Page 20 of Cruel (Brutal Academy)

Sneaking around and breaking in it was then.

I handed the phone to Zeke and hurried up the street after him and Asher. A couple of people gave them funny looks, but most didn't look twice. None of them stopped to ask for autographs or selfies, which was just as well because we didn't have time for that shit and killing them in broad daylight wouldn't go unnoticed.

I resisted the urge to run, instead walking as quickly as I could while looking like I wasn't hurrying. Sneaking wouldn't work very well if we drew attention to ourselves.

"This is it," Hunter said as we reached the back of the building.

A driveway ended in a garage door, which was covered in an interesting variety of graffiti. From the look of it, it was painted recently, presumably to cover other graffiti. There was nothing more welcoming to a graffiti artist than a blank canvas. No doubt whoever owned the building painted it frequently.

Beside the driveway, a door led into the building. A surveillance camera kept watch on anyone who might approach.

At least, it did until I pulled out my gun and shot it.

The sound was loud enough to make me wince.

"Let's get inside before someone comes to investigate that." Hunter cut me a look that suggested he wished I hadn't done that.

I shrugged and tucked the gun away.

The door was locked, but when Hunter grabbed hold of the bottom of the garage door, it rolled up easily. He pushed it high enough for us to duck underneath and slip into the building.

We stood in a parking garage big enough for at least a hundred cars. Parked in the middle was a massive truck. The rear doors sat open.

I trotted over and peered inside. "It's empty, but it smells like… People."

Had Lila been in the back of that recently? She didn't like to let on, but I knew she hated enclosed spaces. They always made her shiver and her pupils dilate. From what I gathered, Samuel Bell didn't mind putting people in dark, enclosed spaces as some form of punishment. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he did that to her and Chloe. Shame he hadn't left Chloe and Zachary inside. Together or apart, it wouldn't matter. Dead was dead.

"She has to be around here somewhere," Hunter said.

I jumped as shots rang out from somewhere else in the building.

"That wasn't me," I said quickly, in case there was any doubt.

"No shit," Hunter said. His face was paler than usual, worry etched on his features. I didn't need any twin to twin telepathy to tell me what he was thinking.

Those gunshots might have meant we were too late. Worse than that, they might have seen us coming and decided to dispose of Lila before we got to her. If that happened, my heart was going to splinter into approximately seventeen billion pieces, each smaller than the last.

"There are—" Asher started to speak, but was interrupted by the garage door opening behind us.

Fuck. We all ran to hide behind the truck.

"The shots came from upstairs. If this has gone all pear-shaped, Caleb is going to be pissed."

I knew that voice.Hades fucking Turner.How many people did he have with him?

I chanced a glance around the side of the truck. Hades and four other men. No, three other men and a woman. So much for the sisterhood.

I stepped back and held up five fingers to the other guys. They all nodded and pulled out guns. Figured Zeke and Asher would be carrying too. You can take the boy out of our lifestyle, but you can't take our lifestyle out of the boy. They weren't in it as deep as us, but they couldn’t escape it entirely.

Footsteps disappeared up the stairs, suggesting Hades and his people went that way. If they went that way, so would we.

Typically, it was Zeke who took charge. He gestured for us to fall in behind him after taking off his hat and sunglasses and stashing them behind the truck's tyres.

Asher did the same before following close behind Zeke.

Hunter and I exchanged glances and nods, then we too were stepping towards the stairs and up as silently as we could go.

Shouting came from somewhere above us. A woman screamed.

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