There might still come a day when she needed Alex to help her find Cary. But from that point forward, Audrey vowed to trust only herself.
Over the red pulsing lights, shots rang out in the distance. A gasp tried to break free of her throat.
Nikos and Basir loaded their guns with clicks.
Mihail held his gun loosely at his side and stared at her, despite the upheaval around them. He bit his lip and, in what appeared to be a split decision, handed Nikos his gun. “Hunters and a mass of guards will be all over this room soon. Take her.” He grabbed Audrey by the forearm and shoved her against Basir. “I’ll buy time. Tell Ryker what happened with Sophia.”
Nikos took the weapon from him. “Are you sure?”
Mihail wasn’t gambling.
He looked certain.
“This is the only way. Guard her with your life,” Mihail said, steadfast with ruthless authority. “No matter what—get her to Ryker.”
He wasn’t running.
He wasn’t even trying.
“They’ve had my sister for three years,” Nikos said. “Ryker wants a gold triad? Then he’s getting one.” He wrapped his arm around Mihail in some brutal brotherly gesture. Mihail pulled away.
Then, everything moved at once.
The two-way glass shattered. Behind it, an army of armed men pushed to breach the room. The transit checkpoint had become the Aggregate interdiction that the warning had promised.
The two Voírían men tried to drag her from the room.
Audrey thrashed like an animal. “I’m not going with you!” It was futile, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“Oh, yes, you are.” Nikos kicked her knees out. She hit the floor hard. Pain snapped white behind her eyes. As she tried to stand again, something behind the mirror snagged her attention.
A tall head moving between the men coming for them.
She squinted through the smoke pouring into the room and spotted Emerson, kneeling behind crates as if waiting for someone. Their eyes met—and locked.
He pressed a finger to his lips.
Then a name shredded through all the noise around her. “Emerson! This way!” One of the men shouted.
Emerson stood and disappeared into the smoke and gunfire with deliberate care.
He wasn’t going to save her. He knew where Cary was—she was sure of it after what she’d seen in his mind. Her best shot at finding her sister had made a calculated decision to leave her behind.
Something felt lodged in her throat as her world cracked again.
She barely noticed as Basir and Nikos picked her up off the floor and ran with her from the holding bay.
Smoke rolled through the corridor—not from a fire, but from ruptured panels and stun charges burning the air. Somewhere behind them, voices barked in overlapping commands while sirens continued to tear the station apart in waves of red light.
Audrey stumbled as Basir and Nikos dragged her around another blind turn. They stopped only long enough for Nikos to reach into his pocket and slam two more bands around her arms. The bands beat in alternating bursts. Every time she grasped for power, the bands answered first, flattening the attempt before it began.
It felt like being gagged from the inside.
Basir shoved open a maintenance door ahead of them. “Move.”
Audrey dug in her heels. It bought her less than a second.
Nikos caught the back of her neck and drove her forward, the jerky movement rattling her skull. “Don’t,” he said, voice wrecked and raw. “Try me.”
