“But he was out cold?” Luka frowns. “No way he recovered that fast.” Since I didn’t see what happened, I can’t comment.
“One of his men must have carried him away. The big one’s missing too.” He shakes his head. “Never mind, let’s worry about that later. Come, we need to get downstairs and find Angelo. We can leave through the access tunnels. It’ll be safer than trying to get out via the main entrance, as someone is bound to have called the cops by now.”
“Won’t there be a ton of armed men downstairs?” Luka chews his lip and shuffles nervously.
“Yes, but it’s our only option.”
Kane tugs me toward the corridor where the staircase down to the lower level is situated. The lights remain low, and seductivemusic continues to pump from hidden speakers. I briefly wonder if theentertainersare still in their glass viewing rooms.
When we reach the access door, Kane stops and stares at the access panel. It requires a fingerprint to open, but the guards are missing.
He swears, but I grab his arm and point to the room on our left.
“Kyril shoved the guards in there,” I explain. Their fingerprints open the door, so all he has to do is drag one of them out and press his finger to the access panel. Assuming they haven’t fled by now.
Luckily for us, they’re both still out cold. Kane pulls the smaller one out by his ankle and lifts his arm so his finger reaches the small panel. It works like a charm and the light turns green.
He drops the unconscious guard and removes the gun the man had tucked into a holster, shoving it into his waistband for safekeeping.
“Stay behind me,” he orders.
I roll my eyes. How fucking stupid does he think I am?
When we reach the bottom of the stairs, the large room is empty, the silence deafening. There’s nobody left other than a few dead bodies scattered around. I experience a paralyzing surge of panic as I scan each one, but none of them are Angelo.
Kane smiles reassuringly. “He’s fine,” he says. “I just got a message to say they’re on the floor below.” He holds up his phone as proof.
“What about all the poor people locked in cages?”
“What?” Luka looks horrified.
“I don’t know, but we can worry about that once we’ve gotten out of this place with Fina.”
“Have they found her?”
“Not yet.” It’s a huge place, she could still be here, I tell myself. “Come, the staircase we need is this way.”
There are more bodies down here. Scarlet blood stains the concrete floor and walls. It feels as if I’ve walked into a video game set in an underground government facility. Any moment now, ravenous undead zombies will lurch into view.
The place gives me the creeps. Stark strip lighting and metal doors line the corridor. Each door has a small grill near the top to let light in. I don’t want to imagine what lies behind those doors.
People, probably.
“What’s going to happen to the trafficking victims?” Even if Fina isn’t here, there are many other women. We saw them upstairs. Some could have been trafficked from overseas - what will happen to them?
“The authorities can sort it out.” He doesn’t elaborate, and I don’t ask.
A sharp scream ahead makes me jump in fear. Kane has his gun ready, but he doesn’t act worried. Then I realize why.
Thea strolls out of a side room carrying a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. Her husband stalks after her. He scowls at her in annoyance.
“You stole my kill,” he grumbles.
“You were too slow.” She lights up when she sees us. “Hey!”
Ignoring Kane’s order to wait, I run toward her. “Where’s Angelo? Have you found his sister?”
“He’s that way.” She points down a side corridor. “And I don’t know.” I dash off. Kane yells at me to stop, but I ignore him. Just as I reach a split in the corridor, a man emerges through a door, his arm around a weeping woman.
