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The cheerleader notices my gaze on her and lowers her chin. The other women mimic her submissive behavior despite seeming dazed. Their training will take years to kick, but they have a chance at living a good life like Giselle. I wish we could save the jock and the angel, but I’ve seen what happens with true believers given a second chance.
As I struggle to peel my gaze away from the cheerleader, I know the Sanctuary will offer these women a chance to be more than the sexy archetypes assigned to them years ago.
GHOST
The pessimist in meis perpetually waiting for the other shoe to drop. We enter the estate with little resistance. We get the jump on the security guys. One asshole does fire his weapon before we kill him. For just a second, I know with my whole fucking being how Luca is about to die. Despite that close call, the mission has been too damn easy.
Thorn might be thinking the same thing. When Luca and I enter the ballroom, he’s wearing a strange expression. I look around to find everyone ready to go. We can just walk out. So why does Thorn look like someone shit in his cereal?
“Backup is on its way to the estate,” Dire says over my earpiece. “You have fifteen minutes tops before they’re at your location.”
Luca looks to the butler. “This is everyone, right?”
“Except for the jock.”
Thorn adjusts the angel chick on his shoulder and explains, “She’s with Puppet in a storage room on the east side.”
“What about the dogs?” Neon asks.
Theo immediately replies, “It’s not safe to let them loose.”
“The kennels are too far away to suffer damage from the fire,” Luca reassures Neon. “They’ll be fine.”
“We need to move,” I grumble, feeling annoyed at how everyone’s just chilling. “We’ll grab the jock while the rest of you go out the west exit, where our friends are waiting.”
Thorn gets the point. He seems focused, yet I get the feeling he’s freaking out. It’s subtle enough for Luca not to notice. But I know Thorn. We met in elementary school. Even as a kid, he’d get a specific look when hiding panic.
I signal for Vegas to take the lead while Neon brings up the rear. That way, Thorn can huddle in the middle with the chick on his shoulder. I don’t know if he’s about to lose his shit or just weirded out by all the women dressed as their characters.
Whatever the reason for Thorn’s odd vibe, I don’t have time to play shrink. Before meeting up with Puppet, Luca and I move to the library. She pulls out a torch lighter and sets the curtains ablaze. The bottle of vodka I throw crashes against the small fire, spreading it across the floor and toward the dead security guy.
We set more fires as we move toward Puppet’s location. With the house’s size, the place might not burn down without more help. But we’re running out of time.
Retracing Thorn’s earlier steps, we locate Puppet and the jock.
“I thought you forgot me,” mutters my club brother before moving the jock to his shoulder.
