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

29. Mel

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

MEL

I stand alone at the mountain’s highest point, staring out over the sun-drenched valley, cold wind whipping strands of hair into my face. Down in the forest, splashes of vibrant red, brilliant orange, and sunny yellow leaves wink up at me, waving in the breeze.

The sight should be magnificent, but the anxiety gnawing at my stomach is so strong I can’t take it in. I was sure Tommy would be here.

My next guess is he’s in his room, a sketchpad balanced on his knees, headphones on and music blaring. Good thing the housing wing is only about as far from here as possible.

With a curse, I turn and sprint back down the stairs. It’s already been almost thirty minutes, and if I’m wrong again, there won’t be time to find him before my meeting with Lisa. Either way, I won’t be able to warn Sam about my slip with Hunter until afterward.

Sweat drips down my neck as I hit the bottom of the staircase and race through the corridors, dodging around bystanders too quickly to clock their reactions. Sam flashes by, deep in conversation with a blotchy-faced Cait. There’s Vik in the mess hall, laughing with a couple of older mechanics. No sign of Hunter. No Lisa.

I crash to a stop outside Tommy’s door, my breath sharp in my heaving chest, and knock.

No answer.

I try again. “Tommy? Please let me in. We need to talk.”

Nothing.

It feels wrong to barge into his room, but this is important and there’s no time to waste. My hands shake as I grip the handle and turn.

To my relief, the door falls open. To my crushing disappointment, Tommy’s not inside.

I glance at the clock on his bedside table, the room an exact replica of my own, only neater.

Dammit. Fifteen minutes left. I’ll have to track him down later, and I was counting on his insight and support. He’s the only experienced field agent who’s one hundred percent behind me.

My shoulders sag as I cross the hall to my room, the sweat from my sprint cooling on my skin. If I’m lucky, maybe Lisa won’t take an entire hour, and I can find Tommy before my team expects me. Or maybe he’ll surprise me and show up.

I slip through the door and head toward the dresser to grab a hoodie, but halfway there a square of dark color on my pillow catches my eye.

After this morning, I’ve had enough of surprises in my room. Still, I step over to the bed and pick up what turns out to be a small painting.

Two silhouettes dance among a cloud of stars, holding each other close. The lovers are mostly hidden in the purple-blue night, but enough detail shines through for their identities to be clear, and for the warmth of their mutual adoration to send a lump into my throat.

I run my finger over the image, absorbing the magic. Strange Tommy would leave this here instead of giving it to me in person.

Hoping for a clue as to why, I flip the canvas over. Scrawled on the back is a note.

Mel,

You mean more to me than I can say, but hopefully this painting gives you an idea. I can’t lose another loved one, especially not to the monsters in the Organization. I’ll do anything to keep you safe, and that includes making sure your plan is unnecessary. Wait for me, and we can decide our next move after I’ve taken care of the threat. I will not fail you.

I love you.

-T

My mind hums, my heart pounding like I’m sprinting through the caves again. Hinges squeak behind me, and I jump and spin.

Sam’s peeking in the doorway. “You all right? Looked like someone was trying to do you in when you blew by me just now.”

I blink.

We can decide our next move after I’ve taken care of the threat.

It could mean so many different things, none of them good.

Sam comes closer. His eyes dart from the canvas clutched to my chest back up to my face. “What’s that?”

“Tommy.” The word trembles in time with my hands as I turn the note toward Sam. His brow furrows as he reads.

“He wouldn’t.”

My heart shatters. “He’s going after the pathogen, isn’t he?”

I don’t want to believe it, but it’s the only conclusion that makes sense.

Sam’s already pulling me into the hall by the hand. “We need to stop him.”

“The garage.”

I pick up the pace, dragging Sam now, desperate to reach Tommy before it’s too late. There’s no way he’s thought this through. Instead of supporting my mission, sanctioned and aided by Lisa and the Resistance, he dipped out to ‘take care of the threat’ on his own. Without a plan. Without backup or any kind of help. Without telling me first.

Hurt and anger sear through my chest as fear spikes into my throat.

“He couldn’t take a car,” Sam wheezes behind me, “without Lisa’s keys, and it’s the middle of the day. The mechanics would think it was weird if he left through the garage on foot. But he does know a back way out. When June deserted, she rappelled down from the summit.”

“June. Hunter’s ex. She deserted?” The words spin in my mind, not adding up. I thought June froze on a mission and got shot.

We flash past the mess hall again. Vik’s suspicious stare bores into my back.

“The day she died, she was taking information to the Organization. She escaped from the summit to avoid detection. It’s so hard to scale hikers never attempt the climb, and because of all the stairs it’s rare for anyone in the Resistance to bother accessing it from the caves. Except for Tommy.”

I skid to a stop, sneakers rooted to the floor. June took information to the Organization.

“She didn’t die in a shootout?”

“Well, yeah, she did. It happened when Cait, Tommy, and Hunter went to bring her back. She had already reached Levett’s perimeter.”

June betrayed them. Her friends. The person she claimed to love.

No wonder Cait doesn’t trust me. No wonder Hunter doesn’t trust me.

But Tommy is a traitor now too. He’s going to die.

Because of me.

“Sam,” I rasp. “Please.” What am I begging for?

“The summit,” he says decisively, and we take off in a new direction like bats out of hell, the same startled people blurring in my peripherals as we retrace my earlier sprint in reverse. We pass Cait, sitting on the floor this time, face pressed to her knees. She lifts her head, her red-rimmed eyes widening as we thunder by.

“Stop!”

Her clear voice cuts through my panic like glass, and for the second time, I lurch to a halt, tugging Sam with me. Cait avoids my eyes, instead peering at the canvas still gripped in my sweaty hand, then looks up at Sam. “What’s going on?”

“Tommy’s idiocy has reached new heights.”

Sam’s moving again, slower than before. I follow, and to my dismay, so does Cait. Even puffy, her gaze is fierce. Angry.

And frightened.

“Explain,” she growls.

I shove the canvas at her and pick up the pace, ignoring the sound of her faltering steps behind us, her sharp intake of breath.

“Stop,” she spits again, and this time it’s Sam who obeys.

“I know, Cait, but there’s no time?—”

She cuts him off.

“Go to Lisa.” Her burning gaze flicks to me and away, back to Sam. “We went after June on our own, and we failed. We cannot fail Tommy.”

“Every second counts,” Sam argues back. “Going to Lisa will give him too much of a head start.”

“No!” Cait advances on us like a wild animal. “You weren’t there! That’s what we said when we followed June, and she died. We can’t!”

My heart cracks, and the seconds slip by as we all stare at each other. She’s right. We don’t know where Tommy went, what his plan is. We can’t save him.

Lisa can. She’ll bring him home.

Sam shakes his head, breaks Cait’s frenzied stare, and hauls me back into a sprint.

“Wait!” She tears after us again.

“Lisa’s office,” I huff at Sam.

He doesn’t slow. “But?—”

“It’s not our responsibility.” The words are bitter on my tongue. But if we go after Tommy, that’s it. My mission is shot. People die.

“Mel—”

“I’m your team lead.” My eyes sting at the betrayal of not doing anything to help Tommy. But he betrayed me first by putting me in this situation. He should’ve talked to me.

“What about Tommy?” Sam asks.

“Lisa will find him. We have to focus on our mission.”

The gym flashes by, and with it the stairway to the summit. Everything I am pulls toward it, but I keep going.

The three of us clatter to a halt at the end of the hall. Cait and I both hammer on Lisa’s door.

She pulls it wide, alarmed as Cait, Sam, and I all rush to explain at the same time.

“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” she says, her startled gaze roving over our panicked expressions. Cait hands her the canvas, and Lisa’s eyes narrow. A filthy string of curses slips through her clenched teeth. “Fucking young people,” she says, seething, then turns and strides to her desk. We follow.

“Bill,” she snaps into a walkie-talkie, shuffling through the papers scattered in front of her computer. “Come to my office immediately.”

“Copy.”

She glares at us as she lowers the radio. “Do you three know where he’s going?”

“No,” I reply.

She riffles through the papers again. “One of the copies I made last night of the bill of lading is missing. There were four. I left them right here.”

“Fuck,” Cait groans.

“You did the right thing coming to me. I will take care of this. Mel, you and Sam focus on your mission. Cait, you will help your father track Tommy down. You know him better than anyone, and time is of the essence. But you best believe I will not hesitate to throw you in a cell when you return if you deviate from your father’s orders at all.” Lisa runs a hand over her face, then pushes her glasses up. “If we’re lucky, we’ll intercept Tommy before he draws unwanted attention. Or worse.”

Or worse. My mind spins with possibilities, the pictures of our parents’ bodies stuck at the forefront.

Stop. Breathe.

I close my eyes and pull in a deep breath. Lisa will find him. She will.

When I release the air, I release the fear and pain as best I can. If I let myself panic or succumb to despair, and if Tommy can’t ‘take care of the threat’ by himself, then people will die.

And what happens if he’s discovered? He could push the Organization to launch their plan early, before I’m able to produce the video.

We need to act fast.

“Sam,” I say, glancing at the clock on the wall, “Vik and Hunter are expecting us in an hour. Obviously Lisa has other things to worry about now, so can you please find them and bring them to the lounge early? I still want to touch base with Lisa real quick, then I’ll meet you guys there. Oh, and don’t tell them about the situation with Tommy yet. I don’t want their focus divided.”

“All right. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.” With a slightly forced smile and a pat on my shoulder, Sam leaves.

He thinks we made the wrong choice, coming here. Dread threatens to suffocate me, but I shove it down, bury it under a wave of focus aimed solely at our objective.

I can’t let myself go there, or we’ll fail.