Page 96 of Crimson Flames

She gives a go ahead gesture with her hand.

“On the property, there are usually thirty-eight guards at night and around forty-five during the day. Some don’t live far from here or sleep in a connecting suite, so I assume we’re dealing with all of them.”

I give Lev the information, and he starts tracking how many have died. Damien and Alexi have gotten most of the ones who ran to the explosion of the front gate outside, but there are still a few more inside.

The girls follow behind us after trying to put up a fight to be in front. Cillian laughed at them and took the lead again. He let Rhea stay behind him, giving him movements of where to go while using their device to talk to the other teens.

There are a lot of twists and turns, the old gothic style building not anything like the modern setup we are used to. The floors creak in random areas, giving us away a few times. Rhea and Cillian are on it, and when they are busy, we all fill in the gaps.

Rhea keeps a hand on Cillian’s shoulder with Kai right behind them and the other two girls in the back with me and Nessa. After a decent bit of bloodshed and only one of us tripping over a body, we meet up with the others at the main entrance.

Rhea runs to the boy across the room, and he embraces her, holding her close while he glares at all of us.

The lights are off, shrouding the atrium in darkness, only the moonlight beaming through the windows to assist in guiding our movements. Thankfully, it is a full moon and has helped us even in the dim hallways.

“How did you find us?” the boy I assume is Rick asks.

Kai steps forward. “I was supposed to be sent here before they rescued all of the kids at our camp.”

Rick looks Kai up and down, tucking Rhea behind him protectively even when she rolls her eyes.

“And how do we know we can trust you? This timing doesn’t feel right.”

Kai nods, and Nessa steps up beside him. Everyone in the room is pretty relaxed, the other group of kids not caring much about talking. Most of them look like they just want to get out of here.

But the air shifts, and everyone freezes when Rick raises his gun, pointing it at Nessa.

Kai sucks in a sharp breath. “Out of every move you could have made, that was the worst fucking idea you could have had.”

Rhea puts her hand on Rick’s shoulder, but he shoves it off. My nerves spike, and Cillian looks two seconds away from shooting the kid.

“No, explain. Now!” Rick shouts, hands shaking as he threatens my woman.

Slowly, I step in front of Nessa, causing Rick to look at me. “Lower your weapon so we can get you out of here, then you can ask all of the questions you want.”

I raise my hands as he assesses me. “How do we know you aren’t one of them, that you won’t do the same thing?”

He is trembling, scared and shouting with a weapon now pointed at my chest. My bulletproof vest gives me some protection, but there is still a chance something could go wrong this close. With Nessa and my soon-to-be son in harm’s way still, I cannot risk their lives. Not again.

“We allowed you to keep fully loaded weapons and ensured you were all brought together before we left the property,” Arrow says from behind him.

Our eyes connect, and I give him a subtle nod. When Rick steps towards me, feeling Arrow at his back, I move.

My hands come together around his gun, twisting it to the side as a shot rings through the room, stunning us all. Arrow thrusts a needle into Rick’s neck, his wide, panicked eyes looking up at me as he begins to fall into a deep sleep.

“We have no plans to hurt you,” I say as he blinks, his eyes not fully lifting. “But we need to ensure you cannot hurt any of us.”

When he falls to the floor, his body still, Rhea begins to panic. Kai steps in, moving her hand over his heart. “We just made him sleep.”

Arrow steps over them while I look to the other children whose faces are filled with trepidation. “We are only doing this so that we can complete the mission while keeping everyone safe. You may all keep your weapons, but aiming them at us is not advised.”

Rhea calms quickly, and Alexi gives us the all clear to exit.

The other teens still seem hesitant, but Rhea steps up.

“They could have killed him. Rick threatened them and it would have been easier to shoot him than risk him getting off a shot. For now, we will trust them enough to get us out of here.”

I nod to her and she gives a shaky tilt of her head in response.

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