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“We do. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready. What do we do?”
Zayn grinned. “Easy. Strip.”
We moved through the night as though we were part of the shadows themselves. Our pale coats weren’t really suited to conceal us in urban areas, but we were silent, and even the owls didn’t sense us. As we paused in the shadows by another abandoned building, a fox crossed the road in front of us, pausing halfway across to sniff the air. He shot away, perhaps sensing he was no longer the apex predator in the area. I felt strangely free, like when I’d stripped my clothes away I’d removed chains that were holding me down. Zayn’s eyes had raked over my body with undisguised desire, but there was plenty of time for that later. I’d eyed the bonnet of the BMW with a mental note to take advantage of the warm metal another time.
We passed through the deserted business park, searching for the building we needed. Most of the structures looked like they’d been abandoned years ago. No wonder Fallon hadn’t been able to sell his. I wondered whether he was actually involved in all of this or if he’d just been manipulated by... Jasper. The thought still brought a stab of pain to my heart.
Zayn butted me gently with his head and turned down a side street. The building up ahead was a fairly large warehouse, and a peeling sign bore the name “Eastside Press, Fallon Enterprises Ltd.” I started towards the door, but Zayn pushed in front of me, cutting me off. He shifted back into his human form, the night breeze ruffling his hair. I shifted too, feeling self-conscious as I stood there completely naked. To his credit, his eyes didn’t drop once.
“This is a trap, isn’t it?” I asked quietly.
“I’m starting to think so. We’ve not seen a single other person around, and that makes me nervous. He’s got something planned. We need to go in carefully and not rush in with guns blazing.”
I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “Guns would have been nice right about now.” He’d left his khopesh back in the car along with our clothes and my jewellery. I shivered, suddenly feeling naked and exposed.
“I think we need stealth over power. I want to find out what happened to Jack and West. If they’ve been restrained, we can free them, and then we will be stronger to face whatever else we find.”
I nodded. “Okay, that’s a plan. I’ll follow you.”
“One more thing.” I looked up at him, and he grinned. “I’m not West, and I don’t pretend to be, but can I do a quick impression?”
I frowned in confusion. “Sure...”
He stepped forward and took my face between his hands. “Follow my lead and do as you’re told. If I need you to fight, it’ll be to the death. If I tell you to run, you run. Got it?”
“I’m not going to run, Zayn. Those guys risked everything to keep me safe. I owe them.”
He shook his head. “You owe them your safety. If I believe we won’t make it out, you need to get away.”
I pulled away, bristling with anger. “No. No more running, Zayn.”
He looked angry but kept his voice to a whisper. “Everything we’ve gone through, everything we’ve ever done is to keep you safe. Don’t throw all that away on sheer stubbornness and some weird perception of duty.”
I shook my head. “You’re so completely off the mark, Zayn. All of you are driven by duty, by some age-old oath you swore to someone else a long time ago. I’m not going in there because of fucking duty.” I turned away from him and stared up at the dark windows. “I’m going in there to save the ones I love.” I looked back at him. “All of you.”
Leaving him staring after me, I shifted and headed across the road under the shadow of a rusty container. The moon was bright in the sky, and it glinted off the car that was pulled in close near a side door. It didn’t look like Jasper’s, but it wouldn’t have been hard for him to obtain an old car to throw certain security officers off the scent. I headed for the door, but Zayn cut me off, pushing me gently and gesturing with his head to a smashed window on the second floor. I nodded, following him up a stacked pile of crates and pallets to the flat roof. From there it was a leap and a scramble to get through the window.
I felt a sharp nick as some of the broken glass cut me on the way through, and I let out a quiet snarl. Zayn nosed around my leg, finding the cut on my leg, and licked it, soothing it with his tongue until it stopped stinging. I rubbed my head against his and followed him into the darkness.
If there was anyone here, I wasn’t sure where they were. Most of the place was in shadow, with huge, dusty machines limiting our view in all directions. As we moved through the printing presses, I saw a glimmer of light down below. Zayn nudged me behind one of the machines and shifted into human form. I did the same.
“What?” I whispered.
“I’m going to go investigate. Stay hidden.”
“I’m going too,” I protested, and he grinned at me. “This isn’t a keeping you safe thing, it’s a strategy thing, in case I get caught. You’ll still be free to get to me.”
“Oh. Fair enough.”
He shook his head, smiling. “Stay in the shadows, golden one.” He leaned forward and kissed me gently, then dropped away, his paws silent as he slowly made his way to the edge of the mezzanine. I crept after him, shifting myself. It was much warmer with a fur coat in this cold, draughty warehouse.
We reached the edge of the platform and looked down. If I’d been in human form, I’d have gasped out loud. As it was, I had to restrain the roar that threatened to break free at the sight that greeted me below.
Down on the next level, a single light hung low, spotlighting a giant iron cage in the middle of a large empty space. Inside the cage were three huge felines lying on their sides. Their fur coats were matted with blood, but their sides still rose and fell with their breaths. Pain filled my heart as I recognised Austin, Jack, and Wesley. The surrounding floor was dark, the spotlight removing visibility with light blindness.
A metal staircase at the far end of our floor led down into the lit area. Something sat at the bottom, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was. A table stood next to the cage, but it was empty.
