Cilas' gaze comes to mine before he nods shortly and turns around. I know he won't go far; he wouldn't risk leaving Anna in her state. It doesn't matter if Hangar is dead or not. It's known that when the tyrant of any group is removed, there's always another one not far behind to take his place.

"Thank you for coming," she tells me quietly as her head cranes up to meet my concerned stare. "Do you have a minute?"

Checking the time, noting I don't have much of it to prepare for what's coming, I do as she asks and pull out a chair from the small table, positioning it in front of her.

"You look good," I give her an honest compliment. "Better than anyone could expect."

"Viktor's unhappy I'm out of bed. My legs are fine, but he's insisting I shouldn't walk."

"You shouldn't even be out of bed."

She sighs and a small smile lights up her bruised face. "There's only so long I could stand to lie there and try to forget what happened."

"I'm sorry, Anna."

Shaking her head, I visibly see she's willing the tears in her eyes not to fall. "I don't want to discuss that." Clearing her throat, she says, "I asked Ci to find you because I wanted to thank you."

"You don't owe me that."

"I do. I owe you more than you think I do."

"How's that?" I ask, leaning back and bracing myself for the unexpected. It's what being here has conditioned me to do.

"I knew about your sister," she says, shocking me with her confession. "I knew Viktor knew all about her, as well, and how he was playing you against Hoss. Viktor hates this place; I'll never understand why we're still here."

"He loved his sister," I remind her. Seeing as how Viktor's sister was also Hoss' dead wife, I could understand him being around the club, if only for the close proximity to family.

"He did, which is why I don't understand how he'd keep something so important from you about yours."

"People have reasons to do what they do," I counter. "And even if you did know, it's not your place to apologize."

Shaking her head, she winces in pain while she adjusts in her chair. "I don't know how to say this..." She pauses, but quickly continues, "Viktor isn't leaving Casey here with her mother when we go."

"I knew this." And I did all along. Viktor's reaction to Aimes' interest in Casey, especially after what happened to Anna, sealed it.

"He's taking her with us when we go. I wanted you to know."

We're interrupted when I hear a female voice call her name from the back of the room.

Anna's focus moves toward the door and then she reaches over to me, still in pain, and places Casey's room key in my hand. "Callie's here to help me today. Viktor said she's to be my driver." She laughs, thumping the wheel of her chair with her good hand.

Smiling warmly at Anna, appreciating her ability to find humor in her sad predicament, I lean in and whisper quietly so Callie can't hear what I'm about to tell her. To any outsider, I'm showing her affection. To her listening, though, I'm giving specific instruction. "Do as I'm about to tell you. Don't ask questions. Stay in your room this evening. The one near Casey's. It's important you do this for me, Anna."

As I pull away, the look of sheer terror crosses Anna's features. Her mouth stays open and she doesn't confirm my instruction. Callie moves in closer and positions herself behind Anna, grabbing the handles of her chair.

"You ready?" Callie questions, not looking at me directly, but down to the crown of Anna's dark head.

"I want to go to my room," Anna replies, which signals she got my point and is acting on it immediately.

Callie's eyebrows furrow in confusion and then her eyes finally come to mine. For the briefest moment, I'm taken back. Callie's look is soft, sincere, and thoughtful.

"Anna," I call to her, looking down and reaching out for her uninjured hand. When she lifts it, I hold it in mine and squeeze gently, not caring if Callie's here to witness the exchange. "Thank you."

She doesn't respond further as Callie pushes her chair past me.

Chapter Thirty-Three.

I've learned it's easier to expect the unexpected.

Cilas stands near the door inside Casey's room, waiting for her to finish eating her dinner. She notices the added tension around his eyes, but he's looking at her with a calm consideration she doesn't recall him ever having before.

What puzzles her the most is that when he showed up just a few minutes ago, he didn't immediately turn to leave. He never stays for long, yet for some reason tonight he has.

The emotional confidence and strength she's gained since her talk with Max regarding her Aunt Emma, has encouraged Casey to be more vocal, even in Cilas' company. She realizes that with the power of the man he is, Cilas probably has learned to practice his patience while having her around.

"Do you want some?" she asks him, half-smiling and with a new sense of sarcasm she's learned from Anna when she'd spoken to Cilas all those times before.

Shaking his head, he remains unmoving. His hands stay clasped together in front of him as he stays in place.

"I draw," she tells Cilas. "Did you know that?"

Cilas nods this time. She knew the answer before asking, being that he and Anna are the ones who bring in her supplies.

"You want to see what I drew today?" she inquires, reaching over to the other side of her desk and s.h.i.+fting through the many pages to find the one she made specifically for him.

He doesn't walk toward her, but rather narrows his eyes at her question.

Casey sighs quietly to herself as she stands and lifts her hand holding the picture for him to take. Surprisingly to her, he does. His eyes narrow again as he glosses over the picture of his face she drew. The scar over his eyelid and cheek is faded and his eyes are drawn to be s.h.i.+ning. He doesn't study it long before handing it back over to her. When he does, Casey is forced to take a step back, but not from fear.

From shock.

Cilas is smiling.

It's not a full-on, happy grin, but it's something she's never seen from him regardless.

Pleased with his reaction, Casey goes back, puts the picture down, and sits at her desk to resume her meal.

Not one second after her brief internal celebration, she's jostled in her seat by the terrifying feel and sound of an explosion somewhere not far away.

Chapter Thirty-Four.

BOOM!.

The blast shakes the walls of the hallway leading me to Casey. Dust particles are thick and falling from the cement building's structure. There's no way to know exactly in which direction it came from or what's happening outside the walls of the building until I can get to a door or window.

Clutching Casey's room key in my hand, I round the corner to where I hope she still is. The blast has to be a clear indication of Aimes' arrival. A second detonation, just as powerful and loud, hits next.

f.u.c.k.

When I reach her semi-dark hallway, I see Cilas standing outside Casey's door with her held tightly in his arms. Her face is buried in his neck, and her limbs are wrapped around him forcefully. His expression is etched in both confusion and anger as I approach.

Out of breath, but trying to keep calm, I ask as if I don't know what's taking place, "What the f.u.c.k was that?"

Hearing my voice, Casey's head lifts from his shoulder and the fear in her eyes is paralyzing.

"Max," she whimpers, stretching her arms toward me and asking me to take her.

Once I make a move to do so, Cilas pulls her from my reach and levels me with a look so controlled and certain I know enough to step back and give him s.p.a.ce. I don't have time to attempt to overtake him and with his sheer power and size, I'm unsure I could anyway.

"What's happening?" Casey asks as the ground beneath us shakes with another blast coming from what I imagine is outside.

Looking to Cilas, I raise my eyebrows in question. I'm asking him, his way, if he knows anything at all. His deadpan expression tells me he doesn't, and his tightened grasp on Casey's body also tells me he's not about to give her up.

With a nod in the direction of the rooms next to Casey's, I follow his silent instruction and scan the area for anyone who shouldn't be in here.

It's then I realize his concern. It's not for me taking her away-it's for her safety as well as the safety of the others. On this, I'm going to have to trust him.

"The others?" I ask, as I begin to pa.s.s him and make my way down the hall and toward the rooms that follow.

Cilas nods, telling me my a.s.sumption is correct.

"I'll go back; you take Casey out of here."

"What's happening?" she says louder this time, but then coughs. Looking down toward the kitchen, I see smoke starting to head this way.

"Casey, stay with Ci," I order and as she always does, she trusts what I tell her and moves her head back to his shoulder, s.h.i.+elding her eyes from the dust that continues to fall from the ceiling.

"Go!" I shout to Cilas before turning around and moving away.

Trusting Cilas will do no harm to Casey, I move quickly and open the next door using the master key Anna gave me. In order to find anyone else, I don't have a choice but to check each room as I go.

Opening door after door, I find all rooms are empty. Viktor's girls are gone. Not one of them is in sight.

f.u.c.k!

The walls continue to move with each blast. The lights flicker on and off, making it difficult to find my way. Good thing I've been down this corridor enough to recall it by memory.

Although moving quickly, in and out of each room, I hear the gunshot from the direction of the same hall where I just saw Casey disappear from. Figures and shadows of men rush back and forth through the debris. I can't make out the faces in the dimness that's overtaken the area. Voices are raised, but I can't see through the chaos within the crowd.

Chapter Thirty-Five.

I've learned it's never too late to pray.

The second gunshot rings out, blasting an echo through the hallway so loud it instinctively forces Casey's hands to her ears and her eyes close tightly in response. The second shot sounded so much closer than the first.

After Max left her in Cilas' care, Casey truly began to panic. Her heart hasn't stopped pounding in her chest, and the ringing in her ears caused from the blasts outside continues to increase. Her face is covered in dust.

When she and Cilas saw Dog and another man she didn't recognize coming down the hall, they both immediately noticed the gun in Dog's hand. Cilas rested his forehead to hers, closed his eyes, then set her down and placed her body behind his large one. His arms raised in front of him, signaling surrender, Dog still didn't hesitate to get close. The gun in his hand was aimed at Cilas.

Thinking quickly and without fear of Dog's weapon, Cilas had pushed Casey back in her room, nearly tossing her on her bed before turning around and slamming the door behind him. Instinctively, she waited for the lock to pop in place, but the familiar sound never came. She heard a man scream for Cilas not to move. Then another 'pop' hit the air outside her door.

Then, everything fell to complete silence.

When no one made a move to get her from the room, Casey sat on the edge of her bed with her back against the cement wall. With her knees drawn up, her body rocked back and forth as her hands remained over her ears. Through heavy breathing, she prayed to anyone who would listen, but namely Max.

Don't leave without me. Take me with you.

Chapter Thirty-Six.

The common room is littered with men wearing camo, carrying weapons, with black and green paint covering their faces. This army can't be mistaken. These men are those Aimes has spent nearly a month recruiting.

"Where's Aimes?" I ask a man I've never seen before. He's smiling as though he's enjoying this. He's got to be one of Aimes' friends.

"Don't know," he answers. "We're scanning for women, any and all. There's a van parked near the front entrance. The gate's been blasted and more of us are waiting to see who's taking that exit. Men are waiting at the bottom of the steps. That exit is secure. If you find anyone who needs out, send them through there."

"The women with straps..." I start to question.

I'm cut off with his answer. "Got 'em. I'm guessing you're Max," he tells me as another blast, this time from inside, bursts in the hallway behind the bar.

"I am. What the f.u.c.k's with the blasting?"

"Distraction," he tells me, smiling again. I remember Brayden using the same term when he warned me earlier.

When I don't move as fast as he needs, his smile drops and he screams, "Go!"