“This is it, the supply closet across from where the girl should be, right near the exit.”
I relayed the message to Kyle, neither of us moving as we waited for Ryder to do his thing up there. Luckily the Hive was an industrial-style building and the ducting and grates were large, although Ryder still looked like he had to wiggle to fit as he dropped down into the room. I moved then, closing in on the open grate. My head popped over the side to see a dimly-lit supply closet below. Ryder was the only one in the room, and I felt immediate relief to know I’d soon be out of the confined space. Moving across the opening, I lowered my legs down first; strong hands gripped my thighs and I let myself drop into Ryder’s waiting arms. We ended up face to face, his dark and silver eyes looking all warm and swirly.
Kyle cleared his throat, and with reluctance I stepped out of Ryder’s arms, letting him focus on guiding his friend out of the vent. The three of us were then cramped in the six by six feet space, and as Ryder flicked on the lights I saw the shelves were packed with enforcer supplies—flashlights, glowsticks, walkie-talkies, and a bunch of other shit I had no idea about. Ryder grabbed a set of walkies and matched the channels before handing one to me. It was small, maybe three inches, so I clipped it on my boot. Kyle stashed a few supplies in his pockets, before turning to his best friend.
“For over thirty years, this has been our home.” His voice was full of emotion, and it hit me then that most of the sexy six were old, some even grandpa old. Pushing those thoughts away, I slipped my hand into Kyle’s and squeezed.
“Thirty years of cullings and ash murders. It’s time for a change,” I said to him.
Kyle managed a tight smile. “It is.” He squeezed my hand back.
I looked up to see Ryder watching me with an intense gaze. “We’re lucky you came into our lives, Charlie.”
I smiled, wrinkling my nose at him. “That means a lot coming from the guy who called me ‘forty-six’ for two weeks.”
Ryder chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll own that. Okay, focusing again. Time to glue yourself to me. We need to save the little girl and ditch this place.”
Kyle nodded. “Sam will see our location, and with a bit of luck he’s waiting outside the exit door as we speak.”
We gave a three-way fist bump, the low sound of emergency sirens the background music to our breakout song. My stomach tightened with anxiety as I drew my gun and Ryder put his hand on the doorknob.
“Luckily, this is one of the few monitored doors. They don’t lock down unimportant rooms, so we will be able to get out. Hopefully Sam has exit ready for us.” He twisted the knob, and sure enough it clicked right open. “Kyle and I will go first to take down any threats,” he said as he stepped out, Kyle right behind him.
I followed a second later, striding out into a small hall, gun held up in a ready pose. This storage room really had been the perfect room to drop out of the vents. We were directly across from the laundry chute, which was where we hoped to find the girl waiting for us. Just down the hall was the exit door to the Hive, about four meters from us.
I continued acknowledging our luck right up until Ryder opened the laundry door. It was empty. Shit! Had the Quorum gotten to the girl already? Ryder and Kyle wasted no time. They were already moving rapidly toward the exit, I guess to see if there was any sign of our team or the girl.
Ryder glanced back to make sure I was following, giving me a smile as I closed the gap between us. The door clicked open easily, so Sam had definitely lifted some of the lockdown, which hopefully meant everything else was still going right. The two enforcers disappeared out into the darkness beyond. As I neared the exit myself, I was relieved to see and hear the very familiar rumble of a Hummer.
A broad smile broke across my face to see Sam’s dark beauty. He was in the vehicle, laptop on his lap. Sitting beside him was the little girl, and I wondered if they had somehow known we were in trouble and had gotten her out just in case.
Jared, who must have been patrolling, ducked into my line of sight. He opened the back door for Ryder and Kyle, since they were already out of the building and a fair bit in front of me. I was just about to make my own exit when the Australian enforcer’s face turned a sickly white color.
“Charlie, behind you!”