Into the Fire (Flame in the Shadows Trilogy #1)

11. Tommy

CHAPTER ELEVEN

TOMMY

I trail Bill and Jess through the caves, my thoughts clouded with exhaustion. Thanks to last night’s rescue mission, I slept right through my alarm this morning. Missed my shift on guard duty and was still snoring when Bill shook me awake two minutes ago.

According to him, Lisa needs to see me. Now.

She’s going to lose her mind. If only I felt rested, the extra sleep might have been worth it, but I got in so late I only nabbed a few hours. A terrible headache throbs behind my temples.

Bill turns into the lounge, and confusion revives me a bit. If Lisa wanted to eviscerate me for missing my shift, we’d go to her office, not through here. Taking this path, we can only be headed for one of two places: the cells, where we lock anyone who might pose a threat, or the garage, the huge, hidden cavern where we store our vehicles.

Wait.

Mel’s tail! Cait must’ve captured him, and now he’s being questioned. Good. We need to know why the Organization has been so active over the last few months. Any small detail could help.

Nervous anticipation hums in my chest, and I step up my pace.

Bill and Jess lead me between the couches and into a long, earthy hall, lit by the standard lanterns. The tunnel is empty, save for three metal doors on our right. The cells.

We stop in front of the third. When Bill pushes it open, shock bolts me to the floor.

Mel.

She’s sitting on a simple wooden interrogation chair, arms bound behind her back, leaves and twigs tangled in her disheveled braid. Her muddy clothes are damp, and she’s covered in scratches.

Worse than any of that, her eyes are red. Puffy. Tears leak out, cutting clean ivory tracks over her dirty cheeks.

The sight hits me like a blow to the gut.

She’s here. Her future is forfeit.

Beside Mel, Lisa glares at me so furiously I stumble back another step. All the usual warmth in her eyes is gone.

“Look what you’ve done.”

Running a hand through my rumpled hair, I force myself to speak. “What … how … but…”

It doesn’t make sense. Unless…

Mel must not have run. Cait probably decided she was a security risk. Of course Cait didn’t wait, didn’t give Mel time to flee before dragging her here and sealing her fate.

Because Mel’s life means nothing to Cait. She’s one girl among millions , after all.

Fury sears through my blood, tingles in my palms.

“Why didn’t you leave?” The vicious churning in my stomach edges my tone.

Mel bites her lip, peeking up from under a thick fringe of tear-soaked lashes. Despite the wrath burning my chest, my heart falters. I find I have to look away.

Lisa unfolds her arms, mouth thinner than I’ve ever seen it.

“Mel’s here to stay.” Her freezing tone shocks me almost as much as seeing Mel did. I hug my ribs. “She’ll need training if she’s to be of use. You caused this, you deal with her. I will expect you and Bill in my office at seven tonight to discuss further consequences for your insubordination.”

Fuck. If Bill’s involved in my punishment, it won’t be pleasant.

“And Williams, Mel’s not to have access to the outside until I clear it. You better not let her escape.”

Without another word, Lisa sweeps from the room, Bill and Jess close behind.

I stare at Mel, battling the overwhelming rage that thrums through me. I can’t quite bring myself to believe this is real. I defied orders, risked everything, to give her the chance to run, and here she is, stuck like the rest of us.

Pain stabs behind my eyes. I press the heels of my palms into the ache.

With a deep sigh, I drop my hands and step toward Mel, drawing my knife from my pocket. Carefully, I lean over to slice through the rope that binds her arms and take a step back.

She rubs at her wrists, eyes fixed on the angry welts that mar her light skin. She looks so sad, like a drowned puppy. I crouch in front of her, hoping to put her at ease.

“Where did she find you?” I ask as gently as I can manage. “At home?”

Mel stares at me, the corners of her mouth trembling. Tears slide down her cheeks. “I … I…”

My fury burns hotter, even as my heart twists, and I grind my teeth. Cait will pay for this.

“I tried to follow you,” Mel whispers.

My mind goes blank. “What?”

“I went to look for the Resistance. I wanted answers.”

My skin turns to ice as her words sink in.

She followed me.

This isn’t Cait’s fault, not even a little bit. It’s all on me.

The awful rage turns inward, and I’m suddenly so disgusted with myself I can’t stand it. I launch to my feet, hands fisted by my sides.

“I told you to run. Why didn’t you get the hell out?”

Mel flinches, fear stark in her stunning eyes. She tries to speak, her lithe frame shuddering with fresh sobs. “I … I had to find out … what happened to them.”

“It’s not too late. I’m sure I can convince Lisa to let you go, but you have to get far away from here, immediately. Can you do that?” I shoot her my most withering glare.

Mel’s still choking on tears. She jerks her head back and forth.

“You, what? Won’t leave?”

“No.”

Doesn’t she get it? If she stays here, she’s as good as a ghost. A phantom doomed to watch life pass her by.

Just like me.

Before I can stop myself, I’m shouting, hurling a mix of dire warnings and furious expletives her way. She has everything I want in her grasp. Freedom and possibilities and life, and she’s trashing it all like yesterday’s garbage. Why? To reopen old wounds?

The past is gone, as dead as our parents.

She shrinks back in her chair, but the defiance in her eyes only burns brighter.

When I’ve yelled myself out, Mel stands. She takes a step toward me.

“I will not leave. Lisa said I’m part of the Resistance now. I have just as much of a right to be here as you.”

Just as much of a right to be here.

I’d give anything to trade places, to be free. Despair settles like a shadow over my heart. It snuffs out the anger, leaving me rudderless.

“Please?” The word is soft. Fervent.

Mel’s eyes tighten. “No.”

I sigh.

She’s not considering the repercussions of her decision because she doesn’t truly understand the cost. Anyone who hasn’t lived this life wouldn’t get it, not until far too late.

Maybe if I refuse to train her … if she’s left alone, isolated, with no opportunity to get the information she seeks and no one to befriend her … maybe then she’ll make the right choice. Life here will be so miserable she’ll beg Lisa to let her go.

It's a dick move, yeah, but if it saves her…

Mel peers down at her shoes, wringing her filthy hands. This is going to be unbearable. “If you’re sure.”

She nods.

I want nothing more in this moment than to erase the misery on her face. Instead, I run my eyes critically up and down her ragged form. “I bet you want to clean up.”

“Yes, please.”

“Okay. I’ll get you fresh clothes and take you to the washroom. Be prepared, we don’t have hot water here.”

Expressionless, I turn and lead Mel out of the cell.

Over the next few hours, I put the beginnings of my plan into action. Once she’s clean and dry, I take Mel through the caves, giving only the barest explanation of each room, of each job. I avoid mentioning the library, where we store weapons and classified intel. It’s secured anyway, at the end of its own corridor. Locked at all times.

I don’t want Mel trying to get in there. If she does, Lisa will never allow her to go free. Not after what happened with June.

Throughout the evening, Mel asks too many questions. I keep my answers short, vague, and cold. I hate to see what I’ve done, trapping her here, and I channel that revulsion to keep my act believable.

Tour over, I leave Mel in her new room for the night with strict instructions to stay put. Of the twenty-six chambers that line the housing wing, five belong to the dead. There’s plenty of space for her.

I make my way across the hall to my own room, mulling over how to move my plan forward from here. Based on Mel’s actions during her tour, I know she’ll dig for information wherever and whenever she can.

I need to keep her from getting any.

Focused on my thoughts, I hunt up a change of clothes. I’ll give Mel so many chores, she won’t have time to dig. I’ll tell Lisa to assign her a guard, 24/7. And I’ll have to continue being cold, distant, no matter how badly I want to make her smile or tell her I’ll keep her safe. She needs to choose freedom soon.

If she wasn’t Reyna’s daughter it’d already be too late. As it stands, there’s hope. But the longer she stays, the less likely Lisa will be to let her go.

I frown as I head for the washroom, melancholy dull in my chest.

It doesn’t matter that Mel understands me. I have no right to her friendship. My presence in her life has caused nothing but harm, and after I didn’t save her parents, I’ll do what I must to save her.

Even if I have to sell my soul along the way.