A Whole New Crowd (29 page)

I nodded. “That’s fine.” My chest was growing tight again.

He pointed the phone at me, studying me intently. “You need to listen to me when I say this next part.” He paused a beat to make sure I was listening. And then he said, “I have to get permission to get a team down here.”

He needed permission? “What does that mean?”

“There’s no prior investigation. There’s no evidence except your testimony. If I get a team down here, you’re asking us to go in blind. We haven’t compiled any recent information. We know nothing. Now,” he held his hand up, “I have history down here. My supervisor knows this. Based off that alone, I might be able to get a small team to come.”

“How long?”

“Six hours.”

“You took half of that.”

“Tray texted me earlier that something was wrong. I was coming anyway.”

“Oh.” I frowned.

“Just give me some privacy and I’ll work my magic.” He gave me a forced grin. “Okay?”

I jerked my head in a shaky nod and stood. “Okay.” Going to the door, I paused and glanced around. “I’m going to get some food.” Then I slipped out.

“Wait.”

I poked my head back in. “Yeah?”

He stood and pulled out his wallet. Handing me a fifty dollar bill, he said, “Get us all some food.”

“Okay.” I took the money and slipped back out. When the door shut, I didn’t move. I stayed right there and flattened my ear against the door. I didn’t have to wait long. His voice was muffled, but I made out enough.

“What are you doing?”

A guy was standing across from me. He was tall, wearing only a leather jacket with the sleeves ripped off. His jeans were cuffed and ripped and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. A panther was stitched onto the front corner of his jacket and I knew there was a bigger panther with two skulls on either side of it on the back. This guy, with scars running down his face and over his bare chest, was a member of Jace’s gang. This guy had the same jaded look in his eyes that Jace had.

I jerked back. A startled gasp came out, but I clamped my hand over my mouth to stifle it. I shook my head. “Nothing.” This was what I wanted. I could say the word and Jace might come to me.

He frowned.

“My dad’s an asshole,” I said instead. “He caught me drinking and he’s calling my mom right now.”

“Oh.”

I didn’t want him to come. As I stood there with the Panther frowning at me, I realized what I really needed to do. I had to get Gray out and never see Jace again. Tray was right. I still cared about Jace. That was why I hesitated. I wasn’t even sure if I still wanted to kill him anymore.

“It was a mistake coming here.” I said those words before I realized I was thinking them.

The guy grunted. “You don’t seem drunk.” He moved past me and pointed to the door. “Just tell your dad you’re sorry, smile, and quote bible verses. Don’t that work for all rich little girls?”

“Rich?”

“Yeah.” He looked me up and down. “I don’t know you, but I know you don’t belong around these parts. Go home. Go back to pretending the world ain’t some scary place.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “Ain’t that what your types do? Daydream and turn real life shit into some fucked-up fantasy?”

An abrupt, genuine laugh came out of me. “I look like one of those types?”

He frowned, but didn’t answer. He kept going down the hallway. A door opened and he stopped in front of it, still giving me a puzzled look. Then, as he scratched his head, he went inside. The door slammed shut.

I looked this time and made sure I was alone, but it didn’t matter. When my stomach growled, I decided to actually go and get food, but instead of heading to a store I went to the lobby and used the phone there to order pizza. After I stopped at the vending machine to grab some sodas and a few bottles of water, I started back to the room. As I turned down our hallway, the door opened. I heard Chance say, “Tray, wait.”

“What?”

I stopped. The anger in his tone sent chills down my back.

“Stop. Come back in here before you go and tell her.”

“This is real, Chance. Her friend will die. I was there. I saw that girl. Her fear was real.” He moved further inside, but the door was left open. “You have to go in. You have to get her friend.”

“They won’t green-light this mission. I’m sorry, Tray. I am.”

I closed my eyes for a second and stood there. Holding three cans of soda and two bottles of water pressed against my chest, I couldn't even feel the cold from them.

They weren’t coming. Chance had warned me, but hearing Tray now, I knew it was true. They weren’t going to get Gray.

It was up to me.

I knew what I was going to do. And as soon as I made the decision, it was like a piece of the puzzle clicked into place for me. I think I had always known what I was going to do and now, creeping forward, I hugged the wall so they wouldn’t see my approach. I didn’t know where they were in the room. As I
drew closer, I knelt down so my shadow was minimized and then placed the soda and water on the floor.

“Chance, we have to try.” Tray’s voice drifted from inside the room.

I peeked inside, saw they were in the far corner, and moved back away. Chance said, “I’ll figure something out. I promise. Let’s wait for Taryn to come back. I have orders to take you both in. They want to question you in depth.”

I stood from my kneeling position, but kept myself flat against the wall. My arm moved to the doorframe and I reached inside. Closing my eyes, I used my memory of the room to know the exact location of the table. I used one finger to touch the edge of the table, then paused. I didn’t touch anymore. I lifted my hand a millisecond, reached forward another inch and then lowered it. The gun should be there. When my hand touched the cold metal, I let out my breath.

I held still, not making a move, not making another sound. Then I tucked it against my palm, keeping it steady so it wouldn’t move and jar the table. When it was in the air, I pulled my arm back around the table.

They had no idea I had been there.

Then I left.

I was going for Gray on my own.

Gray had given me blueprints for the school, but he told me that there hadn’t been a lot of changes. When I snuck inside to help Tray with his prank, I knew that was true. The main change had been the security room. That hadn’t been there before, but my gut was telling me Jace was beneath it. I didn’t know why. I didn’t know what for, but they were there. That was my best chance at finding Gray. I didn’t have time to search all the other buildings. Gray and Dee already staked out the others. This was my pick, but every instinct inside me was telling me that I was right.

I just had to get in there.

When I got to the school, I walked the perimeter. I couldn’t find a weakness. I couldn’t get in where I had before. Jace would have the top level covered with hidden cameras. I had no doubt that every entrance to the level beneath the school was monitored and there could’ve even been a second wave of guards for those doors. I had to find a weakness.

Backtracking down one of the main roads that led to the school, I found a side road and began walking down it. It led past a clump of houses and then curved around a field. The farther I went, the more isolated it seemed. Trees on one side and the field on the other. A flash of headlights warned me of an approaching car and I melted into the trees. It sailed past me and I caught the glint of a rifle from its passenger.

The further out I went, the closer I was getting. I knew it.

As the field ended, the road curved once again, and I was in the forest now, but I knew this forest. There were dense trees that were on either side of the river, which meant that the river wasn’t far from where I was. Now things were making sense. The river ran the length of the entire country from north to south. My guess was that Jace used it to smuggle drugs and he stored the drugs in the school, which meant there had to be a tunnel.

I could feel it. I knew I was guessing right.

Hearing shouts ahead of me, I veered towards them and saw an empty truck parked in front of a hill. I looked left and right to check if there were cameras. When I didn’t see any, I sprinted for the hill, bending low to the ground as much as possible. I hugged the side of the truck in case anyone could see from a higher vantage point, but no alarm sounded and no one shouted. Rifles were inside the truck, which told me the men were coming back.

“Let’s go, Rufus!”

The voice came from inside the hill. I glanced around, looking for a hiding spot. There was none unless I ran back into the woods, but I wouldn’t have enough time.

Their footsteps were getting louder. They were coming.

I had only seconds.

I darted forward, and as I hit the hill, a door swung open, blocking me from their vision. As one man left, the door started to swing shut. I bit down on my lip, but held my knife in my hand. I was ready to leap and stab whoever came at me, but I heard a curse and the door was pushed open again. Relief flooded me. That guy went through the door and then a third followed him out.

“Let’s get some booze before we have to head back. The next shift change is in four hours,” the first one said. He jumped into the truck.

As the other two men filed towards the truck, I slipped around the door. It swung shut just as the truck’s headlights flashed on, and a moment later it was reversing. They didn’t wait for it to stop, he yanked the front of the truck around and gunned the engine.

As they headed off, another wave of relief came over me. I was inside, but turning around, I had no idea where I was. It was completely black. Running my hand over the wall and ceiling, I could feel it was a big enough hole for a person to walk through. They had covered the walls with cement, but I could hear the river through the walls. My nose twitched from the dirt in the air. Musk, feces, and mold filled the air as well.

As I moved further down the tunnel, the sounds of the river faded and sounds of traffic grew. I was getting close to the school again. I heard a honk, followed by someone yelling, “Pedlam RULES! Eat it, suckers!”

Then it hit me, and I wanted to smack myself in the head. It was Sunday Night Rally. I’d forgotten about their tradition.

When I got to the end of the tunnel, I hit a wall. Feeling around, I could tell the wall covered the entire tunnel so I started feeling for a door handle. Bass music, cheering, and laughter trickled down from above. I knew for sure I was underneath the school, specifically, I was beneath the parking lot. Then my hand hit a door handle and I paused. I started to turn it.

When the door opened, I slipped into another dark tunnel. This one wasn’t as compact and I could feel that it wasn’t as long. A door slammed shut not far ahead of me and I held still, but my hand quickly felt in front of me, searching for a possible hiding spot. No one came towards me, no light turned on, and I hung my head. The tension had my insides in a giant pretzel.

I scooted forward until I came to another door. Bending down, I felt under the door. A slight draft was there and it was cool. Then I heard footsteps and another door open and close. More footsteps, then a muffled conversation. I pressed my ear to the door, trying to hear their words, but couldn’t make them out.

This was it. I knew whatever was on the other side could be it for me. I knelt down, resting my back against the wall. “Never take your time. Get in. Get what you need. Get out. Less than two minutes. That’s your goal every time.”

I was going against Jace’s guidelines, but this was different. It wasn’t a mark. What I wanted to steal was a person, but I had to find him first. I had gone in blind, and I knew there was a high risk of exposure once I went through this door.

I reached into my pocket and turned my phone on. In case there was a camera, I pulled my sweatshirt up so it was engulfed inside it, then pulled my hands inside with the phone. I didn’t want the light to attract attention, but I had to send this text. Text after text came to the screen. They were all from Tray. Ignoring all of them, I brought up the last from him. It read:
Stop! Don’t do what you’re doing. Come back. I’ll make them help. Please.

My hands trembled, but I typed back:
I’m in. Back road. Field. Trees. River. Hidden door in a hill. Two tunnels.
I sent that one and immediately started another one:
I’m sorry. I really am. I still care about Jace, but I hate him. I didn’t know until the hotel.
That one was sent as well. Then a third, but this one would be shorter and to the point.
I’m going in. I love you, Tray. I love only you.

Then I silenced the phone and tucked it back into my pocket.

“I’m so dumb,” I muttered to myself. Pulling my head back through the sweatshirt, I leaned back against the wall, eyes closed. I waited, one more moment alone, one more moment alive. My phone was buzzing in my pocket, but I wasn’t going to read the messages yet.

This was my plan. Get in. Find Gray, and hope they sent an army after me.

It was time to go. I nodded to myself, wiped my sweaty hands on my pants, and stood. I grabbed the door handle and turned it.

Light blinded me for a moment, but I went into the next room and shut the door. Throwing an arm over my eyes so I could let them adjust, I darted forward. It was go-time. The cameras would see me. I needed to move as quickly as possible.

I scanned the room. It was a large basement hallway. A ladder was lowered down like in a submarine and there were four doors, two on each side of the hallway. There were no windows to see in so I started feeling the handles. All of them were locked. I was tempted to climb the stairs and see what was up there, but I heard a door from above open, then the scuffling sounds of feet over the floor.

“Downstairs. An alarm went off. Check it.”

Shit. I had seconds to hide.

There was no place to hide in the hallway. I didn’t think. I went straight to the door handle that had been the loosest. Kneeling down, I used my pins to crack the lock. I was breathing in and out steadily to keep my heart rate low. Then the door gave way just as the hatch over the stairs lifted up. A pair of boots appeared and then I was pulled inside a room. I was held against the wall. The door started to slam shut, but I twisted. I shot my arm out and the door landed on it. It couldn’t slam shut. They couldn’t hear that sound. They’d know someone was there. The person softly cursed and held the door from my arm. I pulled my arm back and the door shut. It clicked softly at the same time a guard jumped to the floor outside.

As more guards dropped from the stairs to the floor, I turned. Two inches separated us. I was face to face with Gray. His eyes were wide and shocked. Then his door was knocked on. He cursed and shoved me towards his bed.

“You in there?” a guard called through the door. A key was being inserted into the lock, but it stopped. The guard pulled the key back out. “What the fuck? The lock is all messed up.”

Another guard was next to him. Pushing on the door, he said, “What are we going to do? That’s our only set. Boss has the other set.”

“Check the other rooms. Nothing was on the camera, but they said to still check.” He pounded harder on the door. “Answer me, kid, or we’ll have to bust down your door.”

Gray was holding me behind him. His hands were jerking and his knees were shaking. “I’m here.” His voice was hoarse. He cleared it, then called out louder, “I’m here. Here.”

The guard laughed. “Don’t suppose you’d tell us if anyone got in here?”

The second guard joined in, bellowing loudly. “Right. That tunnel is almost a mile long.”

I closed my eyes shut. Good joke, fellas. Good joke.

“Post, you clear?” The guard turned away. The doors were being unlocked and then shut again. We heard, “Clear.”

“Clear.”

“Last room clear.”

“All right. You heard the others. Set that alarm again, make sure it’s working right.” He paused for a moment. “Let’s head to the next level and keep clearing.”

They started back up the stairs. As they left, before the hatch was closed over the stairs again, we heard, “We have to clear out the rest of the shipment—” It shut and we couldn’t hear anymore.

I started to speak, but Gray slammed a hand over my mouth. He shook his head, then pointed to the hallway and leaned close. He whispered into my ear, “We can’t trust the others. I’ve heard them telling information for food.”

I nodded. He lifted his hand and I whispered, “Are you okay?”

His eyes clasped shut and he pressed his hands to his forehead, rubbing his temples. I skimmed him up and down then. He was thin, but Gray had always been scrawny. His shirt was sweaty, bloody, and there were dark smudges I didn’t want to inspect. Kneeling down, I tapped his foot so I could inspect the bottom of his shoes. They were still in good condition. That meant he could run in them.

Looking around his cell, I saw that there was one mattress on the floor alongside two silver pans. My stomach rolled over on itself as I saw one had water and the other had crumbs. They were feeding him like a dog. A third pan was in the corner. That was his bathroom.

I took his hand. “We have to go.”

He shook his head. “We can’t. The door is locked again.”

“No.” I took my pins out again. “I got my way in. I can get our way out. I think we can make it. There’s a tunnel.”

His eyebrows arched high. “The mile tunnel they were talking about?”

We were still whispering, but his last whisper lifted in volume. I shushed him quietly and he nodded, lowering his voice again, standing close to me. My nose twitched. The stench from him was foul so I began breathing through my mouth instead.

As I knelt and began working at the lock from the inside, I murmured, “I think the guards use it to change shifts. The other guards said it’d be four hours. We can make it.”

“If we don’t?” He shook his head. “No, Taryn. They’ll find us and kill us. I was looking for Brian. I didn’t believe he was dead,” he said, his voice growing hoarse.

“I know.” My hand dropped to his on the floor, and I squeezed it.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you right away that I was looking for him.”

I frowned. “Dee said you were looking for Jace.”

“I was, but I didn’t tell her that I thought Brian was still alive. He’s not.”

He sounded so sure and my heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”

“I saw his body.”

“You saw it?”

He nodded. His forehead fell to rest on my shoulder. He mumbled, “Jace showed me the video. It was Brian in the morgue. I think Jace took the video.”

A shiver went down my spine. I didn’t want to think about that. “You talked to Jace?”

“I was in another room and he had me moved here. He said it’s more secure.” A bitter laugh escaped him. “Not that it matters. My friend is gone. We’re probably going to die too.”

I frowned. He was defeated, but I wasn’t. I kept working on the lock. The guard was right. I had messed it up, but gritting my teeth, I felt the second opening with my pin and turned my wrist, pulling it back to the slot.

Then I heard a click and the door opened.

Gray’s forehead was still on my shoulder, and I nudged him with my elbow. “Gray.”

He started shaking his head. “I can’t, Taryn.”

“We have to go.”