She yanked the tunnel door closed behind them.

Instantly, they were in darkness.

He could see perfectly.

He heard her sharp gasp.

“Your eyes are still burning.”

His beast was very much in control. He wanted to burn and destroy everything in sight but she was keeping him in check.

“You can see, can’t you?” she whispered. She’d put her hands on the left wall and was carefully walking forward in the dark.

“Yes.”

“Good. Because if you see a very hungry vampire coming toward us, give a warning shout, okay?”

Dante saw no point in bothering with such a shout. “I’ll just burn him.”

“Ah . . . he’s kind of a friend. So focus on the shout.” She stumbled, righted herself, and kept going. “The tunnel is half a mile in length. Once we get clear, we’ll hit the woods and try to find some transportation.”

Transportation, in the woods?

Her breathing seemed loud in the tunnel. Fear still rode her heavily, and he didn’t want that. He reached out for her, curling his fingers over her shoulder.

He heard a loud boom from behind them—and the whole tunnel started to shake.

“Was that an explosion?” Cassie whispered. Debris began to rain down on them.

From the sound of things, yes, it had been an explosion, and the tunnel was collapsing. Giant chunks of the ceiling hit the ground.

“Dante . . .” The fear had thickened in her voice.

He didn’t waste time telling her to run. She couldn’t see in the dark like he could. He picked her up, held her slight body tightly in his arms, and raced through the falling tunnel.

The air became thicker the farther he went. He could discern no light up ahead. He said nothing to Cassie, not wanting her to know what he worried—

That they were trapped in the darkness.

More explosions seemed to rock the building behind them. The enemies that Cassie had spoken of—it seemed as if they were trying to blast their way to her.

Dante inhaled deeply, trying to catch a scent past the smoke and dirt. He needed fresh air. Needed an escape for them.

Got it. He pushed forward, moving even faster, and then he saw it. Not in front of him, but above him. A thin stream of light coming from the ceiling.

There was a ladder to the left, one built into the wall. Cassie climbed up first, and he saw her hand punch out at the ceiling, only it wasn’t really a ceiling. The wood above them swung open—a trapdoor. And more light shone down on them. She jumped off the ladder, and he rushed up after her.

They were in a cabin, an old, musty cabin. Someone had left a lantern on the floor, and that was where the light had come from.

“We did it,” Cassie whispered.

Dante wasn’t so sure that they’d done anything, not yet. “This place isn’t safe.” His body was taut, on edge with tension. Because he could feel danger lurking close by.

He went to the door, yanked it open, and stared into the night.

“We’ll have to meet the others,” Cassie whispered behind him. “But first we have to find Vaughn. He’s a primal vampire and I can’t let him stay loose on—”

A loud scream split the night.

Dante tensed.

That scream had come from the right . . . about thirty yards away. In those thick woods.

He stalked forward. The scent of blood teased his nose.

The scream came again, but was abruptly choked off. Dante kept gazing into the darkness.

Cassie ran by him, rushing toward the right and that scream. Her move made no sense to him. Why? Why would she rush to danger?

But if Cassie was going that way, so was he. Dante lunged after her.

Gone.

Jon watched the flames consume what was left of Cassie’s secret lab. Oh, but she’d thought she was clever.

She was wrong.

The flames were crackling as they shot higher into the sky. The explosions had started moments before. Destroying. There would be only rubble and ash left when he was done.

“Was she in there?” Shaw asked as she crept toward him. She wasn’t the only one giving him a wide berth. Most of his men looked at him with fear in their eyes.

He’d just risen before them.

They were right to fear him.

“The phoenix wouldn’t let her die.” He was certain of that. “He got her out.” The question was . . . how.

Jon turned away from the fire. “Every Genesis lab that I’ve ever been in has an emergency exit. Cassie would have made sure that her lab had one, too.”

Shaw’s eyes widened.

“Get a map of the area. I want to search every building, every cabin, every damn shack within a two mile radius.” An emergency escape had to lead somewhere. When he found that place, he’d find Cassie.