Charming the Beast (Purgatory #3)(40)
Author: Cynthia Eden

They took him past his men. Werewolves locked down in their collars. He muttered as he past them, his voice no more than a whisper.

It was a good thing werewolves had such wonderful hearing.

The guards took him past another cell. One that was far away from the others. Ah…and there was someone in that cell, too. The agent he’d slashed…and bit.

When he saw Keegan, Harris jumped to his feet and ran forward with a yell.

“Easy, man, easy,” one of Keegan’s guards said.

“You bastard!” Harris yelled. “You damn, sick—”

“Get Chloe,” Keegan murmured. He knew his words would be too soft for the human guards to hear. Luckily, Harris wasn’t human any longer. “Kill her.”

But when Chloe died…

Will you come back again? He was sure that she would, and he’d be ready.

Her death would be all the distraction he needed.

Harris’s face went slack with shock. His furious gaze iced over, all emotion vanishing in an instant.

If he could have, Keegan would have smiled. It was really true what folks said about vamps and compulsion.

A little blood could go such a long way.

***

Eric burst into the lab.

Connor tensed when he saw the guy—and, yeah, Eric tensed when he saw Connor, too.

Eric pointed at Holly. “Are you ready for this?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she muttered back.

Eric’s gaze swept the room. “Everyone, stay at attention. He’s drugged, but we don’t want to take any chances with him, got it?”

Oh, Connor definitely had it.

The doors opened again and guards wheeled in Keegan.

Connor took an instinctive step forward.

“Don’t.” It wasn’t Eric holding him back this time, it was Olivia. She’d snuck up on him. Not many people—including strong paranormals—could do that. “Just let Holly take some samples.” Her worried stare was on Keegan. “I don’t like this. The whole set-up gives me a bad feeling.”

You and me both. That was why he was there. Why he’d left Chloe even though it had felt like he was walking on nails with every step he took away from her.

Holly approached Keegan with a syringe in her hand.

And, even though he was sedated, Keegan laughed. “Don’t you just…want to drink from me…? Would you like that…more? I know about you, pretty vamp.”

How the hell did he know Holly was a vampire?

“Know about…all… of you,” Keegan said, his voice slightly slurred.

Duncan stepped to Holly’s side.

Keegan’s bleary stare landed on him. “Don’t look…like him…” Keegan said. “Your brother…does…”

That bad feeling of Connor’s got worse.

Because Connor knew exactly who he looked like. Unfortunately. He was the spitting image of his father.

I became a cross-over. Duncan is a cross-over.

But their father hadn’t been able to harness that power. He’d tried, by his own admission, but the guy had died only as a werewolf. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Right?

Holly sank a needle into Keegan’s arm.

The bastard smiled weakly at her. “I’m going…to kill you…soon…” Keegan promised.

“The hell you are,” Duncan swore.

Chapter Twelve

She’d made it to the main floor. Her heart was about to break out of her chest. Chloe grabbed for a lab coat that had been left out on a desk and she slid it on, hoping the coat would make her blend in a bit better. Then she scooped up a clipboard and pretty much buried her nose in the thing. The less attention she attracted, the better.

Chloe came to the first barred door on the main floor. She figured this door had to lead to one of two places…sweet, wonderful freedom…or down to containment.

This wasn’t the way Eric had taken her when he’d so annoyingly locked her up, so she was betting this path led to freedom.

She lifted the keycard up and swiped it. The light on the control pad flashed green.

Yes.

The bars slid back and the door opened. Chloe hurriedly stepped through that doorway. An armed guard was up ahead, but when he saw her, he just gave a curt nod.

There was one more barred door up ahead, and Chloe could swear that she smelled the scent of fresh air.

I’m going to be free.

Finally.

She just…why hadn’t Connor come with her?

Chloe shoved that thought into the recesses of her mind, straightened her shoulders, and walked forward.

She was less than three feet away from that second barred door when she heard the screams. The guard jerked to attention and his gun came down, pointing toward her.

“No, wait, I—” Chloe began.

But he ran right past her. He headed back into the base because the screams were coming from inside. Long, loud, terrible screams. Screams filled with pain and fear.

Chloe swiped the keycard over the next pad.

The bars on that door slid back. Fresh air slid over her face.

And the screams continued.

Her eyes squeezed shut. “Dammit.”

***

“What in the hell is that?” Shane demanded.

The screams were loud, piercing.

Eric whirled for the door. “We shouldn’t be hearing screams. The prisoners are all in containment. We shouldn’t—”

“Not the prisoners…” Keegan muttered. “Try…again…”

Connor pointed at Duncan. “Stay here. Make sure he doesn’t get loose.”

Duncan nodded. Connor already knew his brother would kill in an instant, if it meant keeping Holly safe.

Connor rushed for the door, with Olivia and Shane right at his side. Eric was a few steps ahead of them. Eric opened the door and when they raced into the hallway, Connor saw a dark-haired agent running toward him.

Blood streamed down the man’s neck.

“H-he said he needed help…” More screams echoed from the hallway. “It was…H-Harris…he needed…help…I…opened his…collar…”

“Fuck.” Eric yanked out a radio. “Lock down the facility. No one gets in or out, understand? And be on alert for Agent Harris Grey. He is to be considered a hostile right now. Arm all guns with silver and fire on contact.”

Eric took out his own gun. Connor didn’t have a gun, but his claws were at the ready. Olivia and Shane both had their fangs bared. They all advanced fast through the facility. They found more wounded agents. Some were on the ground, some were slumped against the walls.