Page 100 of Wicked Little Nightmare

Sarah's eyes met mine, unflinching. "Three. It wasn't pretty, but it was necessary."

I nodded, understanding completely. Sometimes, you did what you had to do to survive. No judgment from the nuts who enjoyed tasting blood on their tongue.

"After that, it was a matter of staying off the grid, gathering resources, and tracking down allies. I had a friend in a morgue fake my death," Sarah said. "It took months of careful planning, but here I am."

Lakey leaned forward, her eyes narrowed. "And how exactly did you find us? We're not exactly listed in the phone book."

I tensed, waiting for Sarah's answer. It was the question that had been nagging at me since she showed up.

Her eyes flickered between us, and I could practically see the gears turning in her head. "That's where Kyle comes in," she said, her voice dropping a notch.

My hackles instantly rose. "Kyle? Who the fuck is Kyle?"

Sarah took a deep breath. "Kyle was... is... a Chimera operative. One of their best, actually."

I felt Lakey stiffen beside me, her hand instinctively reaching for her knife. I placed my hand on her arm, a silent signal to wait.

"Continue." I prodded, keeping my tone neutral despite the alarm bells ringing in my head.

Sarah nodded. "He underwent intense conditioning, more than most. They twisted him into their perfect weapon – ruthless, efficient, unquestioning. Similar to you, actually." She pointed at Cam. “Same training techniques, though, yours was tamer compared to his. At least, according to what we have on file.”

"Sounds like a real charmer," Lakey snorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sarah continued, unfazed, "But I got through to him. Slowly, painfully, I helped him break free of their programming. Now he's different. He wants to bring Chimera down as much as we do."

I leaned back, studying her face. She seemed sincere, but then again, so did most people right before they stabbed you in the back.

"And we're supposed to just trust this guy?" I asked, my skepticism evident. "A guy who, by your own admission, was Chimera's top lapdog?"

Lakey's laugh was bitter. "Yeah, 'cause that doesn't sound like a trap at all."

I could feel the tension radiating off Lakey, could practically taste her distrust. Hell, I was right there with her. This whole thing reeked of a setup.

"Look," Sarah said, her patience clearly wearing thin, "I know it sounds crazy. But Kyle's intel is what got me here. He knows their systems, their protocols. Without him, we don't stand a chance. Also, he’s my husband. I wouldn’t have married him if I didn’t feel a hundred percent sure he wasn’t a risk to my safety."

I exchanged a glance with Lakey, seeing my own doubts mirrored in her eyes. This Kyle character was a wild card, and in our line of work, wild cards usually ended up getting peoplekilled. Look what happened just hours ago with Rose and the tracker.

"Sarah," I said slowly, choosing my words carefully, "I get that you believe in this guy. But you're asking us to put our lives in the hands of someone we've never met. Someone who would've happily put a bullet in our heads."

Lakey nodded emphatically. "For all we know, this could be an elaborate trap. Maybe they've reprogrammed him, sent him to lure us out."

I could see the frustration building in Sarah's eyes, but I didn't care. We'd survived this long by being cautious, by trusting our instincts. And right now, my instincts were screaming that this was a bad idea.

Sarah leaned forward, her eyes burning with an intensity that made me sit up a little straighter. "I get it, I do. But you didn't see him, Cam. You didn't see the way he broke down when the conditioning started to push through. The nightmares, the panic attacks... It was like watching someone claw their way out of hell."

I felt Lakey shift beside me, her hand finding mine under the table. Her touch was a silent reminder that we'd been through our own hell. We knew what it was like to fight your way back from the brink.

"Look," Sarah continued, her voice dropping to a near-whisper, "Kyle's not just an asset. He's a goddamn goldmine of information. He knows how Chimera tracks their targets, how they communicate, even the layout of their main facilities. He’s still considered on their roster, but he’s been ‘decommissioned’. No longer in use. That means we have resources we wouldn’t otherwise have."

Now that caught my attention. I raised an eyebrow, unable to keep the interest out of my voice. "What are we talking here?"

Sarah's lips curved into a small, triumphant smile. "Down to the air duct systems, Cam. He can tell you which guards take smoke breaks and when, which security cameras have blind spots. Hell, he even knows the override codes for their containment units."

"Jesus," I muttered, my mind racing with the possibilities. With that kind of intel, we might actually have a shot at bringing Chimera down for good.

Lakey squeezed my hand, her voice tight with barely contained excitement. "Cam, if this is legit..."

"I know, babe," I said, my thoughts already spinning out plans and contingencies. "Sarah, what can you tell us about their tracking systems? That's been our biggest hurdle so far."

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