I folded my lips together, shaking my head at her request.A sad sense of déjà vu overcame me, recalling the heartbreaking decision I had to make to stay behind then too and convince Kayla to also leave without me.“I can’t.”
After a moment of fierce deliberation, Sloane held out her arm to me, her large palm outstretched for me to take.“It has been an honor to protect you, Jaden Davis.May fate smile upon you today.”
I smirked as I reached out and placed my hand firmly in hers.“It’s Wilder, actually,” I corrected.
Sloane matched my smirk with a nod.“Wilder.Fitting.”
“You never did tell me your real name,” I reminded her.
She folded her lips in indecision before she shook her head and smirked.“It is Mariya.”
I chuckled like an asshole.“Yeah, that doesn’t fit at all,” I laughed as she nodded in obvious agreement.“Thank you for everything, Sloane.Truly.You’re really an amazing woman.”
The second I released Sloane’s hand, Katherine nearly cried as she wrapped one arm around me while she held Ella’s hand with the other, the hug much tighter than I thought her capable.
“And you’re an insane one, Jaden,” she cried as she held me tightly.“But I get it, so thank you for everything.Thank you for being my friend.”
I tightened my own grip around her shoulders for one quick second before pulling away.“Thank you for being my secret ally.I wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”
“Oh, bullshit,” she countered with a sniffle, wiping at her eye.“You’re so much more badass than you give yourself credit for.”
My smile softened as I stared back at her.“Ditto, Katherine.And don’t ever forget it.Now get out of here while you still can, and don’t ever look back.”
She nodded as she wiped her tears, leaning down to pick up her daughter, who gave me a small wave of her hand, her little face looking so sad and scared.
Bye, Ella.
“Good luck, Jaden,” Sloane said with a nod as she wrapped her arm around Katherine’s shoulder and pulled her along.
I dipped my chin in solidarity.“You, too.”
With that, the three of them turned away and began to quickly pace down the tunnel for however long it would take for them to reach the end.
They had better fucking make it.
Turning around, I shoved my way back through the door and up one level of stairs to enter the infirmary floor.The place was a ghost town, and the remaining medical staff was likely scattered among the grounds, either tending to the wounded guards or abandoning their posts entirely.Most of them were retired military medics, but if their patients happened to cross me up there, they would find themselves instantly useless.
The lights continued to flicker on and off in the dark hallway, making me rush quickly to Sid’s office to find the little “gift” he had said he’d left behind for me in his desk.After rummaging through the drawers, I finally found exactly what he had implied on the beach before his heart gave out.Snatching up the two familiar syringes, I looked them over, finding a single word written in Sharpie on each one.The first saidluck.The other saidgood.
Good luck.
Smirking to myself, I tucked each one into the side pockets of my leggings, shaking my head with a chuckle at Sid’s sense of humor.
Payback would certainly be a bitch if Darren made it home alive.
I quickly moved through the rest of Sid’s office, checking for any more hidden weapons I might be able to use as the house continued to boom and rattle above.The surgical knives I found in the cabinets would come in handy, so I slipped a few into the sides of my vest.And then I came across a tube of petroleum jelly.With fond memories, I lathered up my arms with as much as I could stand, then wiped my hands clean with some alcohol swabs.
Sid also happened to have a small Glock under his desk with two magazines of 9-millimeter ammunition.After sliding them into the back pockets of my vest, I decided to make my way back up the stairs to join the chaos I had welcomed with open arms.
Sigs drawn in both hands, I cautiously pushed my way through the door of the stairway onto the main floor, the sound of gunfire ringing throughout the dark house.Thankfully, it was still light outside.Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to see shit around here.
Rounding the corner near Darren’s office, I found two of his guards firing off in some direction ahead of us.With all the damn noise, it was easy to close the distance undetected, allowing me to put a bullet in the back of both their heads.And then I noticed a shit ton of banging coming from behind the doors of Darren’s office.
“Let us out of here!”
“What the fuck is going on out there!”
“Open the door!”