Page 63

MARA

I was so focused on the fact that two grotesque creatures were coming our way, I didn’t initially notice who followed them. The hounds were being walked—like dogs —by two REG soldiers. That’s when I remembered the security footage behind the desk in the lobby—a man walking a rather large dog.

I grew cold.

How was this possible? Hellhounds weren’t trainable, and the REG was in danger of them just as much as the Telvian citizens, or anyone else for that matter. And yet, here I was, watching two of those monstrous things, being walked by soldiers like this was normal .

My body trembled as the hounds came closer, and I swore I could already smell the stank of their breath—like pungent raw meat and iron. The last time I’d seen one was at Bellfire Tower, and we’d almost died when the creatures had been released. What was going to happen this time?

Fingers brushed my own, causing me to shift my focus.

Wes’s pinky wrapped around mine, and I lifted my gaze to see him scowling in the direction of the hounds.

But he held me. Not as much as I would have liked, but the little gesture was a reminder that he was there.

We’d survived worse, right? We had already conquered so much together.

We could survive this too.

One beast snarled as it approached, catching our scent and dipping its head as though the ground carried the trail.

The soldier yanked back roughly on the leash, but the hound didn’t even seem to notice.

The man was broad shouldered and looked like he spent most of his free time lifting weights at the gym.

The second hound stalked toward us, its eyes unblinking as it took each step.

His handler was a shorter woman with hair cropped short to her scalp.

If it weren’t for her feminine features, I’d think she was a man with the way she strutted and carried herself.

And she was equally bulked up. Both handlers stopped several yards away from us, but those hounds looked like they were itching to get closer.

The man spoke first. “Let’s go, folks. Don’t touch the hounds and don’t look ‘em in the eye.”

He tugged on the leash, almost dragging the creature on the tile.

But those things weighed way over 100 pounds.

The last time I was pinned under one, it took all my strength to lift the beast off of me.

That dog wasn’t going anywhere if it didn’t want to.

Eventually, however, the hound turned, accepting command, and the guard started walking back down the hall. “Follow me,” he said over his shoulder.

The woman stood like a statue, shortening her leash to keep the hound at her side.

Javier was the first to go, tugging on his crotch before moving on, giving the creature a wide berth.

Matias was next, his left shoulder grazing the wall the entire time.

The little lines of wrinkled skin between his brows told me he remembered all too well what it was like to fight one of these things off.

Whether it was a conscious choice or not, I noticed when he rubbed his right shoulder—the spot where he had been bitten during the Bellfire mission.

Wes had me go next, and I moved just as Matias had, hugging the wall while keeping my eyes down, but I watched out of the corner of my eye.

The hound had its orangey-red gaze on Wes, but the woman was eyeing me, brows slowly drawing downwards.

Feeling the sensation of being watched caused me to tilt my head away from them.

Did she recognize me? If she did, she would have said something, right?

Unease wiggled and writhed in my stomach like a bowl of tangled earthworms seeking freedom.

Finally past the woman, I looked up, taking note of the hallway and every turn we took. If this whole thing went sideways, someone needed to remember how to get out of this facility.

Straight.

Left turn.

Left turn.

Straight some more.

I kept eyeing that stupid hellhound in front of me, curiosity piquing. I still didn’t understand how these guards were walking these dogs around like pets . Hellhounds weren’t pets …they were monsters that took command from no one.

My morbid curiosity got the better of me. “Those animals you’re patrolling with…they’re hellhounds, right? I thought they were only used at Bellfire Tower.” I could sense the unease rolling off Wes in waves.

The male guard looked over his shoulder. “Well, now they’re part of Apex security,” he said plainly before growing silent.

I rubbed my lips together. “Yes, but how? I thought they were wild and uncontrollable or something.” My voice grew thin.

This time, the woman from the back answered. “That’s beyond your paygrade, technician. Let’s just say they’ve been modified to behave.” She snickered then, and the guard in front chuckled along with her.

My eyes widened, my throat closing up. Oh my god…Raúl retrofitted the hounds with NIT-V2. Gooseflesh skittered down my arms. Raúl had control of the hounds .

My father created these genetically engineered dogs, envisioning a creature with a taste for blood that was also expendable.

When they were made, they were bred for bloodlust and aggression, which also made them unwilling to accept command by a human handler, rendering them useless, really.

Whenever he did use them, it was always a final desperate attempt to regain control of a situation. And even then, they were rarely used.

But he had control of the hounds now.

What did that mean? What would he do with them?

The man came to a stop, shortening the leash and tugging back on the collar, snapping my attention back to the moment. “Here’s the terminal,” he said. “Who’s working the computer?”

Wes moved to my side, placing a hand on the small of my back. “We are.”

The guard shook his head. “Only one of you is allowed in.”

“ Why ?” His voice came out too sharp, holding too much authority.

The guard stood up straighter. “Because those are the rules, technician. Are you going to be a problem?” He tugged on the leash, and something about how he did it signaled to the hound that he was displeased.

The beast’s eyes zeroed in as it lowered its head, lips curling back from yellowed canines and reddish-black gums.

“Don’t mind my colleague, sir,” Javier swept in, charming as ever. “The girl he’s matched with has found him to be an unsatisfactory lover.”

I almost choked as Wes mumbled an expletive.

Javier lifted a hand to his face, shielding his mouth as though he were imparting a secret. But he made sure he kept his voice loud enough so we could all hear. “You see, apparently, external size does not always translate to being well hung , if you know what I’m saying?”

A giggle crawled up my throat, and it took everything within me not to break out into laughter. I covered my lips, trying to keep the corners of my mouth from curling but failing miserably. I tipped my chin to my chest, but looked up at Wes under hooded eyes. He looked pissed .

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” he muttered, which only made the giggle bubble up once again.

“I don’t give a shit about his love life,” the soldier spat out, but I couldn’t help but notice the ring of amusement in his tone. “Watch your attitude, is all I’m saying. Now, she goes”—he pointed to me—“and the rest of you follow me.”

Wes stiffened. “I’ll go. She’s better with the tower maintenance—”

“I don’t think so, lover boy. I don’t like your attitude, so you’re coming with me. She can do the terminal shit. Got that?” He postured, giving the hound another tug that translated into a rumbling growl. “Or do I need to get leadership involved here?”

I inhaled sharply. The last thing we needed was to have anyone with any sort of ranking brought into this. Someone would eventually recognize me, and I didn’t even want to know what that would translate into.

“It’s fine,” I rushed out before Wes, or anyone else for that matter, could say something to get us in deeper trouble.

“I can manage the updates by myself.” I offered a smile, and then quickly swept my gaze to Wes.

Every line of his body said he was less than happy about my intervention.

But he wasn’t going to get a say on this one. It was done.

“All right, then let’s get moving,” the woman spoke roughly behind me. She walked to the door and flashed her badge at the key fob. The device blinked yellow twice and then green. “Let’s go,” she groused. I wondered if she liked her job…she seemed awfully grumpy.

“The rest of you,” the man said, “come with me.”

Javier tapped Matias on the shoulder. They both gave me the briefest of glances before following the male soldier.

Wes grimaced, his lips pressed into a thin line.

It was obvious there was so much he wanted to say, but all he could offer me was, “I’ll see you in a few.

” Then I watched all three of them walk away, leaving me alone with a REG officer and hellhound.

“Let’s go, technician,” she snapped out at me. Patience was clearly not a virtue she held. With a hard swallow, I wrangled my nerves into submission, and I stepped into the computer room, feeling like I was walking into a cage and quite possibly…my own death.