Page 8 of Bad Blood

One had his gun raised and was sweeping it around the room while the other one shoved the incapacitated hound through the opening in the wall. There was another man outside, waiting to grab him.

How many were there?

It didn’t matter. I needed to leave before they saw me, before they did to me what they’d done to that hound.

There was a small opening at the front of my cell where something had hit the bars. They were bent inward, warped to the point that it looked like there was a small gap—one I might be able to fit through.

I slowly crept toward the bars, eyeing the tiny opening.

Making sure the chain attached to my collar wouldn’t get caught on anything, I wrapped it around my neck and tucked the end into the coil. Thank fucking god they hadn’t connected our chains to the wall this time or I’d be stuck in here.

The familiar crack of a rifle made my heart jolt, and I dropped to my knees and threw my hands over my head. When I realized I hadn’t been shot, my gaze flew to the right, and there was Hunter, sitting with his back to the metal door, gun raised at the men in black.

I’d forgotten about him and Hayes.

His face was covered in blood and dirt, dust clinging to his clothes. “Hayes!” he shouted, sliding the barrel to the left and pulling the trigger. “Hayes! Where the fuck are you?”

Bodies began piling at the opening, but Hunter didn’t have endless ammunition.

When I was sure Hunter hadn’t seen me, I crept closer to the bars and curled my fingers around the ones that were bent inward. The gap was low to the ground, so I squeezed my upper body through first, then my legs, and then?—

I was out of my cell.

My heart slammed against my chest, racing faster and faster with every passing second.

I kept low to the ground and ignored the unintelligible yells of hounds that were still alive and still locked up. Those yells had intensified as soon as I’d gotten out. I wanted them to stop, to be quiet, because if Hunter heard them—if he?—

“Hayes!” Hunter screamed. “Answer me!”

I shrank even lower.

I had no clue how I was supposed to escape when both exits were blocked. Maybe there was another way out? Maybe?—

Hunter shoved to his feet and sprinted toward the hole from the explosion. He dropped his rifle, grabbed one of the guns off a dead man in black, and started shooting into the yard beyond—leaving a clear path to the metal door.

This was it. This was my chance.

I sucked in a breath.

Go.

Go now!

I shot down the corridor and sprinted toward the door, my bare feet flying over bits of concrete. Something sharp bit into my heel, and I stumbled but kept pushing forward.

“—think you can just come here and fuck shit up? Huh? I’ll show you?—”

Pop pop pop pop pop pop pop

Hunter’s voice faded in and out as I ran past the decimated portion of the wall.

“Hey! Three!”

I skidded into the door, my shoulder taking the brunt of the force as Six screamed my name. Oh, god, he was going to get me caught, he was going to?—

“Three! Get me out of here, man!”

No. I couldn’t stop.