With Dan leading the way, they hurried through the building, winding through several office spaces connected by halls and doors. All looked deserted, cubicles with no chairs, no computers.
She tried to make as little noise as possible. Kyle and Dan made no sound at all. They were ghosts.
Hell, people outside probably heard her heavy breathing.
And each step they took brought them closer to that unnerving sense of wrongness.
After a few minutes, she could barely get her feet to move because her skin crawled and she shook from head to toe. Then Kyle held up his hand in a fist, which she assumed meant stop because he did as well.
Dan had gone ahead to the next door, an industrial steel contraption that looked different than anything they’d encountered already. She could barely make out his form as he sifted through the shadows.
She couldn’t believe no one had confronted them yet or that they hadn’t seen or heard anyone. She’d seen no cameras or security devices but that didn’t there weren’t any.
Kyle cocked his head to the side, as if listening to something. Something she couldn’t hear.
Closing her eyes, she used her arus to sense the world around her instead of her traditional five senses.
The vision hit out of nowhere, disjointed images assaulting her mind. She wasn’t sure how long the vision lasted. It could only have lasted seconds because Kyle remained in position in front of her.
The vision stole her breath, punching into her stomach. She opened her mouth to warn Kyle and Dan.
And the door flew open.
Nic heard the sounds of battle ahead and took off down the hall.
His only thought was Tira. If anything happened to her…
He poured on the speed, sensed Kaine pull up beside him. Duke and the eteri raced after them but he and Kaine soon left them behind.
Gunshots rang out, only a few. Then the sound of hand-to-hand fighting and the fierce snarls of a wolf.
Nic paid no attention to his surroundings. He didn’t sense anyone but his companions around him so he concentrated on reaching the fight.
There, the door just ahead…
His first instinct was to barrel into the room and find Tira. Protect Tira.
He didn’t care what happened to him.
He pulled up short, just before he hit the door.
No, wait, that wasn’t true. Gods damn it, he did care. He wanted to live through this. He wanted to spend his life with Tira and Duke. Wanted what he’d told himself he couldn’t have because he’d be dead.
Yeah, well, fuck that.
People changed their fate every day. They took a right when they could’ve taken a left. Maybe if they’d taken the left, they would’ve been hit by a bus. Who really knew?
And if he took the turn that led to the bus, well, then at least he would get Tira the hell out safely before it crushed the life out of him.
Beside him, he heard a soft huff. Kaine, staring at him with her head cocked to the side, questions in her eyes.
With his paw, he motioned for her to follow him through then he stuck his head into the room.
What he saw made him snarl in fear and anger and he leaped into the fray.
Taking cover beneath an industrial-sized metal desk, Tira ignored Dan and Kyle and the battle they fought against the six men in the room.
Gunshots rang out but neither Kyle nor Dan seemed to be hurt so she kept her eyes on the red-haired woman who watched the fight from behind her men with no outward sign of fear. Or concern. Or any emotion at all.
It was like she was watching a TV show she wasn’t particularly interested in.
Tira had no idea if the woman had seen her or if she didn’t even care that she was under attack.
However, she did keep looking behind her at a long, black box. It reminded Tira of a coffin, though she knew there were vents on the sides. And a girl in the box. The girl she’d seen in her vision.
Tira had to get the girl out of the box. Everything depended on her getting the girl out of the box.
She stuck her head around the side of the desk, plotting her course, forcing back the fear that wanted her to stay hidden and safe under the desk.
Safe wouldn’t get her what she wanted.
On her hands and knees, she crawled to the next desk, then the next. She was fairly certain no one had seen her or, if they had, they paid no attention to her.
They must have sensed or known she was no danger to them.
And she wasn’t.
At least, not on her own.
By the time she’d crept close enough to the woman to do what she had to do, Kyle and Dan had managed to knock out one of the men.
And the woman’s face had taken on a faintly worried expression.
You really don’t want to do this. Don’t do this. There has to be another way.
Tira took a deep breath.
No, this was it. She had to do this.
Forcing her shaking knees to take her weight, she stood, drawing the woman’s focus to her.
The woman nodded as if they were acquaintances who’d happened to bump into each other on the street.
“Hello again, Tira.”
Thinking “What the fuck” and hoping she wasn’t about to make the worst mistake of her life, Tira took another step closer.
“You have me at a disadvantage. I don’t know your name.”
The redhead rolled her eyes, as if bored with the whole conversation. But her hand lifted to rest on the box protectively. “You don’t need to. I’ll be gone in a few minutes. Your man and his pet are no match for my men. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
“They’re not mine and you’re going to be in for a shock at just how well matched those two men are against your six.” Besides, if her vision was correct, reinforcements would be arriving in minutes and then it would get deadly. “You’re not going to leave. We’re not going to let you kidnap anyone else.”
The woman laughed, cool derision so clear in the sound. “Poor Tira. So pretty but so worthless. You don’t have enough power to be useful to me. Your friend, Nica, she would’ve been useful. Oh, not like my men. They’re much more powerful. Now. But Nica had some measurable skill. And I would have gladly compensated her for her help. But she chose not to join me.”
Tira blinked, her brain trying to wrap itself around what the woman was saying. Saying Nica had measurable skill was like saying the sun threw off a little light and heat.
What did this woman know about the Etruscans and their magic? Did she even know anything at all? What the hell was going on? And what questions should she be asking that wouldn’t give this crazy woman any more information?
She just needed to get close enough to touch her…
“I don’t believe Nica thought you were giving her a choice.”
Tira took a step closer, then another. Almost within touching distance. And since the woman seemed to think Tira was harmless—which she basically was—she didn’t attempt to move away. Her brown gaze watched the fight behind her then came back to connect with Tira’s.
“She would have been well-compensated for her aid.” Something moved through the redhead’s eyes, something that almost looked like grief to Tira. “Which doesn’t matter anymore. I have what I need.”
“What exactly did you need Nica for? If you need help—”
“I don’t need anyone’s help.” The woman looked down her nose at Tira. “Especially not yours.”
Tira’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you so sure about that?”
There. That got her full attention. The woman’s eyes narrowed as she considered Tira’s question then her lips turned up in a mocking grin. “Are you trying to tell me I underestimated you?”