Chapter 8
Footfalls echoed around them as they raced down the dimly lit, hidden hallway.
Emerson glanced over his shoulder. Where were the others?
He’d tapped a couple of the alphas nearest them, assuming they’d follow—but they were alone.
No footfalls came to his ears, either. Emerson ran into Dash at the end of the hallway before turning to face forward.
“Where to now?” Dash asked, panting lightly.
Emerson paused, hands on his hips, and contemplated a moment. Did he go back and try to round up some of the others—and chance capture for them both? Or did he get Dash the fuck out of there?
He turned to gaze at Dash, torn.
“Where to now?” Dash repeated, alarm rising in his voice.
After one last hopeful look down the empty hall, Emerson pressed the hidden escape latch.
The secret door revealed itself, and he urged Dash out.
They soon found themselves in an empty alley a block away from the club.
Emerson took Dash’s arm and led him closer to the street, pausing at the end, just inside the shadow of the buildings looming around them.
He scanned around the corner but didn’t see anyone. He heard muted voices and a few yells nearby. The faintest glow of the sirens flashed somewhere relatively close, near enough to spread that light. If they ventured out too quickly, they could be seen. Leaning against the cool brick, he eyed Dash.
“Take a breather while I watch for movement,” Emerson whispered. “But be ready to run.”
Dash nodded, peeking past Emerson himself.
Emerson wanted to give it a few seconds to ensure they wouldn’t be seen once they made it out onto the sidewalk.
His heart thudded in his chest, cold sweat forming at the back of his neck.
His body strained, on high alert, the adrenaline pumping so fast and furious that it left him trembling all over.
Given the fact he’d raced into burning buildings for over fifteen years with nary a qualm, his reaction struck him as odd.
It wasn’t the first time he’d been through a raid, either. Over the years, he’d been through several at the Dragon and hadn’t yet been caught. He couldn’t recall being quite so unnerved as he was then. What was different?
His gaze moved to Dash.
He was what was different.
Emerson wasn’t going to let anything happen to Dash, but the fear of failure had him in a vise-like grip.
Forcing a smile in an attempt to calm Dash’s nerves, he said, “Good thing you were with me, or you might not have gotten out of there.”
“I wasn’t with you,” Dash said, glaring. “And we’re not far enough away to claim victory.”
“Yet,” Emerson added, keeping his tone lighter than he felt. He grabbed Dash’s hand. “Come with me. I know these streets better than most.”
Dash yanked it away.
“Do you have any idea where you are right now?” Emerson asked, leveling a hard stare. Too bad it didn’t have the intended impact in the shadows.
“I’ll figure it out,” Dash snapped under his breath.
“Before or after the Guard catches up to you?”
It was too dark to truly see Dash’s expression, but irritation rolled off him in waves. And fear. A little was fine, it sharpened the senses, but a lot wasn’t good. He needed to keep them moving.
“I’m a firefighter, Dash. I know how to navigate these streets and how to get you somewhere safe. Trust me.”
A flash of lightning rent the night, giving them both a split-second look at one another under its illumination.
A frizzle of electricity coiled around them, and Emerson wasn’t sure if it was only the coming storm.
The tempest brewing between them was just as exhilarating.
Add in the danger of the night and the wild, rampant beating of their hearts, and who knew where their night might end.
Dash growled under his breath. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Emerson snatched Dash’s hand and bolted across the street and into another alley.
When they reached the end of it, he paused again, peeking out into the next street.
He peeked behind them and noticed a few alphas exited the secret door before they scattered in different directions.
At least a few had figured out the new way out.
A large Guardsman suddenly launched himself at Emerson, pinning him to the alley wall. They wrestled, and Emerson shoved him against the opposite side of the alley just before another crack of lightning lit the night.
“Em?”
Emerson froze, recognizing the voice. He stepped back, shielding Dash behind him. The arc of a flashlight’s radiance swept up before it blinded him. Lifting a hand to block it, he growled. Two seconds later it was turned away and he could see again.
Aimed down, the flashlight gave off enough of a glow to see Randall’s shocked face.
His little brother frowned at him before his gaze slipped down to his hand clasped around Dash’s wrist. Dash pulled away again, putting a few steps between them.
“What are you doing out here?” Randall asked, looking between them both.
Emerson’s mind went blank. Did he bother lying at that point? What other reason would he have for being in a dark alley with another alpha a few blocks away from the raid? Anything he said, Randall would likely see through.
Fear made it harder to breathe—but then a sense of calm came over him.
Before he answered with the truth, voices sounded from the other end of the alley. All of their heads whipped in that direction. Randall clicked his flashlight off and pushed them down the alley, deeper into the shadows—and closer to the voices.
“Rand,” Emerson whispered, ready to plead for his brother not to turn them in.
“Shhh,” Randall hissed, looking down the alley. He turned back to Emerson. “Get in that doorway… and don’t make a sound.”
Emerson looked over his shoulder and noticed the dark nook.
Hopefully it was big enough for them both.
His heart pounded like mad as he dragged Dash close and pressed himself into the shadows.
It was too dark in the doorway to see anything but the faintest outline of Dash’s face near his.
Dash’s scent filled his nose, the sweet musky aroma that threatened his good sense.
Dash’s chest rose and fell quickly, his arms wrapped around Emerson in an embrace.
He pinned Dash to the door, his palms flat on the metal door.
It was the only way they’d fit and remain out of sight.
Dash’s heart pounded against his chest so hard Emerson could feel it.
He hoped like hell that the cacophony of their raging hearts wouldn’t be heard.
A few seconds later, two Guardsmen came running down the alley.
Randall wedged himself in front of the doorway, using his body to prevent them from getting too close.
Emerson held his breath, begging the universe for a favor.
Hopefully his good deeds had earned him a little salvation.
“Walker, is that you?”
Emerson stiffened, hoping the question had been aimed at Randall.
“Yeah,” Randall answered coolly.
Emerson slowly tilted his head to the side so he could peek at the men over his shoulder.
One of the patrolmen got way too close. He stood directly in front of Randall, but his little brother was nearly as tall as he was and covered a lot of territory.
Still, too close was too close. From the dim light of a nearby streetlight filtering into the alley, Emerson could see some of the man’s face. Could he see Emerson’s?
“I think I saw two alphas running in this direction. Seen anyone come through?”
“It’s been all quiet down here,” Rand lied without a hint of nerves in his voice. “I haven’t seen anyone but you two so far. I should’ve known Cap’d stick me out here in No Man’s Land, away from the real action.”
“Where the fuck did they go?” the Guardsman asked his partner, ignoring Randall’s comment. He shook his head and gazed up and down the alley.
“Maybe they jumped on a fire escape and went up?” Randall asked.
Both Guardsmen lifted their faces to the buildings surrounding them. One turned on his flashlight and swept it down the alley, aimed high—just as lightning lit up the sky.
Emerson pressed closer to Dash, begging the patrolmen not to turn to look at Randall. The flash turned back to darkness, returning them to the relative safety of the shadows once more while thunder rumbled the world around them.
“Yeah, that’s likely where they went,” the first Guardsmen said. “If not out, then up. That’s the only way they could go.”
“We passed a ladder down the alley. Let’s go. Maybe we can catch them,” the other man said.
“Yell if you see anything, Walker,” the first barked before the pair jogged down the alley.
“Will do,” Randall called down to them.
Emerson listened to the sound of their footfalls fade away, closing his eyes and issuing a silent prayer to whichever higher power had watched over them in that moment. He wasn’t a religious man, but he’d take all the help he could get.
Randall turned to face them in the shadows. “Wait here until I tell you to move.”
“Okay,” Emerson whispered as faintly as he could.
He looked down at Dash, not that he could see anything. He wanted to ask if he was alright but was too afraid to make any noise. Not until he knew the coast was clear. They clung to one another in the shadows, both of them trembling from the adrenaline coursing through their bodies.
Emerson pressed his forehead to Dash’s. Dash trembled before leaning into him.
It was as good as an ‘I’m okay’ as he’d get, considering where they were.
Lightning flashed again, and they looked into one another’s eyes before darkness fell once more.
Suddenly, lips met his in the inky black.
He gasped, not expecting the kiss, and he reared his head back in shock.
Another flash of lightning allowed him to see sadness broadcast in Dash’s eyes.
Emerson couldn’t let that stand. Grabbing the sides of Dash’s face, he leaned down and kissed the man, tasting the alpha for the first time.