I trudged back to join Tony, feeling slow-burning hatred for the human race pulse through my veins alongside the dampeners.
“There’s a bunch of other kids being held here,” I told him, keeping my eyes firmly away from the door to the dusty room. “I’m gonna have to call the police in, once we’re safely out of this fucking place.”
Tony already looked like he’d aged ten years since we got here; at that, he aged another five before my eyes.
“Can’t we just let them go?” he asked. “Like the one who got out earlier?”
It occurred to me that he had more experience than most people, when it came to being an underage victim navigating the court system.
But I shook my head. “Throwing them into the ocean to sink or swim on their own is how you end up with people like Jez.”
After a long moment, Tony gave a reluctant nod.
“I’d rather me and Knox and Heath were taking care of things directly,” I told him. “But Knox is in the hospital, and Heath is...well.” I gestured toward the room where he was still curled up with Jez. “This way, the kids will at least get some kind of support.”
The distant sound of a familiar eight-cylinder engine filtered through from outside.
“Van’s here,” I said. “I’ll go meet Bud and give him the keys to the Yukon, so he can get out of here pronto. It’ll be up to you and me to get these two loaded into the van. And, um, you’re probably gonna have to drive. Sorry.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Tony mumbled. “Seriously, I can hardly wait.”
“Be right back,” I told him.
Jez and Heath were at least separated after their knotting, but the less said about getting them out of the warehouse and into the van, the better. Heath insisted on carrying Jez, despite the fact that he was practically reeling with exhaustion and artificial hormones. He also kept trying to sniff Tony’s hair, which wasn’t helping the situation one goddamned bit.
There was still a pretty big question of what the hell Heath was even doing here in the first place. According to the surveillance video, he’d been hauled in unconscious on that damned gurney, but why? How? Had he followed Jez here somehow, or been brought here separately?
I blew out a frustrated breath and set it aside.
The back of the van had been kitted out like a nest, to make it less stressful for the omega kids we transported. It was deep-cleaned after each run, to minimize the smell of unfamiliar omegas.
Heath seemed happy enough to get inside. It was familiar to him, even in his current fucked-up state. But Jez cringed back in his arms and whimpered in fear as they approached the double doors.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I said, bracing myself to come close and run a hand through her sweaty hair, soothing. “Easy, now. You’ve got to trust us, all right? It’s safe. We’re gonna take you home so you can fuck each other to your heart’s content for the next few days. It’s actually real nice inside, see?”
I gestured toward the dimly lit, blanket and cushion-strewn space. Huge gray eyes blinked up at me; then Jez turned her head, craning to follow the movement. And that was when I saw the livid, blood-spattered bite mark decorating the right side of her neck, just above her shoulder.
A fresh mating bite.
Fucking.
Shit.
TWENTY-FOUR
