Page 69 of Sanctuary

“Not necessarily. If we had a good enough cover for the person, they might be able to do it.” Maria’s frowning. Obviously thinking.

It clicks then what they’re talking about. What exactly they need. “I can do it,” I say, moving closer to where they’re talking. “I can get in.”

“What? No!” Del must have been listening too. She looks absolutely outraged. “Don’t you dare let her do that. You don’t know what these people did to her. You can’t let her go back to them.”

“I do know,” Maria says, sounding thoughtful and matter of fact. “She told me. And she does have a point. Maybe she has a way inside. Then she could let us in.”

“Breanna.” Del is almost choking. She grabs for my arm. “You can’t. Youcan’t.”

“I’m not looking to die,” I tell her, understanding her frantic fear but trying not to let it infect me. “I won’t do it unless we canfigure out a plausible excuse for me being there and a way to get me out of there alive.”

“Yeah, that’s the rub,” Mack says. “Even if she’s been there before, she can’t knock on their door and say,here I am,give me access to your fortress.”

“And she was captured. She was never there voluntarily. She escaped. They’ll never believe she’s back because she wants to be. She’ll either be killed or taken captive as soon as they see her. You can’t let her do it.” Del sounds almost angry. Cole has a hand on her back, and I notice that he’s gripping the fabric of her shirt, as if he’s holding her back from launching herself at someone in her indignation.

I sigh. “She does have a point. It will never work unless someone takes me in there as his captive.” I glance over at Cole. He’s big and tough and could easily pass for a criminal. “Maybe you could take me in. Pretend you’re one of them. That would get you in and give you the chance to find your brother.”

Del makes a whimpering sound, but she doesn’t vocalize her objection to this plan. It’s got to be her worst nightmare. Both of us disappearing into that place with no guarantee of coming out again.

Cole doesn’t immediately object. Just mutters, “Not sure they’ll go for it. They don’t know me.”

“They don’t know any of us,” Maria says, sounding faintly frustrated. “But we need to get someone inside one way or the other, or this will never work. So unless someone else has an in that we haven’t considered—”

“I’ll do it.”

I freeze. Barely manage to swallow over the rush of tension in my throat.

I know that voice. That accent. Would never mistake it.

Aidan strides forward from wherever he was lurking in the background. He wasn’t here before. I never saw him, and I swearI would have been able to sense his presence. He must have recently arrived.

He’s dead sober as he comes to stand on the other side of me from Del. He doesn’t glance at me. He’s focused on Maria. “I’ll do it,” he says again. “I have an in. I’ve traded with them. They’ll let me inside.”

“It’s still too dangerous, Aidan,” Del says in a hoarse whisper. “They might let you in, but you’ll end up getting killed.”

He shrugs. “You need in, and I can get you in. Someone’s got to do it. It might as well be me.”

There’s more conversation and argument. Then even more discussion as the details of a plan are worked out.

But it’s basically decided as soon as Aidan volunteered. We have no one else who can get us inside the high wall and locked doors of that citadel. It has to be him.

As it turns out, I’ll be going with him. Two people inside are safer than one. We can better manage the ruse and deal with the obstacles in order to unlock the entrance they’ve identified and let the others inside.

In a different situation, I might have refused to work with Aidan. Merely the idea of being around him is incredibly unsettling to me. It threatens the tentative hold I have on my emotions.

But this is too important. I’m not going to allow my personal issues to interfere with the work we’re doing here.

If the only way to take these monsters down is to stay in close quarters with Aidan for a few hours, then that’s what I’ll do.

He’d clearly rather get inside alone, but he doesn’t argue when the others decide that it will work better with me goingwith him. He can pretend he captured me. That he’s using me as a peace offering after pulling back from their partnership before. He’s absolutely convinced they’ll buy it.

They trust him as much as anyone else.

This fact clearly doesn’t recommend him to the others. They’re wary. Suspicious of him and his association with the violent men they’re here to put down. But Maria evidently made up her mind about Aidan weeks ago, and she hasn’t changed it. She wants to use him. She believes he’ll come through.

I do too.

I’m genuinely shocked that he showed up—that he didn’t give up on his attempts to be a better man when he lost me—but now that he’s here, I know he’ll do what he said he’d do.

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