PANDORA
I want to help River, but I know he can handle himself, and it’s more important to get Samantha out.
“Come on,” I say, gripping her hand tight and rushing past the fighting.
Samantha stumbles, but to her credit, she doesn’t complain.
“There’s a car right outside,” I say to Samantha. “We just have to make it down.”
“Down,” she repeats. She’s regained her footing, and her bare feet pad quietly down the hall carpet. “What’s going to happen to… to the others?”
The other women.
The ones I’m not saving.
The ones who get to live in hell for another day or week or year.
“I’ll come back for them,” I say, but even I barely believe myself.
Everybody will be gone next time.
They’ll be moved to a new facility, or the trash, and there’s no way Blaze’s father will trust him with any information anymore.
“Come back?” she asks, echoing me again. “There’s nothing you can do. We should call 911 once we’re out. The cops can help.”
I giggle, trying to imagine what I would even tell the cops. ‘I swear, officer, at some point there were women here! No, I’m not related to those Pavones, why?’
A small voice in the back of my mind—one that sounds way too much like River—reminds me that I could have called my parents and let them handle all of this.
But how many of those women would’ve died in the process?
Not to mention: if it got out that Papa was involved, there’d be outright war with the Bouchards.
I’m not going to let that happen.
My family has nothing to do with this.
“Sorry to tell you this, but the cops are on the take. An operation this big, going unnoticed for how long? Yeah right.” I push open the stairwell door. “Okay, let’s get you to the car. After that, I can, uh. How many guards does this place have, anyway? At least three. Probably more.”
“How am I supposed to know?” Samantha snaps at me. “You’re the one who broke in!”
“Um, with a half-baked plan and mostly winging it,” I point out.
Something moves behind me, and I whirl my head around. Samantha nearly crashes into me on the stairs.
“Why’d you stop?” Samantha demands.
There’s nothing.
I could have sworn I saw a shadow—oh.
Shit.
Really, really not a good time to be losing it.
“Because I’m crazy,” I say to Samantha. “Anyway, half-baked plan. Let’s get out of here. Maybe Blaze will have a good plan. Blaze?—”
I stop when I remember that Blaze doesn’t have his ear piece anymore.
