If I left, Ryan would die.
Not maybe. Not possibly. When they checked and found me gone, they’d know exactly what he was. An undercover cop who’d infiltrated their operation. They’d torture him. Kill him.
Make him an example.
I started walking again, feet finding the path toward the road. Toward town. Toward safety.
He’d locked me in a closet. Used my worst fear against me because it was the only way to convince those monsters I was broken. Let those men think I was his property because the alternative was a bullet in my head. My arms still bore the scratches from my own fingernails, the evidence of panic so severe I’d tried to claw through my own skin.
The memory made me sick. But so did the thought of his dying because of me.
The road appeared through the trees, a pale ribbon in the moonlight. Eight miles to town. Four hours to freedom. To a phone call that would save my life but end his.
Even if I called his friends the moment I reached town, how long would it take them to respond? To believe me? To organize a team and drive out to this remote compound? Hours at a minimum. By then, Snake and Diesel would have already discovered my absence. Ryan would already be dead.
“Damn it,” I whispered to the darkness.
He’d spent six weeks with these monsters to stop weapons from reaching people who’d use them for mass murder. He was trying to save lives—not just mine, but potentially hundreds of others. And if I kept walking, all of that would be for nothing.
I turned around.
The journey back felt longer than the escape. Every shadow could be Snake or Diesel. Every sound could be someone discovering me. My hands shook as I navigated the darkness, using trees for cover, freezing at every noise.
The compound materialized through the trees, still dark and quiet. The bathroom window gaped open like a mouth.
I circled the building, staying in the shadows, trying to figure out any other way around this. But there was none. I had to go back, or Ryan would die. I had to stop wasting time.
Getting back in the window was harder than getting out. I had to go head first, catching myself with my hands to avoid crashing onto the toilet. The lid wobbled between my fingers as I pulled my legs through, trying to move silently.
The shower was running.
Steam filled the small bathroom, fogging the mirror. But the shower stall was empty, water streaming down with no onebeneath it. A decoy. Ryan was buying time, making them think I was in here.
Voices came from beyond the bathroom door. Snake’s distinctive rasp, Diesel’s laugh, and Ryan’s voice—casual, annoyed.
“—she’s in the fucking shower. Christ, can’t a man have five minutes of peace?”
“Just checking, Coop.” Snake’s voice, closer now. “Wouldn’t want your toy wandering off.”
“Where would she go? It’s almost ten miles to town through woods she doesn’t know. She’s not that stupid.”
“Maybe not stupid,” Snake said slowly. “But desperate people do desperate things.”
“She’s learned her place. Took some convincing, but she gets it now. I told her I’d take care of her, once Oliver pays all of us when the sales go through.”
“Maybe. But you seem awfully protective of someone you just met. Someone who’s supposed to be disposable. Not even willing to share her with us at all.”
Ryan’s voice hardened. “I told you she’s mine until I say otherwise. You got a problem with that?”
“Maybe I do.” Snake’s voice had gone deadly quiet. “Maybe I think you’ve gone soft. Maybe I think you knew this girl before.”
“You calling me a liar?”
“I’m calling you suspicious. First time you’ve ever kept a witness alive. First time you’ve wanted to go drinking with us. First time for a lot of things.”
Diesel’s heavier voice joined in. “Snake’s got a point, Coop. You’ve been acting different since we found her.”
“I’ve been acting like a man who finally got some pussy after six weeks of nothing. That’s all. So both of you fuck off.”
