Page 103 of Thirst
Talon had been watching from the other chair, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, his deep-set eyes taking in everything. “You sure?”
“Yes.” The memory of others locked in that same cell flickered through me—people my father had taken me down to see as a lesson, people I hadn’t been able to help. I dug my fingernails into my thighs, and added, “Very sure.”
“So how do we get to her?”
“You can’t,” I said. “Not on your own. You need me.”
“Or a map,” Cain said from behind me. “Along with the appropriate codes and instructions.”
“No.” I craned my neck to look at him. “It won’t work without me. You can get through the first door with a code, but you need my palm print for the next two.”
“We have ways to get around that.”
“It’ll be faster with me.”
His brow lowered. “I’m not letting you?—”
“Can you do it?” Brien cut in.
I swung back to him. “Yes. There’s a tunnel. No cameras—my father likes to have a private route in and out of the lair. Only a few people even know it exists. I can get in, open doors for whoever goes with me.”
“And we’d be in the shadows, of course.” Twilight pursed her lips, thinking. “Could work.”
“If it’s not a trap,” Talon interjected. “Nazaire will be expecting something like this, especially if he believes Nyx has flipped to our side.”
“Good.” Brien’s handsome face hardened. “I want the motherfucker watching his back. I want him worried.” He glanced at me. “You can map it for us? Draw diagrams?”
“Do I have your word that you’ll take me with you?”
The four exchanged glances.
“You won’t have much time,” I pointed out. “The cell is in the center of the lair. The only way you’ll make it that far is the shadows, and there are multiple doors between the tunnel and the cell. You can’t open them in the shadows. You need someone with you, someone the cams recognize.”
“We’ll probably have to fight our way out.” Twilight looked me up and down, sizing me up. “You won’t slow us down?”
I straightened. “I’ve been training with vampires my whole life.”
“And you were the other person on the island,” she said, almost to herself. “The boat—our boat—you rigged it to blow.”
I stiffened, but she didn’t sound angry. She sounded impressed.
“I won’t go in as myself,” I added. “I’m good with a glamour.”
I swept my gaze up and down her and let the change roll over me. Within thirty seconds, I was Twilight’s twin, from her coffee-colored braid to her raspberry pink sneakers.
Her dark brows rose. She glanced at Brien. “She’s resourceful. I say we take her.”
“Agreed,” he said.
Relief washed through me. I dropped the glamour just as Cain’s hand closed on my arm, hauling me from the chair.
“We need to talk,” he said between his teeth and marched me into the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind us.
He backed me against the wall, forearms braced on either side of my head. His warmth surrounded me, his breath brushing my cheek.
“No,” he ground out. “It’s too risky.”
I met his glare with one of my own. “You don’t get a say, Lieutenant.”
