near impossible, and would require explosives and some heavy-duty tunneling. “Let’s just hope this leads us to them.”
He and Dalton walked side by side, the rest of the hunters close behind. Other than the sounds of their footsteps on the cement floor, Ryder heard nothing. No voices, no movement. With as many demons as Lou had picked up on his image scanner, Ryder had figured there would be movement, some sound.
“There’s light up ahead,” Dalton said, pointing with the barrel of his laser to the end of the tunnel.
“Yeah, and I just saw a shadow to the right of the tunnel exit. Get ready, everyone.”
They crowded together, and when Ryder gave the signal, they rushed the tunnel exit. Ryder pivoted to the right and Dalton to the left, the rest of them following suit, weapons ready to fire.
No one was there.
“They’ve gotta know we’re here,” Trace said.
“They do.” The room was long, with doors along each side. They looked like they might be the kind used for storage. There were chains and locks on each door.
“Okay, let’s start busting open these doors,” Dalton said.
Ryder nodded. “I’ll take the right, you take the left.” He took half the team with him, the others went with Dalton. “Be ready.”
Lasering the locks open was easy. They pulled the chains, and drew open the heavy doors. Once inside, they found nothing but empty rooms. Ryder and his team checked all six of the rooms on their side, and found them empty.
Shit.
Ryder turned to see Dalton busting open the last room on his side of the corridor. He checked it and came out, shaking his head.
Well, sonofabitch. Where were the women? And the black diamond?
And the goddamn demons?
They gathered in the center of the hallway. “Now what?” Rico asked.
“We missed something,” Ryder said, frowning. “They have to be here.”
“Maybe they left when they heard us coming,” Punk said.
“Could be.” Ryder didn’t like this. If they left, did they take Angie with them?
“What about upstairs?” Dalton suggested.
Ryder shrugged. “That’s as good a suggestion as any. I’m out of ideas. Let’s go. I’ll bring up the rear.”
The others began filing up the stairs, but something stopped Ryder.
A noise. Faint, but enough to make him turn and move back to the center of the room again. When the sounds of the other’s footsteps quieted, he crouched down and listened again.
“Ryder, what are you doing?” Dalton commed. He stood at the top of the stairs, looking down.
“I hear something, Dalton. Give me a minute of quiet.”
“Demons?”
“Don’t think so. Just need a sec.”
“You got it. If you have demons down there, yell and we’re back there.”
“Yeah. I’ll let you know.”
As soon as it quieted down again, he took his ear comm out, craned his head from side to side.
He heard it again, looked down at the floor.
Yelling. Someone was yelling. The sound was muffled, but he could definitely hear it.
It definitely wasn’t demon. It was human.
And it was coming from beneath the floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Can you hear me? Help me!” Angelique was screaming now, her voice growing hoarse from shouting as loudly as she could.
She’d heard voices above, the tromp of footsteps moving over her head. They walked like humans. She didn’t know how she could tell the difference. Maybe it was the movement. Fast and deliberate.
So she’d started screaming, hoping they could hear her, praying she wouldn’t be left alone in this cold, dark room.
“I’m down here!” She ran over to the wall, pounded on it, hoping someone would be able to hear the banging.
But the footsteps moved away and everything went silent.
Oh, no. Please, God, no. She wanted to cry, to sink to the floor and give up.
