Page 25 of Alpha Awakened

His adrenaline still pumping, Hazard held tight to the captain. This close, with his face damn near tucked into Ice’s neck, Hazard should have a nose full of the alpha’s scent. But thanks to the heavy blockers Ice wore and the fire they’d escaped, all he smelled was smoke. For a moment, he pouted with disappointment before he remembered himself and fixed his face.

When they hit the ground, Hazard held on for a moment longer than necessary before he slid off Ice’s back.

Ice turned to face him.

“You good?”

“Yeah.” He was good. And slightly starry eyed at the effortless way the alpha had carried him to safety. His Instinct urged him to push into the alpha’s space and wrap his arms around the big body that had saved him to say thank you.

For the first time in his life, Hazard inwardly recoiled from the guidance of his Instinct. Cuddling up to his CO would absolutelynotbe happening. Instead, he offered cool, professional gratitude. “Thanks for getting me out of there.”

Ice nodded. “Let’s get to the others.”

They jogged around the side of the building to where Ortiz and Jax waited in the front parking lot.

“You made it,” Jax said with a note of relief in his deep voice.

“Told you we would.” Hazard grinned, the skin on his cheeks pulling dry and tight from the heat of the flames.

The two of them fist bumped and Ortiz clapped him on the shoulder. The alphas nodded at Ice, who returned the gesture.

“I put in a call to dispatch,” Jax said. “Fire department should be here soon.”

The team moved to the opposite side of the street for safety. Their transport vehicle pulled up to the curb as they stood there, staring at the Outreach Center. Smoke was starting to come through the roof, thick and gray against the night sky. But so far the flames were still contained by the office’s brick walls and that steel door.

Hazard shook his head. “Now I’m really curious. What was so secret and important that Cortez set up a booby trap like something out of Indiana Jones to keep anyone from getting their hands on it?”

“We’re not going to find out tonight,” Ortiz answered. “But he just made the target on his back that much bigger. We’re staying after him until we get him.”

Chapter 10

The results of the Arizona mission were so unexpected that Lieutenant Colonel Gibbs wanted them to debrief immediately upon returning to base. The team exited the plane and went straight to headquarters, still in their field uniforms and gear.

Colonel Gibbs was waiting for them in the briefing room. He sat at the head of the table, mouth pulled down in a stern frown. His assistant sat in the chair to his left, a clipboard and paper on the table in front of them, ready to take notes.

Hazard noticed the assistant wrinkling his nose as the team sat around the table. He didn’t blame him, they all still smelled strongly of gasoline and smoke.

“Run me through what happened,” the colonel said as soon as they were all seated.

The mood in the room was tense as Ortiz gave him the details, explaining that Cortez wasn’t there when they arrived even though surveillance had him on site. And the biggest issue — that his office caught fire while Ice and Hazard were searching it and they’d been deliberately trapped inside to burn. Gibbs listened with a furrowed brow. Once Ortiz finished, he leaned back in his chair and began slowly tapping one finger on the tabletop.

“So. Mr. Cortez evaded capture and used counter measures against us. Interesting.”

“There’s no way he had time to rig a trap like that in the scant few hours between us learning his name and arriving on scene to bring him in,” Ortiz said.

Jax nodded in agreement. “That’s something he’s had set up for some time.”

“Which means he’s been expecting to be on Legion radar at some point,” Hazard added.

Colonel Gibbs turned his chair slightly to the side to look at the picture of Carlos Cortez on the monitor. “Whatever he’s planning, it must be big to warrant that kind of response,” he said thoughtfully.

Hazard looked at Ice sitting on the other side of the table. He hadn’t spoken, but it was clear from his body language he was as angry as everyone else. His shoulders were stiff, big hands clenched into fists where they rested on top of the conference table. Ice must have sensed Hazard’s gaze because he suddenly looked right at him. He was learning that Ice’s eyes were just as expressive as the rest of his body. Maybe more so. You could learn a lot about what the alpha was thinking if you could manage to meet and hold the captain’s gaze. Right now, those dark eyes were glowing bright with anger.

“We’ll continue to gather intel on Cortez,” Gibbs said after a few moments of quiet. “The intelligence team will track down all related addresses and associates until he’s found.”

“I want my squad to stay on this, Colonel, sir. That bastard tried to burn my men alive. I wantusto be the ones to bring him in.”

“Of course,” Gibbs answered firmly. “The second Cortez is found, I’ll send you after him.”