“Shouldn’t we tell the others?”
Horvan shook his head. “Let them sleep. We can tell them in the morning.” Then he chuckled. “Later in the morning.”
Rael nodded, then did as instructed, snuggling up to Horvan’s side, his head on Horvan’s shoulder, his right leg hooked over Horvan’s, Rael’s hand on his waist. His distress was obvious. Horvan concentrated once again on sending out pulses of calm, willing his mate to relax. Eventually, Rael’s breathing grew more even.
“You sound so confident,” he murmured against Horvan’s chest.
“That’s because I am. We’re going to do this. And you need to be confident too.” Horvan stretched out his arm to switch off the lamp, then covered Rael’s hand with his. “Sleep, sweetheart. We’re up in a few hours, remember? We need to be rested and alert.”
“How can I sleep? I’m not tired.” Then Rael yawned, and Horvan had to smile.
“Yeah, sounds like it.” Horvan made his breaths slow and even, knowing Rael’s would synchronize with his. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before they were in sync.
He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him. He needed to rest.
They had a mission to carry out, and despite his earlier words, none had ever been more important to Horvan or, he guessed, to his team.
Chapter Thirteen
EVEN FROM fifty feet away, the sight of the crowds gathered outside the Global Bio-Tech building as they approached sent Rael’s heartbeat racing. “There must be hundreds of people,” he said in an awed tone. Hashtag had done them proud.
In his ear, Hashtag chuckled. “More like a thousand. Seven a.m. and I’ve brought the street to a standstill. Can I cook, or what?”
Already the sidewalk in front of the building was filled to overflowing, with yet more people hurrying to join in. Banners had been placed against the glass frontage, stark white with the words Free the Tiger in bold red letters. There were even hastily made signs with Tony the Tiger’s picture, each with the words Tigers are Greeeat! Traffic had come to a halt as drivers stopped to watch the commotion. The noise level was incredible as the protesters shouted and booed, accompanied by frequent blasts from air horns responding to a guy with a megaphone who was doing a fantastic job of stirring up the crowd. When the car horns joined in, the volume climbed.
“That’s Jase,” Horvan remarked. “He’s one of my team. And the tall guy with him is Finn.”
“They’re about to crash the main door,” Hashtag told them. “Get through the crowd and move to the front.”
Horvan led Roadkill and Rael to the edge of the burgeoning throng, and they began to weave their way through the mob, who were chanting, “Set it free! Set it free!” Rael’s heart was hammering, and adrenaline coursed through his body. Little by little, they inched toward the entrance, and as they reached it, the door gave way under the pressure of so many bodies. On the other side of the glass, Rael saw the two security guards on their walkie-talkies, obviously panicking.
The crowd surged through the gap, spilling into the wide entrance hall, cheering and yelling. Rael was nearly carried away on the wave of bodies until a strong hand gripped him by the wrist. Horvan pulled Rael over to him.
“Stay close. It’s easy to get lost in this pack.” He got out his phone and tapped the keys. Seconds later the volume exploded as the chanting reached fever pitch, and people began spraying the walls with red paint. A cacophony of air horns filled the hall, bouncing off the walls and echoing around.
“What did you do?” Rael was impressed.
“Told Jase to step it up a bit. Now, which elevator is it?”
Rael led them to the last elevator on the right, pushing through the hordes. The security guards were nowhere in sight, swallowed up in the thronging mass of angry protesters.
“Let’s hope they haven’t killed the elevators,” he said.
The elevator doors slid open, and they dove inside, shutting out the noise.
Roadkill chuckled. “Nice one, Hashtag.”
“Hey, at least someone here was thinking. They tried to shut them down, but we couldn’t have that, could we? We’re standing by, H. Good luck, guys. As fast as you can, okay? The police will be on their way by now.”
Rael’s heart was pounding as they sped to the top floor, and his hands were clammy. The doors slid open and there was the glass wall of the office. Roadkill scanned the hallway and grabbed the remote.
“Just like he said. Fucking arrogant. They deserve to be broken into.” He aimed it at the wall, and the panel slid open.
Rael raced along the hallway to the next door. “This opens with a card.”
Roadkill fished out the key card Hashtag had procured and slid it through. He scowled. “Fuck. It doesn’t open this one. Okay, gimme a sec.” He knelt in front of it, pulled a screwdriver from his bag, and began removing the panel.
“The video loop is in play?” Horvan asked Hashtag.
“Affirmative. And I’ve taken out the camera that would have picked up you guys. Roadkill, you got this?”
“I got it.” Roadkill threw the panel aside and connected a device to it. “Any… second… now!” Four beeps sounded, and the door opened. “Bingo.”
Rael was through it in a heartbeat, Horvan and Roadkill close behind. He ran over to the cage, where Dellan lay on his branch, apparently asleep.
“Whoa. He’s even more impressive in the flesh.”
Rael barely heard Roadkill’s comment. He knelt by the cage and tapped on it gently. Dellan jerked his head up, instantly awake, and got down from his branch. He strolled over to Rael, his eyes focused on Rael’s face.
Dellan. Can you hear me?
Dellan gave no indication, and inside Rael’s head there was silence. “I was afraid of this.” Rael murmured. He got up and went to the cage door.
“What are you doing?” Horvan demanded.
Rael paused, his fingers curled around the handle as he slid back the catch, swallowing hard. “Acting on faith.” He was dimly aware of Roadkill removing the tranquilizer gun from the capacious bag at his feet before moving in his direction. Ignoring him, Rael opened the cage and stepped inside, his heart beating like a drum.
Dellan’s menacing roar sent ice down his back, but he didn’t falter, walking slowly toward Dellan, head bowed, peering at the tiger from under his mop of hair. When he was almost within touching distance, he knelt down, his heart pounding like it was about to burst.
Dellan stilled, and Rael held his breath. Seconds later, Dellan pounced, knocking Rael to the floor on his back. Dellan landed on top of him, and Rael felt the tiger’s hot breath on his face. Those teeth were sharp.
“Fuck, get out of there!” Horvan yelled, his hands on the glass.
Dellan. Dellan. It’s Rael. Your mate. Remember? Rael kept repeating the words over and over inside his mind, willing Dellan to hear him. He could feel Horvan’s fear and knew Roadkill had to be mere seconds away from shooting Dellan.
Suddenly Dellan licked Rael’s face, and Rael laughed. “Good God, it’s far worse than a house kitty’s tongue.” Relief flooded through him as Dellan nuzzled Rael’s neck and chest. When one word filled Rael’s mind, he burst into tears of sheer joy and utter relief.