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"What about hi toward Clancy’s liave him another dose I’ll co’s secure"

It didn’t seem like the best idea, but I was so tired I found ht Besides, the kid was still breathing low and even, bent over at the waist and out of sight This time, I was the one to double-check that his hands and feet were still zip-tied It was the last coht I seemed to have

My whole body ached with exhaustion as I climbed out; I could taste it at the back of my throat, feel it in the watery consistency my eyes had taken on Lia look in the direction of the truck I waved him off and leaned into his ar to count the kids off, starting each tiet past ten without forgetting , Chubs’s voice as he fired question after question to Vida about the blurred shapes around him, helped keepto process ere standing outside of so at the door

Lia to Zu," he said quietly "I know she’s not a cuddlebug, but is this nor to have a probleain "It takes her a while to warh one of the s, ignoring the unlit electric OPEN sign Letting out a deep breath, he tested the door to Smiley’s Pub Locked

"Is this a bar?" Chubs whispered behind o in? We’re not twenty-one"

"Oh, Grannie" Vida sighed "I can’t even"

I looked through the frontThere was a lot of pale, polished wood, empty shelves behind the bar itself, and red vinyl wherever there was seating Old classic-rock tour posters were tacked up between all of the pictures of bikini-clad wo on sports cars

"Do we have to break in?" I asked Cole

"Nah I was just checking to see if they were still using the joint as a front The entrance to the Ranch is behind the bar"

For a second, I was confused, thinking he meant behind the counter inside the bar Instead, he stepped down from the curb and jutted his chin toward the small alley between Smiley’s Pub and the e around garbage cans and empty, stacked crates until we reached a back door Cole went right up to it and pressed six numbers into the electronic keypad there It flashed, beeped, and the door popped open, revealing what looked like a typical back roo each wall,way down," Cole said over his shoulder "Anyone afraid of heights? The dark? Nah, of course not You guys are cha way down God--another underground tunnel? A long one, I’d bet, based on the fact that ere far enough away fro that I hadn’t been able to see it from out in front of S HQ down in Los Angeles The entry point had been a parking garage, which brought you down via elevator to e called the Tube That tunnel had been so hellish in its sewer stink andfor you at the other end of it

To access the trap door that opened to the Ranch’s tunnel, we all had to cram into the small bedroo that had been placed over it A cold, stale burst of air rushed up to meet us as Cole kicked the door open

"Cool," To to look down into the dimly lit space Kylie made a face in Lucy’s direction, but was the third one down after Cole Most of the teens went next, too tired to really question as happening or where they were being taken It orse for the younger kids Zu and Hina were ue They swayed on their feet like they’d snuck a few glasses back at the bar, and they couldn’t focus their eyes on Liaate theet a half-blind, incredibly grumpy Chubs down next Then, it was his turn

I kneas irrational, the way that fear seemed to walk up behind me and press a blade to my throat I knew that ere not under attack, that there were already kids down on the path and they were fine, that I’d have to walk it if I ever wanted to get to the Ranch I knew all that But I still couldn’tsmile to his face Even with all of those unspoken words between us, he could still read h my hair and cupped the side of my face as he kissed my temple

"Different tunnel, different destination, different end," he promised "Okay?"

I sed and forced myself to nod as he started down the ladder The moment his head of pale hair disappeared, I felt ainst my bones and my stomach flip Different end I turned the words over inof it

I straightened, s my ponytail back over my shoulder and took the first step The second The third I tried not to think of the way the darkness seedown forever, I finally found solid ground