Page 46 of Promise & Artem

“And the big what-if,” Brin said, “Is what if Promise isn’t at the warehouse?”

Artem blew out a breath. He rubbed the space over his heart. “I’ll know if she’s there when we get there. If I don’t feel her, then we’ll have to search for her.”

Brin nodded. “We shouldn’t leave the campground unprotected. Some of us should stay behind to keep an eye on things. Nero shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“Good point,” Axtyn said. “Who wants to come with us and who is willing to stay?”

Although everyone wanted to go help out at the warehouse, three males volunteered to stay behind, one from each clan.

“I have to be there at nine,” Artem said. “But we can scout the area and maybe, just maybe we can get Promise out before the fights even start, and then none of this will be necessary.”

“We can hope for that,” Axtyn said, “but also be prepared in case you do have to fight. Or all of us do.”

With a nod, they dispersed to get ready for a fight, planning to return to the Welcome Center in one hour.

Then they’d leave for Trumble.

As he and his dad walked away from the Welcome Center, his dad said, “You should call her parents. I would want to know if you or Isolde were in danger.”

“I will,” he said.

It was not a conversation he was looking forward to having, but he owed it to her family to let them know what happened.

He parted ways with his dad and went to his cabin to get ready.

Then he’d call her parents and vow to get her home safely and to never let another hair on her head be harmed again.

They parked a half mile from the warehouse several hours before Artem was supposed to show up to fight. Their plan was to get into the warehouse before the stands were filled with civilians and the fighters were in the locker room getting ready, so they could set Promise free without the fighters coming to Nero’s aid or any civilians getting hurt.

That was assuming that Promise was actually at the warehouse.

The warehouse was on a back road and at one time had been used by the mining company before the shafts went dry and the company went belly-up. Nero hadn’t had any trouble taking the building over and using it for his fights.

Hell, the town of Trumble didn’t even have a police force. If there was trouble, the locals called the Little Hope cops.

Artem and the others were in the woods that surrounded half of the building’s property, giving them ample cover while they watched to see who was coming and going.

The building looked like it was deserted from the front, but they saw vehicles at the back and although the windows were covered with newspaper, light was visible in some of the torn sections.

Ian stood next to Artem. “Is there a basement?”

“I don’t think so,” Artem said. “Front and back doors, and there’s a ladder up to the roof.”

Ian hummed. “You can get inside from the roof?”

“I don’t know, I was never up there.”

“If there’s roof access, it’s probably not being covered by anyone,” Axtyn said.

They quieted as two males walked around the corner of the building. They were dressed in dark clothing but didn’t have visible weapons.

Artem stared at the males as they walked casually along the back of the building and rounded the corner.

“Does Nero normally have guards walking around the building on regular fight nights?” Mark asked.

“No,” Artem said, shaking his head.

“So she must be there, and he must know you’d come for her,” he said.

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