Hunted (A Sinners Series Book 2) (37 page)

“By coming with us, you’re putting you and your baby at risk.”

Cole’s jaw drops open, and I realize he must have followed us out, and obviously overheard some things. I put a finger to my lips, telling him to keep his mouth shut. “Please … stay here,” I say to Grace.

“No. I’m coming with you.” Grace’s face dissolves into a perfect smile as Bruno arrives and takes the box from her. “Thank you, darling. There’s no room in my backpack.”

“Looks like we’re set,” he says in his booming voice. “When wifey brings food, I know it’s game time.” He puts his arm around her and pulls her in for a kiss on the head.

I give a strained smile before taking a seat next to Zeus. He rolls over, all paws and fur, almost scratching me in the face with his nails. His tongue hangs out sideways, and I run my fingers over his belly.

After a while, I lie down on the floor and stare at the ceiling. Once, I trained in here. I even danced in here. And now, I wonder if I might die in here. I close my eyes and picture Alyssa in her last hours of life.

I feel Cole’s presence. I open my eyes and then turn to face him, even though I don’t have the energy to talk.

“How long have you known?” Cole asks in a whisper.

“A few days.”

“And she hasn’t told Bruno?”

“No, and it’s not our place to tell him.”

“He has a right to know.”

“Dammit, Cole. I had a right to know. Don’t be a hypocrite.”

“So it’s okay for her to keep a secret from her husband?”

“It’s between them. We should stay out of it. And no, I don’t agree with what she’s doing, but it’s none of our business.”

“His wife’s pregnant. If it were you, and you told others before me, that’d destroy me.” He sounds wounded, lost.

I find myself scooting away from him.

“You’re right. Secrets have a way of destroying relationships.”

He sucks in air and swallows hard. “You’re right. I was wrong for not telling you.” He pauses. “I made a huge mistake, and I’d do anything to go back and make the right choice, but I can’t.”

“Cole, I love you. That hasn’t changed.” Someone hits the lights, and the room goes completely black. “But I won’t be able to forgive you just like that, just overnight.”

“I hope you do,” he whispers, “before it’s too late.”

Zeus paces back and forth. I throw a blanket at him, trying to distract him from whatever got him worked up. He lets out a low, gruff growl. Finally, I push myself up on my elbows.

“What’s wrong?”

He woofs and then nudges my hand. “Grrrrrrrrrrr.” He lets out a very unpleasant noise.

I sit up completely, tossing my thin cover. Reaching over, I shake Cole’s shoulder. He moans as I tug him awake. His covers rustle as he sits up and flicks on a small flashlight.

“What time is it?” he asks. He rubs his eyes with one hand and squints at me.

“I don’t know. Look.” I point to Zeus.

“How long has he been doing that?”

“A couple minutes, at least,” I say.

Zeus’s hair stands straight up the entire way down his spine. He’s fixated on the entrance to the training room, and his eyes glow green against the flashlight. He bares his teeth and keeps woofing. It sends all my senses into overdrive. My body tingles the way it does when something’s awry, and my heart picks up pace.

“I’ll wake Bruno,” Cole says in a tight voice.

But everyone is already awake.

Grace immediately makes for the restroom, but Bruno grabs her elbow. “Something’s happening. You can’t go out there right now.” He pulls out and turns on his flashlight, checking the room for signs of an intruder.

Roméo stares, bewildered by the bright lights flashing in his face. He struggles to his feet.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“Where’s Bill?” Bruno asks, putting his boots on and gathering his belongings. “Stay here,” he says to Grace. She looks over at me, then Cole, and then takes a seated position against the wall.

A crashing sound reverberates throughout the training room. Cole’s light flicks in the direction of the entrance. We see Bill on all fours, wading through trash.
Crazy drunk
.

“Here,” Bill says.

My eyes quickly focus on the hallway behind him as Zeus’s woofs grow ever louder. His ears point in the direction of the hallway, his tail stands up, moving back and forth in a rigid motion.

I pull on my boots, hastily lacing them together over my sweaty socks and barely keeping my fingers steady enough to pull the final knot tight. I can’t seem to clamp down on the fluttering sensation going on in my stomach.

“Everyone to the weapons closet. Run!” Bruno says while practically shoving us toward it.

Cole flicks his flashlight onto a lower setting as we scamper across the training room floor toward the weapons closet. Once inside, he shuts the door and stands in front of it. He then instructs Zeus to block it with his massive body.

Something is definitely wrong.

“Load ’em up!” Bruno says.

“Everything?” Grace asks. A quizzical expression crosses her face.

“All of it,” he says. “And do it fast.”

He begins pulling on a vest and shoving grenades inside. Every pocket, every possible inch of his clothing is filled with something lethal. He has to be carrying close to one hundred pounds, if not more, by the time he’s done. And that’s before he picks up an M4 and two knives from the table.

After Bruno gets his gear on, he takes Cole’s place, and they rotate getting ready, arming themselves and packing medical supplies and food.

I pack extra magazines for the new handgun I choose and shove them into my pockets and then throw on a vest. It’s a little too big, but it makes it easier to carry everything I need. My hands shake as I shove as much in as possible.
This is it.
Finally, I push the medical kit into my backpack along with extra food, hoping it doesn’t burst.

When I finish, sweat drips down my nose. I pull at the collar of my t-shirt, but the vest and backpack hold in the heat like a sauna. I examine Cole. He wears a helmet strapped under his chin with night-vision goggles mounted on top. His biceps pop out as he handles his M4, sweat rolling in slick paths down his forearms. He catches me staring at him. I see his Adam’s apple bob for a slight second before he turns his head away, sealing his lips.

My attention’s drawn back to Zeus as his ears shift directions. Cole cracks the door open barely an inch, and then we hear it. Quick thuds move in our direction, so Cole flips the lights off.

“Oh, shit,” he says. “They’ve found us.”

“Let them come,” I say, mostly to myself.

The darkness makes me feel like I’m staring into a black hole. I can’t see any shadows. I clench my gun, but I’ve got no line of sight, just darkness. My mind forms a mental checklist of everything I packed.
I’m ready
.

More thumping.

Zeus’s growling is constant now. He’s also pacing, ready to attack whatever is out there. But his steps are quiet, like a predator stalking prey, sneaking about undetected.

Cautious whispers echo in my ears. My feet freeze in place. I roll my stiff neck and take deep breaths. If they were friendlies, I imagine they’d want us to know who they are, and they’d be introducing themselves loudly instead of sneaking around in the darkness.

“Move out,” Cole says. “Now.”

Adrenaline rushes through my body like electricity through a live wire. My heart jumps in my chest as my pulse beats loudly in my ears. A hand pushes me forward, and I extend mine outward, connecting with Cole’s backpack.

We move out of the training room, each connected by a hand to prevent from getting lost in the labyrinth of the underground.

A crashing sound splits the highly charged silence.

My skin is on fire. We need to escape. Now.

Cole picks up the pace and turns left. My legs feel heavier under all the equipment I carry, but I do my best to keep up with him. Every second counts.

I don’t hear Zeus growling as much, so I hope that means we’re going unnoticed despite our gear rattling around. But then I see little red dots marking the walls around us, and I know the worst has happened.

“Get down!” I yell.

Cole makes a fast right turn, and I stumble behind him.

A barrage lights up the darkness. Green and red tracers zip past, shattering the quiet, and illuminating the space around us. Bullets lace the wall, sending rock fragments everywhere. Grace screams, and my ears vibrate with Cole’s M4 return fire. He bangs out three bursts and then repeats. Only he and Bruno have night-vision scopes, so they are the only ones who are able to shoot. The rest of us hobble along in the dark, trying not to get shot.

“Hurry, follow me,” Cole orders over the commotion.

I don’t know where Cole’s taking us at first. I’m too busy ducking my head and following him in the eerie lighting. It takes me back to when my parents took Keegan and me to see fireworks when we were children. I remember sitting on a blanket with my family and sharing laughs and food together. I remember my mom’s face as my dad popped open a bottle of champagne and poured her some. They clinked glasses right before the fireworks began.

Keegan was never as silent as when the first one exploded over our heads. Green, and red, and blue, and shapes of hearts and smiley faces lit the night sky. I couldn’t believe fireworks came in so many variations. My favorites were the glittery ones that descended like stars. I remember looking back at my parents as they sat together. Dad’s arm was around Mom, and they looked so happy with the light of the fireworks reflecting off their faces. But it was Keegan’s smile I loved most.

Remembering my family like that, together and happy, hits me square in the gut. I’m pulled back to now. But now, it’s not fireworks, it’s bullets spraying us.

I step through rubble. A haze of smoke and dust thickens the air, and I inhale the ashes. My nose burns with the smell of lead. As we run, I try to clear my throat, which feels as though it’s coated with paste.

Cole makes more turns. The hallways seem to narrow the farther out we go. Bruno lights the guards up from the tail end of the line, his gun steadily barking. I glance over my shoulder.

Roméo’s chin quivers, and he winces with every boom and crack. His hands fumble along the wall as Grace follows behind, hunching under the weight of her backpack. She ducks her head, keeping it low. Her eyes lift to mine, her expression sad and fearful.
No, stay focused.

All I hear is the pop, pop, popping and the bang, bang, banging of rapid gunfire. I clench my gun with clammy hands as my backpack straps cut into my tense shoulders.

Cole quickly opens the main hatch as the hammering of the guns behind us grows louder. He wrenches the bolts open and slams the door outward. It bangs against the ground. A small cloud of dust shakes upward.

He turns toward us and waves us forward as moonlight creeps into the tunnel. I step out behind him, ready for anything, and sprint across the street. The others trail behind me, each one of them gently tapping the one in front to let them know they’re safe. I exhale with relief when everyone shows up in one piece. We sit in a position half-sheltered by darkness, across the street from the entrance. I smash my back against a wall as Zeus sits obediently beside me, twitching with a thirst for more action.

Bruno pulls a grenade from his belt. He glances at Cole, who nods.

“Man, if I throw this … we’re never getting back down there,” Bruno says.

“Toss it,” Cole says in a low voice.

If we can’t go back inside, then where’ll we go? And if we get the medical records, then what?
I catch Roméo’s face and wonder if he’s thinking the same thing.

The firing ceases. But my head still thrums with the echo of bursting guns. I squint to see inside the dark entrance. The hatch has been pushed to the right by Cole. It’s gray and well camouflaged, tucked between two cement block buildings. A dark green metal awning of some sort connects them, sagging overhead. It’s a wonder it hasn’t collapsed yet. It casts just enough shadow over the entrance that most wouldn’t suspect its presence. Bruno stands outside the hatch, waiting with steady hands.

They should be approaching the narrow hallway leading into the wider berth of the tunnel. My finger tightens on the trigger of my gun. My breathing’s ragged, my vision focused. They must know they’re vulnerable, that, for once, we have the upper hand.

In a split second, Bruno pulls the tape off the spoon, slips the pin out, and throws it into the tunnel. I hear it tumble through the hallway. Voices echo into the street as they scream and scramble to get away.

“Cover!” Bruno shouts. His hulking form races across the street as we all dive for positions of safety. I yank Zeus against me, cowering against the building.

The grenade explodes. A puff of ash and smoke and dust spirals above the entrance. Bruno grabs another grenade and lobs that one in too.

The hatch is almost blown off, hanging by one hinge and punctured with little chunks of cement. Slowly, the metal awning hanging between both buildings drops down with a crash. The brittle edges of it slice into the ground. Anyone within a few block’s radius had to have heard that.