Free Damned and Desirable (Eternally Yours Book 2) by Tara West Page B

in Hell with Shadow.”
    Shards of ice solidified in my veins as I gaped at him. “What?” I asked, but already my mind was racing for a plan, because I’d known this would happen. I’d known it, and fool that I was, I hadn’t done enough to prevent it.
    He scratched the back of his neck and half-heartedly shrugged. “We had the day off, but Shadow put our house on lockdown a few hours ago, and then Basil had that vision.”
    The sound of uneven heavy boots thudded down the hall, matching the pace of the pounding in my chest. It was the soldier, Sarge, the one who had eyes for Ash. After I’d gone into Ash’s room and saw them pulling apart, I realized she may have eyes for him, too.
    Needless to say, I didn’t like him.
    The soldier’s neck and spine were rigid, his eyes hard as granite. He sized me up, and I matched his stare with one of my own. Now was not the time for a dog fight, but the pup had to be put in his place.
    He broke contact first, as I knew he would. “She’s not in the common room, and the other Alphas haven’t seen her or Shadow in hours.”
    Jack strained against his leash, whimpering as he tried to twist out of his collar.
    I raced back into my room and grabbed my emergency satchel, the bag I’d packed for if and when Ash ever found herself in trouble.
    “Take him off the leash,” I said to Boner.
    We followed Jack upstairs to the third floor, where the senior Alphas kept their suites. I had no idea how, but Jack knew what had happened to Ash. I could sense it in the churning in my gut.
    We came to a heavy oak door at the end of a long hall. My heart hammered and then heaved like a powerful locomotive coming to a standstill.
    I’d studied the Alpha House blueprints and had gone on a detailed tour of the house the first day I moved in. Knowing where to find my team’s leader had been my top priority, though I’d always envisioned myself coming to his door for a different reason. How could I have been so blind?
    “Where are we?” Sarge asked.
    I ran my tongue across the bridge of my mouth, which had gone drier than dust. “This is Shadow’s room.”
    Boner cast a furtive glance over his shoulder before whispering. “That guy gives me the creeps.”
    Me, too, I thought, and now we know why.
    Jack started scratching on the door, frantically, as his whimpers increased.
    Something was wrong, and I wasn’t about to wait to find out what. I retrieved my scythe from my pocket and flipped it open. “Stand back,” I warned.
    Boner pulled a reluctant Jack back as I sliced off the knob with the sharp blade and then busted open the door with the blunt end of the weapon.
    I looked past the silk drapes and fancy furnishings, drawn to an elevator door at the far end of the room.
    I rushed across the plush carpet, everyone else trailing behind me, and then hit the down button.
    “Where does this elevator go?” Sarge asked.
    I shook my head. “I don’t know. I didn’t know he had one.” The blueprints had made no mention of an elevator in Shadow’s room. There was just the one in the common room.
    Whatever was going on, it was not good, and I refused to put anyone else in danger. I exhaled a deep breath, turning to Sarge and Boner. “You guys stay here.”
    Sarge folded his arms across his chest, glaring. “Not on your soul. Ash is in trouble, and I’m going, too.”
    Well, heck. Look who wanted to be Ash’s knight in shining armor. If I’d been a spiteful man, I would have held my ground and refused his help. But now was not the time to be spiteful.
    I nodded. “I’d sure appreciate your help, as long as you’re aware of the dangers.”
    “I’m aware,” he said gruffly.
    Though I’d never left the safety of a Hell-bound elevator, I’d seen the trappings enough times to know what awaited me down there. A lone Grim wandering the fire and brimstone was a sure target. Demons didn’t exactly care for Grims. After all, we were the ones who’d delivered them to eternal damnation.