26. Lyssa

We go backto the motel again, since I don't want to waste time driving around the back roads of Illinois when tomorrow night is the night. And I lose myself in Scarlett, let myself forget everything and have just an hour or two where we don't have to worry about death and blood and what comes afterward.

Scarlett seems to feel the same, so that we don't talk at all about tomorrow.

And I try to show her, again and again, exactly how much I really do love her.

The next night, we gather at the seemingly-deserted industrial area on the outskirts of Chicago—Grandmother's hideout. Hadria, Scarlett, Ricky, Mario, and a handful of other Syndicate members crouch beside me, eyeing the vent that Sarah told us about, the one that leads to the underground part of the warehouse.

We're not relying solely on Sarah's information, of course. There's no trust built there yet, so Ricky has gotten hold of some old blueprints for the buildings. The problem is, it's not like Grandmother would have gotten any excavations or new builds approved. Still, the blueprints give us an idea of what's above the surface.

And Sarah has given us at least an idea of what's below the ground.

I catch Hadria's eye and she nods. Together, we rappel into the vent, the darkness swallowing us whole. I hear Scarlett and Mario follow, along with a few other men and women who volunteered to come along. Ricky stays above as our lookout.

The vent opens into a dark, old tunnel, just as Sarah said. She told Hadria that this was how she liked to get in and out when she didn't want Grandmother to know what she was doing. Apparently, her attack on Scarlett and me that night hadn't been sanctioned.

I don't know whether to believe her or not. Whenever I see her looking at Hadria it's with something approaching awe, and I don't think that's good for Hadria's ego—or Sarah's mental health.

Also, I don't see why Hadria should get the hero-worship while I get blamed for taking Sarah's place. But I guess that's what second-in-command is for: making the boss look good and taking the bullshit getting flung up from below.

"What's so funny?" Hadria asks softly, as we hit the ground in the tunnels and unclip our lines.

"Nothing." I pause, then add, "Just—you and me. We actually do make a good team."

It's hard to see Hadria in the dense darkness of the tunnels, but at last I hear her reply. "We do." She snaps on the light at her shoulder. "Come on. Let's move before the next two land on us."

Scarlett and Mario come down next, and then another two and another and another until we're all in. After that, we follow the rough map Sarah drew for us, keeping our footsteps soft in the eerie silence. But it's not long before we come upon guards, who engage us in a hail of gunfire.

The scene erupts into chaos, filled with the deafening roar of gunshots, bullets ricocheting off the steel walls. But we move with strategic precision, Syndicate members efficiently taking down guards as we push forward for another ten minutes with no further interruptions.

"Strange," I mutter, scanning the shadows ahead. "No assassins yet."

Behind me, Scarlett says the first words I've heard from her since we got down here. "Grandmother will be keeping them close. For protection."

"Like my father keeps his cannon fodder close, too," Hadria says, and then looks surprised that she's actually making conversation with Scarlett.

I jerk my head forward. "We need to get a move on. Our quarry knows the wolves are at the gate by now; I don't want her to bolt. I don't want to waste another two weeks tracking her down again."

We delve deeper into the tunnels, and finally begin to encounter heavier resistance, which lifts my spirits. More enemies means we must be going the right way, after all. And despite everything that's happened between us, Hadria and I fall into our old rhythm, fighting side by side with seamless teamwork born of years of trust.

But I can't help noticing how well Scarlett and I move together, too, anticipating each other's actions like we're two halves of the same whole. I catch Hadria watching us, something like grudging respect in her eyes as she takes in Scarlett's skills.

"She's good," I say to Hadria, after Scarlett pulls off a wall-run to avoid a frantic shooter, then takes him out with a quick, silent snap of the neck. "You have to see that."

"She's been trained by the best," Hadria agrees.

"You don't sound like you think that's a good thing."

"I don't." She reloads her gun and motions the rest of our people to go forward, with us hanging back to take the rear. "Because the last thing we need is someone as good as you on the other side."

"She's not on the other—" I start to snap, but Hadria's already moving.

We push deeper, deeper into the facility, and finally, we come across a woman—an assassin.

"Hold!" Scarlett calls, and the Syndicate falls back to the tunnel we just came out of. Scarlett stands by the entrance and peeks around. "It's Scarlett," she calls out to the woman. "You know me. I was one of you. I'm here with a group, but we're only looking for Grand?—"

The only response is rapid gunfire, and when Scarlett looks out again, I see her shoulders droop.

"She's gone," she says. "I hoped, if we got to talk to any of them, we might be able to convince them…"

"Keep pushing forward with the others," I tell her. "Hadria and I will go this way." I nod at a tunnel opening opposite us. "We're running out of time. But we'll try to cut Grandmother off before she can escape."

"Be careful."

I flash her a grin, all bravado. "Not a chance."

Hadria and I peel off down the hallway, guns at the ready. And that's when I hear it—a voice I'd know anywhere. Grandmother's voice, in the distance, calling sharply to someone to keep up with her.

Hadria hisses a warning, but I'm already moving, ignoring her call to stop. I streak down the hallway, my blood singing with the hunt.

She's mine.

And she won't escape this time.

I'm too focused on Grandmother's voice to see the guard waiting in the shadows. I only have time to hear the gun go off. But Hadria, running right alongside me, shoves me aside even as she shoots back.

Hadria's bullet finds its mark?—

But so does the guard's.

Time slows down as I see Hadria collapse to the ground, her blood splattering the concrete floor.

"No!" I drop to my knees beside her, pressing my hands over the wound in her chest. "What did you do that for, you silly bitch?" I choke out, tears blurring my vision.

Hadria's eyes flutter. "Forgot you were indestructible," she whispers, the ghost of a smile on her blood-splattered lips.

I gather her up in my arms, ignoring the sticky warmth soaking through my clothes. "Hold on, Hades. Just hold on."

I help her back down the tunnel, dragging and carrying her when her legs give out, all thoughts of Grandmother gone. I reach the rest of our people and we evacuate immediately, fast as we can, with Mario going back to the surface and then helping to haul Hadria up the vent. She's still conscious when she gets up there, but she's fading.

"She needs the hospital," Scarlett says, climbing out of the vent behind me.

"No," is the instant reply—from me, from Ricky, and from Hadria herself.

"Elysium," Hadria whispers, as I lay her down in the back of one of the vans the Syndicate came in. I climb in next to her, and Scarlett follows.

"Keep pressure on that wound," she tells me, looking down at Hadria. Hadria doesn't seem all that concerned that Scarlett is taking point on the first aid. But I think she's only half-conscious now. "You—Mario, isn't it?"

"Me?" Mario, who climbed into this van as well, looks startled to have Scarlett address him directly.

"Call one of your Syndicate medics," she says. "Tell them to be at Elysium when we get there."

"And call Suzy," I add. "Tell her…tell her to be waiting out front for us, too." Because I've seen a lot of wounds in my life. And I'm terrified that this one has "goodbye" written all over it.

The journey back is blessedly fast, since the warehouse was to the north, just like Elysium. Under Scarlett's calm instruction, I keep my hands pressed over Hadria's wound the whole way back, as if I could hold her life inside her body through sheer force of will. But Hadria's always-pale face has a pallor to it I've never seen before.

And I'm afraid. For the first time since my childhood with Grandmother, perhaps.

I'm afraid.

When we arrive at Elysium, the van skidding to a halt at the doors of the mansion, Aurora rushes out to Hadria's side, her face pale and stricken. "Hadria? Oh, God, Hadria!"

Together, Scarlett and I lay Hadria on a makeshift gurney, attempting to stabilize her again as we rush her into the brand new medical room built into the mansion. It hurts so much to think that the very first patient here could be this woman. Our leader. And when I look down at Hadria's gray face, at the blood soaking through the makeshift bandages, and a cold, hard realization settles in my gut.

Without immediate help, Hadria is going to die.

"Where's that fucking doctor!" I roar, my voice raw with desperation. "Get them in here, now!"

Aurora, her delicate hands fluttering over the wound like frightened birds, is in tears. "I tried calling around, but no one will answer!"

Behind her, Mario also shakes his head grimly as he hangs up on another call.

I look down at Hadria, my best friend, my sister in all but blood. The woman who's been by my side through thick and thin, who pulled me out of the gutter and gave me something to live for.

And now, when she needs me most, there's not a damn thing I can do to save her. For all my skills and for all my strength…

I'm helpless.