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

32. Mel

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

MEL

I hold the flashlight high, peering over Sam’s shoulder as he deftly combs through the top drawer of his old boss’s filing cabinet. It’s almost eleven, and we’re on the third floor of the admin building at Levett Tech.

Unease percolates in my stomach. This has been too easy.

My suspicions seem confirmed by how jumpy Vik and Hunter are, and by the filthy looks Hunter keeps shooting my way.

Not only that, but our earpieces have remained silent ever since we crossed the fence behind the quad. I’m not sure it’s a coincidence they’ve stopped working exactly when we need them most.

Tommy’s words from the other day chase each other through my mind.

That assignment is a death sentence.

Hunter’s are equally loud in my head.

You’re blowing it. Who are you to lead us, anyway?

And Cait’s.

She practically gave Tommy to the Organization .

I have a bad feeling they were right about me.

I turn and sweep the room behind me. Vik and Hunter are digging through the desk drawers, murmuring to one another. Nothing appears out of sorts.

At least we’ve found useful information tonight. We discovered the dates and times some of the Levett higher-ups plan to meet off-campus, and although this doesn’t mean they’re Organization lackeys, it’s a strong indication they are. Now we’ll be able to spy on those meetings, maybe even get video evidence from them. Additionally, we located and stole encoded shipment records. I can’t be sure they’ll prove anything nefarious, but my gut says they will. Why encode them if there’s nothing to hide?

The final thing we need is evidence of doctored financials—things like the Organization laundering their profits through Levett Tech, disguising suspicious spending, et cetera. I wouldn’t have the faintest idea how to uncover this kind of evidence, but Sam, bless him, knows exactly what to look for and remembers where to find it.

Just a little longer and we can slip out of here.

“The desk is clear,” Vik reports, straightening from where they were crouched behind it. Hunter stands too. Though most of his face is hidden under his mask and hood, I can see the hatred festering in his eyes.

Suddenly, he throws his palms up. “Quiet!”

“What—” Sam starts, but he falls silent, and we all know why. A plethora of voices are echoing up the stairwell.

My whole body tenses.

Fuck.

We’re too high up to go out a window. Those stairs are our only escape.

“I have enough, I think,” Sam says softly. “Maybe we can sneak away before they find us.”

I gulp, eyes roving over the masked faces of my teammates. Vik and Hunter glare in dire accusation. Sam’s arms are full of financial records. He nods once and shoves the records into the bag slung over his shoulder. Determination blazes in his brown eyes even as sweat glistens on his brow. “We’ll fight our way out. It’ll be okay.”

“At this point, we have no choice,” Hunter growls. “Sam, get behind this desk with Vik and me.” His hard gaze drags up and down Sam’s trembling form. “I hope you’re prepared to use your pistol.”

Mouth dry, I slink to the door and crack it, cocking my ear toward the end of the hall and the stairwell beyond. Footsteps thunder up. A lot of footsteps. At least as many as I heard the other time I was trapped here. Tommy said there were ten guards that night.

I peek over my shoulder at the others. They’re behind the desk, their eyes glittering under their hoods. Their guns are out, pointing at the door; therefore, at me.

“There are a lot of them,” I say quietly. “More than the other night, I think. I don’t know whether we would all make it through if we fight.”

I fall silent, listening again. There are sounds of movement under our feet now. They’re sweeping the second floor. Maybe we can sneak down the stairs while they’re occupied.

That is, if Sam and I don’t draw attention with our untrained attempt at stealth. I can’t believe I led him into this.

But we have to try. There’s no other option.

Just as I’m about to say so, a single voice floats up the stairwell.

“Mr. Edwards was right. How did he know they’d break in again?”

“Edwards is privy to a lot of information we are not,” another man answers dryly. After a pause, he says, “The real question is, why did he post so many of us tonight? There were only a few rebels here before, and they barely escaped. We don’t need twenty guards to deal with a few rebels. We could take them alive with half as many.”

A wave of dizziness passes over me, the air thick in my lungs. Twenty guards.

Glancing over my shoulder, I whisper, “Did you hear that?”

Hunter and Vik don’t grace me with an answer. It’s Sam, gun shaking in his white-knuckled hand, who says, “We can’t make out what they’re saying from back here.”

“Twenty guards,” I report. “They’re blocking the stairwell, sweeping the second floor.”

If we try to fight, we will die. I meet Sam’s frightened gaze, my pulse thundering in my ears.

Come on. Think.

I’ve let them down, led them to the worst kind of end.

My heart races and my palms sweat as the bone-crushing terror of a memory slices through me. Again I see Tommy darting in front of the guards who trapped us in the records room, one floor up. Creating a diversion so I could slip away. So I could live.

This is my answer. I need to lead the guards away, to distract them while my teammates sneak out unnoticed.

I see Tommy taking that bullet, collapsing on the floor. It was pure luck he survived such a thing. Afterward, he had me there to pull the guards’ attention away from him. I gave him the chance to get up. Capable as he is, he wouldn’t have been able to take them down without my help.

I will be alone. I will be facing twenty, not two or three. And I am untrained.

I will not walk away from this alive.

Dread whips up my spine, tingles in my limbs, but I smother it before it can paralyze me. I will not let the others suffer.

Unexpectedly, grief swells under the fear. Its icy fingers wind into my lungs, into my bones, freezing them until they’re too cold, too heavy to move.

In the days since Tommy disappeared, I’ve done my best to block him from my thoughts, to numb the pain of his absence, the fear for his safety, the ache of his betrayal. Now, though, his name fills my soul with a sorrow so bitter I can hardly breathe. No matter how hurt I am, how angry, I’ve seen the depth of his pain. I know what my death will do to him, if he comes home at all.

For a moment, I let myself drown in that knowledge. Then I lock it away with my fear. Swallowing the sandy feeling in my mouth, I turn to face my team.

“Stay here.” I’m proud when the words don’t tremble. “I’m going to create a diversion. You will slip out at the first opportunity. Run like hell away from here. Leave as soon as you reach the car. Do not wait for me.”

Sam’s eyes are wide, the little bit of skin visible under his hood and mask ashen.

“Like we’re going to listen to you,” Hunter hisses from beside him.

“You will do as I say,” I snap, focusing on Hunter, trying to ignore the way Sam’s staring at me. “I am team lead. You have no other option, anyway.”

Hunter curses, low and filthy. I’m not listening though, because Sam’s standing up and hurrying around the desk.

He holsters his gun and takes my hands in his. “What are you thinking? We can fight. We’ll fight together. Teammates, right?”

Warmth and pain roil in my chest.

“We won’t win,” I tell him gently. “This is the only way.”

My own eyes fill when Sam’s tears run over. His hands shake in mine.

“I won’t let you do this.”

Voices float through the open door again. The sounds from the floor below are moving back to the stairwell.

There’s no time.

“You have to.” My voice cracks. I squeeze his hands.

Resolve sparks in his liquid eyes. “Okay. But you won’t be alone.”

My heart glows, thumping erratically. At least I found Sam before the end. I hadn’t known such a true friend could exist in the real world.

But I won’t let him die with me.

“I won’t be the reason you don’t make it out of here.”

Sam’s eyes narrow. “Yeah? Well, I say it’s not up to you.”

The glow in my heart pulses, warms me against the frigid terror that looms at the edge of my consciousness. “You have to go. Think of Tommy. Think of Cait and Hunter and Vik. What will they do without you? Tommy’s going to need you after this. Even Cait needs you.” I pause, staring into Sam’s eyes. “They need you, Sam. You’re a ray of sunshine in this dark life.”

“I won’t abandon you.”

“We don’t both have to die. Stay here for your family. Let me have your back.”

There’s a heavy pause.

“I love you,” Sam sobs. He pulls me into a rib-cracking hug.

I squeeze back fiercely. “I love you. Take care of Tommy for me. Tell him I’m sorry.”

As I slip out the door, I look back, just once. Vik and Hunter peek over the desk, Vik’s eyes huge and watery, Hunter’s confused. Sam stands in the middle of the room, his shoulders slumped. His eyes—the depth of grief in them, the depth of friendship … I lock the image in my mind, the feeling in my heart.

It’s what I will carry with me as I face the horror ahead.