Burn For Me (Phoenix Fire 1)

He shoved aside the remains of the door. Saw Eve and breathed again. She was standing near Wyatt’s desk, holding a gun. Wyatt was on the ground with a giant hole in his forehead. A pool of blood was forming around his body.

“Want to hand me a piece of that wood?” Eve asked, inclining her head toward Cain and the smashed chair near his feet. “As a precaution, I really think we need to stake this bastard.”

He grabbed the wood and tossed it lightly in his hand. Rushing forward, he shoved the stake into Wyatt’s chest. The not-so-good doctor didn’t move.

“And that’s how you die,” Eve whispered as she pushed back her hair. “Even if you are the best experiment out there.”

Cain grabbed her hand. “Time to go.” The mad scientist was dead, and they needed to get to safety.

But Eve shook her head. “It doesn’t end with him, don’t you see that? More scientists will just come along. They’ll use his research. Genesis will continue.”

He knew that. There were always monsters out there. Some of those monsters just happened to wear the bodies of men and white lab coats.

Eve pulled away from him. “I’m taking proof.” She snatched up what looked like syringes from the desk and grabbed a black briefcase. She shoved the syringes in the case and yanked files from Wyatt’s desk. “I am blowing this story wide open.” She grabbed for a flash drive—

The howl from the hallway froze them both. Eve’s shoulders stiffened. “Trace,” she whispered.

What was left of him.

“Stay here,” Cain told her. He actually thought Trace was trying to get to Eve. The beast had been fighting viciously to get down that hallway.

To Eve?

Not on his watch.

He ran back into the hallway. Trace was facing off against the other phoenix. His claws were up. He leaped forward.

Ryder grabbed his feet and sent the werewolf tumbling to the ground.

The phoenix let her fire out. Ryder jumped back and the flames circled Trace, closing in. He howled and swiped out, seeming to be confused. Lost.

“No,” Eve’s shout came from beside Cain. “You can’t do this to him!”

She tried to shove by Cain, but he grabbed her arm, holding her back. “It’s not my fire.”

Trace’s head jerked toward them. His face was human, but the eyes that locked on them were pure beast. He snarled and charged at the fire.

Leaped over the fire.

The werewolf was coming right at them.

Ryder screamed for the other female—the phoenix—to get out of the way. Trace kept charging, rushing with his claws up and his fangs bared.

Cain shoved Eve behind his back, then put up a wall of flames in front of them. He hadn’t wanted to do this, not with Eve watching, but there wasn’t a choice. . . .

The werewolf wasn’t stopping, so Cain had to stop him. He pushed out with his fire. The flames bit into Trace’s arm. Another howl. More cries and . . . the werewolf turned away. He ran toward the far end of the hallway and jumped through the window. Glass shattered.

Eve shoved Cain aside as she tried to race toward that window. But Cain was with her every step of the way. He knew they’d find the werewolf ’s broken body below, and he hated for her to witness that sight.

She beat him to the window. There was no shielding her.

There was also no werewolf below.

Just broken glass. Guards swarming. No, guards fighting for their lives. The supernaturals were definitely out. Someone had opened the cages and let the monsters out.

Cain glanced back over his shoulder and tensed. The female phoenix had been cut by the werewolf ’s claws. He could see the dark blood staining her shirt and the wounds that ripped into her stomach. Ryder had her in his arms, holding her tight.

But Cain could tell she wouldn’t survive those wounds. Death would come for her, then a rising. “Can you handle her?” he demanded.

He knew how dangerous a rising could be.

Ryder simply turned away and began carrying his phoenix toward the stairs. “Always.”

The vampire shouldn’t be so certain of that, but the guy had his own choices to make. Your funeral, vamp.

Cain had his priorities. Priority one—getting Eve to safety. The paranormals were wild, some could be on their side, some . . . could just be like the vampires they’d had to slaughter in the basement. Out of control. Rabid.

“Everyone’s out,” Eve said as if realizing how dangerous that situation was. “How?”

He glanced back down the hallway. Ryder was gone. Ryder. “I think they had a little vamp help.” The vampire had wanted his phoenix, and Cain was betting he’d freed everyone in order to get to her.

“Cain . . .” Eve’s gaze was on the madness below. “What happens to them now?”

Below them, a demon had just broken a guard’s neck. Another guard fired and shot the demon in the back. Eve flinched.

“They get the hell out of here,” Cain said. It was what most of the supernaturals were doing. Running into the forest. Fighting only when they were pursued. They wanted freedom. He understood that. It was what he wanted, too. “Come on.” He grabbed her right hand. She had the briefcase in her left. The files, her proof.

It looked as if they’d both gotten what they wanted. All they had to do was live long enough to get away from the remains of Genesis.

And back to the lives they’d known.

The subjects were gone. The rooms remained empty and hollow. The guards had scattered. They’d been running for their f**king lives.

Jeremiah Wyatt leaned heavily on his cane as he made his way down the long hallway that led to his son’s office. He knew Richard still had to be at the facility. His son hadn’t contacted him, so . . .

You have to be here.

But unlike the guards and some of the supernaturals that he’d found left behind, Jeremiah knew that his son would still be alive. He’d made sure of it.

His experiments had paid off. Sure, Richard had begged and pleaded, crying for him to stop the pain, but his son had been just a child then.

The boy hadn’t understood just what sort of gift he was being given.

I made him strong.

No, Richard hadn’t understood, not until Jeremiah had tossed him into the hole with the vampires. His son had been screaming, so sure that he was going to die.

He hadn’t died.

I made you stronger.

His son’s blood was poison to vampires. The fools had realized that soon enough. They’d stayed away from him. Poison blood. Fast-healing skin. Super strength. And his own God-given intelligence.