Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
GRAYSON
“We’ve got to get in there.” Teal raked his fingers through his already mussed hair. “He’ll kill her.”
“What do you propose?” I snapped. The four of us stood in the hallway outside the locked gymnasium.
“We break the locks.” Teal’s voice rose, his anger clear.
I gaped at him. “Teal, she’s a shield.”
His cheeks darkened in anger. “We let him kill her?”
“There’s a bigger picture.”
“That’s what people say when they do something indefensible. It’s for the greater good. There’s a bigger picture. Here’s a picture for you—we dragged that woman from her home, and now, thanks to our inaction, she’s being tortured.”
Thinking like that would get us killed. “You need to calm down.”
“What if it were Elise?” Teal demanded. He knew I was fond of his little sister. “What if Drake had demanded that she fall to her knees and suck his cock? What if she protected herself? What then?”
“We would protect her.”
“We didn’t protect Haven.”
My stomach twisted like a washcloth wrung too tight. “It’s different, and it’s too late now.”
“We failed her once. Now we fail her a second time?”
“The door is locked!” I snapped.
“So we unlock it!” He wasn’t backing down.
Leading other alphas came with challenges. I’d never anticipated this one. Teal had lost his fucking mind. Years of service, and he was ready to throw it away for a woman. This was precisely why we didn’t get attached to shields.
My hands fisted, and I had to force myself to relax. “Calm. Down.”
“Move.” Flynn pushed past me and rested his hand against the iron lock. Flames leaped from his hand, and the lock melted.
“What the hell, Flynn?” Pierce, who stood next to the door, rubbed the singed hair on his arms. “Why are you helping him?”
Flynn didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. When push came to shove, Flynn and Teal had each other’s backs. Always.
Teal shook his head, took a step back, and gave the door a solid kick.
The door swung open, and we were assaulted by the scent of the shield’s blood.