Chapter 2
As they left headquarters, the setting sun cast an orange glow over the sprawling military base. Hazard looked around, taking everything in as they headed to the armory. Fort Grove was similar in design to many of the other bases he’d either been stationed at or visited. There were multiple blocks of barracks, various admin buildings, and training areas with PT centers.
After a short walk, they reached the armory. The space was neatly organized with rows of weapons secured in lockers, racks of armor, and shelves filled with ammunition. All of it was attended by the armorer, an older soldier with a sharp gaze and gun grease under his fingernails.
“This particular armory is for our use, along with two other special units stationed here,” Ortiz explained as they gathered their weapons.
Hazard nodded in understanding. It made sense for special teams to have a space separate from the general weapons storage for the rest of the Legions on base.
In the ready room, the three alphas applied blockers to their scent glands to mask their scents. Stealth was required for this mission, and they didn’t want Doucette’s captors to sniff out their arrival before they were ready to reveal themselves. Hazard’s blockers were already applied out of politeness for the close confines he’d been in on the transport truck.
He geared up with quick efficiency, pulling his armor-plated tactical vest over his head and buckling it around his waist. Hard shell knee and elbow pads went on as well, and he finished with a pair of leather gloves. His helmet he held on to. He’d put it on once they were en route.
Once everyone was geared up, they headed for the tarmac where a transport helicopter was waiting to fly them to the target. Hazard fell in step with Jax.
“What pack majora are you from?” Jax asked him in a lyrical New Orleans accent.
“I’m from the Wild Defiance in Texas.”
“Get out!” Jax said excitedly. “My grandfather is Wild Defiance. When he was young he went on a pack exchange full moon run in Coeur Amer — my home pack. He saw my grandmother and that was it. He mated her before the next full moon and they’ve been together ever since.”
“That makes us pack cousins. Nice,” Hazard said with a grin.
Jax grinned back, and they bumped their fists together before jogging up the ramp to enter the rear door of the big military helicopter. Hazard took a seat and quickly strapped in, ready for the flight. It would be a short one. Just under an hour from their base outside Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to Kansas City. The helicopter blades spun to life and moments later they were rising into the air.
* * *
The flight was uneventful, calm with no turbulence. Hazard spent the time talking to Jax, getting to know his new squadmate. Ortiz split her time between reviewing intel and joining in on their conversation. Ice sat on his own, not engaging with anyone.
“Five minutes to drop point,” the pilot said over the comms.
At her announcement, Ice unclipped his safety belt and stood. He held on to the hand strap hanging overhead, feet planted wide to maintain his balance.
Hazard was in his battle-ready head space, mind focused on the mission. But as he looked up at the captain, he was hit with a completely out of the blue tingle of attraction. It was odd to feel that way about someone when he couldn’t see anything but their eyes. And even those were shadowed. But Ice’s powerful build and the aura of strength and command that emanated from him had grabbed Hazard’s attention and wouldn’t let go. The alpha’s chest and shoulders were broad, easily carrying the weight of his fully equipped tac vest. And his long legs and thick thighs gave him the stance of a warrior.
Throughout the night, his gaze had been drawn to the captain again and again. It had been a struggle not to get caught staring at him. At least now Hazard had a reason to look at the big alpha since he was speaking to him directly.
“Hazard. You’re with me from the second our boots hit the ground until we’re back on this helo. Understood?”
Another tingle shivered down his spine at the captain’s voice. It was deep and rough, no doubt from time spent shouting orders in the field. This time the tingle was followed by a flare of annoyance. What the fuck was going on with him? This wasn’t the time, the place, or the person for him to be feeling attraction. Hazard cleared his throat and answered.
“Yes, sir.”
Those dark eyes behind the wolf mask stared into his for a long moment before they moved on. From his talks with Ortiz, Hazard knew he’d been brought on to work as Ice’s partner. But after meeting him, Hazard suspected that Ice didn’t want him, or anyone for that matter, as a partner. This mission was probably a test. A way for Ice to scope him out and see if he was up to scratch. And if he didn’t keep up, Ice would have him booted from the team.
Hazard wasn’t worried however. He was confident in his skills. He didn’t know Ice’s standards or if he would meet them his first time out. But he knew he would get the job done.
Jax rose and slipped out of his clothes and shoes. As a shifter, Hazard wasn’t bothered by the nudity, but since he was still basically a stranger to the other corporal, he politely averted his gaze. From the corner of his eye, he saw Jax stretch, then the flash of white light that accompanied a shifter’s transformation. When he looked back, there was a large alpha wolf standing in place of the man. Jax’s fur was a rich, dark brown with black on his muzzle and streaked down his back and tail.
“Nice coat,” Hazard said.
“ Thanks ,” Jax replied telepathically.
Jax’s voice sounded in his head, faint but clear. Hazard was in human form and they weren’t bonded as pack members yet so their connection was weak. If he were in wolf form too he would be able to hear Jax as clear as if he’d spoken out loud. Once they’d strengthened their bond as pack mates, their wolf to human telepathy would grow stronger as well.
Ortiz took up the wolf body armor Jax had set aside before shifting, buckling it into place over his head and around his torso so that he would be protected during the mission.
The helo hit the drop spot exactly as timed. They landed to the east of the abandoned warehouse, far enough out that anyone inside the building wouldn’t hear the chopper approaching. Ready for action, they went the rest of the way on foot.
They ran through a commercial district, past dark, industrial buildings. At this hour, most of the businesses were closed up for the night. The area was lit by streetlights, moths fluttering beneath the bulbs. There were few pedestrians out and only the occasional car drove past. The further they went, the more dilapidated the buildings became until they passed several that were abandoned. They stayed low, keeping to the shadows to remain hidden from any lookouts.
Halfway there, Ice found a good spot to set up his long-range sniper rifle. Hazard took up position next to him and got out his night vision binoculars to scan for the guards. They’d need to eliminate them first in order to approach the warehouse undetected.
“Guard number one on the roof,” he said quietly.
There was a soft thwip as Ice fired his silenced rifle. Through his binoculars, Hazard saw the guard fall back and lay on the roof unmoving.
“Next one is left corner of the building.”
Another thwip and that guard crumpled to the ground too.
Hazard scanned but didn’t see anyone else. He was about to give the all clear when he saw a shadow move in a window on the third floor. “One more, Captain. Third floor window. Two over from the right side of the building.” He’d barely finished speaking when Ice fired. The shadow jerked back and disappeared from sight.
“Didn’t think you saw that one,” Ice said as he started breaking down the big rifle.
Hazard grinned. “Did I impress you with my thorough scan?”
“No.”
“Ah. I’ll keep trying then,” he lightly teased.
Ortiz snorted. Hazard heard a quiet laugh from Jax in his head. Ice didn’t respond.
They resumed progress to the target location, Jax in wolf form loping alongside them. Moving with quiet stealth, they reached the brick warehouse. Hazard peered inside one of the grimy ground level windows. Ice had eliminated the guards on the perimeter, but there were men stationed inside. He silently indicated their numbers and positions to his new teammates.
Ortiz nodded and readied her weapon to breach the door. It was old, but had been fitted with two brand new deadbolts and thick, heavy duty strike plates.
“Breach in three-two-one.”
Everyone stood safely to the side while Ortiz blasted the reinforced locks with her shotgun. There was a flash of fire, followed by the acrid smell of gun smoke.
The locks destroyed, Ice shoved open the door and the team swept inside. They had the element of surprise, and they took advantage of it to drop the first few members of the cell. But it didn’t take long for the rest of the crew to regroup. Bullets flew across the dim, cavernous space as the two sides engaged in a fire fight. Unfortunately for Vengeful Claw, they were no match for the 448.
Hazard stuck to Ice’s heels as ordered, watching the captain’s back. The position treated him to a front row seat of Ice’s renowned prowess. Ice moved forward with deadly, single-minded intensity. He was careful, but there was zero hesitation in his progress cutting through the enemy. He fired twice, taking out two cult members with a single bullet each before the first had even managed to raise their weapon.
A door opened to their left and a target stepped out with a Glock in hand. In one smooth motion, Ice pulled a knife from the sheath on his thigh and sent it hurtling across the room to strike the target in the wrist. With a howl of pain, he dropped his gun. Ice took him down while he was mid scream.
If Hazard wasn’t busy taking out his own targets, his mouth would be hanging open in awe.
Hearing footsteps approaching from behind, Hazard spun around. Three Vengeful Claw members were running toward him. One got off a shot. Hazard quickly side-stepped and ducked behind a support pillar to avoid the bullet. At the same time, he squeezed the trigger on his own weapon multiple times, eliminating two of the targets. But the third was still there, shooting wildly at the pillar Hazard was using for cover.
Hazard was preparing to peek around the column to try and get off a shot when a blade sliced through the air next to his right ear. A second later there was a grunt, followed by gurgling. Exposing himself as little as possible, Hazard looked to see that the knife had found a home in the third gunmen’s throat. The man clutched at the weapon, but there was nothing he could do to save his life. He fell to the dirty warehouse floor, dead.
Hazard turned back, not surprised to see Ice standing there. The alpha spoke two words.
“You good?”
Hazard nodded. “I’m good.”
“Keep moving then.”
Once they’d cleared the first floor, the pairs split up. Ortiz and Jax took off in search of the leader of the group.
“On me, Corporal,” Ice ordered.
Hazard followed behind the captain, racing up the stairs to the right to ascend to the fourth floor. When they reached the room where the hostage was supposed to be held Hazard tried the doorknob first. It was locked. Ice pulled a sledgehammer from the holder on the back of his tactical vest.
“Jessica Doucette!” he called out loudly. “If you’re on the other side of this door stand back!” He gave her a few seconds to clear before he swung the sledgehammer against the doorknob. The lock broke under the force, and the door went flying back to bounce against the wall.
The entrance breached, the two of them moved inside with their weapons at the ready. A young woman dressed in hot pink and yellow workout gear stood on the far side of the room, her back against the wall. Her face was dirty and streaked with dried tears, but it matched the picture they’d been shown during briefing.
“Jessica Doucette, we’re here to take you home,” Hazard said.
“What’s the code?” she asked.
“Tuxedo cat,” Ice answered in his gruff voice.
The tension bled from her shoulders. “Thank you, Mother Wolf,” she whispered in relief. She took a step toward them but her knees started to buckle before she took the second.
Hazard leaped forward and caught her before she could fall. “Are you hurt?”
Jessica shook her head no. “A little light headed but I’m ready to go.”
“Okay. I need you to stay on your feet until we have you out of here. Okay?”
She took a deep breath and straightened her posture. “Okay.”
“Good.” Hazard got on comms. “We have the package, Major.”
Ortiz’s voice crackled to life in his ear piece.
“Good work. There’s no intel here and neither is the leader. We’ll meet you back at the entrance.”
“Roger that,” Hazard replied.
They moved out, Ice in front, Hazard in the rear and Jessica in the protected space between them. Jax and Ortiz joined them once they reached the ground level. While Ice collected his knives from his kills, the major gave Jessica a quick once-over. Seeing she was weak but uninjured, Ortiz got on the comms to their pilot.
“Major Ortiz to transport. We are on our way to the extraction point.”
“We’re ready and waiting, Major,” the pilot responded.
Jessica gasped when she got a look at all of the dead bodies littering the floor. But she didn’t falter in her progress through the warehouse and outside to freedom. She was clearly weakened from her ordeal, moving slowly and sometimes stumbling as she ran. Hazard gave her encouragement to keep her going for the long run back to the helo.
“Almost there. You probably burn more calories and work harder in your aerobics classes than you are in this measly little run.”
The young beta wolf gave a breathless laugh, but lengthened her stride.
A minute later, they were sprinting up to the helicopter. The hatch opened and the five of them hustled inside. They’d made it. Pleased at the success of the mission, Hazard knocked his fist against the captain’s shoulder.
“Not too shabby for my first time working with you,” he said with a proud grin.
Ice looked first at the spot he’d punched, then at Hazard. Hazard could see the irritation in those dark eyes, but the captain didn’t deny that he’d done well. Hazard decided to take that as a win.