Page 85 of Forever Mine

It sounded like a perfectly normal conversation for a perfectly normal visit, but as soon as I stepped into the office and the door closed behind me, I let out the breath I had been holding.

"Be strong, Jane, it's almost over," Jacob reassured me.

I presented him with a box of fried chicken with all the fixings I had picked up at the drive-through. He cleared his desk and I laid out the spread. We both were well aware of the camera in the room watching us. We didn’t talk much, just ate, or at least pretended to in amicable silence.

At exactly 11:20, his phone rang. I jumped a little, thankful that these people wouldn't think anything of it. We both knew it was the call telling us Raina was dead. Martin would have already administered the necessary dosage to make it appear so.

"Yes . . . okay . . . which one?" He sighed sadly. "Not Raina . . . Okay, I'll be right down." Hanging up, he addressed me next. "I'm so sorry, dear, one of my patients has just passed away and I need to go and tend to a few things. Please eat. I won't be long."

"Are you sure?" I asked him.

"Of course. I'll make it as fast as possible." He left and I stared at the food ahead and pretended to eat, despite the fact that my nerves had my stomach rolling. I took out my phone and opened a game. I wasn't sure if the cameras could see me or not, but it allowed me an excuse to watch the time.

Eleven-thirty rolled over and I knew Larry was kicking off patching. I waited, trying not to look around for the camera to check the light. At 11:37 a text came through, causing me to jump.

“Now or never,” was all it said.

I looked around the room. Spotting the camera in the corner, confirming the light was off, I hit the four-minute countdown on my phone, pulled out the access badge Patrick had given me earlier, and I headed out the door. Seeing that no one was around, I ran to the end of the hallway and peeked around the corner. Finding it clear also, I ran to the end of the hall and used my badge to get in. Even with the systems down, the access panels worked; they just didn't log any data of who and when they were accessed.

I entered the room and came to a shocking halt. I knew I didn't have much time, but I was not prepared at all to see shifters in human form crammed into four foot cages stacked five across and two high. There were seven rows in all and they were all full but one.

"Help me," a lady cried hoarsely.

That was enough to spur me back into action. Checking my phone, we only had two minutes remaining. I quickly hit the emergency release button that opened all the cages at once.

"You never saw me. This is your chance to escape, but the rest is up to you," I told the room, loudly enough for all to hear.

I quickly scrambled for the door, checking that the hallway was clear, and let myself out. The shifters didn't hesitate even a moment. A few practically plowed me over as I made my way back to Jacob's office, letting myself in and sitting in the exact spot I had been when the cameras went down. Before the door fully closed behind me, I saw several shift into various animals as they ran through the hall in search of freedom.

The noise and the chaos resumed. A few gunshots were fired and I prayed no one got hurt. It made me cringe, and I cowered behind Jacob's desk. When the door finally opened Jacob entered, pale as a ghost.

"What's going on? I heard a gunshot," I said, bordering on hysterics. It wasn't exactly a show just for Jacob. I hadn't predicted the humans would fight back with weapons. I was scared for both sides and questioned if what I had done was the right thing.

Sensing I was going into a panic attack, Jacob began soothing me and speaking in calming tones. His phone rang and I jumped.

"My daughter's here," he finally said. "I need backup to ensure she gets out of the building safely." He hung up and to me he said, "I'm so sorry, Janie. There's been a breech in the facility. Security is on its way to escort you out."

"Aren't you coming?" I asked.

"No, I'm afraid I have to stay and clean up the mess. We're not sure what happened."

"Is it safe?" I demanded.

"I'll be fine, dear. Go home and tell Annie and Oscar I'm okay, and I love them."

I nodded and when the security guys came for me they were fully armed. Three of them surrounded me and escorted me to my car, never suspecting once that I harbored two shifters in my trunk. We didn't see a single animal or shifter anywhere. I wondered what happened to them all. There had been so many.

The second I was away from the last security tower I started crying. By the time I reached the old abandoned gas station we had stopped at on the way in, I could barely see the road and I was shaking all over. It suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't heard anything from Patrick. Terrified he didn't make it, I started screaming.

"Patrick?!"

"I'm here, Maddie. I have Raina, we're both okay."

I slammed on the brakes and jumped out. Opening the trunk and seeing Raina's wide, shocked eyes as she was nestled against Patrick was my breaking point. I sat on the ground and just cried.

Raina got out, still looking confused. Patrick followed and tried to comfort me, but I was inconsolable and quickly losing my internal battle as panic rose within.

"Come on, it's not safe out here. We need to keep moving. I'll drive," Patrick said as he tucked Raina into the backseat before helping me into the front.

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