Nate
An owl hooted from the dark forest as Tony and I emerged from the underground maze and checked our phones.
12:02 a.m.
The wind rustled the branches of the Loblolly pines, a crisp, cool autumn breeze filling the air with the distinctive rosemary scent of the pines. I scanned the forest around us, alert for any danger.
Silence. Stillness. Even the wildlife had settled down for the night.
One of the disadvantages of living in an underground maze was no cellphone service. We had to come to the surface once or twice a day in order to check our phones for any missed calls or texts. Of course, no one knew our numbers except for the other dregs and a few trusted others, so any calls or texts were rare.
As dregs, we’d been hiding in this underground maze for a year now. We’d purchased the abandoned plantation home and converted the maze underneath into our own living quarters. It was the perfect hideout, as no one was likely to suspect anyone lived underneath the decrepit old mansion. The plantation home was hidden deep in a Loblolly pine forest where few people ever ventured. We all had bounties on our heads, so we only came out at night, if at all. It was safer that way. We were less likely to be recognized under cover of darkness when fewer people were out and about.
I unlocked the screen on my phone and discovered a text that had come in about an hour ago.
There was only one person other than the dregs, or Tommy—a twelve-year-old kid whom we helped tutor with his schoolwork in exchange for keeping a lookout for us—who had my number. Alissa. The gorgeous blonde with the sultry, chocolate brown eyes who’d been keeping Hazel safe from the Spartan gang. The woman was a knockout, tall and stunningly beautiful, who’d left me momentarily speechless when I’d first met her. I’d been struck dumb for the first time in my life, the breath literally knocked from my lungs, and I could do nothing but stare for several seconds until I finally snapped out of my stupor. I’d never been affected like that by a woman before. But Alissa…God, something about that woman just got to me. Tony, Jacob, and Tracker had all witnessed my reaction to her. Tony, in particular, had snorted and stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. Hell, maybe I had.
The dregs never gave our phone numbers to strangers. Never. It was essential for our survival to remain hidden and untraceable.
Yet I had gone against the rules and given her my number that night, wanting to help her. Wanting to have some kind of connection to her. I had somehow resisted the urge to call her ever since, to check in to see if she was okay. I told myself she wasn’t my concern. Then or now.
I had offered to get her out of the city that night, but she’d never taken me up on that offer. I’d thought of her often over the past weeks. Was she still in Augusta? Was she safe? Had the Spartans found her? Had they harmed her? I didn’t even know her. But in those few minutes that I’d been around her, she’d awakened something in me. A deep awareness and a strong physical attraction. A longing to know her. A desire for something more. An urge to protect her and keep her safe. I’d never felt that way about anyone before, especially someone I’d just met.
I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head since.
I checked the text.
This is Alissa. You once offered to help me. The Spartans just found me. Please help.
My blood ran cold. If the Spartans had taken her, she might already be dead. But I couldn’t ignore her plea for help, no more than I could ignore my dreg brothers’ moans of pain when they’d been injured. I was a healer. A fixer of things. A reducer of pain.
If I could find Alissa, I would help her. And if she was injured, I would heal her.
My gut churned thinking of all the horrible things the Spartans might do to her. Rape being at the top. She’d seemed liked a strong woman, but I’d also sensed a brokenness in her. I imagined she and I were alike in that regard. I’d been beaten down many times, only to rise up stronger, more determined. I knew from firsthand experience that everyone had a breaking point. Even the toughest person could be brought to his or her knees. Only the strongest managed to pick themselves back up and move forward. If I could somehow prevent Alissa from suffering abuse at the hands of the Spartans, then I certainly would. I’d go in with guns a-blazing to free her, if necessary. That’s how much she got to me. I couldn’t stomach the thought of her being hurt in any way.
I glanced at my dreg partner Tony, aka The Smuggler, who was stuffing his phone in his pocket and staring out into the dark forest around us.
“You wanna take a drive with me?”
He turned toward me, cocking a brow. “Sure. Where to?”
“Augusta. Remember that woman Alissa who took care of Hazel? She’s been kidnapped by the Spartans.”
His brow furrowed as he scowled. “And how do you know that?”
“She texted me,” I admitted. “An hour ago, apparently.”
His face darkened. “You shouldn’t have given her your number. That was the stupidest fucking thing you’ve ever done. Now whoever has her phone has your number.”
Tony wasn’t one to beat around the bush. Blunt and to the point, that was Tony.
He was right. Giving her my number had been a stupid thing to do.
But if I hadn’t given her my number, she wouldn’t have been able to contact me and ask for my help. I wouldn’t even know that she needed help. And I might be the only one who could save her.
“I’m going to find her. And help her, if I can. You coming?”
Tony glowered. “I figured you’d say that.” He sighed, turning away from me, staring out into the dark forest for a long moment. Tony loved the violence, the action. We all did. It was what we’d been trained to do. What we’d spent half of our lives doing. We’d become bored after discharge and then escaping last year. We needed the action, the violence. Though we all suffered from some form of physical and/or emotional damage from our years of working as soldiers for The Company, we still craved the action. The adrenaline rush. It was all we knew.
Tony wouldn’t be able to resist.
“You always were a sucker for anyone in need.” He eyed me with those black eyes that sometimes hinted at soullessness, but I knew better. Tony might be damaged, but he still had a soul, though he didn’t show it much. I don’t think he wanted anyone to know he was still human somewhere deep inside. But as his partner, I knew him better than anyone did. He was struggling internally with things that weighed down on him, threatening to strip him of that soul he was desperately clinging to. When I’d told him about The General being our biological father, it had bothered him much more than I’d anticipated. Not that I blamed him. I too was sickened by the knowledge that we’d been spawned by that bastard. It made sense now why we shared similar facial features. But we couldn’t chose our parentage, and it was something I was learning to accept. Tony, on the other hand, was having a hard time dealing with it. I’d been monitoring him closely these past few weeks, afraid he might go over the edge. As his dreg partner, I shared a spiritual, emotional, and physical connection with him, so I felt whatever he felt to some extent. I knew when he was pissed or when he was hurt. Or when he was struggling with his emotional demons. And he felt whatever I experienced to some extent. It was a bond all of the dregs shared with their partners. We didn’t have much, if any, secrets between us.
“How do you know the text is from her and not someone who might have taken her phone?” Tony’s gaze bored into mine.
“I don’t. But if it is from her and I don’t do anything about it…” I trailed off. “I have to help her, man. I can’t ignore it.”
He let out a string of Spanish swear words that was typical of him when he was displeased about something. Finally, he turned to glower at me. “I’m in the mood for violence, anyway. Let’s get the others. You’re going to need all the help you can get, amigo. I just hope we aren’t walking into a fucking trap. Or I’ll kill the bitch myself when I find her.”
I didn’t doubt him. But even if Alissa did lead us into a trap, I wouldn’t let Tony hurt her.
He’d have to get through me first.