leaned over and lifted the lid. “Up and at ‘em, baby girl.” Inside, the cub was scrunched up, arms wrapped around bent knees. He lifted her out and set her on the floor. “Looks like no one is here. We may be out.”

From where they stood, he noted the warehouse doors had a line of dirt-encrusted windows letting through light from the outer fenced in parking lot’s security lights. He could make out several cement mixer trucks parked along the bay as if ready to go when called upon. Could this be the business Brock mentioned when they were on the phone last? But didn’t he say that place was on the other side of the mountain? 

The door behind them clicked unlocked. Faster than humanly possible, Tony scooped up the girl and set her in the wood box. As he closed the lid, the door opened and he saw Jane’s face. Lid abandoned, he took her into his arms. He lifted her and swung her around. He set her down and pressed his nose into her hair. Damn, she smelled so good. “I was so worried about you.”

She pulled back from him, questions in her eyes. “What are you doing here? We thought you were still locked in the room? How did you escape?” Jane looked around for Sari. She grabbed Tony’s hand and hurried toward the young girl, now standing in the box, staring at the others filing into the room. Her small face looked ready to burst into scared tears.

“Sariana,” Jane wrapped around her and lifted her onto her hip, “it’s okay, baby girl. These are friends with me.” Instinctually, Jane turned toward Tony for comfort and let out a big sigh.

He had an arm around both girls, tiny hands clutched his shirt, and each girl had a head resting on his shoulders. A destined family, if ever he’d seen one. The cotton candy pink hair was a bit distracting, though.

“Ramirez, you okay?” Brock, always the grounded one, brought the full group together.

“Yeah, we’re good. Long story. You wouldn’t believe some of the things we saw.”

“Same here. This looks like the concrete company we saw on the hill. It looks safe for the time being.” He started unbuttoning his camo jacket, heading for an exterior door. “I’ll shift and get the truck while you all stay here.” Cyn wrapped his clothes into a bundle for him to carry in his mouth. She swiped the badge on the reader and the outside side door opened.

Standing in the doorway, Brock turned back. “Try to keep a low profile. We don’t want to draw the attention of anyone, outside or in. Got it?” Not waiting for an answer, he turned and transformed onto all fours.

Trent laid his arm on Erica’s shoulders and kissed her forehead. “I’m so ready to get you back in bed. Vacation has me spoiled.”

Tony threw his hands over the girl’s ears. “Hey, cub alert over here. We’ll have none of that talk.” His fatherly voice was so foreign compared to his playboy arrogance, Jane almost didn’t recognize who spoke.

“Tony? Wh--”

The door leading into the underground bunker opened, and for the third time, automatic gunfire rang in the air.

TWENTY

The beating pulse of rhythmic weapons firing shook the concrete floor. The armed group Tony saw at the elevator moments ago found their way to the abandoned cement building.

Trent, Erica, and Cyn dove behind dusty equipment to one side of the door. Tony, Jane, and Sari took cover on the opposite side. Ruveen lay in the middle of the space, unconscious. Blood flowed from his right side.

Jane began to push to her feet, but Tony kept her down as bullets flew their way. She wiggled against him. “Let me go! I have to get to my brother!”

“Jane, no! Wait.” He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a handgun, taking out a couple enemies before they managed to find places to hide. He handed Jane a second gun, then prepared to run into the open to retrieve his mate’s brother. Jane’s hand slapped onto his shoulder, holding him there.

He followed her line of vision to where they were just standing. Ruveen’s body dragged across the floor toward them as if being pulled with an invisible rope, a trail of blood marking its passage. Tony and Jane whipped their eyes to Sariana. Her little hand was outstretched, reaching for the prone man. More gunfire snapped Tony from his trance. He returned fire, now focusing on keeping his family safe.

“Tony!” echoed across the warehouse, “you got more weapons?” He guessed Trent and the others were situated.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t help you any.”

Jane put her gun down and started through his cargo camo pants. “Maybe I can sneak it over there.”

“No, you won’t. You’ll stay right here with me.” Despite his words, he unloaded two hand guns, several clips, and a couple grenades and set them on the floor. “It’s not much.” He handed his gun to Jane.

She raised a brow. “Where do you think you’re going?” She shoved the gun back into his hands. Tony saw her stubbornness coming out.

“Jane, it’s too dangerous for you to leave cover.” He fired of a couple rounds to keep the soldiers back. He’d die before he let anything happen to Jane or Sari. “I’ll—”

“Oh, no you don’t. Since when did you start telling me what to do?”

“Jane.” Frustration was obvious in his voice.

“Tony,” she mimicked his tone.

“I’m not arguing about this—”

“Good, me neither. I’m going.”

Tony whipped around to her. “No, you’re—” Tony reached down to the weapons, only to find concrete. Both adults watched as two guns and a few clips scooted across the floor under machines and around crates. The two grenades had a hard time keeping up since they kept rolling sideways.

They glanced at Sari. With one hand on Ruveen, she had the other outstretched, guiding the objects. Her face was scrunched in concentration.

Tony glanced at Jane, who was also seeing the unbelievable with wide eyes. Within seconds, bullets flew from the other side of the room. They were evenly matched, for the most part. Then the center door opened, again, and armored men poured from the other side. Reinforcements finally arrived. For the wrong team, though. Fucking hell! They couldn’t catch a break.

Tony’s group was pushed farther toward the front and side of the warehouse. If Trent’s group was the same, they were getting close to the door Brock went through.

Two loud explosions erupted, throwing bad guys on Trent’s side into the air. Then the side door opened and closed. Good, at least part of the team would survive.

“Tony, don’t think that.” Jane reloaded and scowled at him.

He gave her a quick glance before casing the area again. “How do you know what I’m thinking?”

She snorted. “Because you’re my mate, dipshit. And I’ve worked with you for the past ten years.”

Despite the possibility of death, Tony smiled. If he died, it would be with his mate--his
accepting
mate.

Bullets zinged over their heads, becoming much closer than either cared for. Tony launched a grenade from another pocket, giving them a second to breathe. Both adults’ eyes glanced toward the cub with her hands on Ruveen’s chest. Something small popped up through his blood-soaked shirt and rolled to the floor. The offending bullet.

Drywall debris fluttered overhead. Another small missile meant to kill one of them.

Crawling back, Jane’s feet hit the wall. They were cornered into the far side of the warehouse with no doors or windows. “Tony!” She couldn’t keep the fright from her voice. “I promised her I’d get her home.” She inhaled hard. “I want her out of here safely.”

His gun clicked, out of ammo. He threw it aside and scooted the four of them closer. “I promised to get her out, too.” No questions about who “her” was. “Unless either of you have magical powers you haven’t used yet, we may be proved liars.”

Jane fired off rounds until her clip emptied. One last grenade before the party ended.

Tony cupped Jane’s face in his hands and kissed her. “Baby, we didn’t have long together, but I’ve loved you since my eyes saw your beautiful face that night in the bar. I understand why you hid what you did from me, but it was still a dumb idea.” He kissed her again.

She pulled back from his hold. “I’m sorry. I panicked. And the longer it went on, the harder it was for me to make things right. But know this, my furry mate, I have loved you since that night I first saw
you
in the bar. Even though I thought I was dying from some human disease.” Both chuckled, remembering the happy moment, trying to ignore what could be their last moment.

Jane felt a tug on her shirt. She turned to see Sari pull two gold pencil-like exdivs from her back pocket. “Where did you get these?” Jane stared at the bombs with disbelief. “Not that I mind, mind you, at the moment.”

Sari gave a slight grin and pointed at Tony. He huffed, a gleam in his eye. “Sure, blame me.”

Jane hit him on the arm. “We’ll talk about this later.” She turned her focus to the objects in her hands.

Tony pursed his lips. “We’re not even mated yet, and I’m in trouble?”

Jane snorted. “When haven’t you been in trouble?” She turned to Sari. “Okay, baby, we need a lot of your help, all right?” Sari left Ruveen’s side; the blood flow had stopped. She settled between Tony and Jane and took their hands.

For a second, Jane felt more peace in her soul than she ever had. She glanced at the young, determined eyes, then into loving, desiring ones. If her plan didn’t work, that would be fine. She’d go with those she loved.

Chips of concrete scraped from the floor by a bullet broke her thoughts. “Sari, quickly. Bring everything in front of us closer to make a barrier. Cram it against us.” Like magic, huge mixers, shovels, bags of gravel, chairs, everything not attached to the floor lunged toward them. Jane’s heart skipped at the feeling she was about to be smashed to death, but items screeched to a stop in front of them.

“Perfect. Tony, throw these as far as you can toward the back wall.” She handed the exdivs to him and he hauled back and flung his arm forward. Sari stared at them intently and they all watched as the bombs soared farther than any person, or shifter, should be able to throw.

Tony took on a smug face. “Damn, I should try out for a professional football team as quarterback.” Jane pushed them all to the floor and caught Sari’s covered giggle. They shared a funny secret, if they survived.

Within a heartbeat, the floor rumbled and they were pushed back and squished against the warehouse’s front corner walls. Heat flashed above them, then warm dirt rained in small clods.

When quiet prevailed, Tony asked, “Is everyone okay?” He and Jane pushed away tin roofing and other debris that covered them to reveal cool night air. Straggling airborne shrapnel crashed around the tree-covered area, some burning.

Voices reached the group. Jane instantly recognized Erica’s panicked tone. “Erica! We’re okay. Over here.” She coughed and waved her hand in front of her face to rid the dust from her breathing air.

Three bodies rushed toward them in the night, backlit by one parking lot security light. The area resembled an apocalyptic scene from a movie. Trent smirked. “So much for not drawing attention from outside or in.”

Ruveen moaned and brought a hand over his injury. “I smell smoke. Please tell me we’re cooking steaks over charcoal.”

Jane cleared a pathway to him. “Veen, you okay? You were shot.” She knelt next to him, helping him sit up.

His eyes unfocused for a second. “Yes, I’m reattaching veins and muscle now. The bullet isn’t there.”
              Jane nodded with pride. “I think Sari pulled it out.”
              His brow raised. “Pulled it out?”

Jane smiled and glanced at her mate hiking a six-year-old in a piggyback ride. “You’ll be interested in meeting her. She’s like no one I’ve seen at her age.”

Headlights turned onto the rock drive from the road. The SUV stopped and was quiet for a second. Then, “Ramirez, get your butt over here. I leave you for fifteen minutes, and you have to blow-up a mountain.”