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Waving a hand dismissively, Tanner moved to the edge of the cave where a blockade of rock remained. It was the last obstacle between us and freedom, us and home.

Me and my sister.

The second I was out of this hell hole would be the same second I began my search. Josie was still alive.

She had to be.

A couple of tools littered the floor, all of which were stolen from the woodshop classroom. Why a school that didn’t teach any classes had such an elaborate set up remained a mystery to me.

“She hates us, you know that, right?” Tanner said, picking up a hammer. It wasn’t our preferred tool, but it was the best we had.

Now came the hard part of breaking the seemingly impenetrable blockade of rocks without the entire cave falling on our heads.

Fun.

“You sound upset,” I pointed out, surveying my brother in arms. He swung the hammer in the center of the cave, muscles clenching.

“She’s cool.”

For Tanner to say that, when he hated everyone, even me, was a big ass thing.

Why did I feel…jealous over the fact that he liked Bianaca?

And the fact that she might have liked him back?

Growling, I grabbed the second rusty hammer and surveyed the rocks. We had been working for months and had only managed to make a dent. When I said impenetrable, I wasn’t kidding.

The tunnel was both a beacon of hope and a fucking death sentence.

When we had first found it, we had noted tiny white Xs in certain areas. Tanner believed they were points to use our tools on, designed specifically to break the wall yet keep the ceiling from crumbling.

“So what are you saying?” I asked, swinging again. The Xs had long since disappeared, but our work was far from done. It seemed as if the tunnel of rocks extended forever. “Do you want to keep her?”

“And that’s your fucking problem,” Tanner huffed out through uneven breaths. “You can’tkeepa fucking female. You can’townher.”

My lips curved upward as I swung my hammer. After Josie had disappeared, I found that I hadn’t cared whether or not the ceiling collapsed on me, burying me alive. Suffocating me.

Eventually killing me.

Tanner and Kace felt the same but for entirely different reasons.

Now? I could see a newfound cautiousness in each of Tanner’s swings. His eyes flickered warily to the ceiling, watching a few rocks tinkle down, before slamming the hammer into the wall once more.

“We may not be able to own this girl,” I whispered. “But she may be able to own us.”