Free Michel/Striker by Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright Page A

recently hurt. Perhaps even killed. His jaw locked as fury raced through him. Only his training kept him from bursting into the room and killing any human unlucky enough to cross his path.
    Instead, he studied the two men dressed in white lab coats before turning his attention to the cages that lined the white tiled room.
    As Chelsea had said, there were seven Pantera being held captive, plus a human female who was cowering in the corner of her cell. But it was the overturned desks and smashed equipment that captured his attention.
    There’d been a fight in this room. One that had ended with at least one Pantera being injured.
    Bitingly aware that the clock was ticking, Michel entered the lab. He preferred a plan before he tried rescue missions. Too many things could go wrong and an innocent could be hurt. But he could work on the fly when necessary.
    Reaching beneath his sweatshirt, he pulled out the second gun he’d tucked in a holster strapped around his chest.
    He could easily kill with his hands, but a bullet was quicker when dealing with humans.
    He was halfway across the lab when the stirring of the Pantera at last alerted the researchers that they were no longer alone. Turning from the shattered glass they were trying to sweep into a corner, they both dropped their brooms and studied him in resigned horror.
    “Not again,” the elder of the two muttered.
    Again? Michel frowned. He didn’t have time for puzzles.
    “Get in the cage,” he commanded, nodding his head toward one of the empty cages on the far side of the lab.
    “Fine,” the first man muttered, keeping his hands raised as he backed into the cage along with his nervous companion. Michel swung the door shut, making sure it was locked before he turned toward the cages holding the Pantera. “No, don’t,” the researcher called out. “You’ve already got them stirred up. They may look human but beneath the surface they’re just…” The man’s words trailed away as Michel glared over his shoulder, his eyes glowing with the power of his cat. Both researchers stumbled backward, the younger one tripping over the narrow cot. “Oh shit,” the older one muttered.
    “Just what?” Michel demanded, baring his teeth. “Animals?”
    “Don’t kill us,” the younger male pleaded, kneeling on the floor. “We were only following orders.”
    Michel’s finger tightened on the trigger. It would be so easy. These men had kidnapped, tortured, and potentially killed Pantera. They deserved to die.
    Unfortunately, he knew Raphael would want to question the humans.
    “You can plead for mercy once you’re in the Wildlands,” he snarled.
    The older man made a sound of horror. “You can’t take us there.”
    “Okay.” Michel aimed the gun at the man’s head, enjoying his terror. Yeah, it was petty, but he wanted them to suffer. “Then you die here.”
    “No.” The older man fell to his knees next to his companion, the stench of piss filling the air.
    “Christ.” Michel grimaced in disgust, dismissing the cowardly scientists as he headed across the tiled floor toward the panel built into the wall. A few seconds later he’d short-circuited the locks that were directly connected to the Pantera cells.
    Then, studying the captives as they scrambled out of their prisons, he determined the dominant—a female Hunter with short black hair and amber eyes.
    “What’s your name?” he demanded.
    “Gabriella.”
    “Are you healthy enough to drive?”
    The female shuddered as her body began to strengthen now she was no longer near the bars that were heavily laced with malachite.
    “I will be,” she promised, her gaze sliding toward the researchers who remained locked in their cell.
    Michel knew exactly what she was thinking.
    Blood. Death. Dismemberment.
    Not necessarily in that order.
    He moved to block her view. As much as he appreciated her lust for revenge, he had to keep her focused on the larger picture.
    “There’s a van parked in front of the