TheAngryDoveAndTheAssassin (4 page)

He did a quick scan and didn’t see anyone he knew, but he couldn’t do a real thorough search because it was getting harder to keep himself standing. He began to use the nearby wall for support, his hand leaving bloody prints behind him.

Out of desperation, he tried to shift, only to find that he was too injured to do so. Letting out a muttered curse, he continued to walk, his destination—the infirmary. There they would be able to help him. That was if they weren’t already too overwhelmed with patients.

Another explosion slammed into the building. This one was the biggest and hardest of them all. Caley was thrown to the ground. He let out a cry of pain as his wounds were jolted.

He lay there for several moments, catching his breath and gathering his strength before he managed to get to his feet again. This time, he could barely walk. All he could manage was a strange-looking shuffle.

“Caley! Oh my God! What happened to you?” Hales came running over.

Caley nearly cried, never before had he been so happy to see the Beagle shifter. Hales’s brown hair was covered in drywall dust and he had other debris on him, but otherwise he looked fine. He put an arm around Caley’s shoulder to steady him.

“A bomb hit my workshop,” Caley explained.

“You look like shit.”

“I feel like it, too.”

“Let’s get you to the infirmary.”

Caley leaned all his weight on Hales. Never before had he been so glad to have his friend.

Chapter Four

Grey couldn’t believe the amount of weaponry the other Wolf pack rained down on them. Where in the hell had they got their hands on that kind of hardware? Most important, how much more did they have?

He was out front with Simon and Toby, doing what little bit of damage control they could by shooting into the darkness. If they could only find out where the bombs were coming from, they might have a chance. Toby was a sharpshooter who could take out a target a mile away.

“This is seriously beginning to piss me off,” Toby snarled. “The cowards are refusing to show their faces so I can shoot them off.”

“It really is inconsiderate of them if you ask me,” Simon added. “Maybe if you asked them nicely, they would be a bit more accommodating.”

They all winced as another bomb went streaking through the air and hit the compound. Grey’s heart clenched when he noted that it looked like it was in the direction of the workshop. He prayed that Caley was okay. While he’d just met the Dove, the blond had already managed to work his way under Grey’s skin, and it would cut deep if something happened to him.

“What do you think they’re using?” a young Wolf asked.

“A rocket launcher,” Grey said. “For all we know, it could just be one guy out there doing all this damage. Rand may not even be there.”

Grey motioned to Simon and Toby, and they peeled off, going silently into the woods. They walked without making a sound, years of training teaching them to step soundlessly.

It seemed to take forever to track down the shooter. For one thing, he didn’t fire often, and another, he moved each time he shot. He was smart that way. Too bad for him, the assassins tracking him were smarter. Before long, they had the Wolf in their sights.

He wasn’t alone, but he didn’t have many helpers with him, either. There were only about a half dozen other Wolves. Which, in Grey’s mind, made the odds just about even.

Toby lifted his gun and took out the shooter with one clean shot between the eyes. He was dead before he ever hit the ground. That left the helpers for Grey and the other assassins to deal with.

Since Grey preferred steel to guns, he pulled out a pair of blade and spun them around. “You boys really picked the wrong night to piss me off.”

Two of the Wolves charged him at once. Not that Grey cared, as it just saved him time rather than taking them out one by one. One of them had a long sword, which he swung down. Grey crossed the blade, blocking the blow. He then twisted them out, unbalancing the Wolf. While the Wolf stumbled, Grey stabbed him in the throat, taking him out.

The other Wolf was on him before the first had even fallen to the ground. This one had a small dagger in his hand. For a few minutes, he and Grey simply circled each other. Grey bided his time, knowing his combatant would soon lose patience.

Sure enough, after about three minutes, the Wolf let out a snarl and charged. Never losing his calm, Grey swung his blade around and sliced the guy’s neck open. The Wolf’s eyes opened in shock as he dropped his blade and grabbed at his throat, as if he could hold the gaping wound closed.

He dropped to his knees, blood pouring from between his fingers, then fell face forward to the ground and didn’t move again. A puddle of blood formed around him, making for a muddy mixture.

Grey glanced over to see if Simon or Toby needed any help, but they were dispatching their final enemies and putting their weapons away. Toby had a small scratch on his face, but that seemed to be the only injury they had sustained on their side. All-in-all, it was a good day for them.

Simon went over and, even though the rocket launcher guy was dead and couldn’t feel it, gave him a kick. “That’s for ruining the nap I was taking, you fucker.”

Grey wanted to give the guy a kick himself because he had ruined a whole lot more than just a nap for him. That made him think of Caley, and Grey felt a driving need to get back to the pack dwelling to check up on the Dove. But unfortunately, duty called first.

“Let’s get out of here. We need to report back to Chris and ask him what he wants us to do with the bodies,” Grey said.

“We should put them on spikes and display them at the front gates. Maybe then Rand will think twice before he sends out more of his men,” Toby growled.

The sad thing was, Toby was serious about his suggestion. Gotta love Leopard shifters. They were a breed of their own. Unstable at best and bloodthirsty as hell, there was a reason why they made for the best assassins.

“We can’t do that,” Grey said.

“Why not?” Toby asked.

“It would scare the humans who drove by.”

“Why? Humans do that kind of thing all the time, too. All you have to do is read a history book to know that.”

Sad thing was Grey couldn’t think of an argument to that one because the history books were chock-full of human civilizations that had been guilty of that crime. Grey sighed. “We’re just not going to do it. Okay?”

“Fine. But I still think it’s a good idea.”

“Duly noted. Now let’s get going.”

They left the woods and went back to the pack dwelling. Grey was mortified by all the damage the bombs had left behind. It made him angry with himself that they had not been able to find the shooter sooner. If they had, then maybe they could have saved some lives.

They found Chris trying to calm down pack members and restore some order. When he saw them, he asked, “Did you get them?”

“Yes, they’re all eliminated.”

“Good,” Chris said with a snarl. “We lost a dozen of our pack members to those bastards.”

“What do you want us to do with the bodies?” Grey asked.

“Can we put them on spikes?” Toby butted in.

Chris gave him an are-you-crazy look.

“Sorry about that, sir. He’s a Leopard,” Grey said as if that explained all—which it really did.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. It sounds like something Shane would say.” Chris ran his hand through his hair, leaving behind a streak of soot on his forehead. “Leave them for now. Is there any way that you guys can find out where Rand is hiding out?”

Grey gave a slight shrug. “We can start asking around with our contacts. Why?”

“Well, for one thing, I would feel much better knowing where he is. But most of all, I think it would be nice of us to return his men to him. Don’t you think?”

Grey’s lips curled up into a grin. “I like the way you think. We can start asking around right away if you want.”

“First, I need your help here in restoring order. People are scared, and if they see you guys, it may help calm them down.”

“As you wish, Alpha.”

Grey was more than happy to accommodate that order, since it would give him a chance to find Caley and check up on his wellbeing. The longer time went by without seeing the Dove, the more concerned he became.

Somebody called Chris’s name, and the Alpha glanced away, then nodded before giving the assassins his attention again. “I have to go take care of this. Are you going to be okay on your own?”

“Yeah, we’ll find plenty to do, I’m sure,” Grey said with a dismissive wave.

As soon as Chris took off, Grey turned and began to make his way toward Caley’s workshop. Simon and Toby only hesitated a moment before they followed.

“You want to tell us where we’re going?” Simon asked.

“I need to check up on Caley.”

“Who’s Caley?”

“The Dove shifter from yesterday.”

“Since when are you friends with him?” Toby demanded.

“I was with him this morning when the attack started. I left him in his workroom, and I want to make sure he’s okay.”

“It didn’t take you long to get up close and personal with the natives,” Simon said with a low whistle.

“It’s not like that,” Grey protested. Then he thought about what he and Caley had been doing before the attack and corrected himself. “Okay, maybe it is like that, but it’s not just a fling. Caley is really nice, and I’m worried about him.”

“Dude!” Simon exclaimed. “You just met him yesterday. What’s next? You guys getting matching tattoos or something?”

“No, he just seems like a decent person is all.”

In truth, Grey couldn’t even explain to himself why he was so fixated on Caley. It was true. He’d only spoken to the Dove on two occasions and already he had an obsession with the other man. It was so unlike Grey that he didn’t know what was going on with himself.

That didn’t stop him from nearly running to the workroom. When he got there and found it utterly destroyed, his stomach dropped to his knees. Oh shit! And he had been the one who had told Caley to stay there, too.

“Caley!” Grey called out into the mess.

Toby raised his nose into the air. “He’s not here. I can’t smell him.”

“Then where is he?” Grey asked frantically.

Toby knelt down to the ground and fingered a small puddle of blood. “He fell here, then got up and walked out.”

They all rushed in that direction. It was then that Grey noticed the bloody handprints on the wall. They followed them until they disappeared. Toby once again knelt down and studied the ground. He wasn’t known as a master tracker for nothing.

“He fell again and then somebody came and helped him walk the rest of the way,” Toby said.

“The rest of the way where?” Grey asked.

“My guess would be the infirmary since it’s only a few feet from here, and Caley was wounded. If I were hurt, that’s where I would head,” Simon interjected.

“Of course, that makes perfect sense,” Grey said.

They raced to the infirmary where they were met with even more chaos. Cots with wounded sat everywhere. The screams and cries of the wounded filled the air. Medic, doctors, nurses and other medical staff ran about as they tried to keep up with the sheer amount of patients. The air reeked of blood and burnt flesh.

“Shit, this makes me wish I made the shooter suffer before he died,” Simon said as he gazed over the injured.

“You and me both,” Grey agreed.

He scanned the crowd, and his heart leaped when he finally spotted Caley. He was lying on one of the cots, and a Beagle shifter was by his side. Caley was covered in blood, his clothing was torn in several places, but he looked to be alive.

“Found him,” Grey said, already walking in the right direction. He walked up to Caley and knelt down to by the cot. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

Caley gave him a weak smile. “Like I got hit by a bomb. Oh, and by the way, this is my friend, Hales. Hales this is Grey.”

Grey nodded to Hales before he said, “I am so sorry I told you to stay put there. I thought for sure you would be safe there.”

“It’s not your fault. You had no way of knowing that a big-ass bomb would fall right on top of it.”

A flicker of agony passed over his face, and Grey looked around for a doctor. “Have they given you anything for the pain?”

Hales gave him a grim look. “There are so many wounded that they haven’t had a chance to even get to Caley yet.”

Toby reached out and grabbed the nearest doctor. “Our little friend here needs something for his pain. Make sure he gets it.”

The doctor looked like he was about to argue, then he took one look at the other assassins and nodded. “I’ll go get him something right away.”

After the doctor left, Caley let out a small laugh. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“But it got the job done, didn’t it?” Toby smirked.

“Is he always this charming?” Caley asked Grey.

“No, he’s usually much grumpier,” Grey replied.

A few minutes later, the doctor came back with a syringe in his hand. “This is just something to take the edge off until we can further evaluate him.”

“How long is that going to take?” Grey snarled.

The doctor paused. “I guess I could do it now since I’m here.”

They all stood back a bit, so the doctor could do his work. Once he was finished, he stood up. “I think he has a few broken bones and some contusions, but nothing that some rest and a few shifts can’t heal.”

“I tried to shift earlier but couldn’t,” Caley argued.

“Give it an hour or two, and you should be able to,” the doctor advised. “If not, come back and see me. I’ll admit, I’m not used to treating Doves, so things may be a different with you guys. But I think you’re going to be okay.”

“Okay,” Caley mumbled, his lids already getting droopy.

“I hope I didn’t give him too much pain medicine,” the doctor worried. “It’s so tricky to figure out different doses with different breeds.”

“Are you saying you OD’d him?” Grey growled.

The doctor rolled his eyes. “Not enough to kill him. It’ll just knock him out for the rest of the day.”