Chapter 35

THIRTY-FIVE

The plan went wrong. I don’t know how, but I blame Jonas. I was heading to Nova’s cell when the alarms blared and the explosion rocked the structure . . . two whole hours early. Fuck. It doesn’t help that the guards were all on high alert, but I didn’t know why. I just knew I had to get to her. I bided my time, dressing in the gear provided and then slipping away when they started to move to their posts.

Pressing my hand to the wall to steady myself, I wait for the explosions to stop before ripping open Nova’s cell door—only to find it empty.

Fuck!

Where is she? She has to be okay, I know that, but where did they take her?

Spinning, I search the corridor. “Any location on Nova and Louis?” I demand.

“They were being taken to the gym,” Dimitri tells me. “Jonas is, erm, busy, but we are coming in. Meet you there.”

“Got it. I’m free to take action?” I ask carefully. I’ve wanted to start taking them out since the moment I was brought down here. The things I have seen and the things they have done to my Nova have been burning in my gut since that moment, but I held it back and stuck to the plan.

“Free to act,” Isaac tells me.

Smirking, I yank off the hat and toss it aside, rolling my shoulders. I might have been one of the guards, but I’m now their worst nightmare.

As I make my way to the gym to find my girl and make sure she is okay, I run into a mass of guards. “We are to report back to the doctor for protection. We’ve been breached,” one tells me, clapping me on the shoulder.

Gripping the hand that touches me, I meet his eyes. “Yes, yes you have,” I inform him, watching his eyes blow wide just before I snap his wrist. He screams, and I quickly break his neck. The guards scatter, trying to pull guns but unsure whom to shoot as I duck into their writhing masses and decimate them from the inside out.

I don’t bother wasting my time because dead is dead. The longer I take here, the longer I am away from Nova—something I never want to be again. Pulling my gun, I fire again and again until it clicks empty. Bodies lie all around me, so I pick up a dead man’s gun and continue until there is no one left standing but me.

Selecting another gun, I scavenge more clips and add them to my pockets, adding blades and everything else I might need, even a radio. The doc will want reports regarding his guards’ whereabouts, and I’ll be ready to answer when the time is right.

He’s weak and scared right now, knowing we are coming for him.

Let him. He’s our last point of call.

He’s the end of all of this.

Stepping over the bodies, I carefully move through the maze of tunnels and head to the gym. Once I’m there, I find nothing but more bodies. “The gym is empty. No sign of her?”

“One sec,” Dimitri mutters. “Let me check the portable camera.”

I eye the corridors, debating which one I would take if I were Nova. She will want to protect the kids and get to her father—left to the kids, right to his main lab.

Blowing out a breath, I choose life or death . . .

Would her need for revenge outweigh her need to save innocents?

No, I don’t think it would. I turn to the left and move to the elevator just as it opens for Dimitri and Isaac.

“She’s in the labs,” Dimitri tells me. “Isaac is heading down to the kids. I’ll go with him while you find her and her father. Oh, and if you see Jonas, stop him.”

“What’s he doing?” I ask, eyeing our surroundings.

“Erm . . . you know what? It’s better not to ask,” Dimitri says with a smile in his voice. “Get our girl. Let’s end this.”

Nodding, I step back and turn away as the elevator shuts once more. I have to trust them to protect the kids. They are the best at it. I would probably just scare them, and no doubt Jonas would terrify them. Isaac is soft spoken, and both he and Dimitri look kind and can talk with them. Moving through the halls, I stop when I find a mass of bodies littering the ground. There’s something weird about them, and when I look closer, I realise it’s because their chests are pried open and their hearts are gone.

Oh, God.

Running around the corner, I see the words written in blood and my head falls back with a groan. Jonas!

A noise has me lifting my head, and I see two guards come around the corridor, sweeping the area with their guns. Sighing, I fire and hit both between the eyes, stepping over them to continue.

“Trust me, it’s better me than him,” I inform them. There are more bodies with their hearts missing, and I follow the trail, needing to find him before I find Nova. She would never forgive me if I didn’t.

The body trail lightens, with only one or two dotted around as if they were caught at the wrong time. They were probably sweeping or securing labs when he found them. I find one strapped down, his face completely carved away with a scalpel, and another is pinned to the wall like a bug, both hearts taken once more. How many has he taken, and what is he going to do with them?

I dread to think about it, but when I round the next corner, I have my answer. Jonas is whistling away, coated head to toe in blood, as he carves out the heart of a man who lies on the ground.

“Jonas!” I snap, seeing the open backpack next to him filled with the organs. His head whips up, his snarl turning into a welcoming smile.

“Hey, bro. Come help me. This one is tricky.”

“Not a chance. Come on, Nova and Louis are in the labs,” I order.

“But the heart . . .” Jonas pouts. “It’s for Nova.”

“Uh-uh, I think you have enough, come on.” I clap his shoulder carefully.

He climbs to his feet, kicking the body before closing his bag and hefting it up. “Okay, let’s go. You okay?” he asks me, smiling widely.

“Sure, are you?” I query warily. It is hard to tell under all the blood.

“Peachy. Isn’t this great? It’s been so long since I got to use so many skills.” He sighs wistfully. “The only thing that would make it better would be if Nova was at my side. Do you think she will be impressed? I tried to get as many as I could.”

“I think . . . I think she will be very shocked.”

I grab his arm when he starts to wander away and pull him down the corridor to the labs where I hear smashing, and then I see her.

My raging fury.

My goddess.

My girl.

Her face is contorted in anger as she stands on a counter, smashing the shit out of computers with a metal pipe in her hand. Louis is gathering something into a bag, leaving her to it.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Jonas sighs before he rushes over.

Shaking my head, I decide to join them. After all, if you can’t beat them, join them.

* * *

ISAAC

Riding in the elevator with Dimitri, I bounce nervously on my toes, worried about how everyone is. Nova in particular. I will need to talk to everyone individually, assess them, and make sure they are all okay. This is a tough situation, and it’s clearly taken its toll on Jonas, whose sanity is questionable at the best of times, but right now, I need to focus on the kids. It’s what she wants, and if it helps her, then I’ll do anything, not to mention my need to save the innocent kids.

“Anything?” I ask Dimitri. He’s trying to locate her father and check on the kids.

“Nothing. The cameras have either been destroyed or covered. They probably know we have access. Looks like we are doing this the old-fashioned way.” He drops the portal computer and pulls out his gun.

I grip my own tighter, adrenaline pumping through me. This is what we are used to—working missions together—but this one has a high price tag and is more important than any other.

We can’t afford to make mistakes. We must adapt to the situation and overcome it.

The ride seems to take forever, but it must only be a minute or so, and when the doors open, bullets fly. We flatten ourselves against the sides, and the doors shut as Dimitri hits the emergency button, keeping us stationary.

“What the fuck?” I demand. “How many are out there?”

“I don’t know.” He tosses me a mask from his hip. “Put this on. The gas will clear the immediate vicinity so we can get out and regroup.” Tugging his own mask down, he pulls a gas grenade from his bag and when I nod, he turns off the alarm and allows the doors to open.

Tossing the grenade out, he jerks back as bullets whiz by us.

Our only protection is the shuddering metal of the elevator, which is being embedded with more and more bullets as the gas pumps into the corridor, fogging my mask.

We wait, our breathing loud as the hiss of the gas reaches us. Gradually, the bullets start to slow. The sounds of coughing reach us, and then we hear thumps. I nod at Dimitri and we roll out together. Luckily, no one is shooting. Most are passing out, and although it won’t keep them down long, it still gives us enough time to clear it. They made a barricade, and there are at least ten guards here, their guns tossed to the floor when the gas hit.

As a doctor, I vowed to do no harm. I wanted to save lives, but they don’t deserve saving. Not after what they have done.

No, my oath went out the window the moment they turned their devilish eyes to my girl.

Gritting my teeth as my instincts batter me, I raise my gun and fire with Dimitri, killing them as they choke and wheeze.

“Clear,” I tell him. The gas starts to dissipate, but I keep my mask on for now as we peer over the barricade. It’s made of everything and anything they could find, and I don’t spot anyone over it. Dimitri told me the doors are at the end of this level, so we climb over and keep moving, but the next corridor is no better. Doors are ripped off, ready to be used as barricades, and guards quickly turn towards us.

Bullets fly and I roll, ripping off my mask and seeing Dimitri doing the same a few feet back.

“We have Nova and Louis. Everything okay?” Nico asks, his voice barking in my ear.

“We have run into a little trouble,” I admit, taking shelter behind an overturned door as more bullets fly.

I wait for them to reload and pop my gun over, firing into their masses without looking. I hear someone scream, and I know I hit my mark. Climbing to my knees, I peer over only to duck. I glance back at Dimitri, who’s reloading, then hold up my hand and close it.

Ten.

He nods and gets to his knees, counting down on his fingers, and at zero, we both stand and fire as we move, working as a unit. He takes left, and I take right. We watch the bodies fall. A bullet grazes my cheek and my ear, but I still don’t stop. My heartbeat slows as time seems to still as we fire, until my gun clicks empty, and then I duck behind the next door with Dimitri next to me.

“Only three left,” I tell him calmly as I reload, then I speak into the earpiece where I hear them talking. “Guards before the kids. We are taking care of them. Any luck on the doc?”

“Not yet.” Louis grunts. “Keep us updated.”

“Got it.”

I love how he doesn’t ask if we are okay. He knows better. If we needed help, we would call for it. His trust is what has me sitting taller.

Dimitri and I wait. We can hear their feet crunching over broken glass as they head our way. I reload as we bide our time. When they draw closer, we pop up and fire. Three fall just as quickly as they came, and we keep moving. There are no barricades down the next corridor, and it’s unusually quiet, which isn’t a good sign.

“D,” I murmur.

“I know,” he mutters as we open empty rooms, needing to check every single one on our way. All it would take is one guard to sneak up on us and we would be fucked. We can’t have that. I need to live for my girl. It’s time-consuming though, and when we reach the next corner, the hair on the back of my neck rises. I hold out my arm to stop D and cock my head.

He narrows his gaze, and I shake my head, unsure.

There’s only one way to find out. Playing it smart, I crouch and peer around the corner, my eyes widening at what I find.

A fucking army.

Shit.

Sliding down the wall, I sigh as I talk quietly into the earpiece. “Guys, we’ve found the doc.”

“Where?” they all ask, making me wince at the mix of voices.

“Here, behind a wall of guards. He’s hiding with the kids. It’s a last fucking stand. Get your asses down here.” I rip out my earpiece and check my mag. I don’t have enough.

We’re fucked.