Taming the Darkness: Love & Monsters, Book 2 by Devin Harnois Page B

tension left her shoulders. They weren’t safe yet, but at least they didn’t have weapons pointed at them. “Thank you, sir.”
    “So you want me to send Victor after them?”
    No. “Yes,” she said. “What happened out there, sir?”
    “Patterson went nuts. Killed his escort and almost got me. Probably killed his partner too. He started opening the other cells to let the others out. I don’t know how many are out there. I saw a few nasties when I tried to get down the hall, so someone must have gotten to the pens.” He shook his head. “Fuck. It’s all gone to hell.”
    “Not all. You still have me,” Victor said.
    Claire turned to look at him and saw the tension running through his body. He was trying to stay calm.
    “Do you think you stand a chance against them?” she asked quietly, feeling guilty for offering him up. But she hadn’t known what else to do.
    He grinned, showing teeth. “Oh yeah.”
    “Monroe, how do I know you’re not going to go batshit like the rest of them if I let you out?” the major asked.
    “ I know, don’t know how to prove it except show you.” He flexed his fingers and shifted his feet.
    Claire moved closer so she could put a hand on his arm. “Let him out. Let him prove this experiment isn’t a total failure. He’s too useful to waste just because the others are defective.”
    “He is the most stable of the alts,” Berkstrom piped up.
    “We thought Patterson was stable too.”
    “I’m not him,” Victor said with a slight growl.
    “Damn straight,” she muttered.
    “Look, Scarlotti, I don’t want to do this, but it’s gonna take a hell of a lot to convince the brass this isn’t a failure. Doctor Lathell is probably reporting to them right now, telling them he was right the whole time. Jesus, listen to it out there.” It sounded like a battle, made all the louder with sounds bouncing off the walls.
    “They’re out there, and we’re stuck in here,” Claire pointed out. “And you’re bleeding. That’s going to draw a lot of attention. How about the guards go first and me and Victor take up the rear. We can get you and Berkstrom out of here. Then me and Victor can go back in and clean up this mess.” Just like that, she was including herself. She thought about it for half a second, but no, she couldn’t let him take on the other alts by himself.
    The major looked at his wounded arm and gave her a considering look. “I want both of you to come back alive.”
    She fought against a smile. “Yes, sir.” This was it, her moment to do something great, to make a difference.
    “Let them out, Berkstrom, and let’s get out of here.”
    She wasn’t looking forward to going out in the hall, but at least now they had a fighting chance.
    Victor nudged her. “Let’s go kill something.”
    This time she did smile.

Chapter Nine
    Three seconds after the first guard entered the hallway, one of them yelled and they all started firing. The scents filling Victor’s nose made him a little dizzy—blood, gunpowder, lead, rage, fear, humans, nasties and the strange scent of the alts. Victor pushed Berkstrom aside and the scientist stumbled back as far as the small space would allow him.
    “Wait, we’re supposed to take up the rear,” Claire said, grabbing his arm.
    “Gotta make some room first.” He pushed Alston aside. The last guard stood right in front of the door, shooting at the things swarming the hallway. Victor pushed him aside too, and the guard almost fell. Then he turned to the right and rushed down the hall, hoping the guard wouldn’t shoot him in the back. He’d never known how many nasties were kept in the pens, but from the look of the hall it was a shit ton of them. Why the fuck would one of the alts let them out? “Distraction,” he muttered as he reached the first one and tore into it.
    Patterson wanted out, and the more chaos there was the better his chances of escaping. Were the other alts in on it, or were they only part of the