There was a noise like a tin can fired out of a cannon, and it was followed by a burst of light so bright that I instinctively looked over my shoulder.
Kyle pushed past Jason and Serena and grabbed my hand. “Tear gas.” His grip was slick in mine as he urged me to move faster. There was a second rattle and flash—so much closer—and then a caustic smell that stripped my throat and nose when I inhaled. I tried desperately to hold my breath as we ran the last few steps to the fourth floor.
We stumbled into a cavernous space that was filled with dozens of large, industrial machines. Moonlight streamed through a wall of broken windows, and when I glanced up, I saw gaping holes in the roof.
Serena and Jason came crashing out of the stairwell.
Serena’s eyes were red-rimmed and she was supporting Jason with one arm. Face shining with tears and sweat, he leaned away from her and vomited. Eve tumbled after them a moment later, retching as she hauled off her powder-caked jacket and dropped it to the floor.
Eyes and nose streaming, Eve staggered past us and headed for the far side of the room. She thrust aside a plastic tarp revealing a wall so covered in graffiti that it looked like a living organism.
She ran her hand over a patch of blue paint as we approached. Her fingers closed on a metal loop that had been all but invisible, and arms shaking, she hauled out a section of wall.
I peered over her shoulder and into a passageway that was little more than a crawl space.
“It leads to a fire escape.” Eve stepped away from the entrance and turned. “It’ll let you out on the south side of the building.”
The space was less than a foot and a half wide. It was so narrow that you’d have to walk sideways and anyone taller than me would have to stoop. Complete blackness fell a few paces from the opening. Once the wall was closed, you’d be blind. I stared into the darkness and imagined being roasted alive as fire consumed the building.
“I’ll try my luck with the Trackers,” said Serena, voice shaky.
“We don’t have time for this,” snapped Eve. “The fire is on the other side of the building. The three of you have time to get out if you go now.”
She glared and the look on her face reminded me of my father.
“I’m going to regret this,” muttered Serena as she eased into the passage.
I hesitated as Eve’s words sank in. “Three?”
“Curtis isn’t here, and I don’t know how many people the Trackers have nabbed.” In a blur, she grabbed Jason’s arm. Her eyes locked on mine. “I got you out for Curtis, but the Tracker stays.”
“Eve, he didn’t have anything to do with this.” Kyle’s torso shone with sweat and the muscles in his shoulders and arms were so tense it looked as though he had iron under his skin. “Even if he had wanted to tell the Trackers about the club, there wasn’t any way to reach them without our phones.”
Eve’s gray-green eyes flashed. “Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, he’s leverage.” She stared at Kyle like she was willing him to understand. “All of my friends are down there. Everyone I know.”
“If you think we’re letting you take him, you’re crazy.” I took a step toward her, but Jason shook his head.
“I’ll be all right, Mac.” With his free hand, he reached up and yanked on his torn shirt, ripping it even farther so that there was no way the black brand on his neck could be missed. “Enough Trackers saw me last night that someone will recognize me.”
“Jason . . . No. Absolutely not.”
He turned to Kyle. “Make sure she gets out.” His gaze flickered to Serena, just visible in the opening to the passage. “Both of them.”
Kyle nodded and grabbed my arm. I struggled but couldn’t break his grip. “Kyle! No!”
With his werewolf strength, it was entirely too easy for him to shove me into the passage behind Serena. “We can’t just leave Jason!”
He squeezed his eyes shut for a quarter heartbeat. “I’m not,” he said before slamming the door.
The darkness was absolute.
The walls pressed against me. For a second, I couldn’t breathe, and then I threw myself against the door. It didn’t budge. There was no release from this side. “Kyle! Kyle, open the door!”
Serena’s hand clamped over my mouth. Her skin smelled like smoke and a sharper, stomach-churning scent that was probably the tear gas.
There was a crash followed by shouting on the other side of the door.
A thud shook the wall and someone screamed. It sounded horribly like Jason.
Serena pressed her mouth to my ear. “If we can find the exit, maybe we can loop back and help them.”
As quickly as we could—which wasn’t quickly at all since we could only move sideways and I couldn’t see—we made our way down the passage.
There was a sudden grinding sound behind us and I glanced back as a triangle of light pierced the darkness.
“Go! I’ll be right behind you!” I pushed Serena. She was faster than I was. She could get away even if I were caught.
In response, she grabbed my hand. Holding it in a death grip, she hauled me through the rest of the passage.
Fresh air hit my face as the walls unexpectedly fell away. I stumbled forward and only Serena’s grip kept me from hurtling off the narrow metal platform at the top of the fire escape.
I glanced down: the ancient contraption of ladders and platforms looked like a rusted death trap.
“Come on.” Serena started down, moving at a dizzying speed before remembering I was a reg and slowing her pace.
Four stories down should have been easy, but my hands and feet kept slipping on the rungs. The metal let out a nonstop chorus of squeals and groans underneath my weight, competing with the shouts and screams coming from inside the building.
Just as we passed the second floor, a heavy, masculine voice crashed over us. “Come down slowly.”
Serena froze.
Heart in throat, I peered around her to the ground below.
Three Trackers had gathered around the bottom of the fire escape. For a second, I considered going back up, but then I realized that one of the men held a rifle. As I watched, he trained it on Serena.
There wasn’t any choice. We slowly made our way to the ground. Serena stepped off the ladder, and then held her hands in the air as she moved aside. I followed right on her heels.
Two men with Kevlar vests and Tracker tattoos pulled my arms behind my back and snapped a pair of heavy cuffs around my wrists. A second later, Serena suffered the same fate. One of the men grabbed her a little too roughly and she elbowed him in the ribs.