Evan stole his way to the service elevator, using the cables and sidewall to travel. He had to force his way past the actual elevator, grasping hold of the cables with a set of gloves he found tucked into a service box. The heavy leather protected him as he slid downward at a rapid pace.
He reached the bottom floor and pried the door open an inch, freezing as a wolf paced past farther down the hallway. Low conversation carried from beside the elevator before moving farther away.
Evan followed silently, thankful for the lack of air currents that kept his scent from those he was tracking. As soon as he made the main hallway, one deep breath was the only clue he needed, and after a cautious wait he took the first door.
Amy whirled silently to face him, hands up and ready for attack before she straightened and smiled. Fingers going to her lips as he stepped toward her.
He caught her in his arms and squeezed briefly, needing a moment of physical touch to anchor him.
She returned his hug then moved back, gesturing with her head toward an open duct. Dexter stared from the metal boxlike opening, surprise and hope in his eyes.
Amy squatted and pushed the little boy’s bangs from his eyes. “This is my mate, Evan. Do you remember him?” she whispered.
Dexter nodded.
She turned, slipping a hand around the back of Evan’s neck to draw him closer so she could speak quietly. “I need you to get Dexter out of here.”
“We can all get out of here.” Evan motioned toward the door.
Amy shook her head. “You have a better chance if it’s just the two of you. Plus, if I can get to the main panel, I can lock the hotel down and trap them. If we all take off, they might burn the inn then hide. We don’t want them to show up again later and keep tormenting us.”
“You’re not going to go wandering around the inn when they could kill you.”
Her expression sharpened. “Dexter can’t escape by himself, and you can’t talk to the computer, can you? I know it’s asking a lot, but this is my pack as well. I need to defend it, and this is the best way I know how.”
Evan’s heart fell as the seriousness of what she was asking hit.
He had said he trusted her, had even given her space during the fight in the bar, but this was their real world. This was a challenge not only to her leadership, but for the entire pack.
If he turned her down, he was as good as saying she wasn’t worthy of leading. He had only one option if they were going to make it as mates, as sick as the choice made him.
“I’ll take Dexter.” He caught her by the chin and forced her to look him in the eye. “But you leave a trapdoor so I can get back in.”
“Evan—”
She was about to argue. Forget that noise. He spoke firmly. “I trust you, it’s not that. But don’t ask me to stand by and do nothing to defend the pack. More importantly, I need to help you. I want to stand at your side while we do this.”
She didn’t hesitate. Just pressed up on her tiptoes and planted her lips against his. A fiery kiss full of desperation and passion. The two of them together, even though for a time their skills were needed in different directions.
Evan put everything he could into the kiss before pulling back.
“I’ll set the side service door on a code block,” Amy promised, sneaking her hand out of his pocket and holding up his cell phone. “I need to borrow this as well. The password for the door will be ‘united’.”
Evan nodded then turned toward Dexter. “Okay, buddy, it’s time for you and me to do a little sightseeing inside some secret passages. Hold on, and we’ll get you to your mom as fast as possible.”
A set of arms wrapped around his neck as Dexter settled in tight. Evan spared one last glance over his shoulder at Amy, then crawled into the ductwork and headed for the roof.
Chapter Twenty-One
Evan vanished with Dexter. The lovely sense of certainty her mate left with her washed away the urge to worry.
It wasn’t cockiness, but confidence. Even while they were apart, they were working together to get the job done.
Amy closed the panel and turned her back on the duct, focusing on the task ahead.
She opened Evan’s phone, made a couple of adjustments, then turned it on. She used the 3G connections to access the main computer she had hacked into so long ago.
She had been using illegal access to the system as part of her revenge. Now it looked as if having the cheats in place might save them.
One after the other, she checked the systems for ways to give Evan time to get Dexter free. She turned on alarms in three different sections of the hotel. None of them connected to outside authorities, but hopefully the clanging would be bothersome enough that Mike would send someone to check them.
Her thumbs flew over the teeny keyboard as she accessed a direct line to the security cameras. It took her thirty seconds to find her targets, figuring out not only where Mike waited, but where Lance and Toby were setting up mischief.
Mike had taken over the bar. All the curtains to the outside were closed—no prying eyes could spot what they were up to. It also meant she’d have to go through the side hallway and take the back door into Evan’s office.
Toby concerned her more. He was in the mechanical room, a soldering iron in his hand. She wasn’t sure what modifications he was making, but in reference to their discussion about explosions, it didn’t look good.
The entire situation had a deadline, and she had to make sure she was in the right place at the right time to get out alive.
With Evan’s phone set up to show multiple camera angles, she risked opening the door and scooting into the hallway. It would be far faster if she could take the direct route rather than crawling through ducts. She snuck forward, placing each step to avoid making any noise, moving to the emergency staircase like a ghost. She ducked through the door seconds before two wolves passed where she had just left.
By the time she reached the top of the landing, her thighs were burning from lactic acid. As she moved, she kept one eye on the shifting camera reports, the phone clutched in her hand like a lifeline. That’s how she saw the roof grid open, and Evan’s head and shoulders appear. He glanced around quickly, but none of the rebels were on the roof.
Evan sprinted to the fire escape, checking over the side of the building before crawling out of sight, Dexter clinging to his back like a monkey.
If things went well, Evan would be on the ground in less than fifteen seconds. Amy paused for long enough to set off a new series of alarms, all of them on the far side from where Evan and Dexter were descending.
Now it was her turn. She ran the length of the hallway, fiddling with the set of keys she’d taken from the maintenance room. A group of wolves were approaching, and she used the master key to access one of the larger suites.
She closed the door silently behind her, leaning against the door. Mike’s wolves paced past, unaware of her presence only feet away. Incompetent fools. They should have been using their noses. But, she was glad their skills at espionage were as bad as they were. It meant she and Evan could get the jump on them.
Amy looked around as she got her breathing under control. It wasn’t her final destination, but the room she was in was a good second choice. One of the fancier suites in the hotel, this one had an Internet connection along with the television. It was like Christmas, Hanukkah and every birthday wish she’d ever made. A couple adjustments later and she’d hacked into Evan’s system again.