and come looking for blood. The woman’s head snapped in that direction, and like a light switch being flipped, the veil of calmness that had descended on the female hybrid disappeared.
She tensed, and he watched her face as anger warred with what he could only describe as frustration mixed with honest-to-goodness fear. As each of those emotions appeared, her eyes changed from red to green to brown, over and over in a dizzying display like nothing he’d ever seen before.
But then, just as it seemed like she might have a chance, the internal struggle was over and the woman leaped at him.
Every instinct in Angelo’s body screamed at him to lunge for his weapon, or at the very least pull out his knife. But he ignored his instincts and instead set his feet for impact, blocking her slashing claws with his forearm, then ducking down and tackling her. It wasn’t the nicest way to treat a woman, but considering the fact that she was trying to kill him, he decided she’d just have to forgive him.
He twisted at the last second, letting his shoulder take the impact. He’d planned to immediately roll his weight onto her, hoping to keep her from getting away by pinning her to the floor like a wrestler, but the hybrid didn’t give him a chance. She spun in his grasp, trying to break his hold on her. He wrapped his arms around her, doing his best to trap her clawed hands safely against her breasts as he pulled her back down. She twisted in his arms again, trying to sink her teeth into his shoulder. He hugged her tightly to his chest, whispering over and over that it would be okay, that she was safe, that no one would hurt her.
When she buried her face in his neck, he just about freaked, sure she was going to tear out his throat. He resisted the urge to shove her away and go for his gun, instead continuing to talk to her. Unbelievably, she didn’t bite him. She kept struggling to free herself, though. But after a few moments, she went still, all the fight gone.
Angelo glanced down at her. Her cheek was resting against his chest, her eyes closed, and her fingers curled into the front of his uniform. He wasn’t sure if she was asleep or had simply passed out from exhaustion. Either way, her breathing was rhythmic and even. The sight of her made his heart ache, and he gently brushed her hair back from her face. This close, he was finally able to see past all the dirt and blood. While he’d thought she was pretty when he first saw her, now he realized that she was absolutely beautiful—and vulnerable looking as all hell.
“Damn, Tex-Mex,” Derek said from the doorway. “You’re good with the ladies when you want to be.”
Angelo didn’t laugh. “Get on the satellite phone and call Landon. If you can’t get him, try Ivy or Clayne. Tell them where we are and that we’ve stumbled on a hybrid. We need a priority airlift to get her out of here. And whatever you do, don’t let LT get on the line to the battalion.”
Coming Spring 2016
Enjoy a sneak peek at book two of Paige Tyler’s new series,
SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team
Wolf Trouble
Xander had to pick his jaw up off the floor of the training room when Gage introduced the newest member of the SWAT team. He didn’t know what to expect, but it sure as hell wasn’t Officer Khaki Blake. Tall, with an athletic build and just enough curves to fill out the SWAT T-shirt, she had the biggest brown eyes and softest looking lips he’d ever seen. She had her dark hair pulled back in a bun, so he couldn’t tell how long it was, but he’d bet money it fell past her shoulders. She smelled way too good to be believed, too—like a slice of frosted spice cake in a uniform.
Shit. He was practically panting. If he didn’t get a grip soon, he was going to start frigging drooling.
He gave the other guys a covert glance to see how they were dealing with her scent and was stunned to see that none of them seemed to be reacting at all. Why not? His nose wasn’t that much better than theirs. He knew for a fact that several of the other guys—Cooper and Brooks specifically—could smell a hell of a lot better than he could.
Maybe everyone was so mesmerized by