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.

first thing that hit me was the smell-oil, sweat, and

sight that greeted us made me realize

Fear.

child. They worked in silence, heads down, fingers moving, feeding fabric

of them couldn’t have been more than eight, maybe nine years old. As we passed, it became more obvious that they were making clothes. Hundreds

fists clenching at his sides. His immediate fury mirrored my own.

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Sat, Nov 9

Chapter 264

were creating the clothes that we’d allowed

18x 3.89

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

thought I might

a spool of thread on the ground and was fumbling to pic it up. He tapped his

guard snarled impatiently.

pick up the thread. The sight of it made my stomach turn, my wolf itching t jump in and do something. But I had to force

sensing my anger. “But trust me, once

you c

those batons on the men and women who

low, pointed to a metal staircase at the far end of the warehouse. “I think the main office is up there. If we ca yes narrowing dangerously, and added, “An take out the head honcho, I think we can shut

out of sight. The children didn’t

ashen face we passed only fueled the fire that

freeze.

corner, and

my one

the first guard’s swing, driving my elbow hard into his solar plexus. He doubled over with a grunt, and I brought my knee up into his face, knocking him out cold before he even

their movements precise and silent. We dragged the bodies behind a nearby stack of crates,

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