Chapter 17 · The Bounty in the Dark

"How much am I worth?"

Kael didn't slow down. The tunnel stretched black ahead, water ankle-deep and cold enough to numb. "Twenty thousand. Dead or alive."

Sienna's breath hitched. She kept her hand on the slick wall, moving fast as she could without falling. "That's half a year's salary for most pack enforcers."

"Yeah." His voice was flat. "Lockwood's serious."

Her phone buzzed again. She pulled it out, screen bright in the dark. Another message from Leah: *Three teams dispatched. One heading to the courthouse. Two heading south. Get out of the city.*

Sienna shoved the phone back in her pocket. "They're moving fast."

"They want the evidence before we do." Kael stopped, turned. His eyes caught the faint glow from her phone. "Or they want to bury us with it."

She swallowed. The tunnel smelled like rust and old rain. "You said this leads to the old transit station."

"Used to. Before they shut it down fifteen years ago." He started walking again. "Same year your family died."

She didn't answer. The timing wasn't lost on her.

They rounded a corner. The tunnel widened, and the water got deeper. Sienna's shoes were soaked through.