Page 61 of Faith and Fury

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.

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