167
Chapter 167
Anna
"Anna, Celia!' Alice and Tim exclaimed as soon as we entered the room where they'd been kept.
"How?" She asked, glancing between Celia and I.
"Shhh!" I hushed her quickly, glancing over my shoulder. "Keep your voice down. We don't know how many of Azeal's people are still crawling around here."
"She finally saw who Azeal really is," I added quietly as Celia knelt at the lock and began working.
Alice looked stunned for half a second, then her expression hardened. "Took her long enough."
The lock clicked open, and Celia stood, helping Alice to her feet. Her movements were tight, controlled. The transformation from the cold, calculating scientist to a sister fighting beside us was jarring-but welcomed. She turned to help Tim, who had a nasty bruise blooming on his cheek.
"We have to move. The guards will have heard the noise," Celia muttered, adjusting her grip on the now empty syringe she still held like a weapon.
"Where's Duncan?" Tim asked as we started moving through the narrow tunnel.
"Fighting. Probably bleeding. But he told us to run," I replied without looking back.
We moved fast through the underground maze. Celia led the way, having memorized the layout during her time under Azeal's influence. The damp walls closed in, the air heavy with the scent of mold and copper, blood. Every footstep echoed too loudly, but there was no turning back now.
Just as we reached the final corridor that led up to the old rusted stairwell,the only exit above ground, I halted. A figure stood at the bottom of the stairs, silhouetted by the faint light seeping through the cracks of the trapdoor above.
I froze.
It was Levi.
His presence hit me like a hammer. He looked the same, maybe even better than before, polished, confident, like betrayal suited him. The last time I'd seen him, he was a trusted ally, laughing with Duncan over drinks. Now, he stood in our path, dressed in dark tactical gear, an automatic weapon slung across his chest.
"Anna," he greeted, as casual as if we were running into each other at a grocery store.
"Levi," I spat his name like poison. "Get out of our way."
He raised a brow. "You're in no position to make demands."
Tim stepped protectively in front of Alice while Celia subtly moved behind me, eyes calculating, likely already analyzing his weak points.
"I'm only here for you," Levi said smoothly. "Duncan made his choice. You don't have to. Come with me now, and I can make sure you and the baby are safe."
My blood boiled. "You dare talk about my baby after what you've done?"
He sighed as if I was the one being unreasonable. "Azeal's vision is bigger than Duncan's pride. You could be part of something powerful..."
I didn't wait for him to finish. I moved fast, letting my instincts take over, and swung a broken pipe I'd snatched from the ground earlier. He ducked, but it gave Tim the distraction he needed.
Tim tackled him.
The gun clattered away as they fell to the floor. Celia lunged and kicked it down the hallway, out of Levi's reach. I grabbed Alice's hand and ran, yelling over my shoulder, "Celia, Tim now!"
They followed. Levi tried to recover, but Tim delivered a brutal punch that left him stunned long enough for us to scramble up the stairwell.
We burst out into the night, the cold air like a slap to the face. For a split second, the stars above looked almost too bright.
Then I saw them, figures moving toward us through the darkness. My heart leapt into my throat.
More of Azeal's men?
No.
Lucas stepped into the light, flanked by two others I recognized from Duncan's inner circle. I stopped, nearly choking on a sob. Lucas, he was awake.
"Lucas?" I breathed.
He gave a tight nod, still a bit pale, but standing. Strong. Alive.
"You're alive?"
My knees nearly gave out.
Celia steadied me, her face unreadable. Alice ran into one of the other men's arms, and Tim clapped Lucas on the shoulder, shock written all over his face.
I looked past them, into the shadows. "Where's Dunca?" Lucas asked.
"He is buying us time,"
Lucas nodded.
"Then let's not waste it."
Lucas gave me a small nod, his eyes scanning the treeline as the others helped Alice and Tim into the black SUV parked a few feet away. "We need to move now. This whole place is rigged, if Azeal realizes you're gone before we clear the perimeter, he'll send everything he has."
I looked back toward the trapdoor, still cracked open, where Levi had been. A chill ran down my spine. "He's not going to stop."
"No," Lucas said grimly. "He's not. That's why we will."
Celia stayed unnervingly silent, her eyes flicking between Lucas and the trees beyond, her mind clearly racing ahead. I couldn't blame her, she had worked beside our enemies for months. Even now, I wasn't sure where her loyalties truly lay, but she'd gotten us out, and that had to count for something.
"Do we know where Duncan is?" I asked as I climbed into the vehicle.
Lucas shut the door behind me. "No, but I'll find him."
"And if he didn't?"
"He didn't give me a second option," Lucas replied flatly.
The engine roared to life, and we sped off into the woods. The underground bunker disappeared behind us, swallowed by darkness and trees. But in my gut, I knew it wasn't over.
I looked at Lucas, barely able to believe he was really awake, really alive.
"You've got a lot to catch up on," I whispered.
Lucas glanced at me with a tired smile. "So do you."