Chapter Thirty-One

Caleb

Maverick snaps at us to get out of the way, already lowering himself to the road.

"Stop," I command, my heart pounding so loudly I might be shouting just to hear myself. "You could land on top of her."

He seems torn, his grey eyes flashing between me and the manhole. Delia tries to grab his arm before he can do anything stupid and he swats her off like a fly.

"Faith!" he roars down. "You conscious?"

I snarl exasperatedly. "You're gonna be waiting a long time on that answer."

Finally, both he and Delia turn their focus to me, desperate for orders. I have to bite back my inner alpha, who screams at me to launch myself straight into the dark. No matter how many bones I might break.

Omega's down there, he insists. Need to save her. Get her back.

I call out, "Omega—if you can hear me, stay where you are!" Then I turn to Delia. "Call HQ. Tell them we need abseiling gear."

She whips out her phone, muttering urgently over the line. Maverick is still standing there, his pheromones singed with impatience. Before I can put him in motion, the maintenance worker intervenes.

"Hate to tell you, buddy, but if she's not answering, she probably hit her head. Or worse."

"She can't speak," I grunt.

"Christ, alright then. Remind me what the hell she's doing here?" He sucks his teeth. "Sweet little thing like that belongs in a den."

Just as my lip curls to order him the hell out of here, Maverick grabs the guy by the collar of his overalls.

"Say one more word about her and I'll throw you into traffic."

For fuck's sake .

I grab Maverick by the back of his collar, rather than risking his bluff. With a bitter snarl, he lets the maintenance worker go. The guy is smart enough to scurry back to his van before he shouts, "RDF my ass—you guys are crazy!"

I'll have to punish Maverick later. Right now, I need him to find the next closest entrance to the tunnels. Maybe he can weave his way around to Faith.

"Go," I tell him. "I'll stay with her."

He tears off. The state he's in, I know it won't take him long to reach her.

"HQ's sending a couple guys, plus the equipment," Delia announces.

"Good. Now call paramedics. I want them here when we lift her out."

Only as she punches in the number does my panic come racing back. I've done my job now—at least, my job as captain. Reinforcements called. Medical on standby. Contingency in place.

Now all that's left is to actually save her.

"Faith," I call, careful not to bark, as much as my inner alpha wants me to. "If you can hear me, try to make a loud noise. Whatever you can."

I hover over the manhole, waiting. I think I hear some scratching sounds, like metal against concrete, but nothing clear.

"Here," Delia offers me her flashlight.

"I've got mine," I tell her.

She frowns. "Aren't you going to use it?"

The last time I shone a light on Faith, she nearly went feral with terror. Something about it must've triggered a very particular memory.

"Last resort," I mutter. Then, calling out again, "Faith—I'm right here! If you can hear me, give me a signal." I'm begging you .

More silence. Delia and I wait with bated breath, ignoring the growing crowd around us, murmuring curiously.

Suddenly, from deep in the dark, I hear a loud, pointed bang.

My inner alpha leaps with joy. "Alright;" I say, "good girl. Do that again—two for yes, one for no. Got it?"

Bang! Bang!

I sneak a glance at Delia. She nods eagerly.

"You hurt?" I ask.

Bang ! I hold my breath, sensing her hesitation, before a second, more reluctant, bang !

I shove my alpha down, worried the scent of my panic will somehow reach her. "Can you move?"

Another two bangs. I clench my fists.

"Don't worry—Maverick's coming to get you. We're gonna send down some rope—"

Bang !

I frown. "No? No to Maverick?"

Bang !

Delia and I share a look, equally confused. "I don't understand," I call down. "Are you telling me you don't want us to get you out?"

When Faith responds, the noise sounds further away, almost like she's travelled deeper into the tunnel. One bang. Then a second. My blood turns cold, finally realizing what's happening. "Omega, I said stay where you are . We're coming to you."

The tunnel goes silent. Whether she's wandered out of earshot or simply decided to ignore me, I can't tell.

Delia leans in nervously. "She must've found something."

"I don't care if she found the entire goddamn arena! She's not going alone."

Fuming, I grab my phone to call Maverick. He should've updated me by now. Fuck, he should be down there by now.

The line only rings a couple times before he answers—" Boss. I got her scent ."

"She's on the move," I snap. "But she's hurt. Top priority is getting her to the surface."

" Hang on, did she find something? I can back her up if —"

"Repeat," I growl, "get her to the surface. No detours."

I half expect he's going to argue—an underground takedown with just him and Faith has got to be a top-five Maverick fantasy—when suddenly there's a loud scuffling noise.

I straighten. "Mav? Report."

" Thank fuck." His voice is muffled. " It's alright! Hey, it's me !"

More scuffling—I catch an omega's hiss, and it fills me relief. Faith's really there. Maverick found her. She's safe.

But something's wrong.

Right on time, Maverick snaps, " Shit ." I hear the telltale scrape of metal on leather.

He's drawn his weapon.

" Freeze !" He roars. " Hands in the air! "

Delia snaps her head to me, but I'm already moving. "Call HQ!" I shout over my shoulder. "Tell them to hurry."

I need to find where Maverick went down—I can track him and Faith from there. The line keeps crunching out, like he's stuffed his phone into his pocket, but I can still hear that heavy breathing.

It's a chase, alright.

Faith can hold her own , I remind myself as I sprint to catch up to them, but it doesn't stop my heart from beating up my throat. Tough or not, she's still a civilian.

Not to mention number one on the ringleaders' capture list.

Maverick's not going to be able to protect her—not if he's busy making an arrest. God knows how many others are down there. What they'll do to Faith if they get their hands on her.

Or what I'll do to them if they try.

My inner alpha seethes, my pheromones so toxic I swear they could poison the entire block.

There it is—another manhole, pried off the side of the road. Maverick must've forced his way in.

"Out of the way!" I shout, shouldering past the bystanders crowding around. " Move !"

BANG !

The force of that sound—blasting through the phone, echoing up from the tunnels— stops me in my tracks. Gunshot. Had to be.

"Maverick," I say into the phone. "Report. Report!"

The line clatters.

And goes dead.