the barricade.
“I have to go after her.”
“Go,” Rollo said. “Get your mate.”
Rollo handed him a glock and Gauge shoved an extra clip in his pocket.
“Thank you, Commander,” Gauge said, before he crawled off through the cave. Damien was huddled in a corner, taking photographs of the scene.
“Take this flashlight,” Damien said, handing him a Maglite.
“Thank you for everything, Damien,” Gauge said, crawling further through the cave.
There was tons of crystal gas in the air, and he could feel himself becoming infused with the toxic fumes. But that only meant that Lola was getting a double dose of it. His shifter healing ability wouldn’t allow for the toxins to enter too deeply into his blood, but his mate would definitely be susceptible to it. This was going to end now.
As he came to the end of the laboratory area of the cave, he saw that it diverged into several different caves. The ventilation pipes from the laboratory blew off the toxins further into the cave, filling it with their fumes.
Gauge had to choose which trail to take. He sniffed the air, only smelling the toxic fumes of the laboratory. He couldn’t make out Lola’s scent.
He sniffed again, trying to pick up anything that would give him an indication of which direction she’d gone. They were running out of time, and no one could predict what a lunatic like Justin Lockheart would do to his sweet little mate.
Gauge picked up the subtle scent of her body. It was a scent he knew well from the kisses they had shared only minutes ago.
He squeezed his eyes closed, focusing on the scent. He had been so stupid to let her go. He would never forgive himself for this. But he had to respect her love for her mother. He had to admire her courage and her strength. But once he found her, he intended to never let her go again.
He followed the subtle scent of Lola’s skin, deep into the cave. The toxins were heavy in the air, and he felt them sinking into his blood. His heart raced faster and his muscles tensed. He had to find her soon or they would both be lost.
12
" H ow could you do this to me, Lola?" Justin screamed as he tugged Lola further into the narrowing cavern. Justin’s head lamp was the only light in the pitch black darkness.
Lola struggled against his grasp, but he was so much stronger. All she could do was follow him or he would drag her.
"It's over, Justin. The police are here, and they're going to arrest everyone.”
"Stop talking," Justin said.
“You’ve been a horrible brother,” she screamed, not knowing where her courage came from. “When I was just a little girl, you started touching me. You forced me to come up here and live in this place. I will never forgive you for what you've done."
"I've taken care of you all your life, Lola. You are an ungrateful bitch."
He held fast to her arm and slapped her smartly across the face. Her cheek stung, and she screamed. A tear rolled down her face, but she didn't weep.
Justin's face was a mask of horrified glee as the sound of bullets grew louder at the mouth of the cave. The blast echoed continuously through the long cavern and it pricked her senses with each pop. Justin grabbed her other shoulder and shook her.
"Don't you understand what we were trying to do here?" he screamed. "We were trying to save the world, for people like you, Lola!”
"No, not for me," Lola insisted. "You were doing it for yourself, and your own twisted sense of justice. Grow up and be a man, Justin. Stop blaming everyone else for your problems. The shifters never did anything to you.”
"Never did anything to me? Have you seen what happened to the humans of this town since the shifters started moving in?"
"That's mostly because of you, Justin," Lola said. "You've been poisoning that entire human population of Fate Mountain with your sick drugs and your empty promises."
"You are blind and small minded," he said, yanking her further into the cave. They marched on and the sound of bullets grew
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