Devon laughed softly. “This is gold.”
“Shut it—all of you.” Graham moved to the other cell.
Addison slid past Paige into Braedon’s cell and knelt beside the bed. She lifted the goggles and turned on the red dongle light hanging from the center of her vest. It didn’t cast a lot of light, but it would let Braedon see her.
“Braedon.” She shook his shoulder. “Wake up.”
His eyes fluttered, and he groaned and let out a little snore but didn’t wake up. She didn’t know how they’d been drugging him or with what, but hopefully it was something mild. Time for drastic action.
“Yo, dork butt. Wake up. Dad is on his way up, and you need to sneak your girlfriend out.”
He sat up quickly. “Shit. You gotta go.”
Shaking his head like he was trying to get something out of his face, he blinked rapidly and squinted at her, even with the minimal light.
“Addison?”
“Hey, baby brother.” Her voice broke at the end, and she swallowed hard.
“Where am I? What are you doing here?”
“You’re in a dungeon, in a castle in Crimea. I’m here to get you home.”
“There was a house. A target. It exploded. Michael. They had Michael, too.”
“I’ll explain everything when we’re out of here. Michael’s next door. We’re getting him out, too. Can you stand?”
He rested his head in his hands. “I don’t know. Weak. They keep giving me something—in the water, I think—had to drink.”
A loud bang sounded, and she stood, stepping out of the cell to see what it was.
Graham had Michael out of his cell, supporting him under one arm with another wrapped around his waist. He looked as weak as Braedon.
Devon pushed her back into the cell. “We need to get him up. Tinker and Jane are opening up the passageway.”
“Won’t someone hear?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Between the ocean and the thick walls, hopefully not, but we need to be ready to go as soon as they come through.”
“I need help supporting him,” she said.
“I got him.” He slung his rifle to his side. “Hey, Foster. I need to get you up.”
Braedon raised his head. “Nash? Shit, man. Did you drag my sister into this?”
If he wasn’t so weak, she’d have smacked him upside the head.
“Pfft. I didn’t drag her into anything—she insisted.” He leaned down and swung Braedon’s arm around his neck. “Up.” He grunted as he lifted him off the cot.
Addison left the cell and waited just outside the door, watching the brick wall shake as dust and small rocks fell. A few bricks tumbled out of the wall, followed by several more. In a sudden burst of dust, the wall collapsed, revealing Tinker on the other side, holding a metal battering ram.
“Y’all ready to go or what?”
She smiled. Hell, yes, she was ready to go. Devon and Braedon passed her, following Graham and Michael. She and Paige brought up the rear, covering their six as they escaped through the tunnel.
Large chem lights on the ground lit the way, and she flipped up the NVGs. There was no need to hide the fact that the tunnel was used for the escape. The huge, gaping hole gave that away. It took significantly longer to reach the mouth of the tunnel than it had the day prior.
Had it really been just yesterday that they had been there? It felt like years ago, not mere hours.
