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While Lucy’s world shatters around her, I continue my tactical assessment. Three possible exit points: the stairs we came down, a narrow corridor to the left, and what appears to be a reinforced door at the end, which I assume was used to smuggle these people in and out without Lucy ever realizing. There are two security cameras in opposite corners. They’re non-functional from what I can tell, but I can’t be certain. Low pipes run along the low ceiling, which we could easily tear our way through if it came to that. Potential weak spots in the infrastructure, also useful if we need tocreate a diversion, because there’s no way in hell we’re walking away from all these victims now.

My eyes catch on something else. A coat draped over a chair near what looks like a workstation. Rough canvas. Faded black symbols scrawled across it. I step closer and let my fingers brush the frayed edge of the fabric.

The same damn canvas we’d been searching for.

“Son of a bitch,” I spit out. My fingers dig into the fabric when my hand clenches into a fist. “We were right.”

Autumn moves beside me and traces the fabric with her fingers. “This is it. This is what I saw that night.” She pulls out the scrap of fabric she’s been carrying around and holds it up to the space where it looks like a piece is missing. A perfect fit.

I grind my teeth and looks back at the cages. Summer’s capture wasn’t random. It wasn’t a one-off. They’ve been doing this for a while. Systematic and organized. That is a fucking operation.

Time to take control of the situation. I map out our positions and vulnerabilities in my head, then make quick assignments based on each person’s strengths.

“Caspian, watch the stairs. First sign of company, three quick whistles.” He blends into shadows well despite his dislike of them, and his heightened anxiety makes him more alert to approaching threats.

Caspian nods and climbs the stairs to move into position.

“Jace and Autumn, check the corridor over there. See if there’s another way out, or if you can find something to open these cages,” I say. Jace is the best shot among us, and he’ll protect Autumn while she searches. Her attention to detail might spot something we’d miss.

I kneel by the nearest cage and test the lock. It’s heavy and reinforced steel. Military grade or close to it. It won’t open easy without the key or some serious tool. I run myfingers along the hinges, looking for weak points. Luna lets out a long, low whine while sniffing around the cages.

Lucy, I forgot about Lucy. She fumbles with the keys on her belt. Her hands shake while trying to shove each one into the keyhole, but they don’t work. “This isn’t them. There has to be another explanation. Maybe this was someone else. This can’t be them.”

I say nothing, because she needs to process this for herself. We’ve already been shoving the facts down her throat enough as it is, but some trusts can’t be forced. They have to be accepted willingly. I stand and flex my grip on the knife while looking around at all the cages filled with people waiting to be set free. It’s going to take some time to get all these cages open, and then all these people to safety. That’s not even taking into account some of them could be injured. The brothers could return any minutes now, and I don’t want to be involved in a hostage situation.

My eyes track Autumn as she moves along the back wall with Jace. They pause, and then light illuminates a small area above them when Jace stops to pull on a metal chain hanging from the bulb on the ceiling. The lightbulb is dying, but it’s a hell of a lot more than we had. My dying flashlight won’t get us much further.

Autumn’s purple hair catches what little light there is, making her easy to spot even when she dips into the shadows. She could have been among these prisoners. If she hasn’t been knocked unconscious behind a bush, they would have taken her too. Would she be in these cages right now, or would she have faced the same fate as Summer?

The worst part is, I wouldn’t be here right now because I wouldn’t have had a reason to be if I had never met her. I would be somewhere else, back at the colony perhaps, oblivious to this horror show while she suffered and died alone.

My grip tightens around the knife handle, and I shove it into the nearest lock. The metal screeches in protest.

No. I refuse to think about what would have happened to Autumn if she had been taken that night, and I had never met her. That reality doesn’t exist. This one does, though. The one where I found her, where we found each other, and where we’re going to burn this whole goddamn place to the ground, exactly as it should be.

I’ll stand by her side when she lights the first match.

38

AUTUMN

The basement stretches on farther than I thought.

I press on, staying close to Jace. Everything is pitch black at first after reaching the edge of the lightbulb we turned on, but then Jace finds a candle. When he lights it, I almost wish he hadn’t. The soft glow reveals narrow corridors winding into the shadows, walls sweating with something damp and streaked with dried brown stains I refuse to believe are anything but rust. The decay and mildew cling to my skin and the stink of it all settles into my lungs. The flame of his candle flickers as we move deeper. His gun remains raised in one hand, while he holds the candle with the other.

“Are you doing okay?” I ask, nodding to the candle.

Jace turns his attention to me and his dark brown eyes hold an intensity that takes my breath away. “After seeing you trapped inside a burning car, no fire on this earth can ever cripple me again.”

My stomach flutters at his words and lift onto my toes to give him a quick, sweet kiss before continuing our search. Lucy’s cries of denial echo out behind us, and I feel so bad for her. She never knew she played a part in her brothers’secret dealings, and now she’ll never be able to go back to her normal life. Or, whatever counts as normal nowadays. The faces of the women locked behind the bars, their skin bruised and their eyes hollow. That’s something I doubt she’ll ever be able to unsee. I know I couldn’t.

We move past another rusted pipe, and the shadows pool around us thicker. I wrap my hands around Jace’s arm. “I don’t think there’s another way out,” I whisper.

Jace grunts and scans the walls. “You think they’re smart enough to cover their exits?”

“I think they’re smart enough to trap people.”

We check every inch of the walls, looking for seams, hidden panels, anything that might indicate a concealed door. My fingers trace along the damp concrete, feeling for irregularities.