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“The poison may not have taken effect yet,” one of the tall, lanky men said.

Khalani clenched her fists, feeling like they were repeatedly slamming against a brick wall.

“But if they’re right,” Keno interrupted for the first time, leaning forward intently, “if their Governor admitted to poisoning the crops and killing innocent civilians, whether he was real or not, it stands to reason that the same could happen here.”

“It alreadyishappening here,” Spade snapped, his hands clasped tightly. “You know they’ve been rounding up our people and putting them in hidden work camps. It must be where they have Jack.”

At the mention of Jack, all the men at the other side of the table went rigid, even the quiet masked man. The temperature seemed to drop, and Serene frowned. “Who’s Jack?”

At first, no one answered.

She noticed Keno subtly shake his head at Spade, but he ignored him. “Jack is our leader. He was taken by the Dealers a month ago. No one has seen or heard from him since. He was the first of our rebel group, and the one who united us all. He was crucial in negotiating peace between the leading gangs in Hermes.” Spade’s eyes landed on the masked man, who tilted his head in acknowledgment.

“Who are the Dealers?”

“They’re an elite branch of our military. Nasty fuckers who do the dirty jobs the government doesn’t want its citizens knowing about. We’ve heard rumors of a weapon they’re building in these hidden camps, but no one who’s been there has ever escaped. That’s where you come in.”

They pulled back, instantly wary.

“What do you mean?”

Spade leaned forward, his expression hardening. “If you plan to return to Apollo and rescue your people from the underground, you’ll need manpower and firearms. We can provide that. But first, we need your help rescuing Jack.”

Her blood pressure plummeted, not liking the direction this was heading.

“How?” Takeshi’s deep voice filtered throughout the room.

“Raziel.” Spade inclined his head toward the masked man. “He’s the Enforcer of the Aces and can get you in.”

Raziel, the masked man, regarded Spade with a contemplative look before shifting his attention to them. “One of the Dealer’s owes the Aces a favor. He’s informed us that their next target for the camps is a married couple. Mr. and Mrs. Davenhue. The capture is scheduled for tonight. We need two of you, one man and one woman, to pose as the Davenhues and meet the Dealer at the casino. He’s agreed to take our doubles to the camp instead. We’ll equip you with a special device to track your location. Once inside, you’ll locate Jack, and in one week, we’ll raid the camp and extract you.”

The room fell into silence as they wrapped their heads around the insane plan.

“We just got out of prison.” Adan glared accusingly. “And you want two of us to go back in?”

Raziel nodded, his impassive expression not giving anything away.

“Why will it take a week?” she asked.

“We need that time to assemble the necessary firepower. Overrunning the camp won’t be easy, but we’ll have explosives ready.”

“Why can’t two of your members do it?” Serene demanded.

“It needs to be someone the Dealers don’t recognize. They’ve increased efforts in identifying members of our alliance and therisk is too high if they realize who they captured isn’t in fact the Davenhues. You are our best option.”

Khalani swallowed, struggling to push past the colossal knot in her throat.

“No,” Adan growled. “My sister, Khalani, and Winnie are not bait and are definitelynotgoing to this camp.”

“Then you get zero help from us, boy,” Zenith hissed. “Nothing comes for free in Hermes. Everything’s a gamble. Either accept that or leave here empty-handed.”

Raziel nodded. “You must decide now so we can prepare the IDs with your pictures by tonight. Who will it be?”

Serene placed a hand on Khalani’s leg, squeezing.

Khalani blanched, understanding, the silent message.

Serene was going to do it. She’d sacrifice herself so Khalani wouldn’t have to.