We needed every advantage we could get.
“Did you get a trace?” Cole demanded of Mr. Ankh.
“No,” he snapped. “They rerouted the signal a thousand different ways. I’m guessing there’ll be no way to trace the email, either, no matter how many people I put on the task.”
Great.
We waited with bated breath for the telltale ding to sound, signaling the email had arrived. And when it did, we crowded behind Mr. Ankh’s desk as he pushed Play on the video.
Justin appeared on the screen—and Jaclyn would have collapsed, if Gavin hadn’t held her up.
Justin was huddled in back of a cage. He had on a pair of underwear, nothing more. Around him was a toilet, a sink and a twin bed. He’d lost so much weight, his ribs were visible. There were bruises under his eyes, track marks up his arms.
Was Anima pumping him with drugs, sedating him? Or taking blood?
Heck. Probably both.
Beside his cage were two other cages, and in those were countless collared zombies.
The camera moved away from him, the screen going blank, and Jaclyn cried, “No!”
I blinked back tears.
“I doubt they’ll really try and do an exchange,” Cole said, checking the magazine in his gun. “We’ve got a fifty-fifty chance. They’ll either try to capture us all or kill us all. Flip a coin.”
He was right. I’d known it all along, and yet, here, now, with slayers I’d only ever wanted to protect standing around me, it seemed wrong. “I’ll do it, then. I’ll trade.” No double cross.
“No!” He spun around, glared at me. Except, it wasn’t anger I saw. It was anguish. “No.”
“Yes! Dang it, yes!” I stomped my foot. “How many times do I have to remind you? One person will give her life to save many. This is what I’m supposed to do.”
He got in my face, yelling, “And how many times do I have to remind you that you can’t know that for sure? That I refuse to lose you?”
“You have a funny way of showing it!”
He backed up a step, drew in a breath.
I squared my shoulders. “I’m making the trade, Cole.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Even if you are the one, I won’t let it happen. None of us will. So. Not another word from you. Go weapon up. We’ll do the same. Everyone meet in the foyer, ten minutes.”
“Cole—”
“Not another word! We’ll go as if they plan to make the trade. We’ll fight, kill as many of them as we can, finally put a dent in their forces.” At the end of his control, and with a final glare aimed at me, he left.
Chapter 26
AT THE CORNER OF
MURDER AND MAYHEM
The countdown had begun.
Five minutes, and I was armed and ready.
Six minutes, and I gathered in the foyer with the other slayers and hugged Reeve and Kat goodbye.
“You come back to me, Ali-cat,” Kat whispered. “You’re nothing without me.”
“Um, I think the saying is actually ‘I’m nothing without you.’”
“Exactly what I said.”
I smiled despite the tense situation. “Love you.”
“Love you, too. And you had better be careful, Frosty,” she called. “Or else.”
“Always, baby.”
They’d made up. Good. Heart squeezing, I peered at Cole. To my utter shock, his gaze was already sealed on me. Narrowed. Intense. As always, shiver-inducing. There were a thousand things I wanted to say to him, a thousand more I wanted to do.
Look away.
Somehow I managed it.
Eight minutes, and the slayers were striding toward the two SUVs outside.
I headed for the car in front, reached for the handle of the back door. My wrist was grabbed and I was spun around, a hard weight pushing my back against the cold metal. I gasped.
Cole!
My heart squeezed harder.
He cupped my cheeks, his hands warm. His gaze was pure violet fire. “I’m sorry. I’m miserable without you. Haven’t been eating or sleeping. Just wanting. And there is no way I can let you head into a situation as dangerous as this one without telling you.”
I trembled, overcome. Finally, one of us had breached the wall between us. The stronger one, I realized. “We—”
“I’m not done. I love you,” he continued. “I’ve missed you. I don’t like that you’re talking to Helen. I’ll never like it. I don’t trust her, and I’m so afraid only terrible things will come of it. But I trust you and your instincts, so I’m taking it on faith—in you. I’m backing off.”
I clutched the collar of his jacket. “I’m sorry, too. I handled things poorly and—”
He shook his head. “Still not done, love. There’s one last thing, and it’s a bit of a topic switch, so try to stay with me. Ready? Camilla made a play for me. You’re just going to have to trust me when I say I turned her down and nothing happened.”
“What!” I exploded.