Page 130 of Full Throttle

“No,” Collin’s voice sounded. “The technology was designed to pick up your voice and the voices around you. Nothing more.”

I nodded again.

I pressed my hands into my eyes as my head fell back against the seat. “Cool. Thanks,” I said. “I’m about to say some mushy shit to my man, so if everyone could just shut up for a sec, that’d be great,” I continued, my voice shaking.

“Nik,” Cain said, his voice soft.

I dropped my hands, staring out into the rain as I tried to stop my lip from trembling. “I love you,” I whispered.

“Know that, beautiful,” he murmured.

I huffed a laugh, looking down at my lap. “Say it back, you doofus.”

He chuckled. “I love you, Nik.”

“I love you, Donnie,” Mina chimed in, her voice smooth and quiet.

“Jazzy girl,” he replied.

“Look, I already called Amara earlier. Do me a favor and wrap up the mushy shit?” Leon sighed.

“Right,” I muttered before taking a deep breath. “I’m on my way.”

A few seconds later, I was out of the car, pulling my hood over my head and walking down into the garage, dropping the keys into the pocket by my calf. Mina was leaning against her car dressed in black leggings, kickass combat boots similar to mine, and an over-sized black hoodie. She was checking her gun, and when her eyes landed on me, she shoved into the holder by her hip before pulling her hoodie down over it.

Her eyes met mine. “You ready for this?”

Before we’d exited the plane, we went over the plan again. Leon would take Mina and me underground with the impression of selling us and once we were inside, we’d split up. I was prepared for everything else aside from the splitting up. I wasn’t going to pretend like I wasn’t scared shitless, not after the things I’d heard about this place.

“No, but who is ever ready to go into hell?” I asked.

She pushed off the car. “I can’t help but think about the children we might see down there, and wonder if Lee hadn’t found Cleo, if this is where she would’ve ended up.”

I came to her, grabbing her hands. “Don’t talk like that,” I ordered, my stomach souring. I shook my head. “Don’t think about the ‘what ifs’ and focus on the facts. Cleo is safe. She’s with Gwen and Dean. There isn’t a safer place for her to be right now. Those people would burn the world for her. You know that.”

She nodded, blinking away some tears before they had a chance to drop. “I know that.”

“Everything is going to be okay,” I promised, squeezing her hand.

“Where are you girls?” Lee asking, impatience evident in his voice.

“On our way,” I said, turning away from Mina. Then, side-by-side, hand-in-hand, Mina and I descended into hell.

“These two are with me,” Lee clipped, his hand clamped around my arm and his other one clamped around Mina’s as he stood behind us. Mina and I kept our heads bent as instructed, hoods on, eyes on the ground.

“Both look fresh,” a male grunted, and then a pair of dirty shoes came into my line of vision.

“They also look out of your price range,” Lee growled. “Now quit wasting my time. Wanna make a decent profit today.”

The man didn’t respond, and blood started pounding in my ears as I started mentally preparing myself for a fight. I wasn’t very good at fighting with my fists, but I was damn good with gun. I taught myself how to shoot while on the road looking for Cain years ago.

“Get on then,” the stranger grumbled, moving to the side, and then Lee guided us forward. The light from the outside world began to fade away as my nostrils were filled with the stench of death and mold. There was no other way to explain it.

We walked for what felt like hours, these tunnels reminding me of The Pit back in Detroit. It was a foolish thought, because what was at the end of these tunnels was nothing compared to what I’d found at The Pit.

“Keep your heads down,” Lee barked to us, and my stomach twisted. There were people around us. In the next second, I heard a whistle and then felt a hand on my ass.

“Like ‘em fresh,” a new male voice said. His voice sounded like he’d been smoking for thirty plus years, but that didn’t do anything to hide the evil laced within it.

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