She grits her teeth, sets her jaw, and chambers a round in her weapon. “Right.”
Good. She’s not completely lost yet. The memories are coming back, but they don’t fully hold her in their grip.
“It’s too quiet down there,” Gage says as we descend. “Where are the screams?”
“Maybe they’re all drugged? Or sleeping?” Olly sounds unsure. Or maybe just cautious, given the omega in our midst.
From the smell of things, I’d wager they’re all dead.
No. Notall. Em has to be alive.
I help Auryn down the last few steps, and we circle around, back to back, all four of us facing a different direction. I try to sniff out which direction Em’s in, but the overwhelming combination of blood, rot, dirt, and other sundry unpleasant odors masks his scent almost completely. It’s a miracle we smelled him at all from upstairs.
Auryn inhales deeply. Sniffs the air. Startsrunning.
Fuck.
The three of us dart after her, butmadre de Dios, she’s fast. Those little legs, those tiny feet in Olly’s old combat boots, propel her out of our sight in seconds. We have to push to catch up with her, and when we do, we all come face to face with a wall of armed alphas.
How the fuck did Sneed keep so many fucking men here? This house doesn’t look that big from the outside.
“Here for your new pet, five-seven-six?”
The man who speaks is maybe five six or five seven himself, barely a runt, though from the way he stands–in the center of the room, a couple steps back from the line of alphas–he’s the one in charge. Despite his short stature, he’s massive. All jacked muscles and bulging veins. That can’t just be from working out, and I wonder if he’s one of the experiments.
“Sneed.” Auryn spits out his name like it’s something foul that she ate.
So, this is the man who hired us. Gage did all the negotiating of our contract, so I never got a look at him. I take him in once again, noting the pale, sickly skin, oily hair, the hollowed cheeks, and …
… The scars.
He’s got scars similar to Auryn’s, surgical in nature, though his have healed much better than hers ever did. Like hers were never treated or bandaged, but his were well-cared for.
What the fuck is going on in here?
Sneed chuckles, a humorless sound, and strides forward, shoving his men out of his way. “You know what, five-seven-six? I’m feeling generous. Perhaps I’ll let you have your pet, but only on one condition.”
“What’s that?” Gage asks.
Sneed’s beady black eyes swivel to Gage, locking onto him, sizing him up. “I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to five-seven-six.”
“She has a name,pendejo.”
He laughs again. “She has nothing thatIdidn’t give her.” He walks up to Auryn, standing just a hair’s breadth from her, but he doesn’t attack. My instinct is to jump between them, to put myself between my omega and this threat, but Auryn moves faster than I can. She upends him with one swift kick in the nuts, reminiscent of the night we took her from the cave, and fresh blood seeps out, staining his crotch.
Did she really kick him so hard he bled?
“Where is Em?”
Auryn’s shout echoes in the basement. I expect Sneed to lash out, to order her execution, something, but he just laughs again. “That hurt less than it should have,” he jokes from his prone position on the ground. “I’m impressed, five-seven-six. You’ve advanced since you left us.”
“Where is he?”
Sneed rolls onto his knees and stands up, though this time he stays out of Auryn’s reach. He snaps his fingers, and two of his men break out of line to run back to the room behind them. Chains rattle in the distance, and I hear a familiar groan.
Gage rushes past Sneed, barreling through the line, with Auryn hot on his heels. Two muffled gunshots ring out, and for a second, I fear the worst. Then, Gage and Auryn come back out, each with one of Em’s arms over their shoulder. It doesn’t look comfortable, especially not with how battered my comrade is, but when Sneed’s men don’t follow them out, I know what happened.
The faint wisp of smoke coming out of Auryn’s gun is a good indicator, too.
