His stomach ached for another bag from Thorne, but he refused to show further weakness. Quinn fought against the raging Thirst that had made a surprise reappearance. He couldn’t allow it to affect him. Not now that he was nearing the warehouse where his Bloodmate was being held prisoner. He needed every last bit of his wits if he were to be of any use to Amaya, especially if he were to carry out his plans to kill the man responsible for kidnapping her.

He couldn’t allow himself to sink down into madness once again. He had to be strong, stronger than he’d ever been in his life, if he were to conquer this affliction and carry out the mission he’d set himself. The only people he could rely on were Thorne and Ace. The rest would be too scared of Directive repercussions, especially with members right there. Jana Noskova in particular. She’d warned them all, in no uncertain terms, and he doubted they’d go against her. Hell, he wondered if Ace would. Maybe it would be down to him and Thorne only. No. Ace would have his back. He was certain of it. No matter what, Ace would follow his orders, so he’d have him and Thorne backing him up when they arrived, which would be imminently as Quinn looked out the window and saw them approach their target.

A quiver of anticipation ran through him, his synapses suddenly firing to life with the thought that soon he’d be face to face with his Bloodmate, but first he had to deal with Igoravich. He had to take him out once and for all and ensure he would never be a threat to Amaya’s safety ever again. With that in mind he would have to get in first, ahead of Jana and her team, find Zorin, and kill him without it appearing like it was pre-planned. Simple. Probably not, but not impossible. He just had to convey his plan to Thorne and Ace as quickly as possible as soon as he could, without anyone else overhearing or suspecting what they were up to. That would be tricky, but again, not impossible. Timing would be everything.

Ace looked over his shoulder. “Two minutes to target.”

Jana tipped her chin before using the hi-tech communication unit to talk to the rest of the team in the other vehicles, her finger pressing on her ear once to open the comms. She’d handed him one earlier, but he’d yet to activate his. “You all know the plan, get to your locations and you go on my command. Do not do anything until I say so. Keep your comms open, everyone. I repeat, comms open.”

She didn’t wait for any responses, or he assumed not, he didn’t hear anything because he wasn’t listening in. Not yet anyway. He didn’t want her hearing anything until after he’d talked to his men. He side-eyed Thorne and gave him a sharp shake of his head. Thorne squinted and Quinn reached up to scratch his ear and raised an eyebrow. Thorne looked around and as nobody was looking at them, their attention on the outside as they were slowing down, Thorne quickly tugged out the tiny device from his ear and put it in his pocket. But then he frowned, patted his other pocket and tugged out his cell part of the way and raised his eyebrow.

Of course! Why hadn’t he thought of that? He didn’t need to talk to either of them and risk being overhead. All he needed to do was text them and let them know what he planned on doing once they arrived. Obviously he wasn’t thinking straight or he would have come up with that solution because it was the clear solution to the problem. Retrieving his cell, he fired off a text to both Ace and Thorne, his fingers flying so fast it was done in seconds and his cell safely back in his pocket before anyone noticed.

Thorne checked his, cocked his head but otherwise didn’t alert anyone to the contents. Ace wasn’t able to do the same as he was pulling to a stop at the gates to the entrance of the large storehouse district they were about to enter, but Quinn kept a close eye on him. As soon as they’d stopped, Jana exiting to gain them entrance he saw him pull his out and read the message. Ace looked over his shoulder briefly, his eyes locking with his giving him a brief nod, as Jana jumped back in. “Hit it, Ace, you know what building we’re going for and you know to stop one before it. We don’t want to alert them of our arrival. The others will go to their positions and wait for my order to breach.”

“Sure.” Ace pulled away and Quinn’s excitement grew at the same rate as his concern.

This was always the point where things could go wrong in any mission and this was the most important one of his damn life. He couldn’t afford for any hitches. Not a one. He and his men had to get in fast, hit hard and as viciously as possible to assure Amaya’s safety. Only when he held her in his arms, safe and sound, would he breathe easy. Hell, even then he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t relax until she was back in his home in the Highlands surrounded by his army of men to protect her. Aye, maybe then he’d be able to relax.

Ace pulled up behind a large, dark building. “We’re here. The one she’s being held in is the next one over.”

“Let’s get this done.” Everyone exited and Jana spat out her orders, again. It was now the middle of the night and pitch black but that didn’t pose a problem for anyone apart from Henry who remained at the rear. That was until he told everyone he’d cast a spell so he could see better, which was just as well. They couldn’t have him tripping over shit and alerting Igoravich that they were coming.

Jana waited for a few moments before asking over the comms if the other teams were in place and then led them toward their prize. Quinn still left his off, he didn’t want her aware of his actions, and he planned on playing dumb if questioned by her later, simply saying he’d forgotten to activate it, or lost it in the fight. He’d come up with something. What he wouldn’t do was have the damn thing on and allowing her to listen in on what he had arranged for the bastard that had kidnapped his Bloodmate. Not when their plans were at such odds.

He just hoped he could carry things out without ending up in the crosshairs of Jana and the entire Directive. Then again, he’d been in tight spots before and managed to survive, this would be no different. He hoped, but those hadn’t involved The Directive, or Jana Noskova.

As she led them to the edge of the building, their target came into view, a few lights showing from windows, glowing dimly in the darkness to light their way. Although there were other buildings that seemed to have workers teeming in and out, this one was silent with doors closed and no sign of movement, although there were two vehicles parked outside. Jana held up her hand, turning to face them, and using the comms again said, “Okay, we’ll go on my command. It’s a blitz attack, we go in hard and fast. We take down anyone we see, cleanly and quickly. Questions will come after we secure the Bloodmate. Is that clear?” She paused before looking at Henry. “Sorry, Henry, but you’ll just have to catch up when you can. We can’t wait for you. We need to move fast so they don’t have a chance to hear us coming.”

Henry didn’t answer, merely nodded and Quinn moved forward, next to her. She was fast but he was faster. She had no possibility of keeping up with him and he wasn’t holding back. As soon as she gave the order he was going to use every last ounce of his strength and speed to get in there as quickly as he could . . . and he knew where he was going to breach. The window nearest them at the right corner of the building. Ace and Thorne would follow his lead and the three of them would be inside first because he was damn sure the others would be going for the door.

The other two teams were breaching from the rear and the opposite side of the building so he’d be in before anyone else and that was exactly what he needed. Just a few moments was all that was required, to get in and locate Igoravich, and end the bastard before anyone could stop him. Then he’d find Amaya and whisk her away to safety and they’d be able to live in peace without the dark cloud of worry looming over them.

Jana held her hand up. “Three, two, one.” She dropped her hand and before she could say another word he took off, hearing her issue the order as he ran. “Go, go, go!”

His feet flying over the ground, his thighs pumping at breakneck speed, his eyes focused on the window he’d picked and he didn’t look back, knowing that his men were at his back. He also knew that they’d left everyone behind by at least a few seconds as they’d waited on Jana to issue her order like good little soldiers. He was certain he heard her curse him as he closed in on his prize, leaping up into the air and covering his head with his arms as he crashed through the window. He’d judged the height well, but didn’t count on there being dozens of crates on the other side which he crashed into, tumbling head over heels and landing into a mess of broken wood and the contents which were, surprisingly, soft toys of all shapes and sizes. Teddy bears flew all around him as well as pink elephants and a plethora of other cuddly toys as he rolled onto his feet, ignoring the mess as he sought out his prey.

There was movement to his left, a door opening and several men appearing, one he knew immediately. The bastard that had dragged Amaya away earlier and another dressed in an immaculate suit that looked like the grainy image of Zorin Igoravich. Jackpot! A rumble began in his chest, tearing up and breaking free in a ferocious roar as Quinn ripped across the open space toward them. Anger and fury building inside him like nothing he’d felt before, so great was it that he swore he could taste it as he closed in on the man who now faced off with him, a look of surprise on his face.

Thorne was right beside him, veering off to head for the man who’d dragged Amaya away earlier, and Ace was tearing toward another who was appearing in the doorway. Good. That left him to deal with Igoravich and he had precious moments only to do so before Jana and the rest of the team breached the building. He wanted nothing more than to spend time with him to make him suffer, inflict grievous injury and pain but he was aware he didn’t have the luxury of time to do so. Instead he’d have to do it as quickly as possible before Jana and her people reached them and took her man into custody.

When he was close enough, he launched himself at the man whose face had turned into a mask of cold, hard, death staring back at him. One that was used to doling out murder and who was ready to battle him with every ounce of his own vast strength. But Quinn was older, wiser, and stronger. He knew it and so did his opponent, but it didn’t stop him from trying. His hand reaching to fumble for a weapon, a handgun appearing and Quinn had no illusions that it would be armed with silver bullets. Swerving to his left as one rang out barely missing him, passing through his hair and flying off to slay a purple fluffy dragon in the corner behind him that exploded dramatically with its white cotton innards floating all over the place, and the purple wings fluttering down to lay broken on the floor next to a pink rabbit.

Ducking down and to the right, Quinn kicked out with all his force, his foot landing on its target and the resounding crunch of a knee breaking and his opponent toppling to the side was all he needed to hear. He pounced as the man fell, gun tumbling from his hand and his hands gripped his neck, twisting and turning with all his might. Damn, he wanted to do more. So much more. His eyes blazing with fury as he spat into the face of the man who was behind everything.

He saw the moment he realized what was happening. Zorin’s hands attempting to claw his own away, but he was too far gone, his fingernails were long, sharp and deadly claws as they dug into Zorin’s neck, ripping and tearing to carry out his sentence. The only one Quinn would be happy with: death. Decapitation would ensure he would no longer be a threat to Amaya. It was the only way he could sleep at night. The only fucking way. The Russian bucked, kicked, and fought with every ounce of his strength to dislodge him, but Quinn was older, stronger, and filled with a fury borne from a Vampire’s Thirst and being separated from his Bloodmate. There wasn’t a damn thing that could stop him now as he continued to rip, tear and twist the head from the body of the Vampire beneath him.

Although it seemed to take forever, in truth is probably took mere moments, until finally in a bloody mess the head tore free and he fell to the side as the entire building was breached and lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. Thorne rushed over, pulling him to his feet. “Come on, we need to find Amaya and get the hell out of here.”

“Right!” He turned away, ready to do just that and took two steps when his blood ran cold and was stopped dead.

“Don’t you dare move a muscle, Quinn Alexander! Stay right there!”