Under the Skin (Ritual Crime Unit) by E. E. Richardson Page B

then make a noise to let us know you’re in there.”
    Still nothing. Could be empty—could be trouble. Her chest was tight as she took hold of the door handle. She waited for Leo’s acknowledging look, then mouthed a countdown to him. Three. Two. One ... She yanked the door open and leapt out of the way.
    Something dark flopped down from inside of the van. She flinched, anticipating the sharp bark of the Glock, but Leo didn’t share her trigger-happy instincts. He let out a slow breath and reholstered the gun as she registered just what had fallen out.
    A dangling arm, attached to the body that lay slumped on the floor of the van.
    Emphasis on the word ‘body.’ Judging by the bloody wounds that had made rags of the man’s clothes, checking for a pulse would be a waste of time.
    Pierce climbed inside the van to do it anyway. The only heartbeat to be found was hers, thumping hard enough in her chest she’d swear it echoed in the closed space. She turned to look at Leo, shaking her head. “Dead.” Probably one of Maitland’s men. He was dressed all in black, outfitted for a stealth infiltration.
    Clearly hadn’t been stealthy enough.
    Leo reached for the radio on his vest. “Okay, this is the point where we stop doing things off the record,” he said. “I’m going to call Baker to bring the car up, and—” He broke off, aware that she’d stopped listening. “Claire?”
    Her eyes were on the shadowy shape of the black van behind them; a shape that had suddenly grown deformed as something huge and grotesquely misshapen rose from the roof.
    “Leo, look out!” she shouted as it sprang.

 

     
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
     
    L EO BARELY HAD time to turn before the monstrous beast slammed into him. The impact knocked him backwards into the van, and he sprawled across the corpse. Pierce grabbed his ballistic vest to drag him along with her as she retreated towards the van’s front seats. The torch clipped to his vest bounced all around, light flickering across the nightmare creature crouched outside.
    The pieces the light revealed looked like nothing that should be part of a whole. A bulky, bear-like body, feline paws, vicious curved horns... no creature that had ever walked the Earth had looked like this. Pierce would have sworn out loud if she’d had any breath to do it.
    A chimaera pelt. They were the stuff of legend; the one supposed real-life example that she’d seen was a threadbare museum piece most people thought was a hoax. There might be stories of skinbinders with the skill to stitch multiple animal skins into single working pelt, but no reputable source could claim they’d ever seen it done.
    Well, if she got out of this alive and with a sliver of her reputation intact, that had changed.
    Leo gave a sharp grunt of pain as the thing’s claws raked his leg, and she cursed as she hauled him frantically backwards. He wasn’t a big man—she doubted he outweighed her—but that didn’t make him easier to move. There was no space in the van with the corpse slumped on the floor and the beast swiping at them through the doors like a cat with a cornered mouse.
    Her elbow hit the headrest of the passenger seat. “Shit!” She turned to squeeze between the seats. “Leo, come on!” she said. They were sitting ducks inside the van. “We’ve got to get out of here!” He struggled to rise, and she grabbed his arm to pull him after her.
    The whole vehicle lurched, tipping backwards as the chimaera set a paw on the bumper to try and crawl in after them. Its snorting, wheezing breaths filled the inside. Pierce clambered between the seats and dropped into the driver’s seat, bashing her knee on the steering wheel as she hauled her legs up after. She cursed as she felt around in the dark for the door release.
    Leo’s hand groped her shoulder as he fought to keep from falling backwards. There was no chance for him to go for his gun, and firing it inside the metal cage of the vehicle would only put them in more