Chapter 20
Shifting gears had never been easy for Simon.
If he was in the middle of an intense relationship discussion with Alyssa, it would take something significant to jolt him into a fighting place.
Something like a bomb going off in the laundromat.
Still, his mind lurched as it tried to realign into tactical thinking.
What he really wanted to do was grab Alyssa and run to the nearest bolt hole where they could finish what they were doing.
But as the acrid scent of gunpowder and smoke hit his nostrils, he knew that wasn’t possible. So he rushed to the door and ordered Alyssa to get her gun.
She switched mental gears faster than he did. He saw her blanch and then nod. And while he was quietly slipping open her front door to see what was out there, she returned to his side with her gun and a grim expression.
“What—” she began, but he cut her off with the answers she needed.
“I think that was a bomb,” he said softly. “How many other people in the building?”
“Um, a couple dozen, give or take.” Then she held up her phone. “I’ll call 911 and—”
He shook his head. “Call Detective Kennedy. Then get those people down here to go out your bedroom window.” It was opposite the fire, but more important, it was nearest the dumpster and other cover. “Tell them there are snipers at the doors. They have to go out here.”
“Snipers!” she gasped.
“Maybe.”
He watched her put it together in the time it took her to blink twice.
Sure, it was possible that something had gone wrong in the laundromat.
Or that this was random bad luck. But it was way more likely that Joey was making his move.
With the quarantine, the cops were stretched thin.
Perfect time to stage an attack on a cash business and be pretend sad when Simon was killed in the crossfire.
Damn it, the man had even tipped his intention when he left, saying that he hoped Simon wasn’t inside when everything went boom.
Why hadn’t he guessed that the bastard would act quickly and without care for the innocents in the building?
He had to get Alyssa far away from him. That was the safest place for her.
He eased the apartment door open again. The smoke was thick, but no more than before.
And he could hear a couple people hitting something hard in the laundromat.
Probably trying to break into the vending machines to gather whatever money they could find.
That meant if there was a fire, it was contained. But he still couldn’t take that risk.
He was about to dash forward when he saw a dark figure coming down the hallway. That was the last thing he needed to lock him into fighter mode. Someone was coming for Alyssa.
The grizzly in him stirred and pressed forward with murderous intent.
It knew how to protect a mate. But Simon kept it locked down.
He needed to think, not be a huge furry target.
So he suppressed the claws that tried to burst through his fingers and though his mouth was pulled back to show his teeth, he didn’t grow a snout.
He’d wait. The figure was slipping closer.
Another foot and he’d be able to kill him.
Six inches…
One…
“Vic!” Alyssa whispered.
Vic?
Yes.
Simon reached out and hauled the man inside. He came with a gasp and a struggle, but Simon was quick to muzzle him with a hand over his mouth. Then he leaned in and whispered, “Quiet. It’s me.”
Vic stopped struggling immediately and Simon dropped his hold. They both had their adrenaline amped and their hearts racing, but a quick look told him Vic was human and under control.
“What did you see?” Simon asked Vic.
“Smoke through the laundromat, but there are people in there. Robbing the place.”
“Fuckers,” Alyssa cursed. Vic ignored her.
“If we leave them alone, think they’ll just take the vending machine money and leave?”
He wanted to say yes. He wanted to reassure Alyssa, but he knew it wasn’t true. “If they were just thieves, they would have broken the door and robbed in quiet. These guys made a big, bad boom to get everybody running outside where they can be picked off one by one.”
Alyssa frowned. “But why kill my tenants?”
“Just a few. Cover for when they shoot me. That way it’s not a shifter revolt; it’s an accident because of a psycho. A shifter killing his alpha gets attention, but a random crazy person…”
“Is just crazy,” she murmured.
Vic’s eyes widened. “The Jacksons are already headed out. And Mrs. Cooper. They were in the hall—”
Alyssa shouldered forward. “I got them. I know what to do.”
Simon’s heart lurched at that. His brave woman pushing forward like the boldest army ranger. He had to stop himself from grabbing her back. But she was safer away from him, so he stepped aside.
“Vic, go with her. Guard her six.”
“No. It’s not me they want.” That was Alyssa, her voice hard and quiet. Then she looked at her brother and the two communicated something silently. It was quick and intense, and though Simon didn’t understand how it worked, he could see when Vic locked into her opinion.
“She’s right,” Vic said. “I’m your beta. My place is with you, guarding your six.”
Simon didn’t like it. Hell, everything in him rebelled at it.
He wanted his mate safe, and he sure as hell didn’t fight with a team.
But the military had drummed that particular idiocy out of him.
They needed to end the mastermind behind this attack.
And that would require stealth and coordination. Much easier done with a partner.
So he bowed to the logic of the situation, though he still hated it.
Worse, they were out of time. He could hear people upstairs coming out of their apartments.
“I’ve got this,” Alyssa said, and he nodded.
“Go fast and quiet. And be careful.”
“Roger that,” she said. Then she flashed a quick grin. “I’ve always wanted to say that.” Before he could manage to process her humor, she was slipping out and down the hallway. Which meant he had to focus on what he needed to do.
“Got any rope, Vic? Mountain-climbing equipment? Something?”
“Yeah, in my apartment.” Then Vic nodded his understanding. “You want up on the roof.”
“I need to see what’s going on.”
“This way.”
Vic led as they eased out of Alyssa’s place and up the stairs to the second floor.
All of Simon’s senses had been attuned to where Alyssa went ahead, whispering to people on the stairs, and sending them toward her apartment.
He wanted to protect her, but he needed to trust in her strength.
She was calm and smart. She’d be fine so long as he kept Joey away from her.
But he had to find the bastard first, assuming this wasn’t just a random robbery.
So he crept after Vic and tried to listen to the sounds coming out from the laundromat.
Even in the stairwell, he could hear coins tumbling on the ground.
Guess they’d broken at least one machine.
Then a voice, muffled and faint from the distance.
“Hurry your asses up. I told you five minutes, no more.”
He knew that voice. It wasn’t Joey’s, as he expected, but someone else he’d talked to recently. One of the shifters.
Hell. He paused, wondering if he should burst in there and take the bastard out now, and then look for Joey. But there were too many unknowns. And a ton of people still in the building.
Best to stick to the plan.
He followed Vic up the stairs, stopping another three from running toward the front door. Whispered communication sent them scrambling for Alyssa’s bedroom window. And then they were upstairs in Vic’s quarters.
His place was surprisingly organized. Messy, for sure, but in controlled areas. That corner for papers and books. That corner for entertainment of all kinds.
“All the climbing gear is in the hall closet,” Vic said as he gestured. Simon was already there pulling out rope and equipment when he realized Vic was running water in the kitchen. Even though he knew the answer, Simon spun around and demanded an explanation.
“What are you doing?”
Vic put a full glass of tap to his lips, pausing long enough to say, “Gearing up.”
“Negative!” Simon snapped. “I don’t need you drugged up and smelling to high heaven. I need you thinking.”
Vic paused, but he didn’t put the glass down. “I’m a better fighter as a hybrid. Stronger. We don’t have a gun. We’ll have to fight hand to hand.”
Simon snorted. “Bullshit. You always have a gun. Where is it?”
Vic sighed. “Locked up behind the desk in the laundromat. You know, where the bad guys are right now.”
Great. So now they had well-armed bad guys. “I still don’t want you amped up.”
Vic grimaced but set down his glass. “You’re the boss.”
Just then another boom rocked the building and that one hit the foundations.
He could feel it in the way it concussed around them.
Vic knew it too because his expression tightened.
He stopped arguing and grabbed the gear.
They both knew that whomever was doing this was making sure the building came down around everyone’s ears.
Then it was back into the hallway. One sniff told him that Alyssa was up here, too. Then he heard her bang on someone’s door.
“Mr. Pinero, it’s Alyssa. You need to come out. I know it’s scary, but there’s a fire in the building. Mr. Pinero.”
She banged again and Simon pivoted, intending to help her. But one step in her direction, and she abruptly waved him back.
“I’ve got this!” she hissed. And apparently she did because right then the door swung open and she jerked back. “Mr. Pinero!” she said with a shaking voice. “You’ve got your…um…blunderbuss. Okay. Just point it to the ground as we get out.”