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The guards’ eyes turn our way, but their fingers are too slow to reach their triggers before Mauro and Leo take each one out. Thanks to the silencers, no one inside hears us approach, so we stop at the door with our guns raised.

“Don’t die,” Vin orders us. “Or Mom will be pissed at me.” He presses his palms to the double doors and shoves them open.

Stepping inside, we momentarily freeze at what we see.

Several women are chained to one side of the building, wearing frayed, dirty garments. Dog bowls for water and stained twin mattresses lie on the ground near them.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I grind out, every muscle in my body vibrating with unfiltered rage.

“We have company,” Vin murmurs, catching my attention.

I look straight ahead, seeing several guards heading our way.

“Who the fuck are you?” one of them asks.

Leo whips off his balaclava, letting out a deep breath. “Leo fucking Alarie!” He fires off shots like a madman, and Mauro and Vin quickly join him.

I cross the room toward the women and remove my balaclava, not wanting to frighten them any more than they already are. They cower closer to the wall, trembling with so much terror across their features. Their bodies are bruised, their eyes lifeless, and dried blood is smeared across their skin. The sight hits me hard, something dark twisting inside my chest with vengeance.

I roll my neck and take a deep breath. It never gets any easier seeing women like this. In fact, it only gets harder knowing there’s so little my brothers and I can do to end this kind of brutality. The anger sits heavy inside me, but I push it aside as I focus on the task at hand.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” I try to reassure them, crouching down to their level, but I’m positive they don’t trust me. Can’t say I blame them. Their wide eyes take in the chaos occurring behind me. “I’m going to get you out of here.” My gaze lands on the thick chains wrapped around their ankles, each one attached to the floor. “Any chance one of you knows where the key is?”

A woman farthest from me raises a shaking hand and points toward a cabinet. I stride over, open it, and find the key in a white bowl.

“Hurry the fuck up,” Vin roars. “We’re outnumbered over here.”

I shove my gun into my waistband, grab the key, and run back to the women. I kneel before the first one and unlock her chain. The second it snaps free, I pull it loose, and she yanks her ankle away from me. “There’s an SUV outside, waiting for you. They’re going to take you to a hospital to get you help.”

She doesn’t move, her eyes not trusting a single word coming out of my mouth.

I move to the next woman. “I know I’ve given you no reason to trust me, but I swear on my daughter’s life, I won’t let harm come to you. But this place is being blown up in just a few minutes, and if you don’t get out of here, you’ll be going down with it.” My voice comes out rough, more desperate than I want it to.

She doesn’t wait another second before scurrying out on weak legs, wobbling as fast as she can.

I work on the next lock.

And the next.

And one more.

I’m finally on the last one when—

“Fuck!” I drop to my knees as pain sears my left bicep. A bullet grazed my skin, leaving a sizeable indent where blood seeps from my arm and drops to the cold cement.

“You fucking Alaries are all going to die!” a man roars twenty feet from me. He steps closer, aiming his gun directly at me, his eyes wild with fury, when all of a sudden he collapses to the ground, blood gushing from the back of his head.

“I don’t think so.” I look behind me, seeing Vin, who appears very pleased with his shot. His eyes move to my injured arm, and he sighs. “Mom’s going to kill me.” I almost laugh, but the pain and adrenaline remind me to stay focused.

Gunshots echo closer, and I scramble to the last woman, grabbing the key off the ground and freeing her. “Run!”

She stands and keeps close to the wall as she slips out the front door.

“Is that all of them?” Vin asks.

“Yeah.” I stand, pressing my hand firmly to my wound, ignoring the sting. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

We rush to the front of the building and find Mauro and Leo taking cover behind two cars near the entrance.