“Shit, we need to hurry,” Gage whispers as he leads us into the hallway, and follows my instructions to the lab. It’s surprisingly empty down here. I’m guessing most of the damage is happening on the first floor.Thank God the foundation held up.
“Will Reed know we’re down here?” I ask, finally able to breathe without pain flaring up my ribs. The soothing spell of the pills kicks in faster than I could’ve hoped.
Cameron puts his back against the wall, waiting for Gage to kick the door to the lab down. “He doesn’t have to be down here. He already told me where I can find it, and it’s labeled just in case he got tied up with other matters,” he explains with a tight jaw. Guilt has been Cameron’s long companion for weeks now. I’ve seen it in his longing gaze and the weakness in his smile. I don’t want to stay angry with him. I know deep down he’s doing this for a good reason.
He probably doesn’t realize the true monster that Reed is.
Sometimes I think Cameron’s the only good thing left in this dark world, even if the things he’s done have setbacks.
My stomach twists and my knees buckle of their own accord. I bend over, catching myself with my palm pressed to the tile floor, and spit up more blood. It’s dark and sinister, much like Cam’s was in the Under.
“Hurry!” Cameron shouts at Gage as he lowers to my side and helps me back up.
Gage kicks down the door to the lab and quickly clears the room. He shuts the door so that no one would know we were in here unless they saw us on the cameras, which are hopefully still offline.
“Come in, Red Turtle, is there a clear path out on the first level? Over.” Gage sits back on a desk trying to reach Damian, I think. I don’t know anyone else with their hair dyed maroon like his, so that code name is fitting for him.
Cameron and I don’t have headsets to listen in, but by the grave expression that hardens Gage’s face I’m guessing it’s not looking so good. I force my attention away and watch as Cameron searches through the drawers and increasingly becomes more irate the longer it’s taking him to find it.
“It should be here,” he mutters to himself. Sweat beads down his forehead.
“Maybe he took it with him?” I try to reason, but the muscles in Cameron’s neck are flexed, making his arteries protrude with frustration. He opens his mouth to say something, but Gage cuts in.
“Shit, we need to get outnow.” His face has gone completely pale, and it’s enough to make me move faster. Gage and I get to the door and turn around when we don’t hear Cam following us.
He’s still rooting around through the drawers, muttering things to himself that I can’t make out.
“Cam, we have to go!” I shout and his eyes find mine as he looks over his shoulder.
“Found it!” He throws boxes and glass containers out of his way and snags a syringe from behind the desk.
My eyes trace back to Gage, who’s still as pale as a ghost. His eyes tremble as he considers what to do. Cameron tilts my jaw and sticks me with the injection, not taking a chance at it breaking while we attempt to escape. Euphoria erupts through my blood vessels and gives me a rush of adrenaline. A soft sigh leaves my lips, making Cam’s hand grip my chin a little harder.
“What?” Gage snaps at someone over the headset, then goes deathly still.
“Gage, what did they say?” I ask, tugging his sleeve when he doesn’t reply and continues to stare at Cameron.
He flinches when Cam snaps his fingers in front of his face, undiluted fear shapes his eyes. “It wasn’t one of our own on the other end. It was someone named Reed.” My chest seizes. How did he get one of our headsets?He better not have hurt Damian.“Reed said that if we are in the lab, that we have two minutes to get out before they raze this building to the ground. All of Mavestelli’s surviving men are already out. I haven’t heard anything from the lieutenant or Mikah.”
Panic rushes over me. “My father is a complete asshole, but he wouldn’t kill me!”
Gage shakes his head. “Reed said he’s assuming you two are already out since you weren’t in the room. He’s taking the building out to clear all evidence he was even here. There’s a vent down the hall that leads away from the main building,” Gage explains as we race through the basement. I raise a brow, I didn’t even know that there was a vent leading out.It sounds suspiciously similar to the one Cameron showed me at the California base.
The vent even looks identical, I notice as Damian pops off the guard. I glance at Cameron to see if he’s realized it too, but his attention is focused behind us as beams begin to collapse.
We crawl clumsily through the ducting and end up in a cement room with a long ladder leading up. A small gasp rolls from my lips when I see that there’s a small gate covering the exit, exactly like the other one.
It’s then that I grasp the fact that perhaps Greg is much deeper in with the Dark Forces than I initially thought he was. All I’ve ever known is that Mavestelli is a trade lord in the underworld, but there’s at least twenty years of his life that I know nothing about. Does he have an in? How else would he have this much involvement in their operations?
My breathing grows heavy and air seems to evade me as my mind spins with the information. One person comes to mind.Nolan.
“Keep up with us, Morphine.” Gage snags his arm around mine to keep me in pace with him. He shifts his attention to Cam. “Did your informant give you the password to this?” He nods up to the code panel.
I watch with stones in my stomach as Cameron walks to the keypad and enters in the same long code as he did in Coronado. The door opens and we set to climbing up.
Each step is harder than the last. Cameron has been working with Reed for far longer than he’s known about Belerik being my uncle. I don’t have time to scrutinize it right now, but the list of questions I have for both Cameron and Erik is growing exponentially.
Gage reaches the top first and ensures the area is clear before he nods down at us. I climb onto the cold grass and it’s the best feeling in the whole goddamn world. The wet dew is fresh against my dirt-stained hands as I scoot back to give enough room for Cameron.
