Follow him? What was Will talking about? Why did he want Aydin to follow him?

“It would’ve been perfect, because you’re one of us,” Will panted, circling his prey, “but it seems I have no more time to waste on you. It seems I didn’t anticipate you had your own agenda with me.”

Meaning me—and Aydin bringing me here.

He sniffled, wiping the blood off his face.

“Rory.” He jerked his chin to the supply of rope sitting on the table. “Micah, help him.”

They tied up Aydin who was too exhausted and beat, barely kicking and thrashing as they secured him.

Will called us. “Alex,” he said, standing back and watching them. “Emory.”

Alex immediately went to his side, but I stayed rooted.

A fire lit behind his eyes. “I will raise hell and reduce this house to ash if you act like this is a choice for one more second!” he bellowed at me and then pointed to his side. “Now!”

I jumped, tingles throbbing between my legs, and I clenched my teeth, walking over to him.

“All this time?” Aydin breathed out. “All these months and all the fights. All the times you lost, it was on purpose?”

“You don’t have what it takes to be me,” he told Aydin, his deep tone sending chills up my spine.

Oh, my God.

He’d faked it. He’d faked everything. He was working the house for some reason, slowly turning everyone on his side, and he’d put up with months of this shit because he wanted Aydin’s loyalty, but he didn’t want it through force.

Micah and Rory finished and came over, standing with us as everyone stared at Aydin on the floor.

Will loomed front and center like an oak rising, and I swore I had to tip my head back to look up at him at my side.

“You can come with us,” Will told him. “I don’t want Dinescu, but I’ll take you.”

Alex stood on Will’s other side, a flash of pain in her eyes as she looked at Aydin.

But Aydin just laughed bitterly. “Kill me,” he said.

Will stood there another moment, absorbing his answer as the thunder cracked again, and I started to back away, everyone slowly following.

The boys turned and darted up the stairs as I watched Alex drag her feet, the distance between her and Aydin like nothing as the heat of their look grew.

“You wanted me,” she told him, backing away from him.

He nodded, his hands bound to some rusty piping as he sat on the floor. “Now I just want to win.”

She shook her head. “You’ve already lost.”

“Not yet,” he retorted. “I do know where you’re going, love.”

The hair on my arms stood on end, and she hesitated a few moments as his words hung in the air, but then…we both spun around, darted up the stairs, and slammed the door behind us.

“Alex…”

“Don’t,” she said, and I could hear the tears in her throat. “I already forgot his name.”

We raced upstairs, a thick stench hitting me as we pushed through the door.

I inhaled. “What the hell is that?”

Hearing commotion, we ran back toward the foyer, instantly halting as flames engulfed the drapes on the windows, rising to the ceiling and spreading onto the walls.

“Oh, Jesus!” Alex cried.

I looked for Will, spotting him rushing out from the kitchen with a fire extinguisher.

The heat baked my face, and I stumbled back as he tried to put out the flames.

Those damn candles must’ve been lit when they knocked them over.

“Will!” I cried.

We had to get out of here. It consumed the foyer, and I tipped my head back as I coughed through the burn in my throat, seeing the flames stretching so much higher than we could reach. There was no stopping this.

“Will!” I called again, but he sprayed the door, extinguishing the fire around the frame.

Alex shot past me, up the stairs.

“What are you doing?” I yelled after her, seeing flames flicker on the edges of the steps.

“My satellite phone!” she yelled. “It’s in the secret passageway! We need it!”

“Alex, no!” Will bellowed.

I shot off to go after her, but then I heard a crash against the front door, and I stopped.

Alex stopped halfway up the stairs, and I turned around to see Will standing still.

Another crash wracked the walls as smoke engulfed the entire room, and I blinked my eyes against the sting, trying to see who was coming through the door.

They had to have security nearby. There was a fire alarm going off somewhere, I’d bet.

Another pound, and then…the door flew open, the smoke gushing out the door, and I spotted black arms and legs coming into the room through the clouds.

“Will!” someone shouted.

I squatted down on the floor, pulling Will with me, so we could breathe, but also…

“Is that security?” I asked him, trying to see through the smoke.

“I don’t think so.”

I’d be glad if it was, but also, they might just transfer us all to another Blackchurch, too.

I wanted my weapon.

“Will!” another voice—this one also male—called. “Where are you?”

Why were they just calling for him and not the others?

“Will Grayson!” a woman shouted next, coughing.

My ear pricked, something familiar about that one, and Will sucked in a breath next to me.

“Oh, my God,” he whispered.

He shot to his feet, pulling me up by the arm. “Here!” he shouted.

Alex came running down the stairs as figures dressed in black moved through the smoke, and I saw three tall men with paracord draped over their chest and carrying duffle bags.

“What the hell did we bring paracord for?” Kai Mori said, looking to Michael Crist. “Thought you told us we were going to have to scale the walls and shit.”

Michael just smiled and grabbed Will by the neck, pulling him into a hug.

Will tensed like he was shocked, but after a moment he exhaled. “Came for me after all, huh?

“Always,” another voice said.

I looked as Damon stepped through the smoke, laughing as he dipped down, pressing his forehead to his best friend’s.

A woman came up, her blonde ponytail draped over her shoulder, the top of her head covered in a black ski cap.

Erika Fane?

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” she said and then looked over my shoulder, calling, “Alex!”

Alex rushed forward, brushing past me and crashing into Rika’s arms. “You made it,” she breathed out in a laugh.

Erika nodded. “Worried?”

Alex chuckled. “No. Course not.”

Everyone started to rush out the door, but Alex and I hesitated, looking back through the smoke, toward the back of the house.

“Wait,” she shouted. “There’s more back there!”

Everyone rushed back in the house, but the fire had drifted down the hall, splintering off toward the kitchen and then right, toward the pool.

We rushed up to the flames.

“Emmy!” Will yelled.

“Emory Scott?” I heard Damon say. “Alex, you didn’t tell us she was here.”

But no one had time to explain.

I peered through the fire, trying to see a way past, but I couldn’t find a path. We couldn’t leave them there to burn.