Chapter and


    **Jose''s POV**


    "We have the adulte segarated, but the kids me together, they all seem scared. The two women are very concerned about the lids. I think they are their caretaken and possibly the mothers of some of them," Raff says when we arrive


    "Have they said anything useful?" Mace asks as we follow aff down a long corridor.


    "Nothing, but we haven''t started questioning them yet. Wave just been getting themfortable, they''ve all been given food and water, which the Idds epted eagerly the adults still haven''t touched it," he exins.


    Haff leads us into a small room with a window that shows to the room next door. A young female, who can''t be more than 30 years old, sits at a table in the otherwise empty room. Her eyes are locked on the te of food in front of her. She rocks backwards and forwards slightly in her chair and her lips move as if she is talking, but I can''t hear what she is saying.


    "She looks so fragile," sage says, her tone not hiding her ness.


    "What is she saying?" ask.


    "Nothing audible. The mic is on, if she makes a noise you''ll hear it," Raff points to a speaker mounted in the corner of the room.


    "She doesn''t strike me as a high-ranking rogue, unless she is an amazing actress, then all I see is a scared young woman who has not had the best life. She is clearly malnourished, but yet she hasn''t touched the food. Either she thinks there''s something dangerous in it or there''s something else going on here," Deacon says,


    "Do you want to question her? My guy can be a little intimidating, and I''m not sure if that''s the best approach with this one," Raff asks D.


    ''Sure, I can remain impartial with her," Deacon nods, and admire his self- control.


    Deacon and Raff leave the room, and momentster we see them step into the room next door. The girl doesn''t react to them, just continues rocking and talking silently.


    "Hello, my name is Deacon Collins. I run an academy within the Grey realm for students aged 18 to 24. We provide amodation, food, clothing and security. I''d love to offer you a ce if you think it might be something that interests you," says softly.


    The woman stops rocking, and her eyes flick to Deacon for a very brief moment before she returns to her rocking.


    "Is this how he was with you when you first met him?" The whispers.


    "No. I got, ''Miss Banks, I do not have time for your tears, follow me, or I''ll leave you to the police who will put you in prison," then he knocked me out without warning," Thuff.


    "He did have a bit of a stick up his ass back then," Theo shrugs.


    "Why is he notpelling her already?" Axe says impatiently.


    "I think he''s struggling to get in. What she is doing looks like some practised technique to resistpulsion. She is hyper-focused on her rocking and whatever it is she is chanting," Luke points out.


    "He could force it," Mason grunts


    "Whilst I agree, because I want answers as much as you do I think this woman has been forced enough in her life. If he can do it without being harsh, I think he should," I adiit, even though my mama wolf side is demanding I go in there and shake the information from her myself.


    "Can you tell me your name?" Raff asks, adopting the same soft tone as Deacon,


    The girl continues to rock, unfazed by his question.


    "Ask her about the kids," I say through the mind link.


    "Is there anything we should know about the kids that were brought in with you? Anything we can do to reassure them? They''re quite upset," Deacon says, and the girl stops, her gaze moving towards him.


    "Timmy needs his teddy. It''s a small blue bear. He can''t sleep without it. Corey likes to be cuddled, and Honey has a nket. It''s beige with daisies on it," The girl says, and Raff writes down what she says.


    "I''ll have someone go and get these items. Is there anything else?" Raff asks.


    "Jackson needs a ss of warm milk before bed, and they all like a story to fall asleep to," she says.


    "Okay, I''ll make sure they have that. Thank you," he nods before stepping out of the room.


    "Are any of the kids yours?" Deacon asks.


    “I didn''t give birth to them, but they are my responsibility. I''m supposed to keep them safe."


    "You''ve done a wonderful job. I promise you they are safer now than they have ever been. I also have children to keep safe, and I think you can help me," Deacon says and pulls his phone from his pocket. He shows her something on the screen.


    "That''s Harper, she is new," the girl says, and my knees almost buckle in relief.


    Harper is alive, and this girl may know how we can find her. Tears well in my eyes and Mason wraps his arms around me, sharing in this overwhelming feeling of hope.


    "Yes, she is my daughter. Do you know where she is?" Deacon asks, and I am so impressed at his ability to remainposed.


    "She was taken to the new ce with the others. We were thest group to be ported, but you arrived before our ride came back for us," she says.


    "On it," Luke says into the mind link before leaving the room to find Raff.


    I hope they still have men on site to intercept the teleporter How close were we to finding Harper? How long before we arrived had she left? If I hadn''t wasted time talking to Emma or visiting the kids, we might have gotten


    there in time.


    "Where were they taking you?" Dasks.


    "I don''t know, they never tell us anything. My job is to look after the children. That''s it, and I failed. They will punish me for this," she says before she begins rocking again.


    "No, they won''t. You are safe here, and you didn''t fail; the kids are safe," Deacon


    reassures.


    "You are stupid if you think that. They are everywhere, even here, watching me and waiting to punish me. This food is probably poisoned, they will try to silence me," she says, and her words twist my gut.


    How had we not considered that there could be one of them here, on the inside, feeding information back to the others so they''re always one step ahead of us?