Chapter 264

Audrey

We were getting closer. I could tell by the way that Peter slowed the van, the sound of gravel crunching under the tires growing fainter. From outside, m****ed voices reached us. I felt Edwin wrap his arm around my waist, tugging me close against him in the darkness of the ‘cargo’ area.

This wasn’t our plan. We were just supposed to follow the other van to its destination without raising any red flags, and yet everything had gone wrong.

But we had little choice left now, did we?

Finally, the van came to a stop and footsteps approached. Edwin and I held our breath as we heard a gruff voice bark, “Did you capture them?”

“Yeah,” Peter replied, his voice surprisingly steady as if he had done this a hundred times before. “I got ’em. Where should I take them?”

The pause that followed was excruciating. Papers rustled, and I felt like time was stretching on forever.

Then, at last, the man said, “Take them through the back. Don’t want any of the kids seeing them. And hurry up.”

The van lurched forward again, and I finally allowed myself to let out a tiny breath of relief, although it did little to ease my nerves. Beside me, Edwin’s hand twitched, and I could hear his voice through the bond. “You okay?”

I nodded tightly, although I wasn’t sure either of us believed it. None of this felt right, but we couldn’t just leave Betty on her own-especially not now that they knew they’d been set up. If they hurt her…

I clenched my jaw, refusing to imagine that outcome.

The van rolled to another stop a few moments later. Then Peter’s voice came through the wall separating the cargo space from the cab. “Coast is clear. Let’s go.”

We moved quickly, slipping out of the van and into the loading dock. The air here smelled heavily of gasoline and oil, making me cover my mouth and nose with my sleeve. Dim light filtered through the grimy windows, casting long shadows across the concrete floor.

Ahead of us loomed the warehouse. Inside, I could hear the sound of machinery. And shouting.

“This way,” Peter whispered, his voice barely audible as he gestured to a side door. “I think the boss man is expecting us, but it’s still best if we stay out of sight. Don’t want a dozen guards following us around.

moved further into the complex. The first thing that hit me was the smell-oil, sweat, and something else, something I couldn’t place

made me realize what the smell

Fear.

other equipment stretched out across the dark warehouse, each one manned by… a child. They worked in silence, heads down, fingers moving, feeding fabric through the machines like they

As we passed, it became more obvious

Edwin breathed beside me, his fists clenching at his sides. His immediate

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Sat, Nov

Chapter 264

we’d allowed our own pack

18x 3.89

batons clutched in their hands. My mind immediately went back to the drawings that Joseph had made: looming figures with

I might

small boy who had dropped a spool of thread on the ground and was fumbling to pic it up. He tapped his baton ominously against his palm

up,” the guard snarled impatiently. “Or no dinner

wolf itching t jump in and do something. But I had to force

to find Black first,” Edwin murmured through the bond, sensing my anger. “But trust me, once

you c

batons on the men and women who were wielding them. And I wasn’t typically a violent

main office is up there. If we ca yes narrowing dangerously, and added, “An take out the head honcho, I think we can shut this place down.” He

of sight. The children didn’t even glance up as we passed, their eyes glued to their work, too scared or too numb to

the fire that was burning in my chest. We couldn’t let this

sound of approaching footsteps made us freeze. There was no

and the

My training kicked in like it was my one sole instinct, everything Edwin had drilled

He doubled over with a grunt, and I brought my knee

the bodies behind a nearby stack of crates, taking

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