Circe's Recruits 3: Derrick by Marie Harte Page A

She’s all alone.
    Sabrina had to work quickly. “That’s fine. I just don’t want him to hear us.” Caitlyn glanced up at the camera again. She moved to the door and punched in a sequence of numbers, turning it off, just as Sabrina had watched Roane turn it on when they’d thrown her in here.
    Caitlyn returned and leaned against the exam table, right next to Sabrina. “Okay, now tell me what’s on your mind.”
    Sabrina gave her a shaky smile. “Thanks for this. I just wanted to know --” Her beast exploded into action. She moved fast, clamping down on either side of Caitlyn’s neck with hands that suddenly felt as hard as stone and were twice as large. “Tell me the code to the door, or I’ll snap your neck,” she hissed.
    “They’ll find you,” Caitlyn choked, clutching at Sabrina’s hands.
    By catching the woman off guard, Sabrina had hoped to avoid her turning Circ. The fight-or-flight instinct in the female Circs Pearl had studied generally leaned toward flight.
    “I know. I don’t want to hurt you, Caitlyn. Tell me the damned code.” Caitlyn squirmed, and Sabrina pressed harder. “You know, there’s a chance if I press hard enough, I’ll really hurt you. Then where will your precious Roane be without his mate?” Caitlyn glared at her. “Seven-five-four-three-two.”
    “And the elevator?”
    “Six-one-two,” Caitlyn whispered, clutching at her neck.
    Cutting off the woman’s oxygen supply to knock her unconscious, Sabrina used her newfound strength to gently lift Caitlyn onto the exam table that was wide enough to accommodate a fully turned Circ, so there was no chance Caitlyn would fall off the thing.
    Hurrying to the door, Sabrina punched in the code. She streaked down the empty hallway and used the elevator code. So far so good. She was through the house and out the back door when she came face-to-face with a black SUV and two furious sets of eyes glaring at her. Without waiting a second more, she turned and raced around the house.

    Streaking across the open fields, she headed for the tree line. Once in the surrounding woods, she’d have a much better chance at freedom. That’s what she thought before she heard a roar unlike any she’d ever heard before. She poured on the speed and prayed that just this once, luck would be on her side.

    Roane’s shout drew Hale and Derrick’s attention. They ignored the fleeing female in favor of their friend. Hurrying inside the house, they followed the sounds of Roane’s anguish down the emergency staircase that led to the basement. They found Roane in the room Sabrina should have been in, leaning over an unconscious Caitlyn on a lab table.
    Doc rushed in after them, breathing hard. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
    “I’m going to fucking kill Torrence.” Roane changed in a heartbeat.
    Derrick changed as well, knowing he had to interfere.
    Something was very wrong here, beyond the obvious. Because instead of feeling concerned for Caitlyn, he experienced an overwhelming urge to find and protect Sabrina. He shook his head, as if he could shake his beast’s urges so easily. “What happened?”
    “The camera went out, so I asked Roane to check on Sabrina.” Doc pulled at his hair, obviously distraught.
    “Caitlyn was supposed to wait for me to feed the woman. Now the enemy’s gone, and my mate is down.”
    Caitlyn took that moment to wake, groaning. “Roane?” He exhaled heavily. “Hellcat? You okay?”
    She sat up, rubbing her neck. “She took me by surprise.”
    “I’ll say,” Hale murmured. “You all right?”
    Caitlyn nodded. “She played me, and like a sucker, I fell for it.” Hearing that she was okay, Roane pulled away, intending to leave her. But Caitlyn latched onto his arm. “No. Derrick, Hale, you guys find her. Roane, if you go, you’ll probably kill her.”
    Caitlyn’s tiny hand on Roane’s arm looked so strange, yet right. Derrick’s beast wanted, his need to find Sabrina pushing him to leave.
    “One