“I think so.”
“He seems to care deeply for you. Is there a relationship?” he asks, uncharacteristically.
“He’s an ally. A friend, I suppose.” I hope my cheeks aren’t red. “They’re hard to come by lately.”
“Indeed.”
A loud bang sounds from down the hall and we both jump.
“Wait here,” I tell my dad, picking up the gun from the table next to me. Wyatt meets me in the hallway, shirtless, holding an arm around his bandaged waist. His gun is in his other hand. We look up the dark stairwell.
“A friend, eh?” he says, pushing my hair over my shoulder. “I like your hair—all big and crazy.”
“You’re doped up and talking nonsense. Anyway, are you really eavesdropping when you should be in bed?”
He shrugs but we hear two more bangs on the metal door from above.
I glance at his battered but healing face. “I thought they couldn’t get in.”
“There’s a fail switch of sorts, just in case. A code lock.”
“Who has the code?”
“I do, for one.”
I stare at him. “Who else?”
“I guess we’ll have to see.”
“Stay down here. I mean it.” It’s a testament of how much pain he’s in that he actually follows directions.
I get to the top of the stairs and feel around with my hand for the flat, square door on the ceiling. Muffled voices sound from above and I strain, trying to catch what they’re saying. It’s impossible, though, and there’s nothing I can do but wait with my gun pointed at the ceiling. My heart rockets around my chest. If it’s Chloe or a Hybrid, we’re dead. A muted cry carries through the metal and I ready myself—they’ve opened the lock. A moment later the metal hinges whine and bright light from outside blinds me. I take a step down, feeling the wall behind me to get my vision back.
“Alex?” A familiar voice calls, and I nearly break into tears.
I don’t respond to Paul. It could be a trick.
Two legs appear in on the first step. Black boots and cargo pants. “Alex, I’m coming down. Don’t shoot.”
I hold my fire but I can’t stop the nagging feeling in my gut. Paul’s body emerges, then his face—his hands up, palms forward. He smiles when he sees me. It’s genuine, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. They’re dark and even if he’s alone, there’s something wrong.
“What is it?” I ask, once he’s fully down. I peer up to the top and see Jude guarding the opening. “What’s wrong?”
“We took the base,” he says, looking between me and Wyatt. “We secured the office and medical facilities. There are a lot of injured and Erwin’s men just got here.”
“Why did it take you so long to come down here?” Wyatt asks.
“The door was covered in debris. It took a while to clear it off, and Davis was the only one with the code and he was meeting the teams from Fort Arnold. Is everyone okay?”
“We’re fine,” I say. “Wyatt’s healing. My father is down the hall. So everyone is okay? Parker?”
“They’re fine,” he says, the dark worry filling his eyes again. “But we have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” Wyatt asks.
“Chloe and a group of Hybrids got away,” he licks his lips and rests a hand on my shoulder. “And she took Cole with her.”
*