Revenge Sex (4 page)

             
A quick glance around confirmed her worst fears and ripped the voice right out of her mouth.  She swallowed, rallying her nerves for battle.  She sucked in a sharp breath, taking aim.  “Hold steady, men,” she whispered, hoping they could hold their shit together and didn’t lose their wits in a panic.

             
The foliage parted like a green curtain as the horde pressed through.  Jungle cats of every variety poured into the valley, muscles flexed, ears pinned back, eyes wild but intelligent and scanning for any movement.  A tiger leapt over the disturbed pits, sniffing the area for prey.  Two jaguars followed closely on his heels.  Behind them, more came.

             
There were too many of them.  At least a dozen on first count.  They hadn’t set enough cages to handle this many cats at one time.  She only hoped the tightness of their formation meant that more would go into the pits together.

             
It was too much to hope for.

             
She watched the scene unfold with horrified eyes as one of the team members began shooting at the pack with his SMG until she heard the click of an empty cartridge in the sudden silence.  The absence of any sound scared her more than the sheer size of the pack.

             
She knew what was coming, and she wasn´t looking forward to it.  The chain reaction she´d envisaged was worse than she´d first thought.  The great cats spun around to roar and growl angrily at them, sidestepping the traps as though they knew the cages were there all along and had only been waiting for their human trackers to reveal themselves.  The thought was ludicrous until seen in action.

             
They pounced at the men approaching, who fired in self-defense.  Bullets ripped through unstoppable feline flesh.  Blood scented the air, making the cats go mad with bloodlust.

             
Sickness churned her stomach.  “Stand down.  Tranquilizers only.  We need these cats alive!” she screamed into her comm. unit.  She was under strict instructions not to harm the animals—they had an enormous price tag on their heads.  She had to get them back to the experimental facility they´d been released from or all their efforts would be in vain.

             
The men ignored her, panic setting in when John’s luck finally ran out as a tiger took him down.  His screams echoed around them, curdling her blood in horror.  The five hundred pound beast covered his body and locked onto his throat, cutting off his cries and ripping out his throat before anyone could react.

             
Mind-numbing terror washed over her.  A split second felt like an eternity as her adrenaline fused brain tried to cope with the scene unfolding before her.  Her ears rang and her eyes dimmed, making her mind feel that wobbling sound that meant she could easily black out if she’d just let herself go.

             
And then probably be eaten alive with the rest of the men.

             
Yvonne shook her head, aiming her gun.  She’d never get the men under control if they all went into a panic.  She didn’t want to die any more than they did.  A scream lodged in her throat, refusing to come out.  She fired at the man-eater, taking it down.  It fell on the fallen man, asleep.

             
She wanted to blow its brains out.  The revulsion of the thought and what she’d seen the animal do made her want to vomit.

             
She choked back the bile rising in her throat.  “Goddamn it!  They’re just animals!  Use your brains,” she yelled, raising her gun and firing at the cats attacking her team.

             
If they killed all the damned cats, they wouldn’t get paid.  Some of the men ignored her and continued to fire their guns.

             
“Use the fucking tranq. guns!  We need them alive, not dead, you fucking idiots.  Get a hold of yourselves!” she screamed, trying to get through their thick skulls.

             
She took a cat down, and then another, and swore when she had to reload.  She ran behind one of the trees to try to cover her back and fitted the cartridge as quickly as she could.  Spinning to launch a tirade and make sure no one else got killed, she pulled up short as something snagged her vest.  Her blood ran cold when she felt the pressure of a paw and the edge of claws digging through the thick material.

             
The airspace was so awash with the sounds of battle, she hadn’t heard the fucking thing come up behind her.

             
She twisted, trying to get a shot off before he could rip a hole through her.  A great black paw knocked the weapon from her hands—lightning fast, faster than she could ever hope to react.  She lunged for the weapon, feeling the beast move in sync with her.  He was right behind her, his hot fetid breath on the back of her neck.  Her legs dragged, her mind slowed.  She couldn’t believe what was really happening, and in the back of her mind, she knew she couldn’t stop moving or she’d be dead.  His great weight landed on top of her, and dimly, she recognized the sounds of shredding fabric as it clawed her vest.

             
She ducked her head into her chest, felt the beast squeezing her, crushing her into the ground.  Through a fog, she registered that the pheromone was leaking onto her chest—something on the canister had broken.  Her lungs couldn’t expand, she couldn’t breathe.  She couldn’t reach her knife, her hands were trapped as the animal pushed her down.  Dirt filled her nostrils, her mouth, preventing her from screaming for backup.  Any second she’d feel teeth sink into her neck.  She prayed she wouldn’t feel it when the animal ripped her spinal cord out.

             
This was the end, and she was powerless to stop it from happening.