Page 42 of Perfectly Leashed
Luca kicked in the front door, his Glock steady in his grip. Windows exploded inward as wolves poured through every opening. Screams erupted from inside, followed by the sharp crack of gunfire. Muzzle flashes lit up the interior like deadly fireworks as hyenas scrambled for weapons.
A hyena rounded the corner, weapon raised, but Luca put two bullets in his chest before the bastard could squeeze the trigger. Blood sprayed across faded wallpaper as the body crumpled.
Luca rolled behind a moth-eaten couch, splinters exploding from the wooden frame as bullets tore through fabric and stuffing.
His wolf wanted to shift, to tear throats with fang and claw, but the confined space made it impossible. Instead, he relied on human weapons and experience. Three hyenas rushed him from the hallway. He put them down before they could get off a shot.
Then, as suddenly as the chaos had started, silence fell. Only the music kept playing, some mindless rap song that seemed obscene in the sudden quiet.
Luca headed back outside, the cool night air washing away the stench of death and drugs.
Chopper emerged from the house, wiping blood from his knuckles before pulling out a cigarette. “Damn, that felt good,” he said, lighting up with steady hands.
Luca nodded, but his mind was already elsewhere. They’d eliminated the immediate threat, but this wasn’t over. Too many loose ends remained, and the biggest one wore a deputy’s badge.
Gilmore was working with the hyenas.
How deep did the corruption go? Was Sheriff Mahoney involved, or was Gilmore operating independently? Either way, the deputy represented a problem that wouldn't go away on its own.
After hearing the terror in Darcy’s voice when he’d called, after imagining what those hyenas would’ve done to his mate, there was no mercy in Luca’s heart.
But tonight wasn’t about Gilmore or corrupt law enforcement. Tonight was about getting back to Darcy, to his mate who’d shown more courage in one morning than most people managed in a lifetime.
Chopper took a long drag then glanced at him sideways. “You thinking about your mate?”
“Always.” The word came out rougher than he intended, but it was true. Every breath, every heartbeat, every moment since they’d bonded—Darcy was there in his thoughts. “Can’t wait to get back to him.”
His elegido. Just thinking about those green eyes made something warm unfurl in his chest.
Amazing how a week ago, Luca had been a bachelor mechanic with no attachments, no complications. Then a pit bull had gotten his teeth into Jared’s tire, and everything changed.
All because of the sweetest dog walker who couldn’t control a pack of house pets to save his life.
Now Darcy was his whole world, and Luca would burn down anything that threatened him.
THE END