Page 146 of Sawyer

Behind me, girls with sleep in their eyes step inside the security room.

“Do any of you know how to get that door open?” I rush the words out, some of them jumbling together, and I hope they understand what I’m trying to say.

A few shake their heads, and Violet pushes her way back in. “There’s one bitch who thinks this is a trap, so I’m leaving her ass.”

“Vee.” I groan, mentally chiding her. No gamma left behind.

“Uh-uh.” She shakes her head. “No, I am not risking my ass for an omega who refuses to save herself. No.”

“Well, we need to figure out how to get out of here in the first place.” I toss my hand out to the wall and slap my thigh. “It’s a wall. I’m assuming the guard presses a button and it opens, but no electricity.”

“There has to be a fail-safe.” She inspects the wall. “I was in here once, only once.” Her hand runs down the seam, and she digs a fingernail in. “We pry it open with our bare hands.”

Before I can tell her that’s ridiculous, a few women behind me rush toward Violet, helping her by prying their fingers into the door. I don’t miss that they are all gammas, and that the omegas whimper behind me.

I want to roll my eyes at them, but this is terrifying. I can’t believe I’m not whimpering in fear.

“There we go, girls, almost there,” Vee encourages them. “We’ve got this. We are bad bitches, and we don’t need no pack.”

The others agree, and ever so slowly, the door opens. Seeing their progress, I rush over to them and start pulling.

One by one, all the girls clamber over each other, five on one side and five on the other. Wait…

I chuckle to myself. Looks like we don’t have to go back for the other omega. She had some self-preservation.

Ever so slowly, the door slips open, but it won’t stay there. “All right, girls, one by one, go to the other side and keep the door open for the rest of us. Go now!”

I toss the flashlight into the hall, listening as it clatters to the ground, spinning until the light shines on us.

Sweat drips down my face as that sixth sense telling me to get the hell out of here beats down on me. Once we are on the same side, I instruct, “On three, we all let go at once.”

“Three,” Vee says.

We all let go at once, falling into a puppy pile, while Vee cackles to herself.

“That” —I heave out a breath— “is not what I meant.”

“Yeah, but it worked.” She slaps my thigh. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“I agree.” I crawl over and grab the flashlight, shining it on the stairwell. To the left is an elevator that we clearly aren’t using, and a big black number reads three. “Does anyone know how this works? Can we get out of here on the first level, or is it the top level?”

“It’s level six,” a woman speaks up. “I was awake when they brought me here.” There are tears in her eyes, and her voice shakes. “I memorized everything. It’s level six. It’s disorienting because they dug out the mountain. Ground level is level six, and the other levels go below the surface.”

That’s tricky. “Up we go,” I whisper. “Single file, I’ll lead, so if there’s any danger, it’s on me.”

Vee snorts, waving the gun like an inexperienced baton twirler. “I got your six, superstar.”

“Is that a pet name?” Fuck, I love her and her brand of humor.

She kisses the air. “Only for you, superstar. Now get those feet moving.”

I’m too out of shape for this. My shoes squeak as I set a pace that I think everyone can keep up with. They kept all the girls well-fed, so they should have energy, but no exercise, so stairs will be more strenuous than we realize. I don’t rush, and I take my time.

“Four,” I wheeze, determined not to slow my pace. Behind me, Vee doesn’t even sound out of breath, and I glare at her before making sure no one from level four opens the door.

“What?” She slaps my ass. “Jumping jacks every day. I told most of the girls to do it too, but you can tell who did not.” She glares with her judgy eyes.

“When we get out of here, you can usher me to the gym.”

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