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Climbing the stairs silently proves to be impossible. They groan and creak with every step. I don’t know how many guards are left, but they know we’re coming. If they’re smart enough to use the kids as hostages, we’re fucked.

The air reeks of fear, and I can almost hear the whisper of innocent children begging for salvation. I won’t let them down.

We reach the second floor and circle around toward the back of the building where a cluster of guards stand in front of a huge metal door, their presence an unmistakable marker of what lies beyond. This is it, the place where the children are likely caged, their youth a currency in the cartel’s vile trade.

“Damn,” I breathe, my gaze snagging on the cartel’s men, more heavily armed than any we’ve encountered so far.

A leaden weight settles in my chest, the gravity of our mission anchoring me to the spot. Neither group moves. Not us. Not them. We’re at a standstill, but we’ve got to act fast. If Juan really knew we were coming, then he could have more men circling us outside. But something still doesn’t add up. If he had details on our plan, why not send more guys to protect the kids? Are they all over at the drug warehouse?

My gaze locks on the door that stands between us and those kids. We’ve come too damn far to falter now. I can feel the weight of every life hanging in the balance, each breath they take becoming a reason to push through my trepidation.

A bead of sweat trickles down my temple, mingling with the grime on my skin. I can almost taste the sour tang of fear in the air, but it’s not mine. It belongs to the guards. We have them outnumbered and they know they’re as good as dead.

A single shot from our side shatters the silence, and all hell breaks loose. We surge forward, a tidal wave of fury and purpose. Vapor’s blade whispers a silent lullaby to the first guard, his body crumpling without a sound. Diablo’s fists are poetry in motion, dropping another with precision so brutal it’s almost beautiful. I dispatch another man with a throat punch designed to crush his windpipe. Lights out, asshole.

The last sentry turns, gun raised, but I’m faster. My fist connects with his jaw, a crack echoing off the walls, a symphony to my ears. He staggers, and I follow through, a kick sendinghim to join his fallen comrades. The raw need to protect those innocent kids makes ending his life easy.

“Clear,” I say, my voice steady despite the adrenaline rushing through my veins.

“Proceeding to extraction,” Vapor says.

When I open the steel door and peer into the heart of darkness, I’m stunned by what I see. Row upon row of cots filled with wide-eyed children. They never even left the factory. Juan and his men kept them here.

Their frightened whispers push me to act quickly.

“We’re here to save you,” I say before repeating it in Spanish like Isabella taught me. “Estamos aquí para salvarte.”

An older girl, probably close to being a teenager, stands and stares at me. “You help us?”

“Yes!Sí!” I nod.

She looks from me to Vapor, then to Diablo. Whatever she sees is enough to convince her to take a chance with us.

“Get the trucks ready,” I say into the comms, signaling to the guys we’ve got waiting around the corner that it’s time to whisk the kids to safety. “We’re coming out.”

“Copy,” one of them responds.

We form a protective ring around the children as we lead them out of the warehouse where they’ve been trapped for months, or maybe years. We’ll take them to the safehouse we’ve got waiting on the other side of town. Since we weren’t one hundred percent sure how many kids were inside, we overestimated the number on purpose. Based on what Fang saw with the drone, we were counting on thirty kids. We picked up twenty-eight. We were close to being exactly right, which is sickening. So many kids. Juan Vasquez will pay for this.

A sudden crackle over the comms jolts me. A voice breaks through, urgent and strained. “Ice, it’s Bones. We got—” Staticslices through his words. The line goes dead, leaving a haunting silence in its wake.

“Shit!” My grip tightens around the phone until my knuckles whiten. Betrayal burns in my throat like cheap whiskey, a bitter reminder that one of our own sold us out.

“Get the kids in the trucks! We need to get to the other warehouse!” Vapor yells while hurrying everyone downstairs.

Outside, a dozen trucks flow onto the street. We move fast, packing each truck with children before sending it off. In less than a minute, the last kid is safely secured. I slam the door and rap my knuckles against the side of the vehicle, sending it off to one of our strongholds.

Vapor, Diablo, and I don’t waste another second. We sprint toward our bikes, hoping we can make it to the other warehouse before it’s too late.

Chapter 19: Isabella

I pace the room, the soles of my boots pressing into the thick carpet with each step. My heart’s a drumbeat in my ears, loud against the silence that envelops Vapor’s house. Ice’s absence hangs heavily in the air, stirring the anxiety nesting in the pit of my stomach. I think of him out there somewhere, running toward the very demons I’ve spent my life running from. He’s so much stronger and braver than I am. I just hope he’s able to save all the women and children tonight.

As I stop by the window, I gaze out into the humid night, searching for any sign of Ice. He’s been gone for several hours. I don’t know how much longer it will take, but I want him back. I won’t be able to breathe until I see him again.

A violent crash shatters the silence—glass breaking, followed by shouting. Then, a gunshot. My heart leaps into my throat. The serene façade of Vapor’s stronghold, our temporary shelter, is breached in an instant. Danger has found its way to his doorstep, and now they’re inside.

A bitter taste floods my mouth, the sour taste of betrayal and fear, sharp as acid. Not for myself, but for the lives intertwined with mine. For Blue and Babet, and for the prospects left behind to guard the house.