Authors: Paige Tyler
It’s the only way I’ll be able to get you out of here.”
The blonde looked dubious. Why wouldn’t she? Ivy was in her underwear, bound hand and foot. As
helpless went, she was pretty much the poster girl here.
Zarina nodded. “I’ll try.” She got to her feet. At the door, she paused to talk to the guards. “I’ll be back
in a few minutes with something for her to eat and drink.”
“What for?” one of the shifters demanded. “She’s not going to live long enough to need it.”
The other one laughed. “I heard Renard say he plans to take brain cell samples as soon as we get set up
at the new facility. Can’t imagine she’s going to be hungry after that.”
Zarina lifted her chin. “Actually, she’ll be completely functional after the procedure.”
The Russian doctor’s voice was so cold it sent shivers down Ivy’s back. She hoped the woman was
faking it.
The first shifter shook his head as Zarina walked away. “Damn, that is one cold bitch.”
The other made a sound of agreement, then turned his attention to Ivy. “Sucks to be you. Bet you’re
wishing you died with that partner of yours.”
A fresh stab of pain pierced Ivy’s heart, and she added the two shifters to the growing list of people she
was going to kill when she got free.
If she got free. When Zarina still hadn’t come back after what seemed like forever, Ivy thought she
wasn’t going to. The Russian woman said she’d helped someone escape before. If Stutmeir figured out
what Zarina was up to, he’d keep the doctor as far away from Ivy as possible.
She frowned at the duct tape around her ankles. It looked like she was going to have to claw and chew
her way through it after all.
Ivy extended her nails just as Zarina walked in with a plastic cup of water and a granola bar. She
kneeled down in front of Ivy, holding the cup to her mouth. Ivy didn’t feel like drinking or eating, but she
didn’t have much of a choice, not unless she wanted to make a scene, and that would only make the two
shifters by the door curious. She sipped the water. As she drank, Zarina pressed something rough and cold
into her hands.
Ivy glanced down and saw a jagged piece of metal. She’d been hoping for a scalpel, but this might
work. She darted a quick look at the shifters outside the door to see if they noticed, but they weren’t paying
attention.
As Zarina offered her the granola bar, Ivy caught a glimpse of the watch on the woman’s wrist. Almost
0500 hours. She’d been out longer than she thought.
Using the doctor’s body to shield her from the guards’ view, she tried to saw at the tape around her
wrists, but it was useless. She couldn’t hold the piece of metal between her palms and get enough leverage.
She considered asking Zarina to cut her bonds but quickly discarded the idea. Both the doctor’s hands were
full, and the woman was already taking a huge risk. So, Ivy did the next best thing—scraped at the thick
tape around her ankles. If she could hold the piece of sharpened metal between her feet, she could saw her
wrists up and down over it.
She took another bite of the granola bar as she worked. “Where’s the other doctor, Sarah Beacon?”
Zarina held the cup while she drank. “I haven’t seen her since we arrived. She played along at first, but
once she realized what Stutmeir was trying to create, she refused to help anymore. I think he killed her.”
Ivy figured as much. “Has Stutmeir said what he plans to do with the shifters? Maybe mentioned who
he works for?”
Zarina shook her head. “I don’t know who he works for. Only the German doctor, Klaus, is privy to
that information. All I know is that he’s not completely satisfied with our work. Stutmeir wants perfect
soldiers with superhuman strength and animal attributes like yours but without all the violent impulses and
control issues every hybrid we’ve created has.”
She jerked around to look at the guards at the door, but they weren’t paying attention. Could it be
possible their hearing wasn’t as well developed as a real shifter’s?
“How many shifters—hybrids—are here?”
Zarina offered her another sip of water. “Thirty, maybe forty. When we started having success with the
test subjects he’d kidnapped, Stutmeir turned his own soldiers into hybrids.”
That was a lot to go up against. But she only had to fight off enough to kill Stutmeir and the doctors.
And help Zarina get to safety. She owed the woman that much.
Ivy felt the bindings around her ankles begin to tear, and her heart leaped. Another minute or two and
she’d be able to start on her wrists. “How did you create them?”
“Using animal DNA.” She shook her head. “I didn’t want to do it, but I was afraid they’d—”
“That’s enough, doctor.”
Ivy froze at the sound of the man’s voice, almost dropping the piece of metal. She must be imagining it.
She had to be.
Zarina stiffened. “I’m just giving her something to eat.”
Booted feet crossed the floor. “You did your good deed for the day. Get out.”
The woman gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. Be careful. This man is cruel in ways you can’t
imagine.”
Ivy didn’t need to be told that. She was well aware just how sick and depraved her ex-partner could be.
What she didn’t know was what he was doing with Stutmeir.
She palmed the piece of metal and lifted her head to look up at Jeff. He stood in front of her, legs
spread, arms crossed over his chest, an arrogant smirk on his scarred face. The memory of what he’d tried
to do to her on that rooftop in Mexico came rushing back, and she had to fight to quell the rising panic. She
forced herself to forget she was tied up and half naked as she glared at him.
“You’re still as ugly as I remembered.”
“And you’re still as much of an animal as I remembered. I thought cats were supposed to land on their
feet. Guess not.” He grinned. “Of all the freaks the DCO could have sent, it had to be you. It’s like
Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one.”
Ivy didn’t ask what he meant by that, but she could guess. The bra and panties she was wearing
suddenly seemed even more revealing. “You told Stutmeir about the EVAs, didn’t you? That’s what gave
him the idea to make his own.”
“I might have. I can’t take all the credit, though. He heard rumors about a shadowy black ops unit that
had operatives with amazing abilities for years. I merely filled in a few details and shared what I’d learned
about your DNA.”
“And helped him kidnap scientists and doctors who could make shifters out of humans.”
“That too.” Jeff shrugged. “We tried to track down natural shifters—start our own version of the DCO,
you could say—but freaks like you are hard to find. Have to hand it to the DCO. They’re damn good at
spotting you in a crowd. And the ones we did find? Let’s just say they weren’t too interested in joining our
ranks.”
She strained at the tape around her ankles and felt it tear a little bit more. “So you killed them?”
“Guilty again.”
Ivy bit back a growl. Trying to rape her had been bad enough, but using what he’d learned at the DCO
and selling it to the highest bidder was beyond low. He was as much of a terrorist as the people he’d once
sworn to fight.
“But enough about everyone else,” he said. “You’re really the center of attention here. And from what I
hear, you had quite the eventful night. Let’s see. First, you get your partner killed—the second one, or so
I’m told. Then you’re poked and prodded like a lab rat. And to make things worse, you find yourself tied
up and defenseless in a room with the one man who hates you more than any other woman in the world.
I’d say things aren’t going so well for you right now.”
Ivy bared her teeth, hissing as she showed him her fangs. She might be tied up, but she refused to let
him see how afraid she was. “I should have killed you when I had the chance instead of simply making you
uglier than you already were.”
His mouth twisted in a sneer. “But you didn’t. And you’re going to be real sorry about that.”
She opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell, but Jeff drew back his foot and kicked her hard in the
side. She fell over, gasping for breath, sure he’d broken a rib or two. She curled into a ball to protect
herself from another kick, but it never came. Instead, Jeff dropped down beside her. He grabbed a handful
of hair and yanked her head back.
“I’m going to finish what I started on the rooftop in Mexico, bitch. And this time, there isn’t a damn
thing you can do about it.”
Wanna
bet, asshole?
Ivy lifted her bound hands to rake her claws across Jeff’s face, but he caught her
wrists, shoving them over her head and pinning them to the floor. He cupped her breast in his other hand,
squeezing painfully.
Ivy growled. She’d die before she let this bastard touch her.
She strained her legs and almost cried with relief when she felt the last of the tape tear away. She twisted
her body until she got one of her legs between their bodies. Letting the claws on her toes extend, she
shoved him away, raking him from stomach to groin. He howled in pain and fell back. The second he did,
she leaped to her feet and threw herself at him, clawing at his throat with her bound hands.
Jeff got his hands around her wrists before she could do any real damage. “Fucking bitch. Someone
should have declawed you a long time ago. Guess I’ll have to do it myself.”
Letting loose a snarl, she bared her teeth and bit down on his shoulder. She felt her fangs crunch down
onto bone. She’d rip out his throat if she had to.
Ivy lunged, going for the jugular, but hands gripped her, pulling her way before she could sink her teeth
in. She fought, snarling and kicking out with her feet, but the hybrids were stronger than she was and
subdued her within seconds.
“Sedate her!” Stutmeir ordered. “With a double dose this time. We’ll be leaving in a few hours and I
don’t want her waking up before we get to the new facility.”
Klaus hurried forward, syringe in hand. She couldn’t let them drug her again. Ivy hissed and struggled
against the men holding her, but she was like a doll in their grip. Klaus actually laughed as he jabbed the
needle in her arm.
Ivy whimpered, not with pain but frustration. She felt the drug coursing through her body, pulling her
back into unconsciousness. She tried to fight against it, but it was useless. Everything went black.
***
After talking to Angelo, he’d thought about going to the storage unit and picking up some weapons so
he wouldn’t feel so unarmed, but he didn’t want to miss seeing Stutmeir if he left the ski lodge. The ex-
Stasi had been one step ahead of the authorities the whole time, so it made sense he’d be leaving soon since
his hideout had been compromised.
Instead of going to the storage unit, Landon was in an ambush position in some trees off the small,
twisting road that connected the lodge with the main highway. Confronting Stutmeir and his pack of rabid
science experiments would be suicide, but he’d do it in a heartbeat if that was the only option he had left.
Anything to save Ivy.
If she was still alive.
The thought was like a punch to the gut, and for a minute, he couldn’t breathe. If he thought like that,
he’d go crazy. Then what good would he be to Ivy? She needed him to be on his game, not acting like a
raving madman.
He tightened his grip on the knife. He never should have left her. He should have cleared out the atrium
with that grenade, tracked down the animal who’d taken her, and killed the son of a bitch with his bare
hands. Of course, if he had the foresight to go in with more firepower in the first place, he wouldn’t need to
use his bare hands. He would have been a walking arsenal. He sure wouldn’t have had to run and leave Ivy
at the mercy of a man like Stutmeir, either. Then again, Ivy wouldn’t be in that position if Landon had
realized she’d zoned out and tackled her before she jumped over the railing.
If he got her back—
when
he got her back—he was going to make sure he never let anything like this
happen ever again. He’d pay more attention to her moods and be more aware of when she was at risk from
the very animal instincts that made her so valuable and dangerous to others.
He promised himself another thing, too. When he got her back, he was going to tell her how he felt
about her. He hadn’t told her before because he didn’t know exactly what it was he felt. Or maybe he had
and had just been too stupid to recognize it. Man, self-recrimination was a freaking bitch on PMS.
Landon glanced at his watch. 0615. He couldn’t put off leaving any longer, not if he wanted to meet up
with his reinforcements.
At least there hadn’t been movement from the ski lodge. Maybe Stutmeir thought he was safe there.
Maybe the German thought he and Ivy had attacked his hideout without backup or follow-on forces. From