Jax halted a few doorways down and inserted a key. The room was dark and nearly identical to the one they’d held me in. At the soft pads of our footsteps, Alex sat up, grasping the blanket to her chest. Jax’s flashlight lit up her face.

God. She looked like hell. She’d been through too much, seen too much, had experienced too much.

For years. She’d been going through this shit for years.

I was about to hurtle the distance and crush her in my arms, but she shrank back at the sight of our towering forms, her eyes squinting against the light.

“It’s me, baby.”

“Rafe!” The blanket pooled around her, and she catapulted into my arms.

“We’re getting out of here,” I said, words muffled in her hair. “But I need you to act like I’m Cleft. Can you do that?”

She nodded, her hands roaming my cheeks, her gaze wondering over my face, lowering to my chest, as if checking to make sure I was in one piece. “I thought he was gonna kill you.” She buried her head in the crook of my shoulder and inhaled. “God…I thought you were dead. It’s been days.”

I shared a look with Jax. Had it really been that long? Man, had I been out of it.

“Timing, man. It’s now or never.” He lifted his shirt, revealing the gun jammed in his waistband. “You have no idea what I had to do to get this thing. Old man took my damn weapon.”

But one gun wouldn’t do shit against a bunch of guys with guns and access to human shields. Alex shifted in my arms, and her chain grated my ears.

“Tell me you have a key for that?”

“Sure do.” He bent and released the lock with a quick turn of a key. “But you’re gonna have to crawl,” he told her. “Keep your eyes on the floor, like a slave would, and we might make it out of here.”

With not a tinge of hesitation, Alex dropped to her hands and knees and lowered her head.

“Let’s do this.” He wedged the door a crack, peeked into the hall, then opened it all the way. I followed, Alex behind me on all fours, and we hadn’t taken more than a few steps when a man exited a room.

“What’re you guys up to?” he asked.

Jax slowed, and I turned to Alex, yanking on her chain with a growl. “Sit,” I ordered in a low voice, hoping to fuck the guy didn’t realize I wasn’t Cleft. Curling my toes inside the hem of the jeans, I kept my attention on her dark head and hoped it was enough to shield me from the guy’s scrutiny.

“Boss is on his way in,” Jax explained. “He wants her in the office.”

“What about the boyfriend? Should we grab him?”