Page 107 of Capturing Sin

Jaw clenched, I nodded, waving for him to lead the way back out. “Let’s do this.”

His eyes narrowed. Leo never liked it when I told him what to do, but he was right when he called me a princess. I was as close to hunter royalty as you could get.

We made our way back to the holding room, and a sense of calm washed over me. I’d struggled under the weight of so much guilt, hoping I could one day outrun it, but now the kilos shed with every step.

Redemption was worth fighting for.

“Find me the least damaged one, would you?” I asked, pretending to look inside the humming mini fridges dumped in the far corner.

Leo hesitated in my peripherals but finally stepped as close as he dared to the tarnished bars, sneering at the cowering family. “They all look the same. Beasts waiting for slaughter.”

The demon shackled to the table had passed out, chest rising and falling as I swept around him on silent feet.

Holding my breath, I crept up behind the hunter. He turned as I whipped my pistol up and clocked him across his scarred temple.

My ex-fiancé crumpled to my feet.

Chapter 42

Blood trickled from the gash I’d left on Leo’s head, dripping onto the plastic sheet covering the wooden floorboards.

With him sprawled on his back, his features had slackened in unconsciousness. It made him look younger than his cold eyes and scarring implied.

Silence echoed throughout the room.

“Holy fires. The crazy lady might have been telling the truth,” the teenage male whispered.

I flashed them a wide grin. A sense of righteousness filled me as I swiped the keys from Leo’s belt. “We need to move fast. Don’t bother with revenge. Get out with your lives, okay?”

I hurried to undo the locked bolts welded to the cell door, keys jingling in my grip as I shook from the adrenaline.

Unlocking the last one, I swung the cage open. “There’s a back exit through—”

A bang cut me off.

“What the fuck!?” a male barked at my back.

I spun, gun outstretched, to face the hunter gaping in the doorway.

“Back off, Jayce,” I warned. “They’re not all the monsters you think. They’re just people. Please, let us go.”

The hunter frowned before shaking his head. “Demons murdered my entire family, Liliana. I won’t let these bastards take any more lives.”

“They’re a family too,” I hissed. “Humans murder each other all the time, Jayce. Think about it. They’re just like us. Good and bad.”

His head cocked aside, as if he were really considering it. “Maybe you’re right… I can admit they’re intelligent beings.”

Hope soared in my chest. I’d been trying to speak to hunters and scientists about this possibility for days after my incident, but nobody would hear it. That Jayce, of all people, would be receptive was baffling.

“Yes,” I breathed. “Just step aside. You can blame the whole thing on me when we’re out.”

He drew back with a pitying expression. “If you really believe what you’re saying, then talk to your uncle. But you know I can’t just let you go. Sorry, Dozer.”

He yanked up his pistol.

I popped off a shot first.

It slammed into his leg, knocking him to the ground with a pained yelp.

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