I was losing my shit, but Lucian put one comforting hand on my shoulder and held my gaze, his expression calm. Instead of asking more questions, he gave me some positives to hold on to. “We found the Vitals. We’ve been getting them free slowly. They should nearly be all out. When the others started waking up, we moved to clear the rest of the building and—”
“The others?” Tyler came to stand next to me, and I leaned into him. “I thought everyone was knocked out.”
“When we breached, almost everyone fell. But I had a little help.” Lucian gave me a wink. “The extra Light I had from Eve allowed me to shield myself and the three closest operatives to me. We faked being unconscious, and when everything was quiet, we started taking the guards out and moving through the building slowly. After a while we found Nina too, fully conscious and fighting off two of Davis’s men. If there was any doubt that Lighthunters are impervious to other abilities, she more than dispelled it. She’s in the lower levels, helping to free the Vitals.”
While we talked, Ethan moved to Rick’s side. He checked the spot on his friend’s wrist and his neck for a pulse, and then his big shoulders slumped.
The moment Rick had gone limp in that chair, some part of me knew he wouldn’t be getting up again. But seeing it in Ethan’s defeated posture, his misting eyes and quivering lip as he turned to look at us, was almost too much to bear.
It could have been him lying dead in that chair. It nearly was.
Tears blurred my vision as I wrapped my arms around my torso and tried to stay strong. I couldn’t fall apart.
But Ethan reacted differently. Something changed in him. It took maybe a second—his gaze flying around the room, taking in the implications of it all—but then his eyes narrowed; his lips curled in anger.
Without warning, Ethan started conjuring angry blue fireballs and throwing them at the machine, the computers, the walls. He was destroying the room.
I knew his ability couldn’t hurt me, but I backed away, frightened by the intensity of his anger.
A massive boom sounded from the door Davis had escaped through, and Tyler turned to shield me from the blast. Apparently the door was somehow reinforced, and Melior Group was using explosives to try to remove it.
“Kid, you’re destroying evidence!” Lucian yelled, stepping into Ethan’s space, despite the fact that Ethan’s ability definitely could harm him.
Between him and Alec, they managed to calm Ethan down. At the same time, Josh finished off what the detonators around the door had started. He used his ability to twist the door in on itself, and it finally came open.
“All right, let’s move!” Alec yelled, his team already forming up at his side.
I grabbed his forearm with both hands. “No!”
That one word came out so forcefully and loudly that several people turned to look before getting back to what they were doing.
Alec turned to me, and I braced for him to sound angry, annoyed that I was getting in his way, but the look on his face was regretful. “I have to go, baby. It’s my job.”
I tightened my grip on his arm. “Alec Zacarias, don’t you leave my sight right now. Don’t any of you leave me.”
I turned to look at them all, proud of how steady my voice sounded despite the tears that had once again started falling.
By this stage, two other teams had already gone through the busted door after Davis.
“Get these civilians out of here.” Lucian rolled his shoulders back. “That’s an order.”
He gave Alec one firm look before following the last few agents through the busted door. I could have kissed him, but he moved fast for an older guy.
“All right, team, let’s move.” Alec gently pried my hands from his forearm and took my hand in his. Kyo and Marcus took the lead, and we all headed through the opposite doorway, Jamie bringing up the rear.
As we made our way through the building, which was much larger underground than it looked from the outside, evidence of the fighting was clear: bullet holes in the wall, macabre splatters of blood, doors hanging off their hinges. But Melior Group was efficient, and all the actual people were gone. We came across only one Melior Group operative helping a teammate with an injured leg. Marcus stepped up to assist them, and before long we were emerging into a wide warehouse-like space.
It was much dirtier and rougher than the pristine white lab and maze of corridors we’d just come through. A few all-terrain vehicles were lined up on one wall; massive shelving stacked with different sized boxes took up the other.
And in the corner closest to us were cages.
I shivered, remembering the last time I’d seen black bars like that, in the basement of a house in Manhattan. There were so many of them, more than I could count as we kept walking, heading for the ramp on the other side of the open space. The morning light streamed in through the wide opening at the ramp’s top, beckoning us to freedom.
But before we’d even made it a few steps, a massive boom reverberated through the structure, shaking the walls, the very ground we stood on. We all bent our knees, throwing our hands out for balance.
We were still one floor below ground level, and it looked as if the structure above was about to come crashing down. Cracks were appearing in the ceiling.
Another boom sounded from farther away. People were screaming, yelling. Jittery shadows cut across the sunlight ahead as people ran about frantically.
“We need to get the fuck out of here.” Tyler took the lead, but as he stepped forward, a giant chunk of concrete landed in front of him.
Josh pushed past him and threw his hands into the air, every muscle in his body taut, as if he were physically holding the bricks and mortar up with his hands rather than his ability.
I dropped Alec’s hand and pressed my palm flat against Josh’s bicep—the biggest bit of exposed skin I could find. The only problem was I wasn’t sure I had anything left to give. Yes, the Light constantly coursed through me, but I’d used so much recently, and in such an intense way. I was spent, tired, weak.
My skin took on that ethereal glow once again, but there just wasn’t that much Light available for me to pull from. I reached mentally for my Variants, for what energy they had.
Ethan’s big warm hand found my free one, and the connection made it so much easier to draw Light from him. Next, Tyler’s firm grip closed on my forearm. I took from them and gave to Josh—just in time. The ceiling was completely collapsing. We were the only thing holding it up.
At Alec’s command, the other operatives with us started to make their way across the wide expanse, keeping to the edges.
“Can you keep that up and move?” Alec asked, panic tinging his words.
Before Josh could answer, another dozen people streamed through the door from where we’d just come. Some of them were Melior Group agents; others were in nothing but gray pajama-looking outfits, the looks in their eyes pure terror and confusion. Many of them were dirty and sooty, their clothing torn. They stayed close to the wall, unwilling to brave the massive piece of concrete now hovering above our heads.
As Alec spoke to his subordinates—asking how many people were still coming, if everyone was out, what the situation was—the slab of concrete burst into flames.
Some of the fire burned blue, and for a moment I wondered why. That only happens when high levels of oxygen are present or when copper, chloride, or butane are added to the flame. But the blue flames were random and flickering in and out, so neither of those explanations fit. The only other blue flame I knew of was Ethan’s . . .
But the time for curiosity was over. A mere second after the concrete caught fire, another explosion, farther away, went off.
“Run!” Alec roared, waving at the group of people by the door. “Go! Now!”
They obeyed, shuffled forward by Kyo and the other operatives, some of them helping the injured as they ran for their lives. The five of us were the only ones left on this side of the room.
“We need to secure it!” I yelled
.
Ethan was freaking out but keeping his hand firmly around mine. “Why the fuck is everything on fire?”
“Josh, use the shelving!” Tyler gestured to the steel constructions at the edges of the room.
“I’m barely holding it up, Gabe!” Josh’s voice was strained with effort.
“Maybe we should retreat, let it fall,” Tyler thought out loud.
“No.” Alec appeared in front of me, pressing his palm to my cheek. “We’ll be trapped. Take it all if you have to.”
The last part was directed at only me, his ice-blue eyes determined.
I pulled—took the extra connection and drew on Alec’s Light, slamming it all into Josh.
Josh took his first deep breath. He held the concrete in place with one hand and swung the other out, dragging the tall shelving over, letting the boxes and crates stacked there fall to the ground. He positioned the shelves under the collapsing ceiling and lowered it a bit. It was still on fire, the flames licking fast and angry, spreading to some of the cardboard and timber crates.
The concrete slab must have weighed several tons, not counting the above-ground building on top of it. The shelves, solid as they were, wouldn’t last long. They simply weren’t made for it. Not to mention that the intense fire was weakening the metal and making the concrete crumble further. There was no amount of math I could do to figure this out; I wasn’t an engineer. We just had to hope for the best.
“Now!” Tyler yelled, and we ran.
All five of us sprinted across the warehouse floor as flaming chunks of concrete fell around us. Once we made it to the relative safety of the bottom of the ramp, I chanced a look back, and my heart froze, seized in my chest.
Halfway to us was Henry, an unconscious Charlie in his arms, dressed in the same gray pajamas I’d seen on the other prisoners. Keeping pace with them was a Melior Group operative carrying one of his comrades in a fireman’s hold. Olivia was limping, lagging behind, but they all hauled ass. Menacing balls of fire fell all around them, making them zigzag.
Without even thinking, I turned, ready to launch myself back into the thick of it. But before I could take a step, strong arms closed around my middle and pulled, knocking the wind out of me.
“God dammit!” Alec yelled. He threw me over his shoulder and carried me the rest of the way up the ramp. I struggled against him, but the way he held me allowed me to watch the others make it to safety, my guys helping them up the ramp as Josh used his ability to swat away the flaming obstacles.
As we emerged into the sunshine and the chaos above ground, Alec set me down.
“Where’s Dot?” I immediately demanded, craning my neck to see around him. I had to make sure everyone was OK.
Alec grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me toward several parked black vehicles. Dot was enveloped in Kyo’s arms, her head on his shoulder, but she was standing, conscious, unhurt.
As soon as the rest of her family emerged, she broke out of Kyo’s arms and ran to them, but I didn’t get to witness her finally reunite with her brother and Vital. Alec turned me back to face him. With both hands on my shoulders, he leaned down so his intense eyes were level with mine.
“Is Charlie OK?” I tried to ask, but he spoke over me, his expression somewhere between frustration and fury.
“Have you no regard for your own safety whatsoever?”
“Huh?” I lifted my hands, resting them on his elbows.
“You don’t have to be the one to do it all. You don’t have to save everyone, Evie. There are other people here just as invested in helping and certainly more qualified and trained. It’s not all on you.” With one thumb, he wiped a tear I hadn’t even realized was streaming down my cheek. “You have us. You’re not alone anymore, precious. You’re not alone.”
A sob broke out of my chest, and I leaned into him. He held me tight, as if to enforce his statement, as I absorbed the truth of what he’d said.
For all his fucked-up issues, his antisocial tendencies, the giant chip on his shoulder, his emotional stuntedness, Alec always seemed to know when I needed to hear those words the most.
I relaxed against him, finally letting go, and when he passed me to Ethan, I didn’t struggle. I let my big guy scoop me up into his arms and buried my head in his neck. I didn’t check on what Alec and Tyler were doing. I didn’t demand to know what needed to happen next. I just let Ethan hold me—let Josh run his hand through my hair, removing the hair tie and dislodging some of the knots with his fingers.
People were still rushing about—some working to put out the fire, others tending to the wounded—but Davis’s remaining men were all restrained, and the sense of danger had abated.
Sitting in a shady spot with her knees drawn up, her shirt torn and her face dusty, was Nina. She chugged an entire bottle of water in one go and took several heaving breaths. Our eyes met, and I gave her a tired smile, hoping it conveyed my gratitude. She winked at me.
The sound of helicopters drew my gaze up.
“Medevac,” Josh murmured just as medics began to move some of the worst injured toward a clearing in the distance. One of the people being rushed to the choppers was clearly Charlie; Dot and his parents were running beside his stretcher. I wanted to rush after them, comfort my friend, find out what was happening, but I reminded myself Charlie was in good hands. Kyo jogged to catch up with them and took Dot’s hand right before they disappeared behind some trees. I let myself relax a little more to the steady beat of Ethan’s heart.
But soon Josh’s fingers in my hair faltered, then stopped completely. He cursed low under his breath. Ethan’s whole body stiffened, his arms around me tightening.
I hadn’t even realized I’d closed my eyes, but I made myself open them, ready for whatever new catastrophe was befalling us now.
Medics were rushing about frantically near the vehicles. Tyler was pointing at things, yelling at people. Alec just stood there, his hands on his hips, his head hung low, his shoulders heaving.
All their attention was centered around a man on a stretcher.
“Who do you think . . .” Josh’s question died when a gap in the crowd revealed a glimpse of distinguished features, dark hair peppered with gray.
The man on the stretcher, the man I’d watched be carried out next to Henry and Charlie, was Lucian Zacarias.
The three of us rushed forward at the same time, fear choking the air out of my lungs.
Thirty-Four
The blood on Alec’s knuckles had crusted over. There were so many people with serious, life-threatening injuries that a couple of busted hands just weren’t important.
I focused on the deep red, the bruising already beginning to show, the streaks of dried blood mingling with dirt and dust all over his arms. Anything to distract myself from the screaming.
Charlie’s latest blood-curdling scream came to a whimpering stop, and we all took a small breath of relief.
Alec was sitting in a plastic chair across from me, his head in his hands, his shoulders stiff. Ethan mirrored his older cousin’s posture in the seat next to him. I could see the resemblance clearly in the dark shade of Ethan’s longer hair and Alec’s buzz cut, in the set of their tense shoulders, in the way both of their feet were planted wide, the toes slightly turned out.
Josh sat next to me. I had a feeling if he wasn’t scared to crush the bones, he would have been gripping my hand as hard as I was gripping his.
Davis had managed to get away with Zara, her mom, Rick’s dad, and a small group of the mad scientists.
In the ensuing battle, forty-eight people had died, and several hundred were wounded. There were bullet wounds, broken bones, blunt force trauma, and a myriad other injuries. But the worst were the burns.
They were still trying to figure out what exactly had caused the fire. It had spread fast to many parts of the building, and several people had serious burns. Charlie was one of them.
The medics had managed to stabilize Lucian at the scene, but his injuries were horrific. He�
��d been shot multiple times in the chest and left arm as he joined the teams trying to stop Davis from getting away. Then, as the last few people were evacuating the building, a wall had collapsed, knocking him unconscious and pulverizing his hips.
He was still in surgery, doctors battling to save his life, while Charlie screamed through his first change of dressings.
“This is my fault,” Ethan growled, rocking back and forth, pulling on his hair.
“No, it isn’t.” I didn’t even hesitate to refute him. He’d started blaming himself once we’d realized how badly some of the victims had been burned. By the time we’d arrived at the hospital in Singapore where the worst cases had been airlifted, nothing could convince him his ability hadn’t caused the fires.
His anguish had Alec sitting up straighter. “We don’t know what happened yet. But, Kid”—he put a firm hand on Ethan’s big shoulder—“no one would blame you even if your ability did start it. We were all there because of that fucker in the first place. Aim your anger at him, not at yourself.”
The sound of approaching footsteps preceded Tyler’s arrival. He came to a stop near the waiting area and propped his hands on his hips.
“Hey.” He sighed. We were all tired, dirty, and aching. Tyler’s hair was all kinds of crazy, but he was dressed in black, just like the rest of us, so the filth wasn’t as visible. “How’s Charlie doing?”
We all winced. The doctors had rushed him to surgery as soon as we’d arrived, doing their best to repair the damage to the right side of his body. He’d been resting until a few moments ago.
“They’re changing his dressings now. What’s going on out there?” Josh asked.
“Chaos, but we’re doing our best to contain it. The press has already gotten wind of things. We told everyone to keep it quiet, but a lot of Vitals were being held, and they’re reuniting with their families. It’s impossible to keep that many people quiet. Also, we found the senator.”
Vital Found (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 2) Page 38