Page 24 of Alpha Awakened

“That might make the fire worse,” Jax said.

“And blow us all to that big wolf den in the sky,” Hazard added.

Ortiz growled, anger and worry clear in the rumbling sound. “You two better not piss me off by dying in there.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Major,” Hazard said with a short laugh.

“Get moving. We’ll see you on the ground.”

Ice and Hazard carefully made their way back over to the desk in the center of the room. There was some space to move once they reached it. The desk was in between the two streams of fire and it hadn’t ignited yet. But it wouldn’t be that way for long.

Hazard’s heart pounded. This kind of situation, life or death, flames literally licking at his heels was what he lived for. Adrenaline zinging in his veins, excitement tingling in his fingertips. His wolf stirred within him and a howl hovered on his lips.

Ice ducked under the spouts of fire and climbed on top of the desk. Reaching above his head, he popped the access panel up and shoved it to the side, leaving a square opening in the ceiling. He jumped, grabbed the edges, and hoisted himself up through the opening. After he scrambled around to get settled on his knees, he leaned down and held a hand out.

“Let’s go, Corporal.”

Hazard hopped onto the desk. The corners of it were starting to burn. He met Ice’s eyes as he jumped up and grabbed his hand. The alpha’s gaze was steady, no hint of fear in the dark depths. Ice pulled, muscles straining to get Hazard’s dangling weight up.

“Good thing you’re as strong as a fucking ox,” Hazard said.

Once Hazard could reach it, he grabbed hold of the opening’s edge and boosted himself through. He looked down through the opening in time to see the flames engulf the desk where he’d been standing.

Hazard blew out a breath, his heart pumping hard. “That was close.”

“We’re not out of the fire yet,” Ice said. “Keep moving.”

There was only one way to go. And they had to crawl in the small space. In front of him, Ice kept his head down so that he didn’t bump it on the top of the passageway, but his shoulders brushed the wall on each side. Hazard had a little more room to maneuver but not much.

They reached the end of the crawl space. It widened into a small attic where the furnace was located. The space was still too low to stand, but there was room to crouch. There was a big round opening cut into an exterior wall for attic exhaust. But it was covered by a steel grill. Moonlight and fresh air slipped in through the slats. Ice slammed his shoulder against it once and then again, but the panel didn’t so much as budge.

“Fucker is bolted down tight,” he said in his low, rough voice. “It’s going to take both of us to get it off.”

Without being told, Hazard got in position next to the captain. They both sat facing the exhaust panel, hands braced behind them, feet raised in preparation to kick.

“On three. One. Two. Three!”

Together they kicked out, their heavy combat boots slamming against the metal screen. The combined force ripped the cover from the wall and sent it flying.

“Move, Hazard,” Ice ordered.

Hazard shimmied through the hole first, thanking Mother Wolf that it was wide enough for him to fit through. Then he turned back to watch Ice squeeze his large frame through the small opening. Finally out of the building, they were on the rooftop three stories up. And there were no fire stairs to the ground.

Hazard looked over the edge. It was a straight drop to the concrete parking lot below. “We jump from here we’ll both be on medical leave with broken legs.”

“We’re not jumping,” Ice said. He reached around to the back of his tac vest, tugging free a black rope with hooks and locking carabiners.

“You brought rappelling gear,” he said stating the obvious. Hazard hadn’t packed any climbing gear in his tac vest. He packed for each mission’s specific needs, while also taking into consideration how much weight he could carry. For a target extraction and info gathering op in an urban area, he hadn’t anticipated doing any rappelling. So that gear had been left on base. Of course, Ice could carry more than he could due to his size and strength so why wouldn’t he bring rappelling gear just in case?

Hazard waited patiently while Ice prepped the ropes and hooks.

“Hop on,” the alpha said once he was ready.

He jumped on Ice’s back. It was awkward, the bulk of their tac vests loaded with all of their equipment knocking against each other. He wrapped his legs around Ice’s waist and looped his arms over his shoulders to hold on tight. “I’m on you, Captain,” he joked.

“Shut it, Hazard.”

Ice stepped up to the edge of the building then went over the side. He fed out the rope slowly and carefully, boots planted against the wall to walk them down. The power in the captain’s body was on full display during their descent. He moved with ease even with Hazard’s additional weight attached to his back. The muscles in his arms and thighs didn’t tremble once as he lowered them to the ground.