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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

JASPER

In the time it takes me to pull out my gun, Falin’s already slammed the guy over the head with hers, knocked him out, and grabbed his phone. She’s panting hard, her eyes glazed over as she passes it to me. “Here, you answer.”

“What in the fuck just happened?”

“Take the call. It must be Fairfax or one of the others.” She kicks the prick for good measure before peeling off his mask.

Shaking my head, I answer the call, putting on a false voice. “Yeah.”

“Where the fuck are you? Number two ran off and fifteen is missing. We gotta find them and get the hell out of here before the fire department shows up.”

Footsteps pound overhead as my mind whirls, but this is a perfect opportunity to get what I can from this guy. “And the boss? He made it out?”

“You fucking stupid? You were with me when we got him out. Lay off the powder, man.”

Falin fishes through the slumped guy’s pockets, recoiling when she pulls out a pair of panties. I bet I know where they came from. While Fairfax and his group of freaks were busy chanting and watching us, his hired guys were busy themselves.

Anger bubbles up from my chest. We need to find them all and end them.

“Where are you?” I drop the fake voice, each syllable coming out through gritted teeth.

“Waiting out back. Do another sweep for fifteen and meet me up here. Both our asses are on the line if she’s lost.” The line goes dead before I can ask another question.

I stuff the phone in my pocket. Maybe Leon can get some info from it later. Falin pushes up to stand, tossing the guy’s wallet on the floor next to him and gives him a hard kick in the side. I can’t help the smile that lifts the corner of my lips.

“Having fun over there?” I ask, watching her face go from curiously inquisitive to playfully annoyed.

“Since you asked, yes. He’s lucky I only knocked him out.”

That’s my girl.

“There’s still time to finish him,” I say, folding my arms across my chest while she considers. “But make it quick. They’re missing two of the victims. They think one of them is still down here.”

While she takes a moment to consider my suggestion, I patch Leon and Damon in. “There’s a runner. Only info I got is that they call them number two—gender unknown. Get one of Ray’s guys on it. Oh, and D, there’s a van waiting up there.”

Falin starts moving down the corridor before the guys respond. She must have heard what I said about the missing victims. I hurry after her.

“On it,” Leon answers.

Damon’s voice comes in less clear. “Got it. Meet you out back. Be quick, there’s a shit ton of people leaving all at once.”

“Slow down, Trouble. We don’t know who’s down here.” I hold my gun at the ready while she flies through the dark hallway. I’m honestly impressed by how fast she can go in those heels. I’d fall on my ass in two seconds flat.

She pokes her head through an open doorway, only briefly stopping before stepping inside. “For fuck’s sake. Let me check the space first,” I pant, freezing as I see what she sees.

Mattresses on the floor. Discarded used needles. Restraints.

My blood turns cold.

I take a few steps toward Falin and pull her against my chest. “We’re going to help them.”

I force hope into my voice, trying to mask the rage burning beneath.

She leans into me. “There’s still one missing. We need to find her.”

“Let’s keep looking.” We don’t have long. Who knows when our knocked out friend will come to or when the cops will show up?

“I saw her face.” Falin’s voice trails off. “Fifteen. She was terrified. So young too.”

Movement from the corner of my eye sets my senses on alert. “Shh,” I whisper to Falin as I point in the direction of the disturbance. Then I hear it—a shuffling across the room.

“We won’t hurt you.” I raise my voice over the still trilling alarms. I wish I had her name. It kills me to have to call her by a number those animals gave her. “The bad people are gone.”

“Please come out,” Falin adds. “I promise we’ll get you home.”

A mattress against the wall shifts a few inches and like an optical illusion, a girl looking no older than sixteen pulls herself from beneath it. Somehow she wedged herself under the mattress, using the corner of the room to hide. So fucking smart.

Falin rushes to her as she stumbles on her slippered feet, catching her in her arms before she falls. “I’ve got you.” The young woman clutches Falin, sobbing and mumbling incoherently. “It’s okay. We’re here to help.”

All at once the alarms stop and the contrasting silence is menacing. Falin and I lock eyes, and I scoop up the young woman in my arms. “We gotta go.”

“Wait,” Falin says. She takes off my tux jacket that I gave her earlier and drapes it over the frightened girl’s chilled, bare arms.

We take off running, but instead of going back toward the chamber, I lead the way further down the unexplored corridor. It’s brisk as hell down here, the stone walls and floor not helping the situation. I know there’s a goddamn door somewhere. It must be some Nancy Drew secret hidden door bullshit because this place is built like a maze. I’m about to get Leon on the com when Falin stops.

“Wait. I feel a draft.” She jogs over to the last door we passed, which ends up being another study, much less decorated and furnished than the one upstairs. This one is clinical, more like a cubicle someone would occupy for a week while temping at an office. “In here.”

I feel it too. This room is colder than the others, like it’s only an extension of the outdoors. The sobbing girl has calmed some, but she clutches at my neck for dear life, almost choking me out. “Hey, it’s alright. What’s your name?” I ask gently.

“Kay—la,” she barely manages. “Please… I can’t.”

Falin crosses the room, shoving a rolling desk chair so hard it topples over. With strength that’s equal parts terrifying and arousing, she pushes the utility desk, letting loose a groan that I may or may not ask her to recreate at a later time. With it moved enough for her, she turns on her side, squeezes between it and the wall and pushes hard. A fucking door opens. These pricks set up a secret door in the wall and blocked it with a desk. Smart… but mostly evil.

“Come on, Kayla, let’s get the hell out of here,” I say, hoisting the poor thing up higher. We climb a set of crude stairs, the cold leeching into my bones with each step, until we reach a cellar door. Falin shoves it open, the wind immediately blowing her hair in her face.

“Leon? Damon? We’re out back. No time to find Ray’s van. We’ll meet you at the car.”

As soon as my head peeks out the door, I see what made her say that. Two firefighters are coming forward, with an unmasked Harrison Fairfax.

Our eyes lock—Fairfax’s shine with malice. A promise in them that he knows who we are, and he’ll hunt us down.

We don’t linger, this may be our only chance of getting Kayla out of here. With a final glance at Fairfax, I follow Falin into the night, toward safety.

Frozen and exhausted, we meet up with Ray and the others about a half mile away. Ray’s van sits in a dark driveway; he mentions the homeowners are away for the holidays. I don’t ask how he knows that, there’s far more important shit on my mind.

I carry Kayla to the warm van, easing her onto the seat. “We’re taking you to get checked out. You’re safe now.”

Leaving her with Falin, I update the guys and Ray. I give them a shortened version of how the night went. They let me know that despite searching for the runner and the other victims, they came up empty. The consensus is that the victims were moved somewhere else while we were busy figuring out a plan. I wish I could punch something… or better yet, someone. As we take a moment to digest how everything went down, Leon breaks the silence.

“I’ll come with you to bring Kayla to get looked at,” he says to Ray. “It’s the least I can do to help.”

I shoot Leon a grateful look. Ray’s not the type of guy I’d want to leave alone with a woman in my care. Not that I think he, or his team of medics would harm her, but he’s not exactly the most empathetic guy either.

“Yeah, alright. We should head out. I’ll call you with updates.” Ray pulls a cigarette from a pack in his pocket and lights up. He looks as dejected as I feel.

A keening wail comes from the van, snapping our attention towards it. “No, please! I can’t!”

I rush over to find Kayla clinging to Falin, both dissolved in tears while Ray’s medic stands there, eyes wide.

“All I did was say it’s time to go,” he says with a shrug.

I ease into the van beside Falin. Kayla flinches at my touch but relaxes when she recognizes me. “Hey,” I croon. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s terrified,” Falin says, wiping her own tears away. “When he said it was time to go, she just broke down.”

Kayla pulls Falin closer, her body rocking in the seat. “Can you give her something?” I ask the medic.

“Absolutely not,” Falin cuts in. “She’s already been stripped of every shred of dignity, drugged, and God knows what else. Drug her again and she’ll never trust us.”

I sigh as Leon speaks up behind me. “Falin’s right. Jas, let me in. I’ve got her.”

At the sound of Leon’s calming voice, Kayla’s sobs slow. She looks at him with swollen eyes as Falin smooths her tangled hair. “This is Leon,” Falin murmurs. “He’s family. He’ll take care of you.”

She unwraps her arms from Falin’s torso and inches away from Leon. Understandable after what she’s been through. As they speak to her in gentle tones, I step away to collect myself.

My hands shake as a craving hits me hard. Maybe the adrenaline is wearing off, maybe it’s their sobs that echo through my mind. Either way, if that medic offered me something to knock me out, I’d gladly accept. Numb would be perfect right now.

But as I glance back at Falin’s silhouette through the smudged window, I know I’m full of shit. She needs me here. Really here. Not floating in some doped up haze. I jam my hands into my pockets and draw in a breath, the realization hitting me: I want to be her rock. I’ll take it all—the pain, the regret, the shame—because caring about her is worth feeling everything.

Falin climbs out of the van, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. My feet carry me toward her without a thought, and when I open my arms, she falls into them silently. No fight, no bratty remark. She takes the comfort that I so desperately need to give.

We stay like that until Ray’s van drives away and Damon taps me on the back.

“I didn’t want to interrupt, but I’m freezing my nuts off and it’s late as fuck.” He hands me the keys to his car. “I’ll take Leon’s bike home.”

This is big for him. “Thank you. I wasn’t even thinking about how we’d all get home.”

Damon squeezes my shoulder, eyeing Falin in my arms. “I think you had a few other things to worry about.”

“It’s a long drive. You want to hop in the car? We can leave the bike somewhere safe and grab it tomorrow.”

“Yeah, and get murdered by Leon? I’m good.” He stretches his arms above his head. “It’ll be good to clear my mind anyway. Just check on Blake if you get home before me.”

He walks off toward Leon’s bike. Falin starts to pull away, but I hold her close for one more moment, savoring the feel of her soft curves and warmth. When she finally eases back, I brush my knuckle down her cheek, tipping her chin up. Our eyes meet and I give her a lopsided smile. “I don’t know about you, but I could demolish a double cheeseburger and a huge ass piece of apple pie. Saw a twenty-four hour diner on the drive in. You up for it?”

She lets out a surprised laugh, and her tear-stained face brightens. My chest loosens at the sound. “Only you would be thinking about food right now.” But she squeezes my hand. “And yes. Yes to all of that.”