Hell & High Water (THIRDS 1)

“So are we,” Rosa pointed out.

Dex quickly scanned the terrain and spotted a three story with a fire escape that didn’t look like it was a strong breeze away from turning to dust. “There!” He motioned toward the building. “Better vantage point. If we stay here, we’re sitting ducks.”

“Let ’em come,” Letty snarled, cocking her rifle.

“Okay, Ripley, and when you run out of tranqs and ammo, then what? Let’s move. Cover the rear.” He gave Rosa a small shove toward the building.

“Rookie’s giving orders now?” Rosa asked, amused.

“Sloane’s not here, so yeah, I am.” They ran toward the fire escape’s hanging ladder, and when they reached it, he grabbed Rosa’s vest and hauled her under it. He laid his shield on the ground at his feet and let his rifle hang from its straps so he could lace his fingers together in front of Rosa, boosting her up. “Come on. Letty, move your ass.”

Letty fired off another shot before hauling ass to join him, following Rosa’s lead. Dex was going to tell the girls to lower the ladder when Hobbs roared. Hobbs was taking on half a dozen Therians, all in the hopes of keeping Calvin safe. Dex knew protocol was to fall back and let Hobbs deal with the threat, but screw it. His teammate was lying there like a slab of beef waiting to be served. The ladder came rumbling down in a cacophony of shrilly squeals and rattling, but Dex had other ideas.

“Dex, what are you waiting for!” Rosa called down. “Get your ass up here! I’ll call the sarge.”

“I got this.” Dex reached behind him, unzipping the side compartment of his backpack, pulling out a couple of flash-bangs and sticking one in his pocket. “Let’s see how you like these babies.” Ignoring Rosa and Letty’s curses, he snatched up his shield and hurried down the street, a flash-bang in his free hand as he concentrated on controlling his breathing. Something darted out from his right and sped toward him.

“Fuck!” He picked up the pace, pulling the pin from the flash-bang with his teeth before hurling it high and long. “Hobbs! Incoming!”

Hobbs dropped to the ground and rolled, his back paws kicking up dirt as he darted out of the way. The flash-bang exploded in a cloud of white smoke and blinding light. Something jumped out at Dex from his left and he flailed, skidding and hitting the dirt like he was trying to steal home plate, his shield tucked against him. He slid under the wolf Therian as it leapt over him, and then wasted no time in scrambling to his feet and taking off again with the wolf on his heels.

Okay, so now he understood why Sloane wanted him to cut back on the Cheesy Doodles. Running would be a whole lot easier without his damn shield, but he’d be stupid to leave it behind. He removed the other flash-bang from his pocket and pulled the pin. “Hobbs!”

The Therians snapping at Hobbs pulled back, and Hobbs seized the opportunity, leaping to Calvin and lying over him, shielding him with his body. He tucked his massive head under his big paws. A heavy mass crashed into Dex, knocking the wind out of him and sending him sprawling on the ground, his shield landing behind him. Thankfully, he’d managed to keep a tight grip on his flash-bang. With his free hand, he snatched up his shield and covered his body, his legs tucked up behind it as the first bite came down, the weight crushing him between the asphalt and the ballistic armor.

“Son of a bitch!” They were surrounding Hobbs. “Fuck this shit.” Dex thrust his shield forward receiving a shrill yelp from the Therian on the other side, giving him enough time to pull back his arm and hurl the flash-bang. “Incoming!”

Hobbs let out a roar from the noise, but Dex saw him gently bite down on Calvin’s vest on his shoulder before he started dragging his partner through the dirt. A second wolf Therian materialized out of nowhere, snapping at Dex’s face. Reacting on instinct, Dex pulled back, the wolf Therian’s teeth miraculously grazing only his jaw, leaving nothing but a sharp sting behind. Unsuccessful at ripping Dex’s face off, it clamped its jaws down on the protective padding around his upper arm. Thank God for

small miracles. It tugged and shook its head in an attempt to do some damage. Despite the body armor protecting his arm, the fierce jerking motion was jarring and painful. If he didn’t do something quick, the

bastard was going to dislocate something.

“Damn it!” Using his knees to balance his shield, he pulled one of the tranqs from his vest and stabbed it into the wolf Therian’s neck. It shrieked and jumped back, flailing and craning its neck in an attempt to remove the impaled object. The wolf pushing against his shield scurried off, clearly unwilling to get shanked. Pushing to his feet, Dex hurried to Hobbs and grabbed Calvin’s vest on the other side, helping Hobbs drag their teammate into the abandoned building behind them.

“Dex!” Letty’s worried cry came over his earpiece.

Dex dragged Calvin up to the cinderblock wall, sitting him up before checking his pulse. He was okay. He tapped his earpiece, his breath coming out heavy.

“We’re okay. Calvin’s out, but he’s breathing. Hobbs is with us.”

“Any sign of Everton?”

Dex activated the lights on his shield, scanning the area around them. “Negative.” Not that he expected to find Everton. At the moment, he was more concerned with what else might be in here with them.

“Okay, we’re coming to get you—holy shit.”

“Letty?”

Dex edged up to the end of the wall and took a quick peek. “Oh fuck.” They were all coming out of the woodwork. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He looked over at the roof of the building across where Rosa and Letty were shooting at everything that moved. At Dex’s feet, Calvin was out. Ahead of him in the darkness, he heard movement. Hobbs growled, and Dex aimed his rifle, until the growls of other Therians echoed around them. They were surrounded. What the hell had he signed up for? He needed to call Sloane, Cael, hell, even Ash.

Around them, dozens of glowing eyes became visible, and Dex swallowed hard. “Oh my God.” Even with Hobbs, they wouldn’t be able to take on this many Therians. What the hell had made him think he was cut out for this? He was a detective, not Special Forces. They were surrounded, like tiny insects in a roach motel. Hobbs hissed and Dex turned his head, watching him nudge Calvin’s cheek with his nose. A huff escaped and a loud purring sound started rumbling out of him. Seriously? They were about to be turned into kibble and Hobbs was purring? Dex reached out only to have Hobbs hiss at him, his snarl revealing those razor sharp fangs. He snatched his hand back and held it up at his side.

“Sorry, sorry.”

With a groan, Hobbs nudged Calvin’s head again until they heard a faint groan, this time coming from Calvin.

“Calvin?” Dex crouched down next to him, gently shaking his shoulder. “Come on, buddy, I really need you to wake up.”