Chapter 333: Underground
Cora picks up the third call and I narrow my eyes at her even though she can’t see me. I can tell she
was screening my calls and only picked up because I’d never, ever triple-call her unless something had
happened.
“E?” I hear her worried voice say, “what’s wrong?”
“Where are you, Cora,” I demand, letting my tone tell her not to fight me.
“What -”
“Where. Are. You.”
“I’m I’m at the clinic -” she says. “What’s happening?”
“We’re sending a car for you at the clinic, now,” I say, ncing at Sinir, who nods to me to let me
know he’s on it. “Get in it immediately, Cora. Don’t speak to anyone else. Don’t ask any questions.”
“E,” she hesitates, her voice wavering. “I can’t-
“This is not a request, Cora,” I growl. “They came for him. They tried to take Rafe. We are sending, a
car for you, and you are getting in it.”
I hear a sharp intake of breath from her side of the line, and then a moment of hesitation, and then she
agrees. “All right,” she says, and I can almost see her nodding anxiously. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
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I exhale a deep breath of relief and nod. “Okay. I love you, Cora,” I say, my voice wavering a little.
–
“I love you too,” she replies, with I don’t know what regret? In her voice?
But before I can ask more, she hangs up.
“The car is five minutes from her,” Sinir murmurs, squeezing my hand again. “We’ll get her. It
will be fine.”
“Okay,” I say, closing my eyes and resting my head back against the leather of my seat.
And then no one says another word for the rest of the hour-long ride away from the city and
deep, deep into the forest.
I’m a little surprised when the car slows down and Sinir sits up in his seat, looking around in a
satisfied way that lets me know that we’ve arrived because really, it doesn’t look like we’re
anywhere.
–
“Good,” he says as the cares to the end of what is basically a dirt trail honestly, the past five
minutes have been a very ufortable ride and Rafe let us all know that he was not happy
“Made it…where?” I ask, looking around at the trees on every side.
“Here,” he says, and nods to the driver, who presses a button on the ceiling of the car, one of the
buttons usually reserved for a garage door opener. And then my mouth drops open as, in front of us,
the earth just…opens, sliding upwards like the jaws of some great creature and revealing beneath it a
metal tunnel filled with orange light.
“Oh my god,” I murmur, my eyes going wide as I stare into it. “That is so creepy.”
“It’s cool,” Sinir corrects, shooting me a little smirk.
“I mean, it’s impressive,” I continue as we drive into the entrance and start to drive down a steep incline
into the earth. “But if you’re ustrophobic it is…nonpreferred.”
“Says my little mate,” Sinir murmurs, turning to the window to hide his smirk, “who ripped someone’s
throat out not two hours ago.”
“Yes,” I sigh, shaking my head and putting a hand on Rafe, who stops screeching and looks around in
wonder at the sudden change of color, “so imagine what I would have done if he was trying to entomb
me.”
Sinirughs but otherwise we don’t say anything else as the car drives a long way down the tunnel
before the passage opens out into a wide space, like arge underground car park. There are a few
more cars already down here, but the lightyer of dust on them suggests that they haven’t been
moved in a while.
I let out another inhale of breath, feeling suddenly quite safe, if just for the moment. I hadn’t realized
that I was waiting for that but, perhaps a little bit of me was expecting another blindside on the ride. It is
good, honestly, to be here, underground, where I hope no one can find us.
The driver pulls us into the next free space and Sinir and I quickly unbuckle our seatbelts and
prepare to get out of the car. The other car pulls up next to us and I see Sinir’s men likewise on
the move.
“Is it all underground?” I ask, looking around.
“Most of it,” Sinir replies, “for safety. Though there are some living quarters that peek out into
the forest, if we deem it safe to use them.”
I nod, understanding, and I lift Rafe’s carrier with me as I back out of the cat and shut the door
Then, I follow my mate and our two guards through the entry that leads to the bunker itself
I grimace when I see that the entire structure is very military As we walk through the hallway I
peer into some rooms we pass and note that the walls, floor, and ceiling of all of them and the
hallway itself are made with shining metal What sparse furniture there is in the rooms is
likewise rough and utilitarian I sigh a little, wishing for myfortable little home
But then I remind myself that my bedroom is currently covered in corpses and blood. So. This looks
pretty good for now.
Sinir stops at a door almost at the end of the long hallway and pushes it open. I peer in, seeing a
basic little living chamber that, luckily, has a queen-sized bed. I move inside it as Sinir says a few
words to the men who follow us, giving them orders for how to settle in while we wait for Roger, Henry,
and Cora. Then, he follows me into the room.
“Is this all right?” he asks, looking around at the very basic amodations.
“It’s perfect,” I breathe, setting Rafe’s carrier down on the bed next to me and smiling at him as I begin
to unbuckle the baby. “It will do just fine. Do you have….a n? For what to do next?”
“The start of one,” Sinir sighs, running a hand over his hair and staring at the door.
“You can go,” I say, raising my eyebrows at Sinir and holding the baby straight up against my chest
letting him look around the room over my left shoulder. “I know you have work to do I’ll be okay.”
–
“I don’t want to leave you, E,” Sinir growls, turning his eyes back to me so that I can see that
they’re lit with a fury fueled by anger, and fear, and the knowledge that he came so close to losing us
both today.
“It’s okay,” I whisper, holding that gaze, letting him know I don’t fear it. “It’s safe – you know it is. Go do
your work. And when Coraes, she’ll sit with me. All right?”
He hesitates, so I continue.
“You have to do work to keep us safe, Dominic,” I point out. “You can do more to help us if you’re
strategizing with your men than sitting with me in this metal room.”
“Fine,” Sinir growls, hating it but nodding. Then, he points to an inte on the wall. “White button,”
he says, “speaks everywhere. You need anything, you call. Yes?”
I nod and smile at him, letting him know that I understand. He gives me onest longing look and then
leaves, shutting the metal door behind him with a nk.
“Well,” I say to Rafe, holding him back so I can look at his cute little face. “It’s just me and you now,
kiddo” He gurgles and looks at me, giving me a little smile that makes meugh. I just shake my head
at him a little before returning him to his ce on my shoulder.
“And they call me trouble,” I murmur, closing my eyes and holding my little boy close “Nobody’se
to kidnap me in awhile now Trouble Jr is right”