I FIND EVERYONE in the kitchen. The table is a full-on arsenal of weapons: guns, knives, grenades—the works. I smile and catch Jared doing the same. At home, we’re limited to whatever we can get on the black market. Here you can walk into a supermarket and buy whatever you like. The guys are all carrying one item or more, with buckets of ammo—the guys from the American pack all have shoulder holsters and ankle straps.
‘Can’t help but feel a little underdressed—you got any more of those kicking around?’ I ask one guy, think his name is Ian or something. He grunts and jerks his chin towards a cupboard. He could give Howard a run for his money in the grumpy arse department. I pull the door open and am delighted to see a shit tonne of holsters and straps for just about every limb.
‘Whooohoo, I’m in fucking heaven, baby.’ I sling one over my shoulders and try it for size. Some skinny-arse runt must have had this one. I try on another and another until I finally find one that fits my big build. Jared does the same. He looks like a fucking kid at Christmas. There’s a buzz about the room, excitement clear on everyone’s faces.
Jared clears his throat. ‘We want a clean in and out. Extraction where possible. I want as many of them alive as possible, unless the female is there, then it’s shoot to fucking kill. But she stays alive. Okay? Anyone kills her before I get my hands on her will get a bullet, ya feel me?’
I know he doesn’t mean that but these fuckers don’t. He has to make his point, or they won’t listen. ‘I need to make sure we have every single one of the group going after this female. No fuckups! Now we all know they kill for fun, so be careful, watch each other’s backs and stay alert at all times. Anyone got a problem with that, speak now?’ No one says a damn thing.
We leave in a procession similar to the one we came in, but we have no headlights on—driving down roads I’m not familiar with. It seems to take forever until we arrive at point one. Point two is different for everyone. We all have assigned spots we need to be at before we move in as a team. I’m with Jared and Howard. Harrison has Brody and some other guy. Then we have several more of our guys with several of the American pack. Logan has stayed behind with the females. We need to move as a group, so we have com radios.
We move in on foot towards the place. It’s been buzzing with kitsunes the whole time it’s been under our surveillance. Tonight though, it’s quiet. I have that tingling sensation where all the hairs stand on end on my neck. Something isn’t right. Jared and Howard both sense it and we stop. Wait and watch. Radio silence until Jared gives the command. Everyone is chomping at the bit to get moving, but Jared puts his pack first—so always safety first. We wait there for a fucking hour at least, and my feet are almost going numb from standing in one spot. Eventually, we see guards at their posts and Jared gives the signal to move in. We go through the front door, knowing that all the windows and back door are covered. We move down a hallway, and I catch the scent of fear in the air. It sends a thrill deep inside where my wolf is, bringing him up front and centre. He loves this shit. My senses are on high alert, and I hone in my hearing. The room to the right has someone in. I signal to Howard and Jared, and we open the door. Inside is a woman tied to a table—she has red welts all over her naked body. As we enter, she starts to whimper, begging us not to hurt her anymore. Fuck me—she’s a mess. She’s going to need a doctor. Howard moves in to untie her, and I stay at the door and watch for any movement. I see our guys coming up outside. Howard finally gets her untied and lifts her down. He gives her his jacket, and it comes down to her knees.
‘Oh, thank the lord,’ she says, doing that cross shit across her chest.
‘Do you know where you are?’ Howard asks her. She nods.
‘I came with a friend, to a party.’ She looks away in shame.
‘So your friend is here too? When did you see her last?’
‘It’s a guy and turns out he wasn’t really my friend. He lured me here.’
Howard growls, and she flinches away in fear.
‘Where are they now?’ Jared asks.
‘They come and go all the time. I think I’ve been here a couple of days. Does anyone have a phone? I really need to call my parents.’
‘Not yet, we need to clear this house and the area, then you can call them.’
She says something, and I realise she thinks that we’re the police. That’s fine for now. I hear a noise further down the hall and lift my gun. Howard tells her to stay where she is and that we will be back in a minute. Thankfully, she listens and gets huddled in the corner. We move down the hall and Jared opens the next door. It looks empty, but I heard someone in there. I enter and immediately shots are fired from the wardrobe. I can’t see if it’s male, female or what the fuck it is behind the slatted door. I take cover behind the small wall and watch for the muzzle of the gun. I get my shot only a second later, and I hear the thump of the body hitting the deck. We move with caution because although from the position of the gun, I aimed for the heart, we don’t know if they’re dead or just injured. I’m hoping to fuck it’s dead because I don’t want to get my arse shot. I move in, open the door and feel for a pulse. Dead. Good and bad because we can’t fucking question a dead man. Jared sighs heavily. He’s pissed I had to kill him, but he knows we had no choice.
We move on down the corridor. It’s a big ass house, and I’m thinking it’s going to take us all day. Just then we hear gunshots. We move quickly towards the noise and come across two kitsunes shooting the hell out of the window and at our guys outside. They don’t even notice that we’ve walked in behind them. That is, until our guys stop firing, and then they get a gun barrel to the back of their heads. Mine and Howard’s. It is like fucking perfection—we work so well together.
‘Hands where I can see them, fucker,’ I tell my guy as I push him to his knees. ‘Drop the gun and anything else you have. NOW!’ I shout when he doesn’t do as I ask. Then I whack him in the temple, and it’s lights out, motherfuckers, while we tie their arses up and haul the two of them out. We dump them in the room where the girl is. I figure she’ll let us know if they make a move. They’re tied up tight, so won’t be going anywhere. Jared gives her a knife he took from one of the guys. ‘They do anything you don’t like, stick it in the gut, okay?’ She takes it wide-eyed but nods.
We go back, and now it’s not a secret that we’re here, we kick doors in and find the rest of the sick fucks. Gunfire gets my attention again as Jared and Howard take two more into the room with the girl. He nods for me to go ahead, so I run down the corridor and into what looks like a lounge area. I immediately duck behind a chair as shots are fired towards me. Fuck. I can’t see anyone. Closing my eyes, I breathe deep, taking in the scents surrounding me. Blood is strong in the air. A lot of it. And it’s not a kitsune. Fuck. I roll out from my safe spot and cover myself, firing towards the sofa they must be hiding behind. I come out near a dining table and find Harrison, bleeding out and panting to keep air in his lungs. Jesus fucking Christ. I put pressure on his chest.
‘Where the fuck is Brody?’ His eyes roll towards the window, where it looks like the crazy motherfucker came crashing through. I peek out and see Brody. He nearly takes my fucking head off as he shoots. Thank fuck he’s a shit shot. ‘Brody? It’s me,’ I tell him. Motherfucker. I need backup and a medic fast. Harrison is dying in my fucking arms. ‘Hold in there, champ,’ I tell him. I’m not sure how much blood he’s lost, or where the bullet is lodged.
I hear the kitsunes shuffling around, and one is reloading their gun. Now or never, Brad. I pop up and surprise the fucker with his gun trained my way, and he doesn’t pull the trigger until it’s too late. I pop a round off into his shoulder so his shot goes wide. But not wide enough. Motherfucker. The pain radiates through my arm and shoulder like someone just took a hatchet to it. But I fire off another round before the pain resonates. Shooting the bastard’s gun hand so he can’t get me again. I close in and take my anger out on the second guy still trying to re-load his gun. He gets shot in the leg and punched in the face—a few more times than necessary. When he’s out cold, I shout for Brody. ‘Get a vehicle.’ And into my com radio, ‘We need a medic. NOW!’
‘On my way,’ someone answers.
‘Front of the house window is smashed. That’s where we are—hurry the fuck up.’ I know we haven’t finished clearing the house. We haven’t even been upstairs, but if we don’t get Harrison to a hospital now, he’s going to die. Jared comes in as I’m wadding up my jumper and trying to stem the bleeding and failing fucking badly. Harrison is going in and out of consciousness, and I’m frantically trying to keep him with us. Jared slaps his face. ‘Harrison, stay with us, man.’
His eyes roll, but he gets focus, and he smiles. ‘It’s all good,’ he says on a gargle before he starts spitting up blood.
‘Fucker, don’t you dare give up on me!’ Jared yells at him. Howard is watching our backs. There are still two fuckers down, but not dead, behind the sofa, and we haven’t cleared the upstairs. Just then, the guy with a medical bag arrives, and Brody pulls right up to the window in one of the trucks we came in. He’s butt ass naked, so he’s obviously changed and run the distance to the vehicles. Good thinking on his part. Left him without a weapon though and no protection. He comes in through the window and asks for a gun. He doesn’t give a shit that he has no protection and is getting stuck in like he’s one of our own. I like this kid. He goes straight to the guys I took down, and I throw him cable ties. The medic has Harrison and Jared is dealing with him, so we need to deal with the rest of the house.
Howard, Brody, and I leave the room for the stairs. More of our guys come through from the kitchen and the back door. We still have guys outside, and around the property, so I know Jared is safe. We move in formation going up the stairs, and Brody fits in like he’s done it a million times already. I make a mental note that I will make sure his alpha knows how fucking good he is at his job. We hit the landing and immediately take on fire from the first room. Someone is shooting through the door. Dipshits haven’t even checked who the fuck it is. Typical kitsune. Don’t care if they shoot each other as long as they’re okay. Typical fuck-you-jack-I’m-alright attitude. Not an ounce of loyalty in them. We all stop and rethink. I’m bleeding badly from my shoulder, but I want this done, as long as I can still fire a gun, I’m game. With a few hand signals from Howard, we have a plan, and we move in. I cover fire for him and Brody as they get to the opposite side of the door. Howard kicks the door open and inside is the fucking jackpot. Crouched in the corner is the bitch we’ve been looking for. I train my gun on her, and her eyes flit around the room looking for an escape and glancing to the window. I shake my head as Brody and Howard take down three more guys who are now out of ammo. Two go down easily. The third fights like fuck and they both have a job handling him. Slippery little fucker. But I can’t help because I’m manoeuvring around broken and turned up furniture to secure the she-bitch. She’s holding a gun. But I have mine on her, so if she shoots she’s going down too. But she shocks the fuck out of me when she smiles turns the gun on herself and pulls the fucking trigger.
***
Jared is fucking raging. He wanted her alive and wanted answers from her. We have seven men injured in total, but alive. But we don’t yet know how Harrison’s doing. We need to get these fuckers secure and get to the hospital. We leave the kitsune’s place in a blaze of fire. The girl from the table is secure and was also sent to the hospital. Obviously, we need to question her too. Jared’s mood is getting worse by the second, and I know that what he needs is his female. But this is a shit storm, and he doesn’t have time to go and fuck his mood back to mellow. So, he’s like a bear with a sore head. Not knowing Harrison’s progress is bad enough, without the fact that we didn’t get to capture Devon’s mother. I wanted a piece of her, I admit. Fucking bitch deserved a worse death than the one she got. That pissed me off massively. We pull in at the compound and Jared starts barking orders at everyone.
‘You get back in the fucking car. You’re going straight to the hospital,’ he yells at me. ‘Should have fucking gone when I said.’
What I really want to do is go up and check on Maiya. I look up at the window, but she isn’t there. Fuck. I follow orders though and get driven to the hospital.