I was about to put someone else at risk. And not just anyone—an innocent, a girl I’d sworn to protect when she was brought into Sray. Yet here I was ready to lead her into guaranteed danger? No. I couldn’t do it.

“You’re overthinking this. Don’t.” Addison pointed a finger at me.

“How would you know what I’m thinking?” It was odd seeing her being so open with me. She had always been timid, almost afraid of me. Now that the walls of the club had fallen, it was as if she no longer saw me as a threat.

Addison leaned back against the couch. “You ran the club. It was in my interest to learn how to read you.”

“I can’t subject you to this. It’s not right.” And I’d made enough mistakes in my life already. I didn’t need to make more of them.

“I appreciate that you view my life as something worth protecting, but it’s not any more important than Kayla’s, or her sister’s, and especially not that little girl’s.”

“You view the child’s life higher than yours?” Denver rested his chin on his hand. “You are barely over your youth yourself.”

“But I’m not a child. I never was.” Addison crossed her legs at the ankles. “That’s even more of a reason to protect this little girl.”

I looked at her. Addison seemed to truly mean her words, but was that enough?

“I won’t let anyone hurt her. Remember I’m going to be with her.” Denver didn’t take his gaze from Addison, but I knew he was talking to me.

“How are you going to manage that?”

“I’m a man of many talents.”

“So I’ve heard, but convincing Central to do something like this…” I didn’t need to finish the thought.

“You were in the system too, Mason. You understand.”

“Understand what?” I wasn’t sure what he was getting at.

“You aren’t the only one with extraordinary night vision.”

I was stunned. I had never spoken that out loud. Not even to Jarret who had become my closest friend and confidant.

Denver smiled. “You thought you were the only one, huh?”

“Are you saying you can do special things?” I spoke carefully, not sure how serious Denver was.

“I’m saying we are evidence of what’s really going on in Central. That’s leverage.”

“Not when they can just kill you on the spot.”

“I won’t be going in unprepared. I have other tricks up my sleeves.”

I thought I caught his drift. “They’ll search you for weapons.”

“And my weapons won’t be on me.”

“What’s really going on in Central?” Addison sat forward.

“Bad things.” Denver stood up.

“I know that. But what did you mean about the eyesight thing?” She studied me and then turned back to Denver.

“Experimentation.”

“Experimentation to solve the reproductive problem…” Addison looked between us.

“Or so they want you to think.” Denver headed back into the foyer, pausing in the doorway.

“Tell me.” Addison walked toward him.

“We’ll know more soon enough. You really want in on this?” He leaned against the door frame.

“Yes. I already told you guys. How many times do I have to say it?” She wrung her arms. “This is getting tiresome.”

“Enough times that we know you aren’t doing this because you think you have to. You don’t. We’ll find another way in.” I touched her arm gently, making sure she really understood.

“Is there really another way in?” She narrowed her eyes. “Because I am not seeing it.”

“There is. There’s always a way. It might take some creativity, but we’d figure it out.” I wouldn’t let her make this decision based on desperation.

“We don’t have time to just figure it out. We need to do this.” Addison’s eyes blazed.

“Do you really know what you are about to face?” I met her eyes. It was time to get real. “They are going to hurt you.”

“Which means they are already hurting others. I’m not going to sit back if there’s a chance I can help. I will make sure we get all the kids out of there.”

Denver and I exchanged looks. “That may be impossible.”

Addison shrugged. “Well, we won’t know until we try.”

“If you really want to do this…” It was hard to believe she’d be so willing to step into danger.

“Yes. I do. Please stop asking. I need to do this. I need to do something that’s bigger than me. I’ve never had choices in my life. I’ve never had a chance to do the right thing, and now that I have that chance I refuse to give it up.”

That seemed to be exactly what Denver needed to hear. He nodded. “We leave tonight.”

“Why wait?” Addison put a hand on her hip.

“Because you are a female. Do you want to get caught before we even reach Central?” Denver frowned.

“No.” Addison shook her head. “I’m just anxious.”

“Try to rest. I don’t know how well you will sleep in the coming days.” Denver’s expression softened.

“Is that just an excuse to talk to Mason alone?” Addison’s brow furrowed.

“Not specifically.” Denver made no apology.

“I must say, your honesty is refreshing.” Addison smiled.

“Life is too short to be anything else.”

“Is it?” Addison tilted her head to the side. “Too short?”

There was such sadness in her voice, it cut through me. I’d known life was bad for most women, but I’d convinced myself I had given the girls a decent life at the club. Considering Addison was signing up on a potential suicide mission, I was starting to doubt that.

“I’m going to lie down, I expect you’ll fill me in on anything important.” She strode out of the room.

“We shouldn’t be letting her do this.” I spoke as soon as she was out of sight.

Denver shrugged. “We’ve both done many things we shouldn’t have. That’s the story of our lives.”

“You have a lot of sayings, don’t you?”

“Maybe, maybe not. Maybe they are more than sayings.”

“Care to fill me in on the rest of the plan?” I changed the subject. Addison wasn’t the only one who was eager to go.

“No. The less you know the better.” He walked over to the door and tried the locks.

“How do you figure?” I waited until he’d turned from the door.

“They can’t extract information from you if you don’t have it. We don’t know what we’re up against. If we don’t share too much, we’re safer.”

“You’ve thought this through.”

“I’ve been thinking this through since you came to see me the first time. I did tell you I would work out a plan.”

“And you kept working on it even after you learned of the fire?” Had he really planned to help even if the money wasn’t there?

“I knew you survived. Jarret saw you and your girl.”

“That didn’t mean I’d be coming back.” Or I’d have the money. I kept that part to myself. If this was about more than money, I didn’t want to insult him.

“Sure it did. You wouldn’t have come to me at all unless your girl was desperate. She wasn’t going to give up.”

“And you were going to go in with or without me.” Understanding dawned on me. “You’ve been waiting for a reason to get inside.” My suspicion was right. This had nothing to do with expected payment.

“Revenge can be sweet, but it must be done for the right reasons.”

“Saving innocent children and women are two very good reasons.”

“Right. Make no mistake, I’m going in there for more than just the people who concern you. Addison won’t be the only one freeing the masses inside.”

“I will do everything I can to help.” Addison’s words had stirred me. I’d thought treating the girls of the club well had been enough, but it hadn’t. I was in the position to have choices, and I needed to use them well.

“But priority goes to your own.” Denver’s words were pointed but not judging. “I get it.”

“If you experienced what I did with Kayla, you’d understand.”

“I don’t need to experience it to understand. One doesn’t always have to experience something to appreciate its importance.”

“And there you go with another sage saying.”

“Now my sayings are sage?” His eyes brightened.

“That one seemed to be.”

“Are you ready for this?” He didn’t need to tell me what this was. “You’ve questioned Addison plenty, but it’s you I’m more worried about.”

“You can’t possibly doubt my determination to do this. I won’t let this go.” I would never give up on getting Kayla to safety.

“I know that, but are you ready? Are you ready for the horrible possibility that they’ve hurt her? That by the time we can get to her they will have changed her in some way you may not notice at first but you eventually will?”

“That’s why we aren’t waiting long. Surely they will do administrative processing first. That should buy us a small amount of time.” I was telling myself this more than I was telling him. I wanted to run through the gates screaming her name already, but I understood the importance of timing.

“Depends how desperate they are. If they figure out who she is—that she’s the sister of a proven breeder- well, they may not have waited.”

“Why are you doing this to me? Why are you filling my head with horrible thoughts and possibilities?”

“Because you need to get used to the idea. Get as numb as possible so you keep your head. Yes, this is personal for you, but it’s also bigger than you. You focus on the people you want to focus on, but don’t screw this up for everyone else.”

“Who says I’m going to screw anything up?”

“You’re angry. You’re afraid. You’re ready to knock down everyone in your path even if it means destroying things we need. You can’t be that way. We need to stay calm and collected.”

“I will stay calm. I didn’t run a club like Sray without staying calm.” Coming into power there and keeping it took calm and collected thoughts.

“But you weren’t in love when you did that—Kayla was only there with you for a few days and look how well that turned out.” Denver spoke to me as if we knew each other far better than we actually did. There was something reassuring about that. I needed to put my trust in him.

“I wasn’t responsible for the fire.”

“Not physically, but you can’t deny the timeline matches up.”

“Timeline or not, my feelings for Kayla had nothing to do with it.”

“Greer acted when he saw what was happening to you. He thought you were at your weakest. I’m not going to sit here and debate whether he was right or wrong. Right now is decision time. Are you going to let your feelings weaken you or strengthen you?”

I answered immediately. “Strengthen me.”

“Good.”

“You couldn’t say all of this in front of Addison?”

“Not without making her doubt you. She needs to trust you.”

“Getting her out of Central is my priority too. I am the one bringing her in; I will be responsible for her.”

Denver glanced over his shoulder and then back at me. “Technically I’ll be bringing her in.”

“So what is my role exactly? How do I get in there?”

“You are searching for the girl you personally Corded. It is your right to find her.”

“I hope they buy that.”

“I hope so too. Otherwise Addison and I will be in there without you.”

“And that’s part of what you meant about staying calm.” This whole situation was a mess.

“Exactly. If they deny you entrance, you can’t flip out. You have to calmly accept their decision.”

“And do what? Sit around?”

“I never said you were going to sit around. I only said you shouldn’t flip out.”

“You can be a very confusing man sometimes.”

He flipped over his hand. “So can you.”

“Is there anything else?”

“Yes.”

“What’s that?” I braced myself for whatever else he hadn’t told me yet.

“Don’t be surprised if you see some familiar faces.”

“Meaning?”

“Where do you think they get their workers from?”

“They keep some of the system boys.” I knew that, even if I didn’t understand how they decided who to keep and who to let go.

“Exactly. Don’t let that mess with you either.”

“Meaning don’t put undue trust in the hands of an old friend?”

“That or the opposite. Don’t be afraid to trust an old friend.”

“Same goes for you. They closed down your old place, I assume they moved people here.”

“I am sure they did.” He smiled as if at a private joke. “And I intend to heed my own advice. Don’t worry about that.”

“Are you going to heed the advice you gave Addison and rest?”

“No, and you’re not either. No sense pretending.”

“I’m not resting either.” Addison walked into the foyer.

“How long were you there listening?” I asked.

“Long enough to hear you being schooled.”

“I’m not going to screw up.” There was too much at stake to worry about being insulted, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t frustrated by it.

“I know. You usually do pretty well under pressure.” She tied her long dark hair into a bun on the top of her head. I was unused to seeing her with her hair up.

“Evidently, so do you.”

“Thanks.” She turned to Denver. “Do we need to pack anything?”

“They’ll take anything we bring.”

“That’s a no then.” Addison folded the cuffs of the pants so she wasn’t walking on them.

“Unless we have some things we want them to take.” Denver smiled sheepishly.

“And now I remember why I came to you.” He was definitely creative. “You’re talking about surveillance? A camera or something?”

“Or something.” Denver grinned. It was a toothy grin that might have been frightening on anyone else.

“All right. Let’s eat something.” Addison’s stomach rumbled. “We may not want to rest, but we need to eat.”

“Any requests?” Denver asked.

“Surprise me.” Addison put a hand on her stomach. “Anything sounds good.”

“Don’t make things too easy on us. We’re royal jerks for bringing you into this.” Denver said exactly what I was thinking.

“Yeah well, of all the royal jerks I like you two best.”

I smiled. “I needed to hear that.”

“If you like that I have so many more one liners.”

I laughed. “All right, let’s see what kind of surprise Denver and I can come up with.”