Chapter 192
Lynette's POV
The elevator doors slid shut between us.
I stood alone in the empty hallway on the seventh floor. Stared at those closed metal doors like they might open again. Like Kael might step back out and demand to know where I was really going.
But they didn't open.
I let out a slow breath. Forced my shoulders to relax.
He knew I was lying. I was sure of it now.
But he'd let me go anyway.
That trust sat heavy in my chest. Made it hard to breathe for reasons that had nothing to do with danger.
I shook my head. Pushed the feeling down. I didn't have time for guilt right now.
Cole was waiting.
I turned away from the elevators. Started walking down the hallway toward my room. My footsteps were quiet on the thick carpet. The ship hummed around me. Low and constant. Like a sleeping beast.
I passed my room without stopping.
At the end of the hall, I paused. Looked up at the corner where the ceiling met the wall.
There.
A small black dome. Security camera. The angle was perfect to catch anyone coming out of the elevators or entering any of the rooms on this floor.
I kept my face neutral. Didn't look directly at it.
Just a tired guest heading back to her room. Nothing unusual.
I turned the corner. Found the stairwell door tucked into an alcove. The sign above it read "Emergency Exit Only - Alarm Will Sound."
I tested the handle slowly. It turned without resistance.
No alarm.
Of course not. Belser wouldn't want his guests panicking over safety features. He needed everyone calm. Compliant.
I slipped through the door and let it close behind me with a soft click.
The stairwell was concrete and metal. Cold. The warm luxury of the passenger areas stopped at that door. This was the ship's skeleton. Functional. Ugly.
My footsteps echoed as I started down. I kept to the outer edge of the stairs where the metal was less likely to creak.
One flight down. I paused on the landing. Listened.
Nothing.
Another flight. Sixth floor.
I stopped again. Held my breath.
There. Below me. Heavy footsteps. Slow and rhythmic.
Not human.
I pressed myself against the wall. Made my body as small as possible in the shadows.
The footsteps continued. Getting closer. Then they stopped.
A door opened somewhere below. The footsteps moved through it. The door closed.
I waited. Counted to thirty in my head.
Silence.
I moved again. Down to the sixth floor landing. Pushed open the door just enough to look through.
The hallway was empty. Dimly lit. The carpet here was thinner than on the upper floors. The walls were plain white. This wasn't where the VIP guests stayed.
Perfect.
I stepped out into the hallway. Let the stairwell door close behind me.
Room 609 was halfway down on the right. I walked toward it. Kept my pace casual. Just another guest who'd taken the stairs for exercise.
When I reached the door, I stopped. Looked both ways down the hall.
Still empty.
I raised my hand. Knocked three times. Light. Quick.
Pause.
Two more knocks.
The door opened immediately.
Cole stood there. His face was hard. Eyes sharp. He stepped back to let me in.
I moved past him into the room. It was small. Basic. A bed. A desk. A single window with the curtains drawn.
Cole closed the door. I heard the lock click.
"Alpha." His voice was low. Rough.
I turned to face him. "What did you find?"
He didn't waste time. "It's worse than we thought."
"I know. Belser's planning to make everyone complicit. Force them to participate so they can't report him later."
Cole shook his head. "Not just that." He moved to the desk. Picked up a piece of paper. "I got access to the lower decks last night. Service areas. Places guests aren't supposed to go."
He handed me the paper.
I looked down. It was a rough sketch. Hand-drawn. But detailed.
A ship layout. Multiple levels. Sections marked with notes in Cole's tight handwriting.
"This is what I saw," he said. Pointed to several areas he'd marked in red. "Labs. At least five of them. And these—" He tapped three larger spaces. "Operating rooms. Fully equipped. Ready to go."
My stomach tightened. "They're not just selling the drug."
"No." Cole's jaw was tight. "They're set up to do the procedures here. On the ship. Right now."
I stared at the map. Traced the layout with my eyes.
Five labs. Three operating rooms. All in the lower decks where no one would hear screaming.
"How many people?" I asked.
"Staff? At least twenty that I saw. But some of the 'guests' upstairs..." He paused. "I recognized a few faces. Scientists. Researchers. People who shouldn't be at a black market auction."
"They're here to work," I said quietly.
"Yeah."
I looked up at him. "Did anyone see you?"
"No. I was careful." His eyes met mine. "But Alpha, if they're ready to operate... if they're planning to start procedures during this trip..."
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
Three days. That's what Belser had said. Three days of demonstrations before the auction.
Three days to convince people to volunteer. To let themselves be strapped to a table and cut open.
Three days to create an army.
I folded the map. Slipped it into my pocket.
"We need proof," I said. "Something concrete. Photos. Documents. Something the Council can't ignore."
Cole crossed his arms. "I can get back down there. With the right access card, I could—"
"No."
He stopped. Looked at me.
"Kael's already drawn Belser's attention," I said. "If you get caught, Belser will know someone's investigating. He'll lock everything down. Maybe accelerate his timeline."
"So what do we do?"
I thought about it. About the labs hidden below deck. About the modified guards patrolling the ship. About Belser's cold blue eyes and his perfect white suit.
About the way he'd looked at me. Like he was trying to place my face.
"We wait," I said finally. "We watch. If Belser's really planning to start procedures on this ship, he'll have to move people. Equipment. He'll have to make preparations we can see."
"And if he doesn't? If he keeps it all hidden until it's too late?"
"Then we find another way in." I met Cole's eyes. "But we don't take stupid risks. Not yet. We only get one chance at this."
Cole was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. "Understood, Alpha."
The title made something twist in my chest. He still called me that. Even in this body. Even after everything.
"Cole." I kept my voice steady. "If something goes wrong. If this goes bad and we have to run—"
"I'm not leaving without you."
"That's not what I—"
"I'm not leaving without you," he repeated. Firm. Final. "I didn't spend three months tracking Wild Hunt just to lose you again."
I wanted to argue. To tell him that was exactly the kind of loyalty that got people killed.
But I knew that tone. Knew that look.
He'd made his choice.
"Fine," I said. "Then we both stay smart. We both stay alive."
"Deal."
I glanced at the door. "I need to go. I've been gone too long already."