16. Chapter 16 #2
Then he saw one of the three men darting a glance at the bedroom where Xander, Hale, and Roy had disappeared.
It was a quick look, but it sparked a shiver down Mike’s spine.
A second later, he realized what was bothering him.
It wasn’t the Sentinel people who’d followed them into the bunker, but the ones who hadn’t.
As far as he knew, there had been four out back and at least two in the front.
That left at least three heavily armed men unaccounted for.
“Trey, deal with these guys!” Mike shouted as he took off running for the bedroom and the escape hatch hidden there. “They’re trying to distract us while their buddies go after Roy.”
All three of the men they’d been fighting fired in Mike’s direction on full automatic as he sprinted out of the room.
He was clipped by one or two rounds, but he was moving too fast to notice.
He hated to leave Trey on his own back there, but he couldn’t shake the feeling Xander and Hale were walking into an ambush.
Once in the dimly lit bedroom, Mike headed for the small tunnel he could see behind the space previously occupied by the bed and headboard.
The emergency exit out of Roy’s bunker was a concrete culvert barely big enough for Mike to crawl through on his hands and knees.
He had no idea how Xander and Hale had gotten Roy through it, but the random spots of blood spattered here and there in the darkness indicated it had been a struggle.
Within a hundred feet, Mike got to an unlocked gate into a larger network of passages that must have served as the subdivision’s water runoff system.
He had a moment of panic when he realized there were three different directions Xander and Hale could have gone.
Fortunately, the scent of Roy’s blood made it easy to track them.
Mike was running fast as he came out of the tunnels and down into the irrigation canals somewhere along the edge of the subdivision property.
He spun in a slow circle, trying to get his bearings, when he heard the sharp sound of gunfire, along with the low rumble of a werewolf’s angry growl.
It only took Mike a second to latch onto Xander and Hale’s scent, but before he could take a single step in that direction, he was assaulted by a strong chemical scent.
Crap.
Leaping out of the irrigation canal, he sprinted toward the woods to the south of the subdivision.
The further he went, the stronger the scent of blood, chemicals, and smokeless gunpowder got.
There was a lot of shooting going on out here, and Roman—or at least his crew—seemed to be right in the middle of it.
Mike came across Xander, Hale, and Roy hiding behind a fallen tree trunk, the damp, rotting wood shot to pieces. Both Xander and Hale were bleeding from multiple wounds. Roy looked even worse, his skin pale from blood loss, exhaustion, and fear.
“It appears we’ve stepped into the middle of a territorial dispute,” Xander grunted out as he dropped the magazine out of his weapon and slipped in a fresh one.
“Over in that section of scrub pines and thickets on the left, we have Roman with at least two of his henchmen. Hidden in that gully on the right are four of the Sentinel guys who attacked us at the house.”
“I assume they’re working together to get Roy,” Mike said as he dived to the pine needle-covered ground behind the tree trunk to avoid the bullets coming his way.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Hale muttered, glancing over at the accountant, making sure he stayed under cover. “They seem to be as interested in shooting each other as they do us.”
“I don’t know about those guys from Sentinel, but Roman definitely wants me,” Roy said from where he was lying in the dirt, his expression revealing how terrified he was. “I saw the way he was staring at me when he sent his men charging in a few minutes ago.”
“We’re probably lucky they’re not working together, or they would have overrun us within seconds,” Xander said. “As it is, I’m almost out of ammo.”
“I’m still doing okay,” Hale said. “But one more concerted attack from either group, and we could be screwed.”
Just then, Mike caught movement coming from both the far right and far left, as the two different groups began to make their move.
If he were a cynical kind of werewolf, he would have thought someone had been eavesdropping on Hale’s worst fears.
Because it seemed clear both contingents were coming their way.
Mike silently handed Xander one of his two spare magazines, turning his attention toward the section of scrub pines and thickets on the left.
“I’ll deal with Roman’s men. You two focus on the Sentinel crew.
Their body armor is thickest along the chest and shoulder.
A direct hit will slow them, but won’t penetrate.
Slow them down, and then go for the legs. ”
His pack mates didn’t answer. They didn’t need to. They’d cover each other’s backs, no matter what happened next.
As expected, Roman hung back, letting his two supernaturals take point. They charged at Mike, moving so fast they were nothing more than a blur. Mike hid behind the limited protection offered by the downed tree trunk and took aim, waiting until they got so close he couldn’t miss.
The two supernaturals started shooting at the exact same time, and Mike felt a round slam into his chest. It stung like fire, but didn’t penetrate his vest. He counted that a win, and continued to focus on pulling the perfect shot.
The man he hit went to the ground in a tumble of arms and legs.
Mike had no idea if the shot had been fatal, and no time to worry about listening for a heartbeat.
But the guy wasn’t moving at the moment, which was all he could hope for right then.
Mike tried to shift his aim to the side, going for the second supernatural, but by then it was too late.
The man was already leaping across the fallen tree trunk, slamming into Mike with the force of a charging bull.
They both went down hard, flipping end-over-end as their weapons went flying.
Behind him, Mike heard Xander and Hale engaging with Sentinel.
The amount of gunfire was alarming, but there was nothing Mike could do to help. He was rather busy at the moment.
The supernatural ended up on top of Mike, punching at him with fists that felt like they were made of steel.
They thudded into his face and chest, pain radiating from every strike.
Mike didn’t think. He simply partially shifted, his claws and fangs extending to protect himself as the fight turned into a savage brawl.
And in the middle of that struggle, Roman made his appearance.
From the corner of his eye, Mike saw the older man leap across the tree trunk, a long knife in one hand and a glint of malice in his eyes. He’d known Roman would jump into the fight the moment Mike was otherwise engaged. He had no doubt that knife would be coming for his throat.
Which was why he was confused when Roman dismissed him entirely and instead turned to go after Roy, the blade flashing in the sunlight. Roy immediately started crab walking away from the tree trunk as rapidly as his pain-filled body would allow.
Mike turned, hoping to see help coming from Xander or Hale, but the three Sentinel guys Hale was facing were giving him about all he could handle. Even worse, the other a-hole from Sentinel was dragging Xander away, a tranquilizer dart sticking out of his chest.
Cursing, Mike tried to break away from the man he was fighting, needing to help Xander and Hale, as well as get to Roy. But with Roman’s supernatural still throwing haymakers, getting away simply wasn’t possible. Surviving wasn’t even a given, not if he didn’t end this soon.
Growling in rage, Mike lashed out with his right hand as hard as he could, his claws slicing into the guy’s forearms. When the man instinctively pulled back in pain, Mike struck out again, aiming in the general direction of the man’s face.
He figured that would cause enough damage to force him to back off. At least for a few seconds.