Ambushed Read Online Free Page B

I was standing.
    One of the van
doors opened with a click and two sets of footsteps hurried across
the concrete. "You two secure the two stairwells here on the
ground floor, we can't afford to let these kids get away, not with a
billion euros at stake."
    As the van
started back into motion, Alec completed his survey of our little
section of the parking garage and decided on a plan.
    "Jess,
stand over there next to the Hummer so that they don't see you until
they've driven past us. James, take the outside wall. Shift into
hybrid form and then just sink your claws in deep enough to hang on
the outside of the building. I'll hide behind a car up by where I
left the briefcase. With any luck they'll see the briefcase at the
same time that they see Jess."
    It was a plan,
I wasn't sure it was a good plan, but it did provide us with the
element of surprise.
    "What
about me, Alec? What do you want me to do?"
    "I need
you to make sure none of the vampires get away. Hide next to the edge
of the building, and then as soon as we know that we're not too badly
outnumbered, jump down to the first floor and take out the two
vampires they left behind to bottle us up. They'll probably be spread
out between the two doors."
    "Okay, I
can do that."
    I could hear
the van's engine, laboring to pull its weight up the incline leading
to the second level, but that didn't matter. It took only a couple of
seconds for us all to take our positions. James had already stripped
off his clothes while Alec had been explaining the plan. He shifted
forms in a rush of power that was remarkably similar to what happened
on the physical plane. The transformation always took place too
quickly to see exactly what happened, but just like always, I got the
impression that James' body exploded outward and then instantly
contracted back down to his hybrid form.
    James covered
the distance to the outside wall in two long steps and then reached
up and pulled himself out of sight, hanging from the outside of the
building by nothing more than his claws and talons.
    Alec likewise
shed his clothes as he moved to his position, and as he ducked down
between two cars another burst of power signaled that he'd shifted
forms. The van was closer now and I stepped behind one of the huge
cement pillars by the stairwell a split second before it rounded the
last corner that had been stopping the vampires from being able to
see us.
    Time stretched
and pulled, behaving oddly. I'd risked my life dozens, maybe hundreds
of times before, but this time felt different. My pulse stuttered,
speeding up and slowing down, but I couldn't tell whether that was
what it was actually doing or if my time sense was just off.
    Each heartbeat
slammed against my chest, echoing in my ears as the van got closer. I
prepared to slide around to the other side of the pillar I was hiding
behind. Timing was everything, if I moved too soon or too late then
they'd see me and I would ruin the ambush.
    I made my move
as the van passed my position, settling back against the other side
of the pillar, and then suddenly the van slid to a stop.
    "Samuels,
go get the girl, Fiver and I will grab the briefcase."
    I'd heard two
doors open, not three. That meant that the driver was still inside
the van. Alec and James were outnumbered at least four to two.
    I looked down
and realized that I'd also pulled my clothes off sometime in the last
minute or two. My shirt, pants and shoes were all balled up in my
left hand.
    We were going
to have to risk the two downstairs getting away. It was too dangerous
for Alec and James to take on four vampires by themselves. I took a
deep breath and started to loosen the chains on my beast as I looked
around the pillar.
    The first
vampire was almost to the silver briefcase when Alec appeared as if
by magic from behind the car that had been sheltering him. The
vampire tried to get his weapon out, tried to step back out of the
range of Alec's claws, but he wasn't up against a normal human.
Reflexes that