Chapter 83
Wake’s grip on my arm tightens, his eyes flashing with that cold, lethal edge I’ve come to recognize far too well. We’re walking through the bustling town, tourists and locals filling the streets, completely unaware that danger lurks behind us. But I can feel it—every nerve in my body buzzing with the knowledge that we’re being hunted.
“They’re getting closer,” Wake mutters under his breath. His voice is tight, low. Controlled rage, the kind that terrifies me because I know how dangerous he can be when he snaps.
“I see them,” I reply, my pulse hammering. My eyes dart toward a group of men, all wearing identical dark suits and sunglasses. Their faces are impassive, but I catch a glimpse of an insignia stitched onto the shoulders of their jackets. It’s unmistakable.
“Enigma,” I whisper.
Wake’s jaw clenches, and his hand twitches as if he’s about to turn and attack. “Hiro betrayed us.”
“No,” I say quickly, trying to keep my voice calm, though my heart feels like it’s about to explode. “He wouldn’t do that. He had us in his house, Wake. We were sitting ducks. If he wanted to turn us in, why risk us leaving?”
“Then who?” he demands, his voice sharp. “Who’s behind this?”
I swallow hard, my mind racing. There’s only one other person who would want us tracked down like this. “Lily. It has to be her. This is her game.”
“Doesn’t matter whose prison it is,” Wake says through gritted teeth, “I’m not going back.”
I glance up at him, my heart racing. I know he’s ready to fight. I can feel the tension rolling off him, a barely contained storm. But we’re not in his world now. “Wake, this isn’t the ocean,” I hiss. “You can’t just do whatever you want here. If we cause a scene, if someone gets hurt, there will be real consequences. For us. For Hiro. If someone figures out he’s been helping us…”
He turns his fierce gaze on me, and for a second, I think he’s going to brush off my concerns, but then he glances over my shoulder at the men closing in. “Then come up with an alternative,” he growls, “because they’re gaining ground.”
I make the mistake of looking over my shoulder. I lock eyes with one of the men through his dark sunglasses, and a chill runs down my spine. There’s no mistaking it—their cover is blown. He knows. And worse, he’s signaling the others.
“Run!” I scream, grabbing Wake’s hand and pulling him into a sprint.
We bolt down the street, dodging through the crowded market stalls and weaving between groups of people. I hear shouts behind us and the distinctive sound of feet pounding against the pavement. My heart is racing, and my legs are burning, but we don’t stop. We can’t stop.
“They’re firing at us!” I shout, as a tranquilizer dart whizzes past my head. I hear a woman cry out behind me, one of the darts hitting a bystander. Chaos erupts around us as more darts are fired, people screaming and running in all directions.
“This way!” Wake grabs my arm, yanking me down a narrow alley. We skid around the corner, narrowly avoiding a stack of crates.
“They’re not going to stop!” I pant, my chest burning as we race through the back streets. The town is a maze of alleys and side streets, and I don’t even know where we’re going anymore. We just have to keep moving, keep putting distance between us and them.
Wake’s eyes dart around, scanning the area. “There’s a pier up ahead,” he says, pulling me forward.
But when we reach the end of the alley, I realize with a sinking feeling that we’ve hit a dead end. The pier stretches out in front of us, the open water beyond it glittering in the sunlight. And there’s nowhere else to go.
“I can’t go into the water,” I gasp, clutching my sides, trying to catch my breath. “If I shift, I might—” I choke on the words, panic setting in. “I might get stuck. I might not be able to breathe.”
Wake’s jaw tightens as he glances back at the alley. “We don’t have a choice,” he says, his voice low and dangerous.
“We can’t—” I start to protest, but I see it in his eyes. The resolve. The cold, unyielding determination.
He steps in front of me, turning to face the alley where the footsteps are drawing closer. “Then we take a stand.”
I feel a surge of fear grip my chest. “Wake—”
“They’re coming,” he interrupts, his voice like steel. “And I won’t be captured again, Phoebe. Not for you, not for anyone.”
I swallow hard, my body trembling. I know what’s coming. I can see it in the way his muscles tense, the way his eyes narrow, calculating, preparing. I’ve seen him fight before. I know what he’s capable of. But here, in this world, it’s different. There are rules. There are consequences. And I don’t know if we can outrun this.
Wake turns his head slightly, his eyes meeting mine. “Stay behind me,” he orders.
I open my mouth to argue, but he’s already made up his mind. The footsteps are closer now. I can hear the steady march of Enigma’s soldiers. They’ll be on us any second.
“We’ll fight,” I whisper, my voice trembling.
Wake doesn’t respond, but his expression softens for just a fraction of a second. His hand brushes mine, just briefly. It’s enough to ground me, to remind me that I’m not alone in this.
I take a deep breath and step back, just as the first of the Enigma soldiers rounds the corner.
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