Page 78 of We Will Rise

Which is what brings me to this moment. I flick the lock on the window and force it open, hoping the others don’t hear the way it creaks after not being opened for so long.

I pause and look over my shoulder, waiting for someone to burst through the closed door and catch me sneaking out like a teenager going to their first party, but when no one comes, I stick my head out the window and look at the state of the fire escape.

The rickety metal has seen better days, but I think it will hold my weight for long enough for me to get down a few stories to where I can jump without shattering my ankles.

Before I can think too much about the plan, I throw my leg over the edge and duck through the small opening. The cool afternoon air whirls around my bare arms, but I revel in it after being stuck within those four walls for so many days.

Once my body is completely through the window, I push it closed and begin the descent, taking extra care as I pass the window in the living room to make sure no one spots me out here.

The metal creaks under my body weight, but it’s sturdy enough as I climb down the too-small ladders, and when I reach the bottom, I breathe a sigh of relief.

I didn’t really have a lot of confidence in the structural integrity of that thing.

I look up and down the alley, trying to figure out where I’m going to start in a city this size when we’ve had teams of people scouring the streets for any trace of them, but I can’t stay still anymore. I can’t keep doing nothing when they could be hurting my woman.

“Going somewhere?” someone asks from behind me, and I turn on my heel to find Elijah leaning against a black SUV with his phone in his hand and an amused look tugging at his features.

“I can’t wait around anymore,” I admit.

“So you’re going off to save the day by yourself?”

I glare at how inadequate he makes the plan sound, but I nod, because that’s kind of the plan.

He makes a noncommittal sound as he slips his phone into his pocket. “Can I tell you something?”

“You’re going to anyway, aren’t you?”

He chuckles. “Touché.” He looks up at the blue sky overhead. “Everyone working on bringing Camilla and Crew home knows what it’s like to feel hopeless, to feel powerless. That’s why we’re all here. Because we remember what it was like when we were in your position.”

“Is there a point?”

“I’m getting there.” He rolls his eyes. “The point is that because we all know what it’s like to have the reason our heartbeat’s missing, or hurt, or just simply leave us, we’re willing to put all our own businesses on hold to help you. And we’ll go to the end of the earth to make sure we can bring them home, because we hope that if we were ever in that position again, you would help us.”

I glare at him, but he’s fucking right. If you only consider the three people who are working on tracking them online, you have Wyatt, who almost lost Leighton last year, Everett, who almost lost Wynter, and Ace, who lost his woman for years to human trafficking. And that’s without ever considering one other person up there, when I know they all have similar stories.

“I know doing nothing is driving you crazy. Believe me, I get it. But by doing nothing right now, you’re going to be able to give Camilla and Crew your best when the time comes.”

I huff out a sigh and look up the alley. I don’t think he’ll stop me from leaving if I really wanted to, but do I want that? Do I want to scour the city alone, put myself at risk, and therefore Camilla by association?

“Let’s head back up.” Elijah nods toward the front door.

I sigh and nod once, stalking toward the front door of the apartment building. “What were you doing down here anyway?”

He falls in step with me. “Things are tense up there. Lots of enemies in a room together makes for too much testosterone. Add sleep deprivation and a tight space, and I need regular breaks.”

“Thank you for everything you’re doing to bring them home,” I say, my voice showing the emotion I’ve tried to mask.

“They’ll be home before you know it.”

I hope so.

Because I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose my little lamb.

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

CAMILLA

Blood drips down my torso and onto the waistband of my sweatpants, but the pain is dull now. If this was my first time, maybe I’d be relieved by that, but I know that once pain begins to fade, your body is struggling to survive.

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