Page 136 of Tortured Soul
They had to be thinking the same thing as I did. What if the missing Immortals were not missing after all? What if they left for some reason and turned on Arc?
“I was attacked a couple of times,” he continued. “None of them had the scanning device you guys found in the cabins, so I’m guessing they only use stuff like that around here, where most of you can be found.”
“Did you manage to get close?” Arc asked, walking to meet Carrie on the other side of the desk. He searched through the pile of documents. “Or at least close enough to think of a way in?”
After fumbling for a few seconds, Arc got his hand on the map of the area and placed it between our two sides.
“I did.” Dimitri nodded, drawing a square with a pen he took in the pot next to him. “The building is about this size and there are entrances here, here, and there,” he said, marking little crosses. “That one, could be a discreet way in and would avoid a direct approach and a potential battle. With a small team of maybe two or three, you could get inside easily.”
“Is it not guarded? Why is it so close to a cliff?”
Dimitri grinned. “Oh, it is. But as I said, the access is hidden. The door leads straight to a tunnel under said cliff.” He pointed with the tip of his pen again, drawing a curved line and another cross at the end. “The exit is here, far away from the building site itself. The outside was guarded by Hellrisers when I checked it. You only have to get rid of them in some way, make your way inside, get rid of the ones potentially walking what seemed to be a narrow corridor, and then you’re there.”
He moved his pen back to the cross he made between the roughly drawn building and the cliff.
“Do you know what they use that entrance for?”Carrie asked.
My old lover lifted his face and his grin widened, eyes sparking with mischief.
“If I had to take a guess, to bring prisoners in.”
Arc’s eyes lit up in surprise, lips parting slightly. “Prisoners?”
“Yep,” Dimitri said, popping the P. “There was a truck. I could sense a lot of people in it. Blood. Fear. Anger. It took the tunnel and came back empty about an hour after. From what I’ve seen and the layout of the building, it might be a direct access to the cells. I don’t know what awaits inside, but it’s the least guarded entrance, with very few people patrolling around both ends of the tunnel.”
Arc gave a thoughtful nod as Carrie leaned over the map to inspect it closely. My hand slipped in Dimitri’s and I took a step closer, unable to resist his pull like a moth with a light during the night.
“Why isn’t Carter here?” Carrie asked. “Wasn’t he supposed to be the one who—”
“Carter will stay here and look after Lola,” Arc said, not lifting his eyes from the map. “I will go alone with Dimitri.”
The latter stiffened next to me and the mix of surprise and uneasiness on his face spoke volumes about the fact that he didn’t trust Arc more than Arc trusted him.
“Why me? I could be the one to stay here and look after Lola.” His hand went from holding mine to sliding from my back to my hip, pulling me flush against him once again. “And I don’t know what your prisoners look like.”
“That’s why I’m coming too,” Arc countered. “You’re the one who found it, it’s only natural you’d be the one joining me on that mission.”
“Are you sure only the two of you will be enough?” Carrie looked worried. “I could put together a team in case shit hits the fan.”
“No. We’ll be more efficient if it’s just the two of us. We won’t have to worry about the safety of more people, and we’ll have enough on our plate after we release all the prisoners to bring them back here.”
I didn’t like that plan. “But what if—”
“We’re leaving tomorrow morning,” Arc continued, ignoring me.
I could feel the exhaustion and anxiety rolling off Dimitri. Lack of sleep and stressful situations made him more susceptible to losing a battle against the madness, if it were to act up.
He nodded anyway. “Alright. Let me just clean up and get some rest,” Dimitri said, his hand slipping back in mine to squeeze, his drytone softened by a small sigh. “But once they’re free, we’re heading straight back here.”
Chapter 40
Lola
Carter was locked in his room when we arrived back at the house. Although, he did leave a pile of towels on the console next to the door.
“Yeah, that’s not going to be enough right now,” Dimitri mused, the piece of fabric white and ridiculously small in his large hands. It would definitely be ruined if Dimitri were to use it. “I’m gonna wash up instead.”
He leaned toward my ear, caging me against the stairs’ railing and ignoring Arc’s intense stare from the front door. Goosebumps erupted right beneath my ear and my toes curled in my shoes, eyes closing from the delicious shiver his proximity caused.
