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Emmaline cried out, and Sam reached for her. “Stickers,” the girl whispered.

Sam nodded and kept moving. “Thank the good Lord above,” she said.

“What is it?”

“Your escape route. Come on. She kicked at the fence, and then held it high for Emmaline to duck under. After she was safely on the other side, Sam joined her. In about twenty feet, we’ll reach a tree stand. It’s a good spot for you to hole up while I go back to get the rest of the girls.”

“Shouldn’t you call for help?”

“No phone.” She gestured at the sundress she’d been forced to don. “There wouldn’t be service if I had one.”

“Maybe I can help you.”

Sam shook her head. “You’ve been through more than enough for one night. Take a few minutes to regroup. I’ll return for you.”

Gavinpoundedhisfistson the door.

“Stop.” Grayson sat on the floor with his back against the wall. “It isn’t going to help the situation.”

“Neither was getting yourself caught.”

“I didn’t plan for him to put a gun to my head, but you should’ve let him shoot me instead of letting him get a hold of Cate again.”

“That wasn’t an option, Gray.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “A person doesn’t choose which sibling to let live and which one to sacrifice.”

“You should’ve done exactly that. Cate needed you to make the call for her.”

“I would do almost anything for Cate, but watching you get your brains blown out isn’t one of them. Did Ranger Stone see Mason get the jump on you?”

“Yes. I’m pretty sure Billy saw what went down.”

“Billy? You two are on a first name basis?”

Gray ignored the questioned.

Gavin continued, “I saw movement up on the knoll when we were marching over here. Hopefully,Billycan find a way to get us out of here. Or, more importantly, he can get help to Cate, Emmaline, and Samantha.”

“I think we need to accept that Emmaline is likely long gone.”

Gavin nodded. “Probably. And, if we get out of here alive, Judge Swisher is going to do everything in his power to have us shut down.”

“You’ve got that right. It’s ironic though. We weren’t even assigned to guard Emmaline, but we tried to convince him that she didn’t leave school on her own, and he refused to believe us.”

“Well, if you had a rebellious daughter, I imagine you’d be the same way,” Gavin said.

“Nah. I know too much about the depravity of the human mind not to take the threat seriously.” Gray cracked his knuckles. “Besides, the good Lord has not seen it fit to bless us with children.”

“I didn’t know you were trying.”

“It’s been more than ten years, Gavin. It’s not going to happen for us.”

“Don’t doubt the power of God.”

“I’m not doubting His ability, I’m submitting to His will.” He frowned. “We’ll be okay with whatever God wills for us. It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve both accepted it.”

MasonandDennisreturnedto the security room leaving Cate in a cell in the bunker. “This night has been a strange one, indeed. I cannot believe you were taken down by two girls.”

“I’m not proud of it, but I wasn’t expecting the other girl to be outside of her cell, so she caught me off guard.”