Free Hawk's Revenge: Lone Pine Pride, Book 3 by Vivi Andrews Page A

Roman liked him, that probably wasn’t enough to let it slide if Adrian killed a shifter to protect an Organization doctor. Even the Organization doctor who had gotten them the schematics.
    “ Mine ,” he growled again.
    Dominec’s eyes were fully feline and Adrian reached for the battle calm, curving his finger more securely around the trigger. The tiger didn’t look like he would mind dying, and Adrian was willing to do him the favor of taking him out, if that’s what it took.
    The door to the stairwell at the end of the hall banged open.
    Their struggle had taken them through the doorway into the lab. They couldn’t see whoever had arrived, but they both heard Grace’s disgusted, “Dominec, what the fuck?” as she took in the carnage in the hall.
    The tiger’s claws retracted, his eyes going human.
    “Get off me,” he grunted, when Adrian shifted enough of his weight off the knee bearing into his throat that he could speak.
    “No one touches her but me,” Adrian reiterated, but he got to his feet, even helping Dominec to his—though he didn’t go so far as to return the gun.
    Grace’s footsteps slowly approached down the hall, checking in the other rooms as Adrian would have done if he hadn’t heard Rachel pleading for her life.
    A soft rustle of fabric came from the far side of the room, but he didn’t look at her, his focus still locked on the feral tiger. “Kye said you weren’t reporting.”
    Dominec shrugged—he’d never shown much appreciation for authority. “I was busy.”
    Busy killing half the scientists on the Organization payroll.
    A little whimper from the far side of the room finally called Adrian’s gaze in that direction. And again it happened. The sight of her hit him like a punch.
    Big chocolate eyes, rich brown curls, and that aura of innocence and hope. The building seemed to shudder around him—she could move his fucking world—then a piece of rubble fell from the ceiling and he realized it was actually shaking.
    Rachel cowered against the wall and unwanted emotion surged up, a conflicting mess of feeling that was distinctly unwelcome in the middle of an op—including a bizarre unnatural rage that she hadn’t run into his arms. His true mate would have. He should be relieved she hadn’t distracted him during his altercation with Dominec, but all he felt was irritation that he’d saved her life and now she was looking at him like she wasn’t sure whether he was her savior or her doom.
    The hell of it was, he wasn’t entirely sure himself.
    He’d pictured her bruised and battered, tortured himself with images of her torture.
    There wasn’t a mark on her.
    He’d thought she would be chained and restrained, helpless and vulnerable. A quick glance confirmed there wasn’t even a lock on the door.
    Every hair was in place. She was clean and healthy and whole. And the longer he looked at her—looking so fucking good— the more his rage built.
    He’d come to save a prisoner and here she was, not a prisoner at all. One of them all along. He should have fucking known.
    He spoke without taking his eyes off her. “Dominec, go check in with Kye. I’ll bring her.”
    He expected the tiger to snarl at him on principle—Dominec wasn’t exactly known for taking orders—but his scarred face tipped into a lopsided smirk. “She is pretty damn hot. I’m not sure I should leave you alone with her. Who knows what could happen?”
    “You were about to kill her,” Adrian reminded him with little more than a growl.
    “It would have been a clean kill. There’s honor in a clean kill.”
    Not for the corpse. “Go.”
    Dominec propped a hip against a lab table. “I think I’ll stay.”
    Adrian knew better than to tangle with the tiger, but the urge to dig his talons into the unscarred side of the bastard’s face was fierce enough his knuckles ached—but nothing happened. His shifting was still fucked to hell and back.
    Light, quick footsteps continued down the hall and Grace