Worth the Risk by Savannah Stuart Page B

small,
    lifeless heap.
    “I’ll grab the girl. Torch the lab!” Thomas said as he sprinted ahead of them. He
    scooped her up as Stephan and Nick headed inside.
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    Glass shards covered most of the tiled floor, the television screen was cracked and
    the beakers and test tubes he’d seen earlier were smashed on the floor. Three guards
    and an old man in a lab coat lay dead on the floor with giant holes burned through their
    chests. What had once been a two-way mirror was now shattered open. Stephan spotted
    the blonde woman huddled in a corner. She was naked and dirty, but her eyes were
    open and terrified.
    “I got her.” Nick tossed the bottle of lighter fluid to Stephan before bounding over
    the glass. His boots made crunching sounds, even above the siren.
    As Stephan started spraying everything with the accelerant, his father and uncle ran
    into the room, both in human form.
    “Everyone is down but Perez isn’t here.” His father flipped open his lighter and
    tossed it into the middle of the room.
    Flames erupted with a loud whoosh. Bright orange fire licked its way across the
    floor, eating everything in its path with a hungry intensity. Stephan had wanted to
    gather some sort of records, but there was no time.
    The cops—or worse, the DEA—would be arriving soon and Stephan knew he
    couldn’t be anywhere around.
    They all rushed from the room and sprinted back the way they’d come. An
    explosion ripped through the house, rocking the foundation, as they emptied onto the
    back patio.
    The familiar blare of a fire truck siren resounded through the night.
    “Shift!” his father ordered.
    Regardless of their state of dress, they all changed. Thomas and Nick were already
    long gone with the women.
    If they wanted to get away from the cops, they couldn’t be in human form. Stephan
    stayed close to his father and uncle as they ran across the backyard. Shouting humans
    sounded around them, but no one tried to stop them and Stephan didn’t pause to see
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    who had arrived. Considering the growing fire and the potential problem that caused, a
    couple of loose dogs roaming around wouldn’t even register on Miami PD’s radar in a
    situation like this.
    The farther they ran, the more his paw ached. A piece of glass must have embedded
    itself in his foot, but that was the least of his worries. When his father slowed, so did
    Stephan and his uncle. They neared the quiet dead-end road where his father had left
    his SUV.
    Luckily, the back hatch was open and Nick stood guard. The three of them dove
    inside and Nick slammed the door shut behind them. Moments later, the vehicle jerked
    to life. Only then did Stephan allow himself to think about what they’d just done.
    Everything had happened so quickly and they hadn’t had adequate time to cover their
    tracks. If they made just one slip-up, it could send their entire pack on the run and into
    hiding.
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Chapter Eight
    Marisol’s eyes flew open at the sound of familiar voices. She pushed the afghan
    throw off and rubbed her eyes. She and Stephan’s mother must have fallen asleep in the
    living room. Glancing around, she groaned when she saw the clock on the mantle. Four
    o’clock.
    “They’re here,” Alisha murmured as she pushed up from the loveseat.
    Stephan’s mother had been strangely quiet since the males of the Lazos pack had
    left hours before. Of course she hadn’t let Marisol out of her sight, but she also hadn’t
    drilled her with questions.
    Footsteps across the tiled entryway and the front door slamming jerked Marisol out
    of her daze and into action. In addition to all the familiar bodies she scented something
    else. Something— someone —very familiar. But it couldn’t be.
    She hurried out of the room and almost ran directly into Stephan. He wore tattered
    shorts and no shirt or shoes. “Are you okay?”
    He stepped back and kept about a foot of distance between them. “We’re fine.