“What’s too risky?” Diego wanders in, hands in his pockets, looking as relaxed as he can given that he’s already geared up for the mission. “What’s too risky, boss? We come up on a snag in the plan?”
“I’ll say. Olly says Auryn’s pregnant, but he’s not listening when I say she’s gotta stay put.”
My second-in-command throws his head back and laughs. “You think you can stop her,jefe? I love you, Gage, but my money’s on Auryn. She’s a pistol, and you’re already hesitating. She’ll kick your ass nine ways to Sunday, and we’ll end up leavingyouhere instead of her.”
Has everyone lost their damn minds? “But Diego, she’s–”
“Smart, capable, and determined. Just accept that you’re outnumbered here, Gage, and let’s get this show on the road.” He pats my shoulder and wanders back out, shaking his head and chuckling.
“He’s going to tell her, isn’t he?”
Olly nods. “Yep. And he’s right, you know. We can’t keep her from this.”
Great. Not only is the woman I love pregnant, but no one seems inclined to convince her to hold back from a dangerous, life-threatening mission because of it. Am I the only one here who’s sane?
Since I’m getting nowhere with Olly and Diego, I figure I’ll go to the source. Maybe Auryn’s maternal instincts will kick in, and it’ll knock some sense into her.
I’m only a few seconds behind Diego, but somehow when I leave the lab he’s already long gone. When I finally find them in the training room with Emmett, Auryn’s beet red with her tiny hands balled into fists at her sides as Diego hugs Em, who looks like he’s just been given the most shocking news of his life.
I suppose that might be the case. After Sneed’s men mangled him, he might have assumed he’d never be a father. That still might be the case; it’s probably way too early to tell which one of us sired Auryn’s baby. It could be any of us.
Striding up to the trio, I focus my attention on Auryn. “Auryn, baby, I know this is a lot to take in, but if you just listen, I–”
The smack she delivers to my face reverberates in the training room.
What the hell? “Auryn?”
She puts a hand on her hip and points a finger in my face with the other hand. “If you think I’m hanging back because of this, you’re nuts. Sneed and his men did things to me that I can’t even put words to. Theyaltered my DNA. Whether you approve or not, I’m going along tonight, and I’ll kill Sneed with my own two hands, pregnancy be damned. If you even try to stop me, if you so much as lift a finger to keep me here, I’ll make sure you join him in a shallow grave.”
Her vehemence startles me, but more than that, her words humble me.
Auryn’s right. I can’t understand what Sneed did to her, can’t really ever comprehend. Nobody can, except maybe Em.
I look at Emmett, who stares defiantly back at me.
Fuck. I’m outnumbered four to one.
My shoulders sink as I sigh with resignation. “Fine. But the second Sneed’s dead, we’re torching the place and booking it back home.”
To my surprise, Auryn stretches up on her toes and kisses my cheek. “I knew you’d see reason eventually. Don’t worry. Everything will work out. We’ll rescue the omegas, kill Sneed, and be home in time for one of Diego’s delicious breakfasts.”
It all sounds a little too simple when she puts it that way, but I can’t argue. What’s the point? No one’s on my side, and I’d rather take extra precautions tonight than alienate Auryn and the others by being obstinate. At least this way, she’s in my sights. If I try to force her to stay, she’ll just go on her own, which would be ten times more dangerous.
“Well … we might as well get going. Sneed’s not getting any deader.”
To our surprise, the tunnel Auryn snuck out of is bigger than we all expected. We don’t really have to dig to fit, which bugs me. If this tunnel was really that big before, how did Sneed and his men not know it was there?
The dirt doesn’t look freshly upturned. It all seems like it’s been this way for weeks, at least as long as Auryn’s been with us. My hackles raise regardless, and I ready my weapon for whatever lies on the other side of the tunnel. Something smells rotten here, and it’s not just the stench of blood, vomit, and other assorted bodily fluids coming from the basement beyond.
Emmett goes first, followed by Diego and Auryn. Olly and I bring up the rear, and after an hour of crawling, we emerge in a musty rock-walled cell. The rusty barred door hangs on one hinge. It’s bent inward, like someone tried to breakinrather thanout. For some reason, that bothers me even more.
We check the cell, but there’s nothing here. No evidence of other omegas being held here, nothing but dried blood, tattered fabric scraps, and a battered bucket full of excrement. That must have been what Sneed gave Auryn to use as a toilet. I clench my gun tighter, hoping to God that Auryn makes that bastard die a slow death.
Past the cell door, we find row after row of small, cramped rooms. Each holds a terrified omega–or are they alphas? Since Auryn’s body chemistry has been altered, it stands to reason that some of these omegas might have started out as alphas, too. We’ll have no way to be certain unless Olly does tests, though, and there’s no time for that.
All in all, we discover five captive women. Olly herds them back through the tunnel while the rest of us press on.
The lack of guards or any other inhabitants is suspicious. Will we turn the next corner and find another wall of alphas like we did last time? Something’s wrong. I feel it in my gut.
