Page 81 of Tag
I nodded and turned to Tag. “Let’s get those girls.”
76
Aponi
The lock on the cage wasn’t high-tech. Just a heavy-duty bolt and a thick padlock. Gideon had it picked in ten seconds flat.
I knelt by the bars and whispered, “Hey. It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
Three girls looked back at me with wide, hollow eyes. Barefoot. Dirty. Terrified.
One of them—maybe twelve—stood slightly in front of the others. Her dark curls were matted, her shirt torn, but her chin was lifted. Defiant.
I recognized that look. I’d worn it once.
Tag stepped beside me, gun low, voice calm. “We’re here to help you. You’re getting out of here tonight.”
The tallest girl whispered, “They said no one would ever find us.”
“Well,” Gideon muttered, keeping his eyes on the hallway, “they clearly didn’t meet us.”
The bolt gave with a sharp click. I opened the gate gently, crouched low.
“You’re safe,” I said again, softer now. “Can you walk?”
Two of them nodded. The third—the defiant one—just stared at me.
Then she said it.
“Your name’s not Aponi.”
My blood went cold.
She stepped forward. “It’s Isabelle. Isabelle Hartman. They told us you were dead.”
Tag went still beside me. I rose slowly. “Who told you that?”
She looked me straight in the eye. “The woman with the silver eye tattoo. She said if I ever saw you, to tell you something.”
My throat closed.
“What did she say?”
The girl reached into the waistband of her pants and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Handed it to me.
I opened it with trembling fingers.
It was handwritten—neat, deliberate.
“Chimera always collects its own. Welcome back, Isabelle.”
Below that… a list.
Seven names.
Four were crossed out.
The fifth name was circled:Isabelle Hartman
