Page 15 of Peak’s Code

"I solve problems. It’s what I do,” he said.

They slipped into the hallway as chaos swallowed the clubhouse. Brothers sprinted toward firing positions. Prospects carried ammunition, and ol’ladies were being ushered toward the reinforced basement. Smoke drifted through the corridors. Peak spotted Ruin kneeling beside a shattered window. The VP emptied a shotgun through the opening, and another body dropped outside.

Ruin looked over. "You still here?"

"Leaving,” Peak shouted.

"About damn time." He tossed Peak an extra magazine. "Don't waste it."

Peak caught it one-handed. "Try not to die."

Ruin grinned. "No promises."

The tunnel entrance was hidden beneath an old storage room behind the kitchen. Peak shoved aside a rusted shelving unit. The wooden trapdoor underneath looked like it hadn't been opened in years.

Maeve raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"It was used during Prohibition,” he said. “This clubhouse used to belong to bootleggers." He pulled the ring and the trapdoor groaned open. Cold, damp air drifted upward.

Maeve peered into the darkness. "I'm suddenly less impressed."

Peak smirked. "You'll survive."

"Lucky me,” she grumbled as she descended into the narrow tunnel.

The air smelled of earth and seawater. Old brick walls curved overhead. Water dripped steadily somewhere ahead. Peak switched on his flashlight, and the beam illuminated decades of dust. Nobody had been down here in a long time. Their footsteps echoed through the tunnel, and for several minutes, neither spoke.

Maeve broke the silence. "They'll follow us."

Peak didn't slow. "Maybe."

"They know how I think,” she said.

“I do now too, that I know who you really are, Maeve,” he said.

She looked at him. "You've known me for six hours."

"I've been watching you."

"That's creepy,” she grumbled.

"It was investigative."

She laughed quietly. "I'll allow it."

A vibration buzzed through Peak's pocket. He answered immediately. "Captain?"

Heavy breathing answered first. "Change of plans."

Peak stopped walking. "What happened?"

"They've got drones."

His blood ran cold. "Drones?"

Captain coughed. "They're watching every exit." Peak looked down the tunnel. If Captain was right, the marsh exit was compromised.

"They know about the tunnel?" Peak asked.