Chapter 28 · The Child Is the Key

"Get away from the hatch, Evelyn!" Lucas slammed into me and knocked the air out of my lungs.

His arm locked around my waist and dragged me back as three shots ripped through the chamber.

Stone burst beside my head.

"You shot at me!" I shoved at his chest. "Again!"

"Not me."

He shoved me behind the broken control pillar and turned toward the upper platform.

Soldiers poured through the hatch above, rifles aimed straight at us.

Lucas raised his gun.

Click.

Nothing.

His eyes dropped to the weapon for half a second.

That was all Captain Rusk needed.

"Warden Vale!" Rusk shouted. "Step away from the fugitive and drop your weapon!"

Lucas lifted the empty gun anyway. His jaw tightened, but his voice stayed cold.

"You heard him. Lower your rifles."

Rusk laughed. "Your command authority ended when you opened the prison seal. She's a terrorist. Hand her over."

"She's a protected witness."

The words hit harder than the gunfire.

Every rifle shifted toward Lucas.

I stared at his back. "What did you just call me?"

"You heard me."

"No. I heard a man with an empty gun pretending he still has power."

He glanced over his shoulder.