Page 57 of Resolve
A door opens.
“What’s going on?”
“Did someone burn something in the break room again?”
“Oh my god! Fire! Get the fire extinguisher! Hurry!”
A flock of white lab coats run down the hallway to the break room. I wait until they’ve all passed, giving another few seconds to make sure no others are going to follow, before slipping out ofthe room. “Keep up,” I whisper to Alice, then run in the opposite direction.
The scent continues even after we turn a couple of hallways. “How big did you—”
An explosion cuts me off, the sound deafening as a wave of heat rolls down the corridor. I reach for Alice, grabbing whatever I touch first and shoving her into the nearest room, then slamming the door behind us. “What the fuck did you use?” I demand.
“It wasn’t me! Maybe they had something in the next room that did that!”
I curse, hoping it didn’t cause the fire to spread to other areas of the building. The hallway’s back to normal when I poke my hand out. Maybe a couple degrees warmer than usual, but nothing to worry about. “Come on.”
The hallway isn’t as quiet this time around with more scientists running around. I keep my head down or to the side, blending in with the lab coat and pretending I’m looking for someone in all the chaos. When we reach the room with the Guild members, I rush to the connecting office first and launch myself at one of the two scientists with the scalpel.
The first one is easy to take out with the element of surprise on my side. The second one jumps on my back and starts choking me out. I cut his arm, pressing deep with the precision blade. He releases me with a scream.
Fuck.
I slap my hand over his mouth and slam him to the wall, finishing the kill.
Theclick-clackof a bullet being chambered makes me freeze.
“Don’t move.”
Chapter twenty
Raegan
Thedoorlatchcranksand echoes through my tiny room. I jump up from the cot, keeping to the back wall to wait and see what’s in store for me next.
I’ve hardly slept in the hours I’ve been here. Even with the lights staying on, nightmares crept easily into my dreams without the others around. There are too many similarities with this room and solitary that it’s impossible not to be reminded of the memories I’d tried to lock away. I gave up after the second one and paced the room instead.
My stomach growls angrily. It has to be past morning. They haven’t opened the door since Charles left, which means I’ve had no food or water.
I hope they’ve at least taken care of the guys with a healer. Or some sort of medical attention. Did their gifts come back? If they escaped, I’m sure the agent wouldn’t be as calm as he is standing there. I try to tell myself it’s not because of their injuries. They’re okay. They have to be.
“You’ve been requested,” the agent announces at the door. Hisarm rests casually over the gun hanging in front of his chest—a warning.
I’m all out of knives anyway, and the thin silver bracelet around my wrist continues to block my gift. Every once in a while, I feel an odd pulse. Or something I can sense but not physically feel, because the hair on my arm rises, and I feel the urge to itch and rub the area beneath the bracelet.
If only I could break it somehow. It’s too small for me to remove, even if I dislocated my thumb. My best chance is to find something hard to hit it with.
“Let’s go,” he grunts when I don’t move right away.
Another rumble echoes from my stomach. Loud enough that I know he can hear it.
“Are we going to breakfast?” I ask, my tone teasing and breathless. I try not to let him see how nervous I am at being “requested”.
“I could hand pick some agents...”
He wouldn’t go through with that plan already, would he?
My blood chills.
