Free Rage & Killian by Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright

glancing toward the door of their cell. “But in case you didn’t notice, we’re locked in a cage.”
    “I can take care of the cage.” He laid his hand over hers, pressing it tight against the steady beat of his heart. “Are you feeling up to doing your thing?”
    A slow, wicked smile of anticipation curved her lips. “Yeah, I think I can manage my thing. What about the humans?”
    “They’re my thing,” he assured her. Lifting her hand, he pressed his lips to the center of her palm. “Ready?”
    She lifted herself on her tiptoes to place a fleeting kiss on his lips before she was stepping back with a determined expression.
    “Ready,” she said, clearly expecting him to do something “James Bond” like pick the lock or discover some hidden lever that would open the door. Instead, he moved forward to grab the iron bars, and with one massive burst of strength, ripped the door off its hinges. “Shit, Rage,” she breathed in shock.
    He pointed toward the computer. The humans might have limited hearing, but even they couldn’t have missed the screech of metal. They’d have only seconds before their captors were rushing to the loft.
    “You concentrate on making sure that intel doesn’t get out. I’ll make sure you’re not interrupted.”
    He turned to head toward the door, only to halt when she reached out to grasp his arm.
    “Rage…” Her words trailed away, as if she couldn’t force them past a lump in her throat.
    “I know,” he murmured softly, leaning down to press a tender kiss against her forehead. “I’ll be back for you, Lucie. I swear.”
    Not giving himself the opportunity to waver from his decision to leave her alone to work her magic with the computers, he jogged across the wooden planks and slipped out the door. Then, holding onto the steel handle, he gave it a violent twist, jamming the lock so no one would be able to open the door if something happened to him.
    At least…no human would be able to open it.
    A Pantera would be able to get into the loft and rescue Lucie if necessary.
    Pausing to take a thorough survey of his surroundings, Rage at last moved to the bottom of the metal steps. The door was the only entry to the upper floor. As long as he could block the stairs, no one was going to get to Lucie.
    He had less than a second to glance around the large, open storage room before a shadowed form was entering through an open doorway, quickly followed by one of the guards.
    “What the hell…” The leader of the humans came to an abrupt halt as he caught sight of Rage in the faint moonlight that spilled in from a small window. “How did you get out?”
    “Did you really think that flimsy cage was going to halt a full-blooded Pantera?” he taunted, folding his arms over his chest with a nonchalance that he hoped would unnerve his prey.
    The older man scowled, glancing around the room. “Where’s the woman?”
    Rage shrugged. “She already escaped.”
    The goon standing behind the leader turned back toward the doorway. “I’ll get her.”
    “Don’t be an idiot,” the leader snapped, pointing toward the stairs. “She’s still upstairs. We have to stop her before she can disrupt the auction.”
    The goon frowned. Clearly he’d been hired for his oversized muscles, not his intelligence.
    “You said it couldn’t be stopped once it started.”
    “Not unless someone gains access to my computer,” the leader snarled. “I have to get up there.”
    The goon nodded, grimly glancing toward Rage, who flashed a wide grin.
    “I don’t doubt you have limited brain power, human, but do you really think you can take on a full-blooded Pantera?”
    The man narrowed his gaze, stepping forward. “I’m not afraid of you, beast-man.”
    Rage resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Beast-man?
    Whatever.
    “It’s your funeral,” he said, his lips twisting into a humorless smile as the goon fumbled for the gun he’d shoved into the waistband of his jeans.
    Sloppy.
    The tight material