He shrugged and jumped through the opening. Pain halted, a realization hitting her too late. Why had Jane used the ladder in the first place? Just because the others were doing it? They didn’t know what was up there in the dark, but Jane knew it was safe to jump.
Pain leapt after the Beast, finding the unit empty, save for them. The two camps must have been keeping their distance.
The screech of twisting metal pierced the air all of a sudden, and she turned to find Levi crouching over the trapdoor. He clutched the ladder and tore it clean off, then huffed as he pulled it out, snapped it in two, and dropped both halves on the floor with a bang. The trapdoor swung shut.
Jane and Chad peeked into the unit from the side.
Pain pursed her lips, not hiding her annoyance. The damn brute had outsmarted her. “So this is how we’re doing it?”
He just shrugged and walked out into the snow. Unlike her, he didn’t care about turning his back as he stopped for a second and drew a lungful of fresh, chilly air.
Down below, she could just make out two panicked voices, probably awakened by the noise. She’d have to deal with it right away, she thought, looking at the Beast.
Raising her hood, she came out and found the Beasts crowding on the left. Jane and Chad stood ramrod straight to her right.
Chad went to her right away, worry churning in his eyes. “How are you going to explain this to Peter?” he said in a low voice, glancing at the gang behind her.
She shrugged as she took out her phone. The second she did that, Levi strode over to them.
“I’m gonna have to hear that conversation,” he said.
As if it wasn’t complicated enough.
She put on a fake smile. “Sure.” Then she turned to Chad. “I guess I’ll just give it to him straight.”
How? he mouthed, his face incredulous.
Watch me, she mouthed back, then pretended to call Peter. “No signal,” she said, lowering the phone.
The Beast frowned. She took out the radio. It hissed and crackled, and she had to repeat her words, “Team Delta to Boss, team Delta—”
“Tell me you got something,” Peter’s voice cut in.
“We found the place. Got four dozen of Devil’s Whores heading your way to help secure the perimeter. Over.”
There was a long, charged pause. “You are out of your fucking mind.”
“Copy that.”
She switched it off and smiled at the others. “See? That was easy.”
Chad and Jane both blinked at her.
She turned to Levi. “It’s four miles that way,” she pointed up at the sky. “We’ll be right behind ya, buddy.”
“Drop that act,” he snarled. “Your boss better go along with this.” He turned around and stalked away, but not before he’d given Chad a skeptical once-over.
“So happy we’ve met,” she replied, for some reason unable to wipe the stupid grin from her face. Must be the nerves.
She raised her phone—the signal was just fine—and quickly texted Marco: ASAP extraction unit 126. Then added: Make it look real.
A smirk twisted her lips as she looked at the Beast’s retreating back.
She turned to find Chad and Jane watching her with round eyes, as if still shocked at everything that had happened.
Her hand clasped Jane’s shoulder, the same stupid grin sliding onto her face.
“Good job, partner.” She watched the gang disappear in the sky, eye twitching. “We are so fucked.”
Chapter 46
Pain landed not far from Peter, the others close on her heels. She watched him talk to Levi, probably giving instructions, making sure his men would keep their distance. Skull stood beside him, his posture tense, his eyes darting between the crowd of Beasts hiding from the wind in the trees, and Pain, with Jane and Chad behind her.
Someone dropped to the ground nearby, and she saw Ryan hurry to catch up with her sister. They had pulled up to the hospital, tightening the perimeter, getting ready to storm the building—or rather, what was underneath it. While Ryan and Jane exchanged muted words, Levi walked away and Peter turned to them, locking gazes with Pain through the distance and fog.
She jogged up to him, knowing it was better to get it over with. He spread his arms, as if speechless.
“This isn’t ideal, I know,” she began.
“Ideal?”
“But you wanted more men, and we got them.” The scowl etched even deeper into his face. “You said it yourself, about the truce, remember?”
“With one man, not fifty! Not here,” he hissed.
She lowered her voice, “We didn’t have a choice, all right? We only found the place because of Jane, and then we had one shot at taking out the guards. Who knew those guys were in the cells.” She jerked her head toward the Beasts, then glanced to find them dispersing to their positions.
Peter scratched his jaw, taking a deep breath. “He only asked for instructions, said you’ll tell me about your deal. I put them on the ground, mostly around the back of the building. They’re unarmed, and we got thirty more men. They froze their asses off flying in, warming up in the cars right now.” He shrugged. “Still, I don’t like the odds.”
“I told him we have a hundred men. They don’t know where the others might be.”
Peter just shook his head.
“It was either this or get killed in that basement, with a big chance of them breaking out, killing Chad, and coming after you all. So we promised him a truce for tonight, said they can take their three men or what’s left of them from the lab, plus the one we got.” Peter’s eyes widened, and behind him, Phoenix snorted. “He’s a cripple, Peter. What were you gonna do with him, anyway?”
