Titus: Luna Lodge #2 (14 page)

“Strip,” he said. His leering eyes fixed on her breasts.

Kate pulled her blouse and skirt off.

The man hitched an eyebrow. “All of it.”

Kate turned and unlatched her bra and pulled down her panties.

“Get in,” he said. “Soap’s on the wall.”

Kate pulled the clear door closed behind her and stepped into the hot spray. As much as she really didn’t want to be showering in front of some unknown man, it felt good against her tender muscles.

All the shivering had left her slightly sore and more tired than she could have ever guessed. She soaped up and fought the urge to fondle her hardened nipples. Kate rinsed off the soap and searched the wall for some sort of razor.

She glanced at the man. Apparently they had already thought of that. She sighed and turned off the water. He tossed a towel over the edge, and she toweled off in the stall. It was better than letting that perv stare at her.

Kate stood on the other side of the door, formulating a plan. It was a long shot but worth the chance. He watched her through the glass, and she shivered. Without much more thought, Kate slammed the door open. The sound of crunching when it hit his face made her smile. Not waiting for him to recover, she sprinted through the door. Naked and tired, her legs strained to go faster.

She could hear him just behind her. Puffing as he managed with his likely broken nose.

“You cunt,” he yelled as he lunged at her.

His meaty arms wrapped around her waist as they both crashed to the floor. Her head smacked the floor, and she felt like throwing up.

The man rolled her over and slapped her across the face. Blood trickled into mouth, and she focused on keeping down the food in her stomach.

“I should fucking teach you a lesson, bitch,” he said and fumbled with his pants.

Her heart raced as she struggled to get free of him.

The man froze when something roared through the building.

He stood and pulled her up.

“I’m not fucking getting paid enough for this shit,” he mumbled.

Kate quietly came along. Naked and cold, she stood in her cell as he walked away. A few minutes later, he returned with some clothes.

“He wants you to wear these,” the man said and dropped them on the table just inside her cell.

He moved quickly out of the building, and she wondered if he had decided to just go home.

Kate walked over and held up the clothes. Skimpy bra and panties, complete with a skimpy red dress.

She raced to the bucket in the corner and rid herself of lunch. Romulus was coming soon.

Chapter Fifteen

It was late afternoon by the time they arrived outside the facility. Titus was so on edge he paced outside the truck where they were gathered. He could smell her from there, and it was driving him insane.

“Titus,” Carter called to him.

He came and stood beside the older man.

“Can you tell if he’s here?”

Titus lifted his nose and smelled the air. It was all around him.

“He has to be,” he said. “Best bet would be to stay above ground.”

Carter nodded.

“Just like before, it’s under my command. The Pale Man shows up, and we defer to you.” Carter looked around at the men. Once again, Apollo and Lucius were present.

“You three,” Carter pointed to Titus and his men, “your main goal is to find Kate. You’re the only ones that will be able to scent her out. My men will play back up and take out any obstacles in the way.”

Carter looked around. “Try not to kill anyone. The more that serve time, the better it is. Also, we might be able to convince them to turn on the higher ups once we get them into custody.”

The men nodded and went into position.

“You going to be able to follow that?” Lucius said from next to him. He checked the clip on his 9mm, then holstered it.

Titus turned to look at the man.

“No,” he said bluntly. “I need to get to her, and I’ll do whatever I have to.”

Lucius looked a little stunned.

Titus put his arm on the man that he’d once caused so much pain. “Help me.”

“Always,” Lucius said and slapped him on the back. “We’ll get her back.”

He looked between his two men. Titus knew they understood his pain and was grateful to have such faithful companions. He had never before leaned on anyone for help, but today he was going to have to.

“Ready,” Carter buzzed in his ear.

Like a shot, they were off. They slipped silently through the tall grass up to the worn down building. The closer they got, the stronger her scent was.

“You need to be prepared for the worst,” Lucius said into his earpiece. “We can smell her all over. She could really be in any state when we get in. No matter what, the men need to fall back when Titus is near Kate. He’s going to get territorial in such a crazy situation.”

“Roger,” Carter said. “All men are to give a six-foot radius to Titus and Kate when she is found.”

Titus breathed a sigh of relief. It had been weighing on him since they set off. He couldn’t even guess how he might respond to her if something was wrong.

“Do you smell that?” Apollo said from his other side.

Titus stopped and smelled the air. There was something off about the smell. The Pale Man smelled strange, but this scent was even more unusual. He still couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“What about humans?” Lucius sniffed the air again. “Where are the humans?”

He was right. Aside from the men they had with them, he wasn’t really smelling any.

“Maybe they only operate at night,” Apollo offered.

Titus shook his head. “Or maybe this place is non-operational and just a holding facility.”

Lucius nodded. “From the look outside, it doesn’t seem to get much traffic. I imagine he didn’t expect we’d find them.”

Titus looked to him. “We very nearly didn’t.”

“We go on your signal,” Carter said in his ear.

Titus nodded and took a breath. He just wanted her safe.

He kicked hard on the rusted out door, and it burst open with little damage. Titus stepped in and let his eyes adjust to the darkened room. He scanned, sweeping his pistol. There was no movement, but he could smell her everywhere.

“I think it’s stronger this way,” Lucius said.

“Does the smell bother you?” Titus asked.

“It’s strong,” Apollo said through gritted teeth. “But we’re here for you. Neither of us is going to turn on you.”

Titus nodded to him. “Thanks.”

They followed through the halls. Her scent was so thick in the air it was almost giving him a high from the smell. He could feel his control slipping the closer they got. He stopped when her cell came into view.

“What the fuck?” Apollo said from beside him.

Titus tore his eyes away from Kate’s huddled form on the floor.

“Costa Rica,” Lucius whispered.

He was right. Titus had been so fixated on her that he’d not even registered the dozen men that surrounded her. They were huge and heavily muscled, easily the size of any of the hybrids at Luna Lodge. Their exposed arms had deep grooves that Titus had seen before in Costa Rica.

The turned in unison. The men stood staring at them. Their eyes blazed yellow, and their faces contorted into masks of savage hate. He couldn’t help but wonder how they were going to get past these men if they were even half as strong as the Pale Man.

“Carter,” he said into his piece. “Pull back your men. We’ve got a situation.”

“What sort of situation?” he asked.

“The kind your men have no chance of surviving,” he said.

“Fall back!” Carter yelled into their ears. “All men, fall back.”

“Have your men take aim at the building and wait. I have a feeling we’re going to need to make a fast get away,” he said to Carter.

“Will do. Take care of yourselves in there.”

“Are you all ready for this?” Titus asked his men.

“Is the no-kill order still in place?” Lucius asked, never taking his eyes off the men across from them.

Titus shook his head. “No,” he said solemnly. “We saw the tape of these men, if we can even really call them men. What little conscience they once had has been burned with the transformation. They are more beast than man.”

Lucius nodded.

“Man, Sol is going to be so pissed you made him miss this,” Apollo said with a grin.

Titus turned and grinned at the man. “Well, we better make sure we have a good story to tell him.” He slipped his gun into his holster. He needed to work off his anger and frustration. Besides, the enemy didn’t have guns. Might as well make things fair.

Lucius and Apollo holstered their weapons as well.

Titus’s head snapped back when one of the mutated hybrids sprang at him. He was surprised to see just how far he could jump. They rolled for a moment before he jumped to his feet. Being right next to one, he nearly choked on the stench.

“Jesus Christ,” Apollo said as he wrestled with one of them. “These fuckers sure do stink.”

“Keep on task,” Lucius shouted as he snapped the neck of one of enemy. The man fell lifeless to the floor.

Titus was both impressed and a little intimidated with the efficacy of the kill.

“Sir,” Lucius called. “You get to your woman, and we’ll deal with this.”

Titus nodded. The hybrid came at him again. This time he was ready. Titus picked him up and tossed him into the nearby wall. The man grunted and then slumped to the floor.

“Kate,” he shouted.

She lolled her head to the side and stared at him as he made his way to her.

“You came,” she whispered. His stomach turned.

She shook on the floor and didn’t seem in control of her own body. Titus raced to the front of the cage and pulled at the bars. His muscles strained, and he grunted when he felt the pop of the hinges as they gave way.

He twisted, and the door broke free.

Titus stooped down to pick up her shivering body.

“I will always come,” he whispered to her. “Always.”

She shook hard in his arms.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She sobbed into his chest and gripped his shirt.

“They’ve been injecting me with something to speed up my ovulation,” she said. “Titus, I’m so hot. It’s like my whole body is on fire.” She looked him in the eyes. “I need you.”

He swallowed. He had been fighting it up to this point, but he felt his own need responding to her.

Titus shook his head.

“We need to get out of here, Kate,” he said quietly.

The sounds of grunts, punches and bodies falling to the floor punctuated his sentence.

She nodded and held him tighter.

Titus looked around and found Lucius and Apollo were nearly finished. He refused to think much about the bodies littering the floor. Instead, he concentrated on his plan to get out of there with Kate.

A roar echoed through the halls, and Kate shook uncontrollably in his arms.

“That’s our cue,” he shouted to the men.

Both nodded.

Titus hefted Kate higher into his arms and moved out of the cage. Lucius and Apollo flanked him on either side, ready to take on the last few hybrids that looked torn on if they should fight or run.

He moved forward, and his men moved with him. Titus was getting Kate out of there.

The few stragglers seemed less interested in fighting them as they looked around at their fallen comrades.

They rushed out the door and back down the long hall. Lucius stopped to smell the air, but they knew what was coming. The Pale Man was on his way, and if they didn’t make it into the light, it might be the last day for all of them.

The door to the outside came into view, and Titus sighed. It was going to be all right.

“Titus,” Kate groaned in his arms. “Run,” she whispered. “Run.”

He looked down at the end of the hall. The Pale Man came into view. The door was still wide open.

“Run,” he shouted to the men.

Lucius and Apollo were closest. He watched as they lunged through the open door. Titus kept his eyes on the Pale Man. He was fast, faster than Titus would have ever expected.

After tossing Kate to Lucius, Titus threw himself through the door just as the Pale Man reached him. He could feel fingers brush him and grunted in pain as something clawed along his calf. Titus jumped to his feet and looked back into the door.

The Pale Man stared at him from the shadows. Blood dripped from his long, sharpened nails.

“It’s not over,” he hissed and slammed the door.

Titus looked down at his bloody pant leg. The Pale Man was far more than they ever thought.

He held out his arms to Lucius and took Kate back into his arms. She shivered and snuggled into him.

“What the fuck was that?” Apollo stared at the shut door.

Titus turned and walked back to the trucks. They weaved through Carter’s men on the ground. The soldiers were ready to shoot anything that came out.

“I think it’s new,” Titus said. “I don’t know how, but he seems to be changing even more.”

They found Carter on the phone. “I need that plane back here right now,” he yelled into the phone. They listened for a moment as he talked. “I don’t give a shit what Woods said. He’s not in charge. Now you get it the fuck back here.”

Titus glanced over to Lucius and Apollo. They needed to get away, and they certainly needed to escape by nightfall. As is, they likely only had a couple of hours.

“Fine, you call when you’re an hour out,” Carter said. He turned to Titus. “That bastard Woods set us up.”

“We need to get out of here,” Titus said. “How far out are they?”

“About three hours. Woods sent them on some wild goose chase.”

Titus shook his head. “Not enough time,” he said tightly.

Titus looked off in the distance and thought. There were really no good plans at this point. Kate groaned in his arms and shivered hard. He really needed to get her to a doctor, but that didn’t look like it was going to happen soon.

“We get as close to the airstrip as we can. Those things come after us, they aren’t going to differentiate between us and civilians,” Titus said to the men. “There are more than a few cabins around. Maybe we can find an abandoned one that is defensible.”