Free Prime Selection by Monette Michaels

now flanked the man holding her so tightly. The other male’s greedy stare never left her exposed skin. This was the best chance she and her men would get.
    “I don’t think so, kozyol yobanniy .” She muttered the Russian for “fucked goat.”
    Letting her knees go weak, she threw the bastard off-balance. Using his momentum against him, she twisted to throw him over her hip. He crashed into his buddy and both men fell to the ground.
    A’tem and Bram burst from their cover and broke the guards’ necks with a strength and skill she admired.
    Before his victim hit the dirt, Bram dashed toward the door to get them inside. A’tem dragged first one and then the second guard to the doorway Bram had opened within seconds. No alarms sounded.
    Nadia picked up the guards’ weapons and followed her men into the building, keeping an eye out for the enemy.
    All was quiet. She wondered where everyone was. They’d seen one or two enemy scouts in the foothills who were easily avoided, but nothing like the dozens mentioned by the lecherous guard. They’d need to keep a sharp eye out; three against a dozen enemy soldiers weren’t good odds.
    Once all were inside the building, Bram closed the door and then did something to the locking mechanism, which began to flash orange and kept blinking.
    “What did you do to the door?” she asked as he led the way deeper into the building and down a set of emergency stairs that paralleled an elevator tube.
    “It is another one of those Elite safety features I was to tell you about.” He flashed a grin over his shoulder. “I thought I’d just show you instead.”
    Nadia glared. “What safety feature?”
    Bram stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned. “I recoded every lock in the facility. Any of the enemy in a room with a door code is now trapped. And any Elite-trained Prime in such a room now knows he can get out at any time or stay safely inside until help has arrived.” He smiled. “This will be a big help in eliminating some of those dozens of mercenaries the guard mentioned.”
    “How will the Elite soldiers know the door codes have been changed?” A’tem asked.
    “The orange light blinks in every room where there is a door that can be sealed.”
    Nadia frowned. “But if there were traitors on the inside, they’ll know we’re here also.”
    “Agreed.” Bram scowled. “But they do not know from where the alarm was set off.
    The alarm has disabled all the security monitors. Plus one must know the override codes to get camera visuals. Only certain Elite soldiers would know of these measures and if they have turned, well, we will deal with them as they come.”
    Bram turned to the door at the bottom of the stairwell and entered a code. A monitor popped up from the door pad. “It is clear on the other side.”
    Bram keyed in yet another code. A metallic-sounding snick echoed loudly in the stairwell. The light on the door turned green, and he opened the door. “Remember these codes.” He repeated two alpha and numeric strings of numbers. “The first is the door code, and the second is the monitor code. You both are now in control of any door to a locked room in this facility.”
    Bram led the way into the hallway beyond and turned right. He walked briskly and kept scanning from left to right as he moved along the corridor. “The communications center is this way.”
    “I will bring up the rear, Nadia.” Taking the enemy’s weapons from her, A’tem handed Nadia her goggles, jacket, and weapons.
    Following Bram, she shrugged into her cold-weather jacket, but left the garment unbuttoned. Who knew when she might have to use her secret weapons to distract the enemy again? After fastening on her side arm, hooking her goggles onto her belt, and slinging her laser rifle over a shoulder, she took one of the extra weapons from A’tem.
    Bram waited patiently for them farther down the corridor. With Bram as a guide and the little fail-safes built into the Prime security