“We will do this,” Theresa said once the matter had been finalized. “But I hope the north realizes what a risk we’re taking sending our men away from their posts.”

Killian had to suppress the urge to remind the woman that they’d taken an oath to protect each other against outside threats. But that was how the game was played.

“You will all be compensated for your time and assistance,” Killian replied, fighting to keep his voice even. “Please bring the people responsible to me, unharmed.”

Heads bobbed once before the square boxes blinked out, leaving his screen dark once more.

That finished, he dragged his phone over to him.

“Give me the first name on the list,” he instructed.

Vi did quickly and he dialed the number.

He hadn’t given her all the names in the book. That would have been insane, plus a lot of them were already dead. But the ones he’d selected were the eyes and ears of the underground. They knew all the right people and had all the right information. He knew mostly likely that they would not refuse. Like the organization, they stood to gain substantially from doing business with him. But that wasn’t what had made him hesitate to use the book.

“I don’t believe this is a good idea, sir,” Frank ventured. “You are well aware of the request they will make—”

“I don’t care,” Killian interrupted. “I will give them whatever they want if they can find Juliette.”

“Yes sir, but—”

“The city means nothing to me without her,” Killian said softly. “They can have it.”

Frank shut his mouth, but Killian knew exactly what the other man was thinking. Any other time, he would agree. Being the line of defense between the innocents of the city and the underbelly was a job his family had taken on for centuries. Even his father hadn’t used them to find his mother. But that was an example Killian wasn’t going to follow.

“What?” Vi glanced from one to the other. “What’s happening? Who are these people?”

Killian avoided her eye. “Give me the next number.”

These people, were the men and women Killian’s family had forcibly shoved away from the city and kept securely locked behind the shadows of the outer walls. He knew by eliciting their help, they would want their run of the city he’d fought to keep clean and protected and he was prepared to give the whole thing back to them if they brought Juliette back. To top it all off, he offered five million to the person who found her alive. That would ensure a lot of eyes to search and ears to listen.

When it was all said and done and he’d sold the last bit of his soul, Killian got to his feet just as a figure stalked into the room.

Aaron still wore his coat. There were clumps of snow clinging to his boots and his face was flushed from the cold, but he looked determined as he charged forward.

“Sir, you need to see this.”

It was Frank who stepped forward to accept the CD the man held. It wasn’t in a yellow envelope, but from the look on Aaron’s face, Killian knew he wouldn’t like whatever was on it.

“What is it?” Killian demanded as Frank popped the case open and reached to exchange one CD for another.

Aaron met his gaze, his expression tight. “It’s the surveillance video from the convenience store down on Helm Street, sir. One of my men uncovered it during our search. It shows Miss Romero getting into a black SUV.”

Killian’s muscles tightened even as his eyes shot down to the screen Frank was adjusting. “Do we know who the car belongs to?”

Aaron nodded. “Yes sir.” He paused for a full heartbeat. “It’s one of ours.”

Chapter 26

“I think we can take them.” Juliette adjusted her legs, pulling one up to her chest while the other unfurled for circulation. “We’ll just save all these bricks and throw them at their heads when they come to get us. We’ll add it to the plan.”

On the other side of the bars, Maraveet snorted. The Styrofoam plate balanced on the palm of her hand trembled slightly as she scooped slimy peas up with her plastic spoon. Unlike Juliette, who still wasn’t used to the disgusting meals, Maraveet didn’t seem to have any trouble shoveling soggy salad, runny peas, and burnt hamburger patties into her mouth. It didn’t seem to matter that she was starving. Her gag reflexes refused to let her force anything that revolting down.

“You won’t be able to throw anything if you don’t eat,” Maraveet advised.

Juliette nudged the patty with her finger. “I don’t know how you’re able to keep this stuff down.”

“The trick is not to look at it.” Maraveet took her patty up with her fingers and bit into it, filling the silence with a crunch. “Close your eyes if you have to.”

Somehow, Juliette doubted that would help. The stench coming off the slab of meat was bad enough to make the hairs in her nostril shrivel up and cower.

She set her plate down. “How long do you think it’s been?”

“Don’t think about it.” Maraveet chewed and swallowed. “You’ll just drive yourself crazy.”

Juliette glanced over at the other woman, her curiosity getting the better of her. “How many times have you been in this kind of situation?”

Maraveet raised her head. “A few.”

“How did you get out?”

Plate all but licked clean, Maraveet set it aside and dropped her spoon down on top of it. “Not easily.”

Her tone said very clearly that that was a topic they would never discuss. Honestly, Juliette couldn’t blame her. Being there in that prison was bad enough. She couldn’t imagine being in more than one.

“Occupational hazard, huh?” she said instead.

Maraveet nodded slowly. “Something like that.” She dusted her hands and peered through the bars at the stairs. “This actually isn’t so bad.”

Juliette didn’t want to know what could be worse than living in that cage and knowing their time was running out.

“Do you recognize the leader?” she asked.

Maraveet shook his head. “He’s just a kid. Can’t imagine what Killian could have done to piss him off this badly.”

“He hasn’t asked for anything,” Juliette murmured. “In the videos, I mean. He just keeps making these stupid riddles and they’re barely five seconds long and make no sense. If he’s trying to get Killian to find him, he’s doing a horrible job of it.”

“Yeah.” But the woman seemed distracted. She was staring at her spoon, turning it slowly between her fingers.

“What?”

“Give me your spoon,” she said instead.

“What?” Juliette repeated.

Maraveet looked up. “Give me your spoon!”

Bemused, Juliette passed her spoon over and watched as the bowls were snapped off and pitched unceremoniously into the bucket in the corner. The handle pieces were pressed together. Then she reached behind her and pulled out two more broken handles and joined them.

“Give me your elastic,” she demanded, hand already outstretched.

Not asking any questions, Juliette slid the band from her hair and dropped it into the open palm. She watched as it was wrapped around the plastic.

Secured firmly, she turned the jagged ends over and began grinding them slowly against the concrete. She kept doing this until a small pile of plastic shavings had collected beneath her hands and the plastic had been rubbed down to a sharp point on one end. Maraveet paused to blow the excess shavings away before examining her handiwork.

“It’s not the best, but it’ll do.” She passed it through the bars to Juliette. “You can probably get one or two good uses out of that if you’re really careful. Plan your attack and make sure you don’t miss!”

Juliette’s mouth went dry even as her palms began to sweat. She stared from the jagged weapon to the woman watching her through the bars.

“What … are you serious?”

“Do you want to get out of here?” Maraveet countered. At Juliette hesitant nod, she continued. “Time your attack,” she said again. “If you strike too early, you’ll get stopped early and you’ll lose the element of surprise. But if you wait and time it, you can maybe even get three.”