Chapter 69
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Claudia
My knuckles rap against the metal hatch, the pattern drilled into my bones. Just after the sixth knock, it’s tugged open from the other side.
I glance over my shoulder. “Come on,” I whisper before ducking my head and stepping into the airy warehouse. Riley’s the one holding the hatch. He gives me a sharp nod, then does a double take when he sees who’s at my back, frowning.
“They’re with me,” I say, and he nods, jaw tight, closing the hatch behind us.
Weapons are stored at the other end of the room, and maps are pinned to the walls, but today, the usually empty space has two trucks in the centre. Perched in the back of one of them, Anna’s voice cuts across the room, sharp and harsh.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding.”
I purse my lips, gesturing for the others to follow me across the room. We’re halfway to the weapons when she pipes up again.
“You’re exposing us to everyone, Claudia.” Anna stabs a finger towards the group behind me. “You’re quite literally spitting on everything Zac and Jordan and the rest of us have built here.”
“We need all the help we can get,” I argue.
“They don’t know what the fuck they’re doing,” Anna snaps. Her gaze slides to Rayden before her lips twist into a snarl. “I don’t even know him.”
Riley steps in before I can answer. “Whilst I’m inclined to agree with you, Claudia’s right.
We do need the help,” he says, striding over to the weapons cupboard.
“Zac didn’t exactly give us time to find more support.
Half of my guys are at work. So is Kieran.
And Bridget.” He heads back over, four weapons in hand.
“I’m not a fan of this either, but I’d prefer for Zac to let me fucking live. And he ain’t doing that if we lose.”
Riley hands me a gun, and I roll my eyes at his dramatics. He just smirks before stepping around me, passing the others to Sam, Heidi, and Rayden. Their hands tremble as they take them, fingering the metal like it might burn them.
“Fine. Whatever. Just keep them away from me,” Anna snaps.
“They deserve to be here. They love Emilia,” I say.
Her eyes narrow. “Well, I don’t.”
“I know. So why the fuck are you here?”
For a heartbeat, she doesn’t answer. She tears her eyes away, but not before they shine with something raw that she tries to hide. Something so un-Anna-like that I falter in my strides.
When she finally speaks, it comes out quieter than I thought possible. “For Zac.”
Something in my chest loosens for the girl I know has a soft heart deep down.
Before I can reply, Red’s voice booms from the other side of the warehouse. “Let’s go! Jordan says Zac’s gone for the truck. We have further to travel to catch them.”
Everyone starts moving, weapons in hand, tension vibrating through the air. I usher Rayden, Heidi, and Sam to follow.
“You three get in that truck,” I say, pointing to the one Anna isn’t sitting in. Rayden nods, hurrying Sam and Heidi towards it. Riley hauls his own group in beside Anna before climbing into the driver’s seat.
I take a deep breath and swallow my nerves before climbing inside with Emilia’s friends just as Red and one of Riley’s mates dive into our cab to drive. I have to ignore the panic in my gut. We have to help Emilia—she’s one of the good ones.
And Zac… he needs her.
I sit opposite the others, and Rayden glances at me, eyes wide and fearful, but determined.
“Are you sure about this?” I ask, before letting my eyes trail over the others, too. Feeling they had the right to know, I’d rushed back to the Married Sector and told them what was going on. All three of them had followed me without a second thought.
Rayden’s answer is immediate and full of fire. “I’d die for Emilia.”
Sam nods. “We… would, too,” he adds, voice quieter but steady. Heidi gives me a small smile, her knuckles white around the gun Riley gave her.
The knot in my chest eases a little. “Good. Then listen carefully.”
The engine rumbles to life beneath our feet as Red turns it on. I take a slow breath, steadying the tremor in my own hands.
“You’ve got twenty minutes to learn how to use those guns,” I tell them, holding out my own, ready to give a crash course in how to survive attacking the Enforcers.
The truck jolts forward, into the unused tunnels, further and further until we spill out into the city of Nottingham, heading for Emilia.