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“What?” I asked, crawling toward the street noises. Hope sprang to life.

“I think they’re spying on us. Move faster.”

The dragonfly lit up the crawl space, allowing me to hurry. As soon as I got to the street, I was going to run like hell to get help.

Sirens echoed in the distance.

I came to a metal grid and pushed at it. “It won’t budge.” The dragonfly flew out of the tunnel through the small space between the bars, leaving us in the dark again.

The crawl space was too small for me to move aside for the man. He should’ve gone first. Something hit the metal bars, startling me. Then someone unscrewed the metal grid and tossed it aside.

A face popped into the opening. “Vanessa?”

My heart leaped to see Attikus. He helped me out while Orion assisted the other man.

Attikus wrapped his arms around me for a long moment. I fell into his embrace as tears streamed down my face. I’d been in survival mode, and the severity of the situation was only now settling over me.

“You must’ve been worried,” I said into his wet shirt. “Sorry.”

He veered back and brushed my tears away. “We’ll discuss it later. The police will want your statement. Then we’re heading to the hospital to have you checked out.”

Attikus held up a hand as I opened my mouth to protest that I was fine. “Non-negotiable. You need to get checked. He does too.”

I looked at the man. “He helped me escape.”

With one arm around my shoulder, Attikus turned to the man. “What’s your name?”

I’d been so focused on surviving that I hadn’t asked his name.

“Jackson Hewitt.”

Attikus reached out his hand for a shake. “Thank you for saving my wife.”

More police officers arrived and spoke to Orion, and I recognized Detective Farmer.

Jackson shoved a hand through curly hair. “I hope the authorities get to all those people in there. This group is evil.”

Attikus nodded. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you some questions about the group. I want to catch those responsible for it.”

“Yeah, anytime.”

The two men exchanged numbers.

“If there’s anything you need, or if you need a lawyer to fight them for whatever reason, let me know,” Attikus said.

“Thanks for the offer. But I think I’m okay.”

Detective Farmer came to talk to Jackson while another officer spoke to me.

Throughout the entire conversation, Attikus stood beside me, listening. I had gone after Dr. Messina because of Attikus. I’d wanted to help him the way he’d helped me.

When I finished speaking to the detective, Attikus looked at me. “Just a quick visit to the hospital and I can take you home, okay?”

I nodded, but then my legs gave out, and I collapsed into his arms. He scooped me up and carried me to his car.

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

ATTIKUS