Page 71 of Chaos Crown

“And you sent de Souza to question her,” Cairo said. “Our ex and one of the people who killed her sister. No wonder it’s taking so long.”

He didn’t need to explain that. Naturally, Ivy was taking a while because burying a body six feet under wasn’t as easy or quick as people thought. I could only hope she got Cairo’s dad’s location before—

The lights winked out, plunging us in darkness.

“Hey,” Mars called. “Peters, what happened? Did you trip the breaker again?”

“Just walked into the kitchen. Didn’t even get the chance,” she said. “Relax. It’s an old building. Faulty wiring. The backup generator should kick on in a minute.”

She no sooner ended her sentence than light returned to our cell.

“See? Told you it was—?”

The lights went out again.

“Now what?” Mars cried.

“I bet you can answer that. Did you forget to put gas in the generator even though I reminded you? Twice.”

“Uhh, yeah. Sorry about that. I’ll run out and get some.” A chair scraped back, then boots shuffled across the floor. “We’ve got extra flashlights and batteries with the hurricane supplies. I won’t be long.”

We listened to him walk out, then the faint hum of an engine started and faded down the street.

“Mars,” Davidson called. “Peters. Get these lights back on.”

“Mars is taking care of it, sir. He went out for gas.” I tracked her faint outline as she passed us, heading for the spare flashlights.

Door hinges squeaked, drawing my attention to the entrance. Two— No, three figures crossed the threshold.

“Hello? Wait at the front desk,” Peters said. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

One of them broke off and sprinted, streaking past me.

“Hey—!”

There was a smack of flesh on flesh. Running to the other side, I strained to see past the limits of my cell. Who is that? What’s going on?”

Electricity sparked the air. The flash from the stun gun illuminated their faces for a blink, letting me see Peters red-faced and panicking with a hand clamped on her mouth, and her attacker’s beady eyes glaring through the holes in the ski mask.

The stunner went off again, and a body hit the floor.

“You’re welcome,” said a dry voice I didn’t recognize.

“You.” Seems Roan did. “Why are you here?”

“You and your boyfriend need to talk more. Especially since you’re paying handsomely for this jailbreak.”

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“No names until we’re out of the police station, yeah?” Amusement laced his voice. “I was told three. Where’s the last one?”

“In his office. Through the door you passed,” Roan said. “If he heard Peters go down, he’s ducked behind his desk with a gun pointed at the door.”

“No less than we figured. Nathan,” he called.

A scream ripped through the dark, stiffening me to attention.

“Peters?! What’s going on out there? Did those little shits get out of their cell?” His door banged open. “If they try to run, shoot them— Ugh.”

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