side crimped with a sharp pain. I released a hard breath, trying to let that bit of hope go.
“I could use a little more help,” Vida said. “Some of the kids are not coming quietly.”
“I’ll be right there,” Priyanka told her. A few others chimed in, but the voices faded under the sound of the machines whirring.
“John Wendall?” I confirmed, an ugly pulse of hate moving through my heart.
He nodded. I saw Max in that face, under the heavy wrinkles and strain.
“You’re so damn lucky I promised your son I wouldn’t kill you,” I told him, my voice shaking. That little girl…if he’d hurt her…
“Max?” he whispered. “My Max? He’s here?”
“Outside,” I told him. “You can come willingly, or I can drag you, but either way you’re going to spend the rest of your life making up for what you did here.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Willingly. The other children—”
“We already have them.” I glanced toward the girl. “Can she be transported?”
Max’s father nodded, moving to unhook the machines. The girl didn’t stir, sighing deeply in her sleep as he began to reach for her.
“Don’t touch her,” I said.
“We’re out, Zu,” Vida said.
“I’m coming back your way, are you still—?”
The door swung open behind us.
Dr. Wendall’s face changed again, almost brightening. “Priya.”
The feeling was not mutual.
“That’s right,” she snarled. “Came back to personally drag you to hell.”
Knowing she had a weapon on her, I holstered mine and picked up the young girl. Her cheek fell against my shoulder and, instinctively, she wrapped her arms around my neck.
“March, demon,” Priyanka told him. “Faster. Or do you need a cloud of sulfur to ride out of here?”
“There’s no need for hostility—” Dr. Wendall began.
She pushed him forward, keeping her gun against his back. “Oh, there is every need.”
We went out the same way we’d come in. Jacob had hung back, waiting for us, but now he took the weight of the girl off my hands and hurried up to the small freight truck that screeched to a stop on the street in front of us.
Priyanka put a hand on my shoulder, unable to hide her disappointment.
“We’ll go to the next one,” I told her. “And the next one…and the next…however long it takes to find them.”
She drew in a deep breath and nodded.
I had wanted Roman to be here so badly, but this was enough. Knowing these kids were safe and would never again fall into Mercer’s or the government’s hands, knowing that they would never see the inside of another lab…It was enough for me.
Vida jumped down from the cab, leaving Max up in the driver’s seat. With the interior light on, I had a clear line of sight to Max’s tense face as Priyanka walked his father past him, toward the cab of the truck. The gate rolled shut, cutting off the sound of the kids’ nervous chatter.
Vida glanced at the small girl as she lifted her head off Jacob’s shoulder.
“She’s the last one,” I told her.
“Did you…?” the little girl began, her voice barely a murmur.
Jacob’s feet slowed. “What was that? Do you need something?”
“The girl…with the flower,” she breathed out, fighting to open her eyes.
Priyanka’s gaze sharpened on her. “What girl, love?”
The long silence that followed was almost agonizing. My chest was too tight to take in more than a small breath.
“In the office,” she whispered. “In the dark.”
Priyanka and I turned to each other, and I saw my own hope reflected on her face.
“We checked the office,” Vida said, pulling her mask up over her face.
“We went into the office, but we didn’t search it,” I said, the words tearing out of me. “You go ahead with the kids. We’ll check it out and catch up with you later.”
Vida raised a brow, but she didn’t look surprised. “Don’t forget to send Chubs the all-clear.”
“I won’t,” I said. “Drive safe.”
“I prefer to drive like a motherfucker,” she said with a wink.
The kids would be safe at the new Haven they’d established until we sorted out if there might be families looking for them. I worried about doubling the number of kids there in one night, but at least with Harry and his mom still there, Liam’s hands wouldn’t be quite so full.
I followed after Priyanka as she ran back into the building, her feet sliding through the loose rubble on the ground. I followed a step behind her, desperate to keep up as we raced down the hallway, back to Mercer’s office.
She kicked the door open,