Page 74 of Priest

It was distracting enough to pass the time, and before long, they were there. It was difficult to see at first with the thick brush, but eventually, the road opened up into a clearing with a path that led to an underground garage. The tire tracks were fresh and dug deeply into the dirt from the hasty escape the humans had made that night.

It was odd to see the place in the middle of the day. It looked so unassuming and yet oddly sinister in the same way. It was massive—way bigger than Oliver had assumed. It stretched far into the trees, blending almost as seamlessly as the safe house.

It was no real wonder how it had operated undetected for so many years. It just broke Oliver’s heart that it had taken Poe’s capture to bring it down. His best friend did not deserve that kind of fate. If he was to become a Vampire, it should have been on his own terms. And Knight sure as hell deserved justice far sooner than he was getting now.

The tension in the SUV ramped up as they pulled to a stop, and Priest quickly clambered out, taking Oliver with him. Azriel followed suit, and the two Vampires remained inside.

“They need a moment,” Azriel said.

Oliver knew. He could feel it. He took Priest’s hand in his and tugged him toward the door, which had been blasted off the hinges by what he assumed had been either the Bravo or Charlie Teams. “Do you think there’s anything we should be worried about right now?”

Priest shook his head, lifting Oliver’s hand to his lips and kissing his knuckles. “No. There’s no chance in hell they don’tknow who raided the place, and they won’t be foolish enough to come back. They might have government officials on their side—at least, we think they do—but they don’t have the law on their side. Not yet. Now’s the best time to collect as much evidence as we can.”

Oliver didn’t have much hope that anything had been left behind, but he followed Priest inside and stuck close as they began to explore the first set of rooms.

It took the better part of three hours to get through the whole compound, but by the time they were done, they found little more than a few handwritten journals and one single computer terminal that hadn’t been wiped. Unfortunately, the only thing on there was security footage of the guards coming and going.

Priest hooked a tablet up to it, downloaded everything onto a zip file, and immediately sent it to HQ for the analysts to go through, but he wasn’t confident they were going to find anything there. So far, Priest hadn’t recognized anyone, and facial recognition would take forever since each country or kingdom had its own database that would have to be searched.

“I doubt they send anyone high-ranking to these facilities,” Knight said. He’d been quiet as he perused the rooms. Everyone had left him to his thoughts, and while he seemed tense, he wasn’t shaking the way he had been the night of the raid. “They’re not too clever to get away with this forever, but they’re clever enough to cover their tracks.”

Azriel rubbed at his chin, glancing over at Poe, who was leaning against the far wall with his arms wrapped around his middle. “Were you able to piece anything together?”

Knight shrugged. “Odd, broken memories. Kind of like dreams.” He massaged his temples. “I’m starting to wonder if they fucked with my mind.”

“It’s entirely possible. They have access to every drug on the market and many that aren’t. There are plenty of spells too,” Priest said. “It wouldn’t take much to affect the memory of a newly turned Vampire.”

Knight lifted his chin, looking furious. “Then I need to find someone to unlock this shit.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? You know that could?—”

“I godsdamned know exactly what it could do to me,” Knight interrupted, glowering at Priest. “But do you really think the better alternative is to let me live in this fog?”

Priest sighed heavily, and Oliver moved closer, taking his hand. Priest shot him a grateful smile before turning back to Knight, his eyes glowing crimson. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to have to suffer more.”

Knight let out a bitter laugh. “My entire life has been a nightmare since they took me. Starting the agency saved my life, but that doesn’t mean it erased the torment. But I can’t move past something I don’t remember.”

“He’s right,” Poe cut in. He pushed away from the wall and walked toward them. “A lot of what I went through is a foggy mess, and I know it would have been so much worse if I’d been here as long as him. Being here is awful, but it helps. Being able to see it with sober eyes and totally free?” He glanced away. “I’m ready to leave now, but I’m glad I came.”

Azriel looked at Poe, then Priest, then Knight. Finally, his gaze settled on Oliver. “Are you ready to say goodbye for a while?”

He wasn’t. Shit. His chest was tight like he had a boulder lodged behind his sternum, and he swallowed thickly. He knew he had to let his best friend go. At least for a little while. Poeneeded time to adapt and to heal. He needed time to accept that whatever had been done was forever.

And Oliver knew he’d just be in the way. He’d want to shield Poe from feeling anything bad, and that wouldn’t help him in the moment. No, he needed someone like Azriel who would let him suffer because it wouldn’t be forever.

But it sucked.

“Are you ready?” Oliver asked.

Poe looked at him, his gaze shuttered. It was the first time since meeting Poe that Oliver couldn’t read his expression. He felt like he was being gutted. “I’m ready.”

When Oliver tried to take a step forward, Poe took a step back and shook his head.

“Okay.” The word came out a tattered whisper, and Priest quickly pulled him close.

“I’m sorry,” Poe said. “But I just… I can’t. Not right now. Not here.” He turned on his heel and hurried out of the room, his footsteps echoing off the metal walls like gunshots.

Knight turned to Oliver and met his gaze. “It won’t be forever. I promise. Just give him a little time.”

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