Rise & Fall (THIRDS 4)

“Maybe you haven’t heard, but I’m not alone. When my team is done with your crew, they’ll be coming after you,” Dex said as he edged against the far left wall so he was away from any shadows where Hogan might be hiding, waiting to get the drop on him.

“Your friends are busy. It’s you and me.”

There was a soft groan, and Dex swallowed hard. His little brother needed him. “What do you want, Hogan?”

“To make you suffer the way I suffered.” Hogan emerged from the shadows, dragging a bound and bloodied Cael with him.

“You motherfucker!” Dex aimed his rifle at Hogan’s chest, but he jerked Cael up in front of him as a shield before Dex could even think of pulling the trigger. A sniper would have come in real handy right about now, but who the hell knew where Calvin was or how many Therians he was knee-deep in.

Hogan hissed and put his claws to Cael’s neck, his fangs elongating. “Watch your fucking mouth!”

Looked like Dex had hit a sore spot. He mentally went through Hogan’s file, remembering the reason for all this. “I apologize,” Dex said, doing his best to control his tone and not spit the words out. Hogan’s pupils were dilated, and Dex could see the guy was struggling to maintain a grip on his feral side. He was huge with dark hair and nearly black eyes, at least three hundred pounds or slightly over, dressed in a tactical uniform and black vest. He was all bulging muscle. How the hell the guy didn’t go through the piss-poor excuse of a floor beneath them was anyone’s guess. Dex glanced around the room, taking in all the places he might be able to escape to with Cael if he needed to. High places with narrow spaces. Hogan could still follow, but he was bulkier, and although his Therian form might climb with ease, in this confined space, the Therian’s Human form might struggle.

Here’s hoping. Now if he could only get his brother away from the guy. Dex swallowed hard, telling himself to concentrate on Hogan and the task before him, not the way his brother’s cheek was bruised. Not the smear of blood under his nose or the way he was balancing himself on one leg which meant Hogan had done something to his left leg.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your family. Believe it or not, I know how you feel.”

Hogan let out a bark of laughter. “Oh shit. Are you trying to sympathize with me? Trying to make a connection? Some sort of bond? Negotiating? Are you about to fucking negotiate with me, Agent Daley?” Hogan’s grin fell away and he snarled. “Tell me how you understand my pain. How you lost someone important to you as well, but how this isn’t the way. Go ahead. Tell me how my family wouldn’t have wanted this for me!” Hogan pressed the tip of a claw into Cael’s neck, making him cry out.

“Stop!” Dex pleaded, holding a hand up. “Please. Tell me what you want.”

“I want all you THIRDS assholes to go to hell!” Hogan hauled Cael off his feet, lifting him over his head and heading for one of the large open windows. Cael flailed, and Dex opened fire, shooting tranq after tranq into Hogan wherever he could get him. His legs, arms, neck. Hogan roared and carried on. Dex bolted forward, slamming into Hogan from the side with all his strength. The three of them went tumbling, the boards beneath them creaking and groaning as they rolled. Dex scrambled to get up when Hogan grabbed his vest.

“Dex!” Cael pushed himself to his knees with a wince.

“Run, Cael!” Dex swung his arm around, catching Hogan on the side of the head with his fist, but the blow only pissed the Therian off even more. Hogan’s beefy hands were around Dex’s neck, and he squeezed, the tips of his claws drawing blood. Dex gasped for breath. He scratched at Hogan’s reddened face with one hand while reaching for the Glock in his holster with the other. If he didn’t do something fast, Hogan might decide to snap his neck rather than enjoy stealing the breath from his already burning lungs.

Hitting the release mechanism, Dex snatched his Glock, swiping it before Hogan pulled back, getting to his feet and hauling Dex with him by the neck and dangling him off the ground. Fuck this. It wasn’t going to end like this. Dex brought his gun up, but Hogan’s arm got in his way, so Dex did the only thing he could while hanging in Hogan’s grip. He pressed the barrel of the Glock against the side of Hogan’s vest and fired one round after another. Hogan stumbled, blood trickling down the side of his mouth, but he refused to release Dex, his expression both pained and determined. Rage, hatred, and anguish were driving Hogan, coupled with Therian adrenaline.

A blow landed across the back of Hogan’s head, and Dex was dropped on his ass. He gasped and wheezed for air, his hand going to his neck as he turned in time to see Hogan spin on his heels toward the culprit. Nostrils flaring and fangs bare, Hogan roared at Cael who backed away, a steel rod in his hands.

“Get the fuck away from my brother you piece of shit!”

Hogan lunged at Cael who ducked and swung the rod as if it were a baseball bat like their days back in Little League. Except Cael wasn’t so little anymore. He put all his weight behind it, all his Therian strength. He caught Hogan behind the knee, the piercing crack resonating around the room before it was drowned out by Hogan’s howl.

Cael hopped over to Dex as he got to his feet, and Dex threw his arm around his brother’s waist, helping him quickly move toward the stairs only to have their path blocked by a white tiger Therian. One of Hogan’s crew. They were trapped. Dex frantically looked around the room, spotting Hogan getting to his feet. He quickly headed for one of the hollow corroded tubes angled toward some iron girders.

“Come on, Cael. We gotta climb.”

Despite knowing the tiger Therian could easily follow and jump, Cael did as Dex said, moving as quick as he could onto the tube. Dex swiped up his tranq rifle on the way there, firing at the hissing and roaring tiger Therian as he advanced.

“Kill them! Tear them apart!” Hogan ordered, limping in their direction. Dex jumped onto the tube, balancing as he followed Cael toward the girders. He emptied what was left of his tranqs into the tiger Therian, grateful to see they were slowing him down. If he made it out of this, Dex was going to have some serious words with Rosa about having more potent shit on hand. Fucking tiger Therians didn’t

go down for anything short of a goddamn explosion.

Cael pulled himself up onto one of the girders, kicking back when a paw swiped at his leg, grazing his tac pants. Another paw swipe, and Dex kicked the tiger Therian in the face, earning himself a fierce roar. Pulling himself up on the girder, he followed Cael, dragging himself on his stomach and praying Hogan was too weak to climb up here. No such luck.

“Fuck. What is this guy on fucking ’roids? He’s like the fucking Terminator,” Dex growled. They were going to run out of girder. The iron beam trembled beneath them, and Dex looked over his shoulder. The tiger Therian was pushing Hogan up onto the beam with his head, and as soon as he was up, the tiger Therian jumped too. The beam creaked. Cael looked over his shoulder at him, eyes wide.

“Dex….”

“Get to the end! There’s a narrow ledge. Hurry up!”

They both pulled themselves as quickly as they could, the terrifying sound of the girder creaking and wood snapping reaching Dex’s ear.

“Come here you little shits!”

“Hurry up, Cael!”