Page 41 of Desecrated Saints
“Are we meeting her team soon?” I ask instead.
“Maybe. I think we can trust her. She wants the same thing as us.”
Hudson snorts. “What is that exactly?”
“To see Incendia burn,” Kade answers solemnly.
Leaning between their seats, I watch Sadie’s car. Seven must be lying down in the back, probably still asleep. Phoenix appears to be smoking and chattering away while Sadie drives. The separation from my men is killing me—Seven fucking included.
“I only trust our family, nobody else,” Hudson says. “First sign that something’s off, we’re getting the hell out of here.”
I sit back in my seat. “Seconded.”
He looks over his shoulder to shoot me a possessive grin. It’s rare that we agree these days, but I’m far from comfortable endangering our family. Nothing about this situation is controllable or safe. We’ve only just discovered freedom; I won’t go back to living our lives in a prison.
“Relax, Brooke. You trust me?” Kade smiles.
“Trusting you isn’t the problem.”
We don’t speak again until nearly an hour later, when Sadie turns off the busier central streets and heads into London’s seedy underbelly. Passing through an industrial area, the roads are paved with cracked concrete and shadowed by abandoned warehouses. There are no signs of life.
She parks outside a deserted, faded blue warehouse that looks tightly sealed from the outside. There isn’t another soul on the street, far from the nearest suburb. Kade pulls up and I’m flying out of the car before it even stops, itching to set eyes on Phoenix and Seven.
“Any problems?”
Sadie stretches her arms above her head. “Of course not.”
The car door opens before I can get to it. Seven slides out, stretching his long legs and surveying the street. His shoulder-length brown hair is mussed and tangled from sleep, framing attentive eyes and lips that are pressed together. Every inch of his body is pulled taut with tension.
“Sev?”
His hand grasps mine on instinct. “Princess.”
“You good?”
“Just haven’t been outside in a while, that’s all.”
I squeeze his hand before releasing, preparing for the incoming blur of motion. I’m scooped into Phoenix’s arms and spun around so fast I think I may throw up. When he puts me back on my feet, I balance myself on his broad shoulders.
“Was that really necessary?”
“It was a long drive, firecracker. Did the chatterbox keep you company?”
Eli’s hand appears out of nowhere to whack him around the head. Phoenix plasters on an innocent smile, dragging him close. I’m sandwiched between the two of them with zero complaints, fascinated by the sight of them kissing in front of our entire group. It’s intoxicating.
“Can we save the public orgy for another time?” Hudson grunts.
I meet his icy blue eyes. “Jealous?”
“You’re playing with fire, blackbird.”
“My favourite. Care to join us?”
Hudson hesitates. “Perhaps.”
Sadie unlocks the rusted grate that covers the entrance to the warehouse. The scream of old metal makes us all wince. She drags it up, exposing multiple heavy-duty padlocks across the entrance. After unlocking each one, she disappears inside and indicates for us to follow. With a final look around, we all step into the darkness.
Inside, the scent of mould and decay has me gagging. Kade shines the light on his phone to guide our steps deeper into the disused warehouse. It looks like an old workshop, with the burned-out remains of a car at the very centre, surrounded by countless tools and broken machines.