Chapter 48

My scope centers on a boy who can't be much older than thirteen. He has his hands up but his jaw is set. Wavy black hair falls into his eyes, reminding me of Cillian, but his tanned skin is different. Bright golden hazel eyes, like mine, stare down the barrel of a gun, no fear in sight.

A fire lights up the scene just behind them. The smoke is thankfully wafting in the opposite direction, so there is clear visibility from all sides.

Two men stand on either side of the kid, the one holding the gun directly in front of him with another man behind him yelling at the kid. My heart races with anxiety as I fear we only have seconds left to make a choice.

Feckin' shite on a shark.

I can't take out one without alerting the other three that someone is here.

Dammit. We have to change the plan.

Damien is beside me watching carefully. Slowly, I take my backup rifle off of my back and hand it to him while keeping my scope focused on the boy.

"Killer, Boris." I say over comms. "I need you to look at the southernmost building. There's a boy standing next to the barrel fire."

"This is not part of the plan."

I roll my eyes as Boris tries to scold me. We can never just stick to a plan. However, as soon as he realizes what is happening, his tone changes.

"I think it's normal by now for us to never stick to the plan, Old Man. Where do you want us to aim, Sweetheart?"

I smile when Cillian immediately takes my side, already knowing what I'm going to need from him. Four men, four shooters, and one kid who hopefully makes it out of this unscathed.

Physically, at least.

"I've got the shooter, Damien will take the man behind him."

A quick glance at Damien, and he nods as he finishes setting up the rifle.

"Killer, you take the man on the boy's left. Boris, get the one on his right. That should give us all the best vantage points without having to worry about our bullets hitting the boy. We only have one shot at this."

Damien laughs quietly. "Pun intended."

This man can make a joke in any situation. Some might think that's an exaggeration, but I've seen him dancing down the aisle at a funeral.

I take a deep breath as I check Damien's set up. Then, I adjust .02 degrees to the left for the wind tunneling between the buildings.

When he gets into position, I do the same. The argument has gotten more heated; the boy now yelling and waving his hands in the air when I need him to stay put.

"Now or never, Ness," Cillian says.

Inhale. "Three. Two. One." Exhale. Pull the trigger.

Our high powered rifles still make a swoosh sound even with the silencing equipment, but hopefully it's low enough not to alert anyone. I hold my breath as my target falls to the ground. Then, one by one, the rest of them fall, leaving the boy standing in shocked silence.

Shite, I didn't even think about him panicking.

Damien stands immediately and signals to Az, who takes off running down the stairs with him, and I quickly follow behind. Lev keeps us updated as we head straight to the boy, watching the area ahead of us so all we need to focus on is being quick. We can't risk the boy running or causing a panic, and our shots were loud enough that someone could have overheard.

At least six of the eighteen men are down, and I hear confirmation of Alexi and Evie taking out four more as Damien and I attempt to keep up with Az.

The second we round the corner, Az lays at the boy's feet so he doesn't scare him, but it also helps give him something to focus on while Damien and I lower our masks.

"We aren't here to hurt you," I rush out when those bright eyes meet mine.

Pain and fear flash across them, but so does hope. I have no idea what language the boy speaks, but his shoulders instantly relax, so I assume he understands me.

"There are more of you, right?"

The boy looks from Damien to me. The shock and panic I expected from him is wiped away in an instant, and I suddenly feel as if we're standing in front of a soldier.

"There are," Damien confirms.

"Good."

The kid bends down and pets Az on the head. Azazel doesn't push into it though; he stays still and on alert, sticking to his job.

When the boy stands, he breathes heavily before jumping right into the information we need.

"There are eighteen guards on at night, and four of them stay in the bunkers with us. The bunkers are divided by gender. The girls are in the north bunker, and the boys are right here."

He gestures to the building beside us.

"How do you know that?" I ask, suspicious that maybe this kid is working for them. It wouldn't make sense with the scene I just witnessed, but anything is possible.

The boy moves to my side slowly, making me recognize the height difference. He looks smaller now, even if he is being brave.

"There are five of us who pay attention. We have done our best to keep as many safe as we can, and we've all been waiting for someone to come rescue us. Are you here to get us out?"

The way this kid is looking at me is impressive. His bravery and determination reminds me of Evie.

"We're here to get you guys out, yes."

"And then what?" The kid tilts his head, assessing me.

I shrug. "Whatever you want. If you want to go back to your families, we'll arrange it. If not, we'll find a safe place for you to live."

"We all get our own choice?" he asks.

"What's your name, kiddo?" Damien asks, and I swear the child looks like he wants to bite him.

"We aren't kids." He snaps before realizing his reaction. "But my name is Kai."

Damien lets the hostility run right past him.

"Cool, I'm D. We're kinda short on time here since Nessie here just said screw it to our plan in order to make sure these guys didn't put a bullet in your brain."

I shove him, but he acts like he doesn't notice. "Listen, I swear, on my life, what happens to you from this moment on will be all your choice. I won't lie, we aren't good guys, but we aren't monsters who prey on children."

Kai watches him for a minute before nodding.

"Come with me." He takes my hand, and I can feel him trembling.

He almost died, and then we showed up out of nowhere. This has to be a lot to process. When we get to the building, he enters a code into the padlock and the door clicks open.

"I pay attention," he says with a half smile.

I smile back at him and pat his shoulder. This actually might be the bravest kid I've ever met.

"We're entering the south building," I say over comms.

Once it's clear that the four guards we took care of were the ones meant to watch this area, I signal to the drone that we're good.

"Guards all down on the north side," Alexi states.

"Lev tells us you made a friend," Evie throws in, and I smile at Kai as we follow him in.

Bright lights greet us inside of a small steel bunker. Kai moves to the first cot and nudges the boy there, who looks about the same age as him.

"We're getting out of here," Kai says. This gets almost everyone's attention. Those whose heads don't immediately pop up are rubbing the sleep from their eyes as the boys next to them wake them.

All of the kids look at us with both suspicion and hope. Then, they look at Az standing at Damien's heels. Some of them seem to relax, but others stiffen.

There are at least fifteen of them here, and I don't want to cause a panic.

"There are some people here to rescue us," Kai announces.

"How do we know we can trust them?" An older kid with short brown hair asks.

"They could just lock us up too," another kid with light curly hair states.

"She looks nicer than the bad men," a small boy with tattered clothes says, gaining my attention.

"Looks can be deceiving," an older blonde boy with bruises all over his arms says before stepping in front of the little one. I should be offended, but I'm honestly glad to see that these kids have been sticking together.

Kai looks back at me and Damien.

"They saved me. I trust them, so you should too."

Not all of them are on board, clearly. But they've been through a lot, so I can't imagine them trusting nearly anyone right now. I decide to break the ice.

"I'm Nessa," I wave. "I work with an organization that has been looking for all of you for the past eight months. The man and woman who started all this, those who forced you into this life have been dealt with, but they hid you well. Our team is out there taking out the security guards, and we have a bus waiting to take you to a new location where food and shelter will be provided. Once you're there, you'll get to decide where you want to go next, and we'll make sure it happens."

Kai steps next to me and places his hand in mine. This time, it's firm.

"I'm going with them, but I need to help them get the girls first."

"We can go home?" a small boy with dark hair that falls into his face, younger than the rest, looks up at me with tears in his eyes.

I smile as I kneel down in front of his cot. "You can go home, I promise."

His arms wrap around my neck, nearly throwing me off balance. I sigh as I wrap myself around him. He's so small I want to cry for him.

Damien steps up next to me, and a few look at him with interest.

"We need you to stay here and barricade the door until we can make sure everyone who hurt you is either killed or captured."

"Stiles," Kai says, gesturing to the boy he woke first. "You're in charge until I get back. Don't open the door for anyone except me."

I stand, even as the little boy protests. Kai comes up to him and lifts him into his arms.

"She will come back, okay Pokey? Stay here under your bed until we get back. Isaiah will watch over you."

I smile at the two of them, and the little one immediately listens when Kai puts him down, crawling under his bed with his blanket.

"Who knows how to use a gun?" Damien asks Kai. One kid shakes his head, but another raises his hand when Kai looks around the room.

"Stiles and Maven. I know a little bit, but they need protection. Maven would prefer not to use a weapon but will if he's required to."

Damien walks up to Maven and kneels in front of him. "This is your choice, just as we promised. You can take this and use it only if you feel comfortable. But if you don't, that's cool too dude."

Maven swallows and looks at the black weapon in Damien's hand.

"To protect them," he says softly as he picks it up and immediately checks the safety with the barrel pointed down.

It's clear he knows how to use it, and I wonder why he is so hesitant. Damien hands his other spare to Stiles who does the same and opens the chamber to see if it is loaded.

"Eight bullets?" he guesses and then shakes his head. "No, nine with the one in the chamber."

Damien's grin is way too proud.

"I think you're my favorite," he jokes and the kid beams at him.

I look over to Kai and realize he doesn't have a weapon. I pause, but this feels right for some reason.

"Here," I hand Kai one of my favorite gifts I have received from Boris. If he can help us, I can use my rifle. It never hurts to have extra eyes or weapons.

"Thanks," Kai breathes. "It's really pretty."

I smile. "Her name is Jessica, and she's got a strong kick. Hold her tight for me, okay?"

Kai rubs a finger over the red handle, tracing the Celtic shield etched into the metal. Something about him holding that gun makes a lump form in my throat. The way his eyes light up at the power he now carries is something I never realized I was capable of giving another person.

I wrap an arm around his shoulders and hug him briefly before we help instruct the others on how to barricade the door. Before we move on, I tell the team about the situation and where we're headed next.

We have to make it through the entire compound, so Lev is scanning to make sure it's clear. His drone flies just above us as we exit the building, guiding us in the right direction.

When I look out at the trees, an eerie feeling settles over me. My hand goes to my stomach instinctively, and Kai watches my movements as he holds the gun like a trained professional.

"You okay?" he asks. I nod, not wanting to worry him. But I can't shake the feeling that there are eyes on us. Ones we aren't aware of.